Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ WELCOME
Welina me ke aloha and welcome to the 21st
annual Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival!
The working board of directors would like to extend
its thanks to Gina Caruso and her staff at the
Honolulu Academy of Arts, volunteers, film distributors
and sponsors who gave generously to ensure
that the festival continues its tradition of bringing
world-class films to Hawaii.
This year, a special effort was made to include
the trans community and college-aged audiences
in film selection. Several films this year illuminate
the adverse political environment faced by all LGBT
people in Hawaii. Highlighted features reflect the
unique nature of gay and lesbian relationships and
the challenges and joys that arise from relationship
dynamics that continually define themselves
against heterosexual norms. It is our hope that you
will make a special effort to see as many of the
films as possible as many hundreds of hours have
gone into selecting the films by a group of artists,
professionals, and those keenly aware of the issues
facing the queer community here.
In the next year, the Festival and Foundation will
continue their efforts to provide a place where the
queer people of Hawaii and their allies can come
ADAM BARAN ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival
is dedicated to the memory
of Adam Baran. Adam was one
of the world’s first video jockeys
who won one of Billboard Magazine’s
first Video Music Awards.
This was before there was MTV!
Honolulu was fortunate to be one
of the cities to have enjoyed the
together to tell their stories through various artistic
media. We are striving to raise the national and
international awareness of the Honolulu Rainbow
Film Festival and strengthen connections to other
film festivals.
We invite you to attend the gala celebration on
Sunday evening at the new Ka Restaurant &
Lounge where the awards ceremony will be held
and visiting celebrities will enjoy our company.
The board of directors would also like to extend its
gratitude to Jack Law for his intercessions and tireless
support of the festival. His support and the support
of other long-time board members and former
executive directors Connie Florez, Winston Welch,
Jeff Davis, and Jon Bryant are the reason why the
festival continues to thrive. The entirety of the organizing
and programming of the festival this year
was carried out on a volunteer basis, spearheaded
by President Richard Reese, Executive Director Kainoahemolele
Tabar, Programming Director Brent
Anbe and the board welcomes people who are
willing to contribute to the Festival and the ongoing
effort to raise awareness.
Enjoy the show.
Festival Staff, Honolulu Gay and Lesbian
Cultural Foundation
video talents of Adam (along with
San Francisco, Los Angeles, and
New York). Unfortunately Adam
was one of the first who succumbed
to AIDS 22 years ago.
This dedication to Adam is a way
of honoring all of the talented
individuals whose lives were cut
short because of HIV and AIDS.