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Jean Lee

@newsjean

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Executive Director @hiffhawaii • 2026
@rockefellerfdn #RFBellagio Resident • Journalist & analyst
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Racing around to four sold out theaters playing Sung Kang’s directorial debut, “Drifter,” at the Hawai’i International Film Festival. Tickets were in such demand that the festival had to keep adding on screenings. And Sung wanted to say “hi” to each audience, with the help of new HIFF executive director Jean Lee. The movie debuted in Toronto in September, but was completely re-edited for the Hawai’i premiere. Car enthusiasts, at least, are going to love it. The line of people who brought toy cars or pieces of their own cars for Sung to sign went halfway down the Kahala mall. . #hiff #driftcar #fastandfurious by @newsjean
The 46th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani celebrates another extraordinary year of cinema with the HIFF46 Awards Ceremony & Reception, an evening honoring exceptional storytelling and filmmaking from Hawai‘i, Asia, the Pacific, and beyond. As an Academy Award®-qualifying festival, HIFF recognizes outstanding films and filmmakers across its competition categories, including Kau Ka Hōkū, NETPAC, Made in Hawai‘i, Pacific, Best Short Films, Audience Awards, and more. Guests are invited to gather for a celebratory evening of awards, delicious bites, live music, and connection as filmmakers, artists, industry leaders, and supporters come together in one place. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Halekulani, the HIFF46 Awards Ceremony & Reception is a celebration of the stories, voices, and creative community that make our festival so special. Join us as we raise a glass to this year’s filmmakers, honor their work, and celebrate another unforgettable year of cinema at HIFF. TICKETS: General Admission — $120 I ♥️ HIFF Members — $100 Filmmakers & Badgeholders — (Get a $50 discount code; contact Guest Services) Complimentary for Platinum Pass Holders and Members, HIFFF46 Jury & HIFF Board Members. All proceeds go to HIFF, a 501(c)(3). Register at link in bio! by @newsjean
The opening night for THE NAVIGATOR was incredible #hiff46 With a packed house, beautiful performances, a film that spanned 6 years in the making, and words from Nainoa Thompson— the evening will be unforgettable. The @hokuleacrew legacy lives on in the past, present, and future of the culture here in Hawaiʻi #film #hokulea #documentary #filmfestival by @newsjean
Meet the new leadership at HIFF! The Hawaiʻi International Film Festival presented by Halekulani welcomes Jean H. Lee as its Executive Director and Jordan Kandell as President of its Board of Directors. Jean H. Lee, an award-winning foreign correspondent, former Associated Press bureau chief and the East-West Center's inaugural Presidential Chair, brings decades of experience telling the stories of Asia and the Pacific to global audiences. Jordan Kandell, a Honolulu-born screenwriter whose credits include Disney Animation's Moana and the 2018 feature Adrift, brings deep roots in both Hawaiʻi and the film industry. Together, they will lead HIFF into its next chapter as the festival builds toward its milestone 50th edition in 2030. @newsjean 📷: @sthanlee by @newsjean
It’s all aboard for Jean Lee, the new executive director of @hiffhawaii, as she leads the organization into its highly anticipated fall lineup. Read more in our Oct. 14 cover story. Lawrence U. Tabudlo #midweekhawaii #hawaii #hiffhawaii #hiff46 #jeanlee by @newsjean
🇰🇷🎬 K-cinema lovers, this one’s for you Our Spotlight on Korea lineup has a little bit of everything: 🔥 Lee Chang-dong’s long-awaited POSSIBLE LOVE 😱 Yeon Sang-ho (TRAIN TO BUSAN) brings PARADISE LOST 🕵️ Lee Min-ho and Park Hae-il in the conspiracy thriller THE ASSASSIN(S) 💜 BTS: THE RETURN, with director Bao Nguyen here in person (Hawaiʻi ARMY, this is your moment!) Rush line only. 😂 Choi Min-sik as THE INTERN 💘 MY SASSY GIRL, back in a new 4K restoration ✏️ UGLY DUCKLING MS. MAENG ☕ THE TABLE: DAY AND NIGHT ✊ THE SEOUL GUARDIANS Screenings run Oct 23 through Nov 4, and some sell out fast. 🎟️ Grab your tickets at the link in bio or boxoffice.hiff.org #HIFF46 #SpotlightOnKorea #KoreanFilm by @newsjean
Mochi (and the rest of our amazing team) has spoken! #hiff46 Get your tickets 🎟️ in the 🔗 on our profile, before they are gone! #filmfestival #hawaii #honolulu #octoberevents by @newsjean
🌟 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟯 🎬 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗔 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 The First Korean Film Showcase in Hawai’i 2026 하와이 한국독립영화제 The three-day journey of Intimate Korea came to a close with the screening of 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙚𝙖𝙩, an artist talk with actress 𝗦𝘂-𝗷𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗘 and 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗲 @newsjean, incoming director of @hiffhawaii followed by the CJ Cultural Foundation 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗨𝗣 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 Program! @cj.cultural.foundation We sincerely thank all of our sponsors and our co-host, the Honolulu Museum of Art, for helping us share hidden stories of Korea with audiences in Hawaiʻi 𑁍༘⋆ And the stories from the festival are not over yet! We hope you’ll stay tuned for the stories Intimate Korea will continue to share. To everyone who joined us on this festival, we send you our warmest Aloha. Mahalo! 🌺 <사람과 고기> 상영과 배우 예수정, 하와이국제영화제 집행위원장 Jean Lee가 함께한 아티스트 토크, 그리고 CJ문화재단 STORY UP 단편 프로그램을 끝으로 하와이 한국독립영화제의 3일간의 여정이 막을 내렸습니다. 숨겨진 한국의 이야기를 하와이 관객분들께 선보일 수 있도록 함께해주신 모든 후원사와 공동주최 호놀룰루 미술관에 진심으로 감사드립니다. 아직 끝나지 않은 현장의 이야기들이 남아있으니까요, 앞으로도 Intimate Korea가 이어갈 이야기에 많은 기대와 관심 부탁드립니다! 3일간의 여정에 함께해주신 모든 분들께 알로하의 마음을 전합니다. 마할로 🌺 ——— 💭 Presented by: @honolulumuseum - NOW Production Films • With generous support from: @hawaiihta @korean_consulate_honolulu @cj.cultural.foundation @bigislandcandies @tukahawaii 💭 주최: Honolulu Museum of Art · NOW Production Films • 후원: 주호놀룰루 대한민국 총영사관 · 하와이 관광청· CJ문화재단 · Big Island Candies · 하와이 한인회 #IntimateKorea #KoreanCinema #KoreanFilm #FilmFestival #2026하와이한국독립영화제 by @newsjean
. 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗔 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟯 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 🎬 𝟭𝟭 𝗔𝗠 ㅣ 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙚𝙖𝙩 (사람과 고기) 👉 followed by an artist talk with acclaimed actress Su-jeong YE, moderated by @newsjean , acclaimed journalist and incoming director of @hiffhawaii 🎬 𝟮-𝟰 𝗣𝗠 ㅣ 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 (단편 프로그램) Discover amazing shorts presented in association with 𝗖𝗝 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. These films are hard to find elsewhere, so don’t miss them! 내일 오전 11시, <사람과 고기> 상영을 시작으로 오후 2–4시, CJ문화재단과 함께하는 단편영화 상영이 이어집니다 🎞️ 한국의 이야기를 나누는 3일간의 여정, 마지막 날까지 함께해주세요🤍 🎟️ 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗠𝗔 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 | 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗼 @honolulumuseum 티켓 예매: 호놀룰루 미술관 공식 웹사이트 (프로필 링크) —— 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗔 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 The First Korean Film Showcase in Hawai’i 𝟬𝟵.𝟮𝟱–𝟮𝟳 | Doris Duke Theatre at HoMA 2026 하와이 한국독립영화제 호놀룰루 뮤지엄 내 도리스 듀크 씨어터 9/25-9/27 #IntimateKorea #KoreanCinema #KoreanFilm #FilmFestival 2026하와이한국독립영화 by @newsjean
We had so much fun hanging out with @khonnews! 📺 Here are a few highlights from our segment chatting all things HIFF46. Mahalo to the KHON2 team for having us and helping spread the word. This year's lineup is one you won't want to miss! by @newsjean
Throughout my life, Korea has been portrayed in different ways: as a rabbit. As a shrimp among whales. As a stepping stone. When GEN Xavier T. Brunson looks at a map of Korea, he sees something entirely different: a dagger. His portrayal of Korea as a “dagger in the heart of Asia” has provoked sharp words from Beijing. Discomfort in Seoul. But I love the reference.
 
