The 46th Hawai‘i International film festival (HIFF) concluded its awards night at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikīkī on November 1, presenting the coveted Kau Ka Hōkū (Shooting Star) Award to Japanese animator Kadowaki Kōhei for his feature We Are Aliens. The ceremony, sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines, also celebrated industry veterans Ke Huy Quan and Sung Kang with career-long recognitions. Meanwhile, the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival showcased a robust Latin American slate, awarding several of those works and reinforcing the city’s commitment to non-Hollywood narratives.
HIFF’s top honors and emerging talent
The jury, composed of Samuel Jamier, Jesse Hawthorne Ficks and Mia Lee Vicino, praised We Are Aliens for its hand-drawn animation, rotoscoping, and dialogue that feels like an overheard conversation. They highlighted the film’s portrayal of childhood cruelty and the way memory reshapes those early experiences, declaring the work an “emotional force” worthy of the Kau Ka Hōkū Award. An honorable mention went to the documentary The Seoul Guardians.
In the Made in Hawai‘i competition, Zilla Barbosa’s documentary Making the Line earned the best feature prize for capturing the hidden emotional journey of Hawaiian perseverance. Justyn Ah Chong’s short The Man and the Tree not only secured the Made in Hawai‘i short award—placing it on the Oscar-qualifying list—but also received the inaugural Pacific Award short honor, a nod to its authentic Native Hawaiian perspective. Additional recognitions included honorable mentions for Aukai Lagiri’s Kukulu and Ty Sanga’s Lahaina: Voices of Change.
The Pacific Award for best feature was awarded to Jordan Manley’s The Navigator, a film that explores inter-generational transmission of indigenous knowledge. Jury members Miki Magasiva, Noelle Kahanu and Averie Joy Maikalima O Makua Huffine described it as a “magical quest for wisdom” rooted in Pacific culture. The Best Short Film Award, also backed by Hawaiian Airlines and Oscar-qualifying, went to the Australian drama-thriller Faceless by Fraser Pemberton and William Jaka, praised for its lingering impact and “wow” factor.
Chicago International Film Festival spotlights Latin America
While HIFF highlighted emerging Asian talent, the Chicago International Film Festival turned its lens toward the Global South, featuring thirteen Latin American titles, eight of which entered competition. Four of those earned jury awards or special mentions, underscoring a shift toward broader representation in a festival that traditionally grapples with commercial expectations.
Alessandra Sanguinetti’s documentary The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer stood out as a favorite for many attendees. Spanning 25 years of footage of cousins Guillermina Aranciaga and Belinda Stutz, the film uses cinema’s temporal elasticity to juxtapose endless childhood play with the accelerating cadence of adulthood. critics noted how the editing deliberately “jumps ahead” before viewers can settle, evoking a palpable sense of loss and nostalgia that only film can convey.
Mexican debut director Fernanda Tovar’s Sad Girlz tackled adolescent friendship and the weight of early trauma, employing improvisational character work to achieve authenticity. The film’s underwater cinematography—courtesy of Rosa Hadit Hernández—visually anchors the protagonists’ moments of vulnerability. Another Mexican entry, Bruno Santamaría Razo’s semi-documentary Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building, opened with a candid interview with the filmmaker’s mother, setting a personal tone for an exploration of identity and displacement.
Career tributes and international collaboration
At HIFF’s gala on October 29, Sung Kang received the Halekulani Maverick Award for his multifaceted work on the drift-culture drama Drifter, while Ke Huy Quan was honored with the Halekulani Golden Maile Career Achievement Award, recognizing his evolution from iconic child roles to a resurgence as a supporting actor in recent blockbusters. Both honorees affirmed the festival’s role in bridging Asian-American talent with Pacific storytelling.
The Chicago festival also featured audience-chosen favorites, with Sung Kang’s Drifter taking the narrative feature poll, Frank W. Chen’s documentary Beyond the Smiles: Yani Tseng winning the documentary vote, and Lauren Luke’s short Sons Are Not Earthbound earning the short category. These audience awards, presented by Hawai‘i News Now, illustrate the cross-regional appeal of stories that blend personal nuance with cultural specificity.
Collectively, the two festivals demonstrate a growing appetite for films that transcend borders, reward fresh voices, and celebrate the rich tapestry of global cinema. As both Hawai‘i and Chicago continue to amplify under-represented creators, the industry can anticipate a more inclusive landscape where regional narratives become universal touchstones.
