By Shirley Thompson HIFF 2025 NETPAC Jury Chair
The 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) is the premiere film festival of the Pacific, including hundreds of screenings across three weeks on all the main Hawaiian Islands, with the biggest showcase of the festival in Honolulu, October 17 – 26, 2025.
The NETPAC award for best Asian Pacific film at HIFF was presented to Kōkā from Aotearoa/New Zealand, directed by first-time feature film director Kath Akuhata-Brown. Kōkā is a spiritual road trip across Aotearoa with a highly unlikely pair of fierce women: revered Māori elder Hamo and a ne’er do well delinquent Jo. Jo grifts her way into Hamo’s life, as Hamo is urgently trying to reach her ancestral lands. Together they confront past traumas and come face to face with their own demons. Hamo’s wisdom and compassion towards Jo opens up new possibilities, but can Jo really change her ways? Koka features stunning cinematography and exceptional performances by Kinetu Dell (Hamo) and Darneen Christian (Jo). A lyrical, naturalistic script written by Akuhata-Brown includes elements of magical realism, and made Kōkā a stand-out in a very strong field of nominees. Kōkā is also the first feature to be filmed primarily in the Nāgati Porou dialect of the Māori language.
The NETPAC jury awarded the NETPAC award to Kōkā “for a magical and moving intergenerational journey of healing and reconciliation through language, culture and community.” The jurors included chairperson documentary producer/editor Shirley Thompson (USA), along with documentary filmmaker Ida Anita del Mundo (Philippines) and oral historian Mary Kunmi Yu Danico (USA).
The 12 nominees at this year’s festival showcased the full depth and breath of cinematic language: an indigenous verite documentary and a fantastical afterlife animation, black comedy and Film Noir, a tale of deep unrequited love and another of Gothic horror. Other nominees for the NETPAC award at HIFF included:
A USEFUL GHOST (Thailand, Singapore, France, Germany) by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
AINU PURI, (Japan) by Takeshi Fukunaga
ANOTHER WORLD, (Hong Kong) by Tommy Ng Kai Chung
BEFORE THE BRIGHT DAY, (Taiwan), by Tsao Shih-Han
FOOD DELIVERY: FRESH FROM THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA, (Philippines), by Baby Ruth Villarama
THE JOURNEY TO GYEONG-JU (South Korea) by Kim Mi-jo
KY NAM INN (QUÁN KÝ NAM) (Vietnam) by Leon Le
MĀRAMA (New Zealand/Aotearoa) by Taratoa Stappard
PROJECT Y (South Korea) by Lee Hwan.
SHAKTI (Nepal/US) by Nani Sahra Walker
THE WAVES WILL CARRY US (Taiwan) by Lau Kek-Huat
Shirley Thompson
Ms. Shirley Thompson (Hawaii / USA)
Shirley Thompson is a seasoned documentary producer, writer, editor and director, best known for the documentaries she has edited including Baseball Behind Barbed Wire (2023), Island Cowgirls (2022), Finding Kukan (2016), Pidgin: the Voice of Hawai‘i (2009) and Surfing for Life (2000). She co-produced and co-directed the Reel Wāhine of Hawai‘i film series in collaboration with Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking. Her producing and editing have been recognized with three Emmys and a Peabody award. A New Orleans native, she lives in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, working on films and mentoring emerging filmmakers. She is a proud, long-time member of the New Day Films collective. As a Latina and a daughter of immigrants, she is committed to filmmaking that builds bridges across cultures and communities.