AWARD-WINNERS AT HIFF 2007
Late Sunday night the 27th edition of the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival finally wrapped, bringing to an end over 10 days of screenings, panels, and parties.
The festival announced the Audience Awards for Best Feature, Documentary, and Short Film at the closing night party aboard the Hawaii Superferry, a mammoth beast of a ship designed to ferry passengers around the Hawaiian isles but content in this case to hold passengers while they staggered from the vodka bar to the dessert table. Best Feature went to Gwak Gyung Taek‘s A Love, while Julianne and Don King‘s Beautiful Son won Best Documentary, and Kurt Kuenne‘s Validation won Best Short Film.
In an earlier awards ceremony scenically located along the shores of Waikiki (and propped up by several Go-Kino! speeches from Hawaii’s governor, Honolulu’s mayor, and assorted other politicians), Beautiful Son won the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award (the fest’s jury prize) for Best Documentary, while Tony Ayres‘ The Home Song Stories won the Halekulani Golden Orchid for the narrative competition.
The Vietnam-set The Owl and the Sparrow, by Orange County-based Stephane Gaugner, won the prestigious NETPAC Award (designed to promote Asian cinema). The Pacific Panorama Award was given to Lahaina: Waves of Change, while the Honolulu Magazine Short Film Award was plucked by Pretend (Nagpapanggap). Monkeyboy Fever won the Video-on-Demand Viewer’s Choice Award from Time Oceanic Cable, an award voted on by cable tv viewers able to screen several of festival shorts on television.