Historically, in Korea, women used to carry small daggers called jangdo (or eunjangdo if they were made of silver) that were not just jewelry hanging from their hanbok or tucked into their sleeves. They served as protection and as a practical tool. Some came equipped with tiny chopsticks, and the silver eunjangdo were used to check for arsenic poisoning. The daggers were not just ornamental. They had purpose as well as serving as self-protection. They were a symbol of honor, fidelity and strength. The framing of Korea as a dagger is so much more powerful and proactive than a rabbit, shrimp or stepping stone — and appropriate now for a country that has grown in economic, technological and cultural might. No longer a stepping stone. No longer a shrimp. Small but mighty. I was honored to welcome General Brunson to join us in Seoul for a discussion with the @thecouncilka about the legacy of the Korean War, Korea’s place in regional security, and his role as a four-star general who wears three hats: as commander of the United Nations Command, the Combined Forces Command, and US Forces Korea. Thank you, General, for your leadership and reflectiveness. 
 
Photos by Sgt. Daniela Lechuga Liggio (aside from my selfie!) by @newsjean
There are spots from South Korea where you can look across and almost feel and smell North Korea on the other side of the river. You’re almost thinking you could swim that distance, and you can’t help but wonder how many have tried. Days and nights in Seoul are so hectic and full of life that it can be hard to remember, or easy to forget, how close and yet so distant North Korea is to us today, eight decades after Korea’s division. It was an honor to take a group of friends from the Council of