HIFF
Andrea Hart plays Gloria, the target of obsession in
"Miss Monday," a film directed by Benson Lee.

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HIFF kicks off some changes
with a spring film festival

By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin

HAWAII'S independent film fans don't have to wait until November to see those under-publicized, here-today-gone-tomorrow motion pictures that usually only reach Hawaii once a year.

The Hawaii International Film Festival this week presents at the Hawaii Theatre its first ever Spring Film Fest, March 20-22, featuring seven films from directors Wayne Wang and Michael Moore, as well as "local boy" Benson Lee's film "Miss Monday," which received a Special Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival for the performance of actress Andrea Hart.

"There were many popular films (at last November's Hawaii International Film Festival) that people wanted to see but but didn't," said Christian Gaines, HIFF executive director. "We want to fill that void, nourish that need, and this is one way for us to accomplish that."

Films in the Spring Film Fest include "Chinese Box," directed by Wayne Wang; "Children of Heaven," by Iranian director Majid Majid; "The Big One," directed by Michael Moore; "Shooting Fish," directed by Stefan Schwartz; "Too Tired To Die," directed by Wonsuk Chin; and "The Land Girls," directed by David Leland.

HIFF
Stuart Townsend, Kate Beckinsale and
Dan Futtermanstar in "Shooting Fish."

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Three films will be shown Saturday and Sunday; one on Friday. Tickets are $6 general admission, $5 for Hawaii Film Fans members; available by calling 528-0506. For more information, call 528-FILM (528-3456) or connect to http://www.hiff.org.

The mid-year festival is just one of several changes HIFF will undergo this year:

The festival's Film Society is being renamed Hawaii Film Fans.

A "Flash Pass" will allow purchasers to enter venues faster and have access to more events, eliminating paper tickets.

Admission will be charged for all festival films on Oahu.

There are special discounts for Hawaii Film Fans for independent film periodicals and local film-related events.

An updated computer system will help solve ticketing problems.

Gaines said the changes not only are long overdue, but "pretty much required" these days because film festivals throughout the United States are proliferating, and the established ones are finding new ways to attract audiences, actors and films.

"Honolulu is the 11th largest city in the country and independent film showings here are marginal at best or simply non-existent," he said. "We want to change that because ultimately that's good for the film festival."

The fewer independent films shown in Hawaii, the less seriously the festival is considered. And that makes it harder to get important independent films to show here and filmmakers to attend, Gaines said.

"If I call up a company and ask them for a film, it doesn't matter if I'm flying in the filmmaker and paying for film shipping; if we're viewed as a lesser market -- meaning the film won't be released in Honolulu -- it's simply not worth their time or effort."

HAWAII FILM FANS MEMBERSHIP: Hawaii Film Fans membership: Students, $25; neighbor island residents, $35; individuals, $50; couples, $100. Contributors who donate $250, $500 or $1,000, respectively, will receive bronze, silver or gold "flash passes," respectively. Bronze passes admit holders into screenings held at Hawaii Theatre; and silver and gold passes admit holders into any screening, plus they receive tickets to the Academy Award fund-raiser being held on March 23. All members receive advanced copies of the program guide, are eligible to purchase tickets before the general public, and receive discounts and freebies from "film-friendly" partners. For information, call 528-3456, ext. 21.

A decade ago the Hawaii film festival was "all about a cultural celebration of cinema," Gaines said. But times have changed and now film festivals are much more about commerce, he said.

"That means we have to be about commerce and fully understand what we need to do."

Adding the spring festival and other to-be-announced annual events will get people interested in independent films and educate them as to how underserved Hawaii is, Gaines said.

Last year's Hawaii International Film Festival marked the first time in the event's 17-year history that admission was charged. (Admission was only charged on Oahu, and only for 35 millimeter films.)

There were no complaints, Gaines said.

"The Hawaii market likes independent films," he said. "What people value, especially those in the 18-to-40 age group, is time as much as money. If they want to see a film badly enough, they'll pay for it."

This year's festival will charge for all films on Oahu -- $6 for 35-millimeter and $4 for video and 16-millimeter.

(It has not been decided whether the admission policy will include the neighbor islands, which make up only 30 percent of the festival's total attendance.) Ticket sales this year totaled about $35,000.

Charging admission has "nothing to do with greed, but with necessity, survival and self sufficiency," Gaines said.

State funding for the 1997 and '98 festivals is $100,000, down half from previous years. Last year's festival started $80,000 in the hole, but with ticket revenues the deficit has almost been halved.

"We're definitely moving in the right direction," Gaines said.

The festival's annual budget is about $1 million with $650,000 of it in cash and the rest in-kind services. Gaines hopes this year's ticket revenues will increase as much as 50 percent, to about $75,000.

To save money, festival officials this year switched public relations' companies, streamlined its program guide, cut some hospitality rooms during events, and eliminated some jobs. The staff also is "aggressively going after" more mainland-based corporate sponsors because the economy there is better.

"We hope to capitalize on the ... stereotype of Hawaii and make it more of a junket location for those large companies looking for fun in November, he said.

As for the Flash Passes, two are available: the $250 pass provides access to all films shown at the Hawaii Theatre; for $500 the holder may attend all films and receptions.

Changing the name of the film society to Hawaii Film Fans is "more descriptive of what the group is and what it does," and will appeal to more people because it sounds less formal, Gaine said.

The festival's first special event this year -- "And the winner is" -- will be held at 6 p.m., March 23 at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, Diamond Head Suite. This advance screening of the Academy Awards for couples features "culinary creations" by the hotel's chefs. Champagne, courtesy of Remy Amerique, will also be served.

The $500 a couple party benefits Hawaii Film Fans. For reservations, call Chuck Boller at 528-3456, ext. 12.

HIFF notes

 What: Spring Film Fest
When: March 20-22
Where: Hawaii Theatre
Cost: $6 general; $5 Hawaii Film Fans members (unless noted otherwise). Call 528-0506 for tickets. Program guides will be available the week before the festival at the Hawaii Theatre box office. Movie synopses also available at Borders, Ward; Gordon Biersch; The Movie Museum; On the Juice; and in the spring issue of HIFF'S newsletter.
Call: 525-FILM or connect to http://www.hiff.org

Scheduled films Chinese Box: 7:30 p.m. March 20; directed by Wayne Wang (Tickets cost $10 for all seats.) A contemporary tale of love and separation set against the dramatic backdrop of present day Hong Kong and the transition of power last July from Britain to China. Children of Heaven: 1:30 p.m. March 21; directed by Majid Majidi (Children under 12 will be admitted for $3.) A story featuring Iranian children. The Big One: 7:30 p.m. March 21; directed by Michael Moore: Aims at the underbelly of the so called economic recovery with some hilarious and devastating results. Filmed in 1996, the film chronicles Moore's three month tour flacking his bestselling book "Downsize This." Miss Monday: 4:30 p.m .March 21 directed by Benson Lee who will attend the screening and conduct a question-and-answer session after the film. Roman is a struggling young screenwriter who after months of writing knows his script sucks because he is missing a strong main character. He decides to disguise himself as a corporate yuppie who infiltrates London's financial district to find the three-dimensional character he needs to portray "Marianne." Shooting Fish: 1:30 p.m. March 22; directed by Stefan Schwartz. A romantic comedy about two unemployed guys who were raised as orphans and whom fate has brought together in London. Too Tired To Die: 4:30 p.m. March 22; directed by Wonsuk Chin: A tragicomedy about a young Japanese man measuring out his life in coffee cups in downtown New York when he receives an unwanted visit from a fetching and decidedly ungrim reaper -- played by Mira Sorvino in numerous disguises -- who gives him the news that he has 12 hours to live. The Land Girls: 7:30 p.m. March 22; directed by David Leland. A valentine to women of World War II who took to the fields when all the farmhands were off fighting for their country.