When you get tired of watching surfers and sunbathers on the beach, go for a cultural experience in Hawaii. The Maui Film Festival, held in June, is the perfect occasion to attend discussions about movie-making, watch folk and movie-inspired performances, and finally, watch some movies. The annual screening of some of the best new films takes place in different venues throughout Maui, but the newest location is the Stardust Cinema under a starry sky at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
What to expect in 2024
In 2024, the Maui Film Festival will feature five nights of open-air double feature premieres, celebrating its 24th edition. In addition to films, entertainment will include live music, hula performances, exclusive filmmaker Q&As, and the Luminarie Awards Presentations. Luminaries are talented artists who have been selected as the festival's honorees. These people are illuminating the festival’s silver screen and revealing the human essence through passion, empathy, wisdom, and depth.
Festival History
The Maui Film Festival was founded by Barry Rivers in 2000 as an event focused on the celebration and exploration of cinema. The Festival’s mission has been to spread its unique cinematic vision through compassionate and transformative narrative with a broad audience in Maui. Since its foundation, the Maui Film Festival has showed more than 600 feature movies, documentaries and short films from different countries to a broad audience of filmmakers and cinema lovers.
During the first 24 years of its existence, the festival has featured stars such as Adrien Brody, Pierce Brosnan, Tim Burton, Joan Allen, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Chastain, Claire Danes, Zooey Deschanel, Clint Eastwood, Zac Efron, Andrew Garfield, Jake Gyllenhaal, Woody Harrelson, Garrett Hedlund, Helen Hunt, Brie Larson, Mike Myers, Lupita Nyong’o, Dennis Quaid, Emma Roberts, Owen Wilson, Olivia Wilde, Evan Rachel Wood, and others. With the help of hundreds of volunteers and a crowd of a few thousand people, Maui Arts Cultural Center, a world-class performing arts facility in Kahului, becomes a site of amazing nightly festivities. Time to find out what it's like to attend a film festival at a tropical resort.
