The inaugural Wailuku Film Festival, which drew more than 5,000 people in June, will return for a second year, according to event organizers.
The inaugural festival included five days of events and screenings at three locations: ʻĪao Theater, Naylor Theater and the Maui Arts & Cultural Center and brought additional foot traffic to local businesses, Brian Kohne, the festival director, told Aloha State Daily in June.
The film festival is an initiative of the Maui Film Office, of which Kohne is the film commissioner. The inaugural festival presented more than 100 films, including more than 55 Hawai’i-produced films and 30 student films. The works represented 15 countries and Indigenous Nations.
“Over the four days, not only was it a lot of people around that were buying, but now people have an awareness that Wailuku is this dynamic, very local town, and there's a lot to offer,” Kohne said after the first festival. “We want to believe that's certainly one of the immediate legacies of our efforts.”
Now, thereʻs momentum for the next festival, which will have the theme: "Where Stories Gather."
"In year two, we endeavor to connect with more artists who grew up in Hawai’i and are striving in the global entertainment industry,” Kohne told ASD this week. “We want the next generation of Island creatives to see and feel opportunities both at home and out in the world.”
For the 2027 festival, there will be six categories of competition: Hawaiʻi, Indigenous voices, watersports, animation, ocean conservation and student films. Building from this year, animation and ocean conservation are new categories.
Early bird submissions for films opened Oct. 8. The film festival is open to filmmakers across Hawai’i, the Pacific and Indigenous communities, as well as the world.
“Our goals are not simply to exhibit films on Maui,” Kohne said. “We aim to bring the industry closer to home as we build an Indigenous film industry from the ground up."
Here are the submission dates for next year's Wailuku Film Festival:
Oct. 8: Early bird submissions open
Jan. 1, 2027: Regular submissions begin
March 1–April 1, 2027: Late submission period
April 1, 2027: Final general submission deadline
May 1, 2027: Student film submission deadline
Learn more about the festival at wailukufilm.com.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
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