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Hawaiʻi International Film Festival Presented by Halekulani Announces 2026 Lineup

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The Hawaiʻi International Film Festival (HIFF) presented by Halekulani announces the lineup for its 46th annual edition – scheduled for October 21–November 5 on Oahu and thru November 15 on Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Big Island of Hawaiʻi – bringing together a distinctly Hawaiʻi-centered and globally minded program of new cinema from across the islands, Asia, the Pacific and around the world.

HIFF46 features 84 films, including thirty-four World Premieres, six North American Premieres, twelve U.S. Premieres and three International Premieres. The Festival continues its singular role as a cinematic crossroads of East and West, presenting an eclectic mix of major festival discoveries and awards-season contenders alongside emerging filmmakers, Indigenous storytellers, Asian and Pacific Islander voices, and an exceptional showcase of films made in Hawaiʻi.

Opening Night: The Navigator — World Premiere

HIFF46 will open with the World Premiere of THE NAVIGATOR, directed by Jordan Manley, at the historic Hawaiʻi Theatre Center. The Made in Hawaiʻi documentary follows legendary Native Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson, nearly 50 years after he became the first Native Hawaiian in six centuries to navigate from Hawaiʻi to Tahiti without modern instruments. Returning to the open ocean for one final voyage, Thompson sails 2,400 miles with a crew of student navigators, guided by the stars, the natural world and the teachings passed to him by master navigator Mau Piailug.

“It is a tremendous honor for HIFF to open our 46th Festival with the World Premiere of THE NAVIGATOR, a film that could not be more deeply connected to Hawaiʻi and to who we are as a festival,” said Jean H. Lee, HIFF Executive Director. “Nainoa Thompson’s legacy reaches far beyond an extraordinary achievement in navigation. It represents the reclamation and perpetuation of ancestral knowledge, a living connection across Oceania, and the responsibility to pass that knowledge to the next generation.”

Opening Night also marks a meaningful homecoming for HIFF: the Festival returns to the Hawaiʻi Theatre Center for its Opening Night celebration for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nainoa Thompson, director Jordan Manley, and luminaries from Hawaiʻi’s art and cultural community will be in attendance to celebrate this world premiere.

Centerpiece: Drifter — Hawaiʻi Premiere

HIFF46’s Centerpiece Presentation is the Hawaiʻi Premiere of DRIFTER, the feature directorial debut of actor and filmmaker Sung Kang, who also writes, produces and stars. Set within the world of drifting, the film follows a solitary racetrack janitor haunted by his past whose extraordinary talent behind the wheel gives him one last opportunity to compete — provided he can learn to trust the people around him.

55 World, North American, U.S. and International Premieres

HIFF46 continues the Festival’s longstanding role as a launching pad for new work from Hawaiʻi, Asia and the Pacific, with 55 films making World, North American, U.S. or International Premieres. HIFF46’s premieres reflect a program rooted in discovery — offering Hawaiʻi audiences the opportunity to be among the first anywhere in the world, North America, the United States or internationally to encounter some of the year’s most exciting new films.

From Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Busan and Beyond

HIFF46 brings Hawaiʻi audiences a highly curated selection of festival favorites, discoveries and awards contenders from Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Busan and other major international festivals. Highlights include Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner JOSEPHINE (Director: Beth de Araújo), alongside BEDFORD PARK (Director: Stephanie Ahn), plus acclaimed festival selections straight from Cannes such as ALL OF A SUDDEN (Director: Ryuichi Hamaguchi), COWARD (Director: Luke Dhont), FATHERLAND (Director: Paweł Pawlikowski), LA BOLA NEGRA (Directors: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi), MINOTAUR (Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev), THE STATION (Director: Sarah Ishaq), 9 TEMPLES TO HEAVEN (Director: Sompot Chidgasornpongse), and WE ARE ALIENS (Director: Kohei Kodawaki).

The lineup also features I PLAY ROCKY (Director: Peter Farrelly) from Amazon MGM Studios, as well as selections from Netflix, A24, IFC Films, Searchlight Pictures and NEON.

New American Perspectives Presented by Vilcek Foundation

New American Perspectives shines a spotlight on immigrant artists and filmmakers. Supported by the Vilcek Foundation in partnership with Hawaiʻi International Film Festival (HIFF), this program honors the powerful impact of diversity on film and cinema in the United States. This year’s programs include an artist master class, film screenings, Q&As with immigrant filmmakers, and a panel discussion. The 2026 New American Perspectives cohort is: Henry Ian Cusick (b. Peru); Liz Sargent (b. South Korea); Alex Tarrant (b. New Zealand); Michelle Zhou (b. China).

