WAILUKU FILM FESTIVAL
Ride A New Wave Of Storytelling

Inaugural Festival Launching June 17–21, 2026 | Maui, Hawaiʻi

Wailuku Film Festival (WFF) welcomes both emerging voices and established artists across all formats and genres in four program categories: Hawaii, Indigenous Voices, Watersports, and Student.

Rooted in a deep love for cinema as an art form, WFF honors storytelling as a bridge between cultures, a healer across generations, and a current that carries communities together from shore to shore.

Our Mission: Wailuku Film Festival (WFF) exists to cultivate a nurturing, values-driven space where emerging and established voices are empowered to take creative risks, build meaningful connections, and be celebrated. Rooted in Hawaiian principles of aloha (love, compassion), kuleana (responsibility), and mālama (care for people and place), WFF honors the depth of Indigenous knowledge, traditional art forms, and cultural protocols while embracing innovation in global storytelling across all formats and genres.

Through film screenings, workshops, panels, and dialogue, WFF blends cinematic excellence with the warmth of Hawaiian hospitality, creating a gathering place where filmmakers can find a home—or return home—to share stories that matter.

The inaugural Wailuku Film Festival (WFF) is brought to you by the County of Maui and the Maui Film Office.

Awards & Prizes

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

Juried Awards (twelve total):
High School narrative short
High School doc short
College narrative short
College doc short
Hawaii narrative short
Hawaii narrative feature
Hawaii doc short
Hawaii doc feature
Indigenous short
Indigenous feature
Watersports short
Watersportsfeature

Audience Awards: (six total)
Indigenous short
Indigenous feature
Hawaii short (winner re-screens on June 21)
Hawaii feature (winner re-screens on June 21)
Watersports short (winner re-screens on June 21)
Watersports feature (winner re-screens on June 21)

Rules & Terms

Submissions must be completed after January 1, 2024 (as per IMDb).

Films cannot be publicly available online before or during the festival (June 2026). Films supported by Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) and PBS Hawaii are exempt from our prior online screening regulations.

English subtitles are required for non-English dialogue (where appropriate).

All genres and lengths accepted as defined within category guidelines.

Works may originate from anywhere in the world but must align with one of the festival’s four focus areas: Hawai‘i, Indigenous Voices, Watersports, or Student.

Programmer reserves any and all rights to screen selected works out of competition.

Student entrants must provide verifiable proof of enrollment at the time of completion.

The Festival Director reserves the right to make any necessary adjustments to the festival rules, terms, and scheduling at their discretion.