Leah & Adrian’s Last HPU HIFF: 2017

In this blog I will review and wrap up my final experience as a Hawaii Pacific University student attending the Hawaii International Film Festival. It has been an honor to contribute so much of my time and effort to this event over the last three years at HPU, gaining experience with this internationally recognized area of media has taught me invaluable skills and knowledge. In the Fall of 2018 I plan to be studying abroad in India, where I intend to travel to Bollywood to experience other trends and cultures of film making. I will end this blog with a final film wrap along side my fellow senior classmate and friend, Adrian Labuda.

This year at the Hawaii International Film Festival #37 I had the pleasure of attending three films as part of my press privileges, complimentary of HPU. I have a particular interest in history and environmental conservation, inspiring me to see the films Proof of Loyalty, Go For Broke, and Blue. 

Proof of Loyalty was the first film, I didn’t read the description much before going, I basically just knew it had to do with WW2 and I was sold. However I walked out of the theater incredibly enlightened on several aspects of that war, such as the Nisei Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion, the most important militial aspect behind the US success. It was the perfect film to start off my experience this year.

Blue was my favorite film and one that I would purchase the moment it hit the stores. It was a multi-sited documentary that sucked you in from the very start, shedding light on several environmental tragedies, happening right now at this second, around the world. What’s the most concerning is that 100% of these issues are human-caused due to plastic pollution, over-fishing and economic security. At the end of the film, Blue provides several calls to action that seemed to have several positive responses, which I was able to over-hear from other viewers walking out of the theater.

Please watch the following video to understand in better light the way in which HIFF has positively impacted my time at HPU. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii International Film Festival and Hawaii Pacific University for the opportunity to further seek my skills as a reporter and blogger.