Hawaiʻi at the Center of the Pacific

For 46 years, HIFF has remained committed to the belief that Hawaiʻi is not the periphery of the film world, but a vital meeting place within it. HIFF46 continues that legacy by providing a major public forum for Hawaiʻi filmmakers, Kanaka Maoli storytellers, Pacific Islanders, Indigenous filmmakers and the Asian diaspora. Films including THE NAVIGATOR, MAKING THE LINE, EA (SOVEREIGN), LAHAINA: VOICES OF CHANGE, NIU FOREVER, ORPHAN MYTH and PROTECTING KAHOʻOLAWE: 50 YEARS OF ALOHA ʻĀINA demonstrate the breadth of contemporary filmmaking emerging from the islands.

“At its core, HIFF has always been about where we are,” said Anderson Le, HIFF Artistic Director. “We can present an awards contender from Cannes or Sundance one night, a World Premiere from Hawaiʻi the next, and then a new filmmaker from Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Aotearoa or across Oceania — and they all belong in the same conversation. That is Hawaiʻi.”

Hawaiʻi’s Only Academy Award®-Qualifying Film Festival

HIFF is the only film festival in the State of Hawaiʻi recognized as an Academy Award®-qualifying festival for short films. Winners of HIFF’s qualifying short film categories become eligible for consideration in the Academy Awards® Short Film competition. A total of 86 short films will screen at the Festival.

Further announcements are to come on the HIFILM Industry Conference (October 24 & 25 at Chaminade University) and the HIFF Honoree Gala at Halekulani (October 29). The full HIFF46 lineup is live at boxoffice.hiff.org.

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Cairo International Film Festival to Open 47th Edition with Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky

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October 28, 2026

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Fifty years after Rocky and CIFF began their journeys in 1976, the opening film tells the true story behind one of cinema’s most enduring legends

The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), headed by acclaimed Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmy, has announced that I Play Rocky, directed by two-time Academy Award winner Peter Farrelly, will open its 47th edition, running from November 11 to 20, 2026. The American film will screen in the Official Selection, Out of Competition.

The choice of opening film carries particular significance. In 1976, two stories that would leave their mark on cinema began on opposite sides of the world. On the streets of Philadelphia, the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa was chasing a seemingly impossible dream, while in Cairo, a new international film festival was taking its first steps. Fifty years later, their stories converge on CIFF’s opening night with a film about the real-life struggle that brought one of cinema’s most iconic characters to the screen.

I Play Rocky tells the story behind the making of the 1976 classic Rocky, following a young Sylvester Stallone as he struggles to establish himself in Hollywood. After writing a screenplay about an unknown boxer determined to defy the odds, Stallone attracts the interest of producers who want to buy his script and cast an established star in the lead role. But Stallone refuses to give up the part he created, turning his own struggle to realize his dream into a real-life parallel to Rocky’s story.

The film revisits one of Hollywood’s most remarkable success stories, tracing how a risky creative gamble became a worldwide cinematic phenomenon. The original Rocky was both a critical and commercial success, winning three Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for John G. Avildsen, and launching a franchise whose influence would span generations.

Anthony Ippolito stars as Sylvester Stallone, having previously portrayed Al Pacino in the limited series The Offer, which explored the making of The Godfather. The ensemble cast also includes Matt Dillon, AnnaSophia Robb, P. J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracey Letts, Jay Duplass, and Kiki Seto.

Written by Peter Gamble, I Play Rocky is directed by Peter Farrelly, whose credits include Green Book (2018), for which he won two Academy Awards: Best Picture, as one of its producers, and Best Original Screenplay, as a co-writer. Farrelly’s career spans directing, screenwriting, and producing. The film is produced by Toby Emmerich, Christian Baha, Peter Farrelly, and Paul Currie, with distribution by Amazon MGM and United Motion Pictures.

I Play Rocky had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2026, where it finished as first runner-up for the People’s Choice Award. It went on to win the Audience Award in the Galas & Special Presentations section at the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film at Canada’s Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival.

The film was also selected for a surprise screening at the BFI London Film Festival and featured at the Rome, Zurich, and Chicago film festivals, as well as AFI FEST, where it screened in the Red Carpet Premieres section. Its international festival run has been marked by an enthusiastic audience response to a story about the passion, perseverance, and creative risks behind filmmaking.

By selecting I Play Rocky as its opening film, CIFF continues its commitment to showcasing cinema that combines artistic merit with audience appeal, while turning the spotlight on the filmmaking process itself and the personal and creative challenges behind bringing stories to the screen.

Half a century after Rocky first reached audiences and the Cairo International Film Festival was founded, the opening night of CIFF’s 47th edition brings these two histories together: one celebrating the determination of a young actor who fought to bring his character to life, the other marking a cinematic journey that began in Cairo in 1976 and continues to connect audiences with films from around the world.

About Cairo International Film Festival

Founded in 1976, the Cairo International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most established film festivals in the Arab world and Africa, and a major international platform for cinema and the film industry. Held under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, CIFF is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).

Over five decades, the festival has established itself as a meeting place for filmmakers and industry professionals from around the world, a platform for discovering emerging talent, fostering cultural dialogue, and supporting the development of Arab and international cinema.

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