About

One of the longest-running and most respected queer film festivals in the country, the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival is celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2024.

A project of the Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation
Read the announcement
September 20-22 (in-person) | September 20-27 (online)
HRFF.org | FB and IG @hrfilmfest

Learn more about the Hawaiʻi LGBT Legacy Foundation.

BRENT ANBE

Festival Director

Brent Anbe is a locally born and raised Hawaiʻi casting director, film-festival director and an award-winning filmmaker, writer and director. He’s dedicated over a decade to LGBTQI+ community activism as the Festival Director for Hawaiʻi’s only LGBT Film Festival, the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival.

Most recently, Brent is the Hawaiʻi Casting Associate for the Disney+ Series Doogie Kamealoha, MD Season 1 and 2, and Season 1 – 5 of CBS/NBC’s Magnum P.I. Brent’s previous accomplishments include original U.S. casting for the international Netflix hit series Terrace House: Aloha State and Casting Associate work for CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 and Jurassic World.

Brent has been awarded the Pacific Business News’ 40 Under 40 Award for his success in business and community work.

ANDREA KRAUSS

Programming Director

With over two decades of experience in the television, film, and video industry, Andrea has carved a niche in independent filmmaking. A seasoned producer, Andrea’s producing credits include Dalila Ali Rajah’s short film “Secret & Toys” with Quentin Lee directing, “Grown This Way” and “Cock N’ Bull2” both directed by Nathan Adloff. Additionally, Andrea produced the engaging docu-series “Cinema Conversations with Stephen P. Jarchow”, for Here Television.

Renowned for a keen eye for compelling stories and a commitment to innovative storytelling, Andrea continues to champion unique voices in the film industry as the current Programming Director of the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival.

Recently, Andrea co-founded and programmed the newly launched German film festival “FilmFreude Honolulu” which had its debut March 2024.

GERALD CRUZ

Event Coordinator

Gerald has over 15 years of experience in strategic business planning and retail management. He currently works as Manager of Operations & Visual Merchandising at Macy’s. He is a member of the Social Impact team for the Macy’s Hawaii Division focused on Giving campaigns, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Gerald also works at the Hawaii DOE helping remove barriers for homeless children & youth for better education. When Gerald is not working or giving back to the community, he loves spending time with his partner of 22 years and their 2 precious four- legged fur-babies named Rupert and Rihanna.

JOELLE ARAI

Deputy Event Coordinator

When Joelle is not glued to her streaming sites, she loves spending time with her family and friends eating out #foodie She enjoys dog sitting with her daughter Kira because they get to spoil them on adventures throughout the island. Joelle’s event planning skills come from her highly accomplished retail professional background for both domestic and duty free industries.

DEAN HAMER

Festival Director Emeritus

Dean Hamer is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, New York Times book-of-the-year author, and museum and festival curator with a long history of communicating complex and controversial ideas to diverse publics. His groundbreaking work exploring oppression and empowerment among gender and sexual minority communities in the Pacific includes the feature documentaries Kumu Hina and Leitis in Waiting and the Oscar-shortlisted animation Kapaemahu.

As a board member, programmer, and director of many years, Dean brought the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival into the Asia Pacific Queer Film Festival Alliance and steered it through the challenges of the pandemic. He is currently the co-director of the Lei Pua ʻAla Queer Histories of Hawaiʻi project.