Best Episodic Film Award
In Ilocos, a privileged city boy and a street-smart newcomer forge an unexpected connection while working at a family-run restaurant. As they uncover a decades-old hidden love story, they must confront the past while discovering the courage to shape their own futures.
The Best Episodic Award honors outstanding serialized storytelling, including web series, television episodes, and other multi-part narratives. Recognizing excellence in character development, writing, and long-form storytelling, this award celebrates episodic works that meaningfully expand LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+ representation across multiple chapters.
Best Short Film Award
Master hula teacher Patrick Makuakāne brings together acclaimed Native Hawaiian māhū artists in an innovative theatrical production that reclaims the traditional honor and cultural significance of māhū people through hula, chant, music, and intimate personal stories.
Awarded to the most outstanding short-form narrative or documentary film under 40 minutes, the Best Short Film Award recognizes exceptional storytelling, creativity, emotional impact, and artistic achievement. This honor celebrates works that leave a lasting impression while advancing LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+ representation through the power of short-form cinema.
Lei Queer Short Film Showcase & Scholarship
Through painting, poetry, and film, artist Dan Taulapapa McMullin disrupts colonial narratives by reimagining archival documentation and queer Pasifika history. For McMullin, the archive is not a static repository of the past but a living, evolving site of resistance, imagination, and survival– one that unsettles dominant histories and opens space for new possibilities.
Presented in partnership with LEI by NMG Network, the Lei Queer Short Film Showcase & Scholarship celebrates emerging queer storytellers from Hawaiʻi and the powerful stories they bring to the screen. Rooted in the belief that our stories matter, this award recognizes exceptional short-form filmmaking while creating opportunities for Hawaiʻi’s LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+ filmmakers to share their voices with audiences far beyond our islands and continue growing their creative careers.
Lei Pua’ala Award
Best Feature Film Award
Through the iconic Saturday Night Live character Pat, We Are Pat examines the evolution of comedy and gender identity from the 1990s to today. Featuring trans and nonbinary comedians and culture-makers, the documentary explores how humor can both marginalize and empower while asking whether problematic cultural icons can be reclaimed into stories of visibility, resilience, and joy.
Presented in partnership with Lei Pua ʻAla, a multidimensional project dedicated to documenting the queer histories of Hawaiʻi, this award recognizes films whose messages create meaningful dialogue, inspire change, and leave a lasting impact long after the credits roll. Honoring storytelling that challenges audiences to reflect on culture, identity, representation, and the evolving landscape of queer life, the award celebrates works that do so with authenticity, intelligence, humor, and compassion.
Awarded to the most outstanding feature-length narrative or documentary film, the Best Feature Film Award recognizes excellence in filmmaking, storytelling, artistic achievement, and cultural significance that uplift queer communities in Hawaiʻi and around the world. This honor celebrates works that leave a lasting impression while advancing LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+ representation through compelling cinema.
Adam Baran Award
Best Documentary Film Award
In states where gender-affirming care has been banned, three families face heartbreaking decisions as they fight to protect their transgender children. Following them over the course of a pivotal year, Just Kids reveals the human impact of political attacks on trans youth while highlighting extraordinary parental love, resilience, and hope. Featuring leading historians and civil rights advocates, the documentary places today’s struggles within the broader history of LGBTQ+ equality in America.
Named in honor of filmmaker, historian, and longtime Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival supporter Adam Baran, this award recognizes exceptional work that preserves, amplifies, and advances LGBTQIA+ history through courageous storytelling. It celebrates films that honor the past while ensuring queer histories continue to educate, inspire, and endure for future generations.
The Best Documentary Film Award recognizes outstanding nonfiction filmmaking that illuminates the lived experiences, histories, and cultures of LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+ communities. Honoring feature-length documentaries of exceptional artistic and journalistic merit, this award celebrates films that educate, inspire, and deepen understanding through authentic storytelling.
Women in Film Award
HRFF Audience Award
Honolulu, 1959. As Hawaiʻi celebrates statehood, two women quietly hide their forbidden love during a family dinner filled with expectations and political change. Grace is a poignant period drama about love, identity, and longing.
The Women in Film Award recognizes outstanding women whose creative vision and leadership have made an exceptional contribution to queer cinema. Whether directing, producing, writing, performing, or working behind the camera, this award celebrates artists whose work continues to shape the future of inclusive filmmaking.
The HRFF Audience Award is presented to the festival favorite as voted on by Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival audiences. Selected through audience ballots submitted after each screening, this award recognizes the film that resonated most deeply with our community. As the festival’s only audience-selected honor, it reflects the collective voice, enthusiasm, and appreciation of those who experienced these stories firsthand.
Best Animated Film Award
HUE follows a weary, gray protagonist, Hugh, starting his day in a colorless world that mirrors his fatigue. As he navigates his dreary workday, he stumbles upon brief flashes of joy that are quickly overshadowed by grayness. Yet, nearing home, colors begin to brighten, hinting at the love waiting for him. Upon entering, a vibrant burst of color erupts as he shares a warm embrace with his husband, rejuvenating his spirit.
The Best Animated Film Award honors outstanding achievement in animated filmmaking, recognizing short and feature films that push the boundaries of visual storytelling through exceptional artistry, innovation, and creative expression. Showcasing the unique possibilities of animation, it highlights works that bring bold, imaginative, and emotionally resonant LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+ stories to life.
Founder’s Award
An intimate portrait of Samoa’s first visible community of transgender men, The Rogers explores lives shaped by both hardship and joy. From experiences of family rejection and homelessness to finding belonging through church, cooking, dance, and chosen family, the film celebrates resilience while offering an honest look at gender identity within Pacific Island cultures rooted in tradition.
Selected by Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival Founder Jack Law, the Founder’s Award recognizes an outstanding film that exemplifies the spirit, vision, and values of the festival. This special honor celebrates exceptional storytelling, artistic excellence, and meaningful LGBTQIA+/MVPFAFF+ representation, recognizing a work that leaves a lasting impression and embodies the power of queer cinema.
