Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF)

Overview

The Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) is a competitive festival held annually in October in Honolulu. The 46th edition runs October 15 to 25, 2026, on Oahu, followed by neighbor island screenings on Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Hawaii Island. Presented by Halekulani, HIFF programs contemporary Asian, Pacific, and North American cinema alongside films produced in Hawaii and indigenous Pacific filmmaker work.

HIFF's geographic position in the central Pacific gives it a programming mandate no other festival shares. The festival functions as a bridge between Asian cinema, Pacific Islander storytelling, and North American independent film. For Asian filmmakers, HIFF has historically been one of the most important Western platforms for reaching North American audiences before mainland theatrical release. For Pacific Islander filmmakers, it is the primary international festival platform.

The festival accepts narrative features, documentary features, narrative shorts, documentary shorts, Pacific Islander showcase films, Made in Hawaii films, and New American Perspectives films. Select narrative and documentary features from first- or second-time feature directors are eligible for the Kau Ka Hoku Award, the festival's top competition prize.

Submission Details

Submissions for the 46th edition (2026) are open via FilmFreeway.

Deadline: June 5, 2026 (late deadline, 11:59 PM PT)

Submission categories:

• Narrative Feature
• Documentary Feature
• Narrative Short
• Documentary Short
• Pacific Islander Showcase Features
• Pacific Islander Showcase Shorts
• Made in Hawaii Features
• Made in Hawaii Shorts
• New American Perspectives

Submission fees (based on 2024/2025 figures, subject to change):

• Narrative/Documentary Features: $55 (early) / $65 (regular) / $75 (late)
• Narrative/Documentary Shorts: $45 (early) / $55 (regular) / $65 (late)
• Pacific Islander Showcase (features and shorts): $35 (flat rate across all deadlines)
• Made in Hawaii (features and shorts): $25 (flat rate across all deadlines)

Eligibility:

• Films must have been completed after January 1, 2025
• Films must be at least a Hawaii premiere. Feature-length films must not have had any commercial, theatrical, VOD, or television play in Hawaii
• The festival prioritizes World Premieres and USA Premieres
• All films with dialogue in a language other than English must be subtitled in English
• Films may be of any length and any genre, including experimental and student films
• Works-in-progress and films with temporary soundtracks are considered

Notification: August 2026

Key Sections

• Asian Showcase - curated program of new Asian cinema, historically a discovery platform for films before their North American theatrical run
• Pacific Islander Showcase - films from Pacific Islands communities, including indigenous Pacific filmmaker work
• Made in Hawaii - films by and about Hawaii and its communities, with dedicated competition awards
• New American Perspectives - films by foreign-born filmmakers and immigrant stories
• Kau Ka Hoku Competition - first- and second-time feature directors competing for the festival's top award
• Documentary Program - nonfiction features across all submission categories
• Short Film Competition - short films across all categories competing for jury prizes
• University Showcase - short films by Hawaii-based post-secondary students, with the HIFF x BMW Hawaii Driven Student Filmmaker Award and cash scholarship

What Filmmakers Should Know

HIFF's Hawaii premiere requirement is strict. Feature-length films that have had any public or festival screening in the state of Hawaii are ineligible. This means films that have played at other Hawaii-based festivals or events cannot submit. For filmmakers targeting HIFF, holding the Hawaii premiere is a strategic decision that should be made early in the festival circuit planning process.

For Asian and Pacific Islands filmmakers, HIFF provides the most strategically positioned gateway to North American exposure. The festival's October timing, following TIFF and the major fall events, allows HIFF to program films that have premiered elsewhere and are seeking Pacific exposure before their North American release. The festival's Hawaii audience includes significant Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities whose perspectives differ from mainland US cinema audiences.

The Kau Ka Hoku Award is restricted to first- and second-time feature directors. Filmmakers with more than two features are not eligible for this award but can still submit in other categories. The Made in Hawaii categories have lower submission fees ($25 flat) and separate competition awards, making them an accessible entry point for local filmmakers.

The festival also runs a Spring Festival (typically in the spring) and year-round screening programs, but the Fall Festival in October is the main competitive event with open submissions.

Major Awards

• Kau Ka Hoku Award - Best Film in Competition, eligible to first- and second-time feature directors
• Best Short Film - across all short film categories
• Made in Hawaii Feature Award
• Made in Hawaii Short Award
• Audience Award - voted by festival audiences across categories
• HIFF x BMW Hawaii Driven Student Filmmaker Award - cash scholarship for University Showcase winner

Festival History

HIFF was founded in 1981 with the explicit mission of building cultural bridges across the Pacific. The festival has maintained this mission for over four decades, becoming the most important film platform serving the Pacific cultural region. In its early years, HIFF was one of the first Western festivals to regularly program Asian cinema for North American audiences, screening early work by directors who subsequently became major figures in international cinema.

The festival is a program of the Hawaii International Film Festival organization, which also operates year-round community screenings, educational programs, and the HIFF Online streaming platform. The Halekulani hotel has been the festival's presenting sponsor, with the top competition award named the Halekulani Golden Maile in earlier editions before being renamed the Kau Ka Hoku Award.

Over 45 editions, HIFF has built a programming identity that no other US festival replicates. Its position at the intersection of Asian, Pacific, and North American cinema gives it a curatorial niche that is both geographically logical and culturally distinct from mainland festivals.

See Also

To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. For Pacific Rim cinema and international distribution, see International Film Markets. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy.