B on Hawaii

If you thought you’d seen it all—in terms of Hollywood’s invasion of Hawai`i—then think again.

Every June, we return home from Maui with a renewed spirit. This, thanks to Barry Rivers and the crew who put on the absolutely stellar Maui Film Festival—a one-of-a-kind experience that allows film buffs to screen big budget (and some not so) movies at venues that include the outdoor Celestial Cinema and SandDance Theater.

In the last few years, this trio of creative-types have joined forces to give us two seemingly different films with a parallel message. One, a rare glimpse in to Bhutan's concept of "Gross National Happiness"; the second, an up-close and personal visit to a Kaua`i hippie commune in the mid-1970s. Having a hard time seeing the link?

Hawai`i-based producer and all-around story-teller of the human experience, Don Brown, has changed venues for his Sunday evening film series from UH to the Honolulu Design Center, now to be held on Monday nights. Starting at 7:00 p.m., the venue offers free parking in the covered garage off Kapiolani Boulevard.

Executive director Chuck Boller and the organizers for this year's 30th Annual Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) will get the ball rolling with the 13th year of "Spring Showcase"—20 films that will screen at Regal Dole Cannery Stadium theaters, April 16 – 22, 2010.

What? Yet another way for you to put many a "Benjamin" in your billfold, you ask? Yep, never forget who's looking out for ya, kid. Aside from us, Wes Zane is: He's the savvy restaurateur who has launched a world-wide contest in search of the person who can—in under 30 seconds—best explain what it is about fermented grapes that drives them to the drink. In a good way.