35 Hawai‘i-Made Films Coming to Big Island for MIHFF

MIHFF 2019 Trailer from Made In Hawaii Film Festival on Vimeo.

The Made in Hawai‘i Film Festival (MIHFF) returns to the Big Island in June with a lineup of 35 films all made within the State of Hawai‘i.

Made in Hawai‘i Film Festival

Now in its second year, MIHFF is the only film festival nationwide to solely spotlight Hawai‘i-made cinema. Sponsored by the Hilo Hawaiian hotel and Castle Resorts, the festival kicks off in Hilo at the Hilo Palace Theater on June 1 and 2, 2019, for a full lineup of all 35 films, with a one-night only “best of fest’ follow up at the Aloha Theater in South Kona on June 14.

The festivals has doubled its footprint since its inaugural year in 2018, growing from one day to three with nearly twice as many film selections.

Included in the official lineup are Big Island-born features such as Running For Grace, David L. Cunningham’s star-crossed love story set on a Kona coffee plantation in the 1920s; Stoke, a surreal cross-island road trip following a privileged tourist who hires two aspiring guides to take her to Kilauea; and August at Akiko’s, which centers on a young musician who returns to his Hawai‘i hometown and befriends a woman running a Buddhist bed and breakfast.

The festival also features a large selection of short films, webseries, experimental films and music videos. In addition to film screenings, the festival houses several industry information sessions including a cinematography master-class style seminar with two-time Emmy nominated cinematographer Ron Garcia, ASC (Hawai‘i 5-0, Twin Peaks), and a panel on the importance of community-based filmmaking with the Hawai‘i Filmmakers Collective.

“Last year, the festival unfortunately fell on the weekend of hurricane Lane, and we still had over 300 people come out to support,” says festival co-founder and Executive Director Zoe Eisenberg. “We’re excited to be able to bring so many Hawai‘i-made films to Big Island this year.”

View the festival trailer online.

Tickets start at $10 a block and run to $15 (Kona) or $30 (Hilo) for an access pass that gets you into every theater event. For tickets and more information, visit www.MIHFF.org or www.Facebook.com/Madeinhawaiifilmfestival