In Rememberance of Wimal Dissanayake Wimal Dissanayake with Hong Kong film icon Cheng Pei Pei (COME DRINK WITH ME) during HIFF 2016 The Hawai‘i International Film Festival mourns the passing of Dr. Wimal Dissanayake (September 6, 1939–August 7, 2026), a pioneering scholar of Asian cinema and communication whose intellectual legacy is deeply connected to the origins of HIFF—and to Hawai‘i’s

Remembering Dick Oshima: A true patron of the arts There are certain people who become so much a part of HIFF that it is difficult to imagine the Festival without them. Isoo “Dick” Oshima was one of those people. For decades, Dick was a member of the HIFF ʻohana: a longtime board member, generous supporter, mentor, patron of the arts, and one of the

Valterix's viral Kingdom Beat (TikTok Version) is an uplifting trap-inspired song shaped by an oppressively heavy beat and an instantly recognizable bombastic organ hook. Kingdom Beat has already appeared in several alternate forms, including slowed and later trap variations, reflecting the way contemporary electronic tracks are increasingly adapted into different tempos and edits for short...

Film of the Month Boatlift 9/11 - Tricia Aurand, Dale Fabrigar Best Narrative Film Boatlift 9/11 - Tricia Aurand, Dale Fabrigar Best Indie Film Damascus - John Kestner Best Comedy The Talk - Jonathon Taylor Jones, Iman Nazemzadeh Best Thriller Valley Magenta - Dominic Ryan Gabriel Best Sci-Fi Pure - Moritz Samuel Kestenbaum Best Inspirational Film Boatlift 9/11 - Tricia Aurand, Dale Fabrigar...

For 2026, Aesthetica is evolving beyond a traditional film festival model into a wider celebration of screen culture, live performance and storytelling. Beyond the Frame is a season of evening performances at York Theatre Royal, injecting comedy and live performance […] The post Comedy, Film, Music: Beyond the Frame at Aesthetica 2026 first appeared on Aesthetica Short Film Festival.

Jack’d, the largest dating app for queer people of color in the United States, is launching the inaugural Jack’d Film Festival, a showcase and competition celebrating original films by queer creators with a particular focus on films that center the experiences, stories and/or perspectives of queer people of color. TS Madison (“Outlaws With TS Madison” […]

Partnership is the guiding motif of the World Soundtrack Awards’ Film Music Days, where live performances will give cult films bold new scores and industry mixers encourage emerging composers and filmmakers to find their creative match. To show what such pairings can achieve, two WSA talks will spotlight some of contemporary European cinema’s most enduring […]

The World Soundtrack Awards’ Discovery of the Year prize has a knack for spotting emerging talent. Gustavo Santaolalla (“21 Grams”), Michael Giacchino (“The Incredibles”) and Nicholas Britell (“Moonlight”) all won it before reshaping the modern film score, and recent winners Daniel Blumberg (“The Brutalist”) and Jerskin Fendrix (“Poor Things”) look set to follow. Meet this […]

We're back in the audiosphere this month with a double whammy of musical goodness! We hear from Jane Gardner and Hazel Morrison, a familiar and much beloved HippFest duo, following their recent visit to Tromsø Silent Film Days and ahead of their performance as part of our Taste of Silents season, accompanying Murnau's Faust (1926).

As part of BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival, Reignite XVII brings the UK’s UNESCO Creative Cities Network in York for a landmark conversation about the role culture can play in shaping the future of places. The event will be opened by […] The post Reignite XVII- Culture as Infrastructure, Stories as Power first appeared on Aesthetica Short Film Festival.