HOCCI's Sean Oketani sits down with filmmaker Hunter Naho‘oikaika to discuss her film, SEEING WTIH HAWAIIAN EYES, an official selection of the 43rd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani (HIFF43) and screened in the "Kānaka Maoli Legacy: New Hawaiian Docs" program. During this interview, Hunter and Sean talk about her film and its subject matter on preserving and perpetuating Hawaiian culture, the documentary filmmaking process, and the current state of the emerging filmmakers based in Hawai‘i.

To keep up with Hunter and her work or learn more about the film, you can follow her on Instagram @kawailiula.designs.

The HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) supports sustainable film criticism in Hawai‘i through mentorship and paid career opportunities. The mission of HOCCI is to broaden diversity in film criticism across the Pacific region and use influencer branding strategies to spark career opportunities in Hawai’i, not be hampered by oceans, state borders and distance, because geography is no longer a barrier. The 2023 HOCCI is supported by Critical Minded, a grant-making and learning initiative that supports cultural critics of color in the United States.

Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) is the premiere cinematic event in the Pacific and annually attracts more than 50,000 film enthusiasts from around the state, the nation and throughout the world. Heralded as “one of the Top 50 Film Festivals around the world,” according to Variety, HIFF is an Academy AwardsⓇ qualifying film festival that is mission driven to entertain, enlighten and inspire through the medium of film and creative content from around the world with a special focus on Hawai‘i made and Pacific Islander films and filmmaking. For more info, visit www.hiff.org.