On the Eurocinema red carpet

Nadine Kam photos
EuroCinema Hawaii lifetime achievement award winner Richard Dreyfuss introduced the award winners at the event's awards gala at the Moana Surfrider Hotel Oct. 22.


The inaugural Eurocinema Hawaii awards gala took place Friday, Oct. 22 at the Moana Surfrider Waikiki.

E! Entertainment’s Debbie Matenopoulos greeted filmmakers and EuroCinema’s lifetime achievement award winner, Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, on the red carpet.

Beyond the lights and cameras, guests mingled on the lawn in an open-air setting. It was humid, but no one could control the weather. Those who were thirsty could enjoy specialty drinks created for the event by Liz Kawananakoa, including The Hornets Nest of Absolut pear vodka with fresh ginger and serrano chilies, as well as the Dialta Daquiri-Cruzan aged light rum, lime juice, X-rated Fusion liqueur and sugar.

Arts and film supporter Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale, center, namesake for the awards, is surrounded by friends Liz Kawananakoa, Nora Meijide-Gentry, Marissa Gey and Candes Gentry.


Dialta, of course, is the Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale, an arts enthusiast who’s one of the major forces behind the film festival, and also the namesake for the awards given to the best film, best student film, and best actor, actress and director awards. Winning films were selected by jurors Chris Kahunahana, Kal Penn and Barry Sabath. Kal couldn’t be there, Kahunahana said, because he had been called away by “a certain leader of the free world (Obama)” to speak in L.A.

Up for the awards were the festival’s eight feature films that had their Hawaii premieres at the festival.
Prior to introducing the film's winners, a tribute to Dreyfuss was screened, featuring clips of his work in "American Graffiti," "Jaws," "The Goodbye Girl," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Mr. Holland's Opus."

Films came from France, Germany, England, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Italy and Denmark, and included the thriller “The girl who kicked the Hornet’s Nest, and Martin Scorsese’s restoration of Luchino Visconte’s 1963 film, "The Leopard."

University of Hawai'i Academy for Creative Media founder Chris Lee, right, channels Tom Ford on the red carpet, with Debbie Matenopoulos, and filmmakers Phillip Montgomery, left, and Matt DeRoss, whose documentary "Regeneration," examines youth issues.



At 9 p.m., winners were announced. The best acting prize went to Stellan Skarsgard for his role in “A Somewhat Gentle Man,” from Norway.

Best actress winner was Juliette Binoche, who starred in “Certified Copy.”

Best director was Aleksei Popogrebsky for “How I Ended This Summer.”

The best student film represented a collaboration between the Academy for Creative Media, started by Chris Lee at the University of Hawaii, and Shanghai University. The winners were are Oscar Zhang, Paulo Kobayashi and Marshall Woo, for “A Summer, a Boy and a Cab.” The title sets the imagination running, right?

And the top prize of best film for 2010 went to “Four Lions,” a U.K. jihadism farce directed by Christopher Morris.

View lots more photos by Jason Genegabus at www.honolulupulse.com.

More photos by Mark Ramelb can also be viewed at the Eurocinema website.

The best student film award went to, from left, Paulo Kobayashi, Oscar Zhang and Marshall Woo for  “A Summer, a Boy and a Cab.”

E! Entertainment's Debbie Matenopoulos interviews designer Andy South on the red carpet.

Krista Alverez wears Andy South's signature lantern-sleeve ensemble.

Next Door owner and film supporter Chris Kahunahana with artist Nicole Naone. I met her on the closing night of Urban Nomad, just before its owner Freida Hulse jetted off to New York. Nicole is wearing one of her Freida finds.

From left, Roycen Dehmer, Monica Salmaso, a friend, Nicole Fox and Alvin Chung were also among the guests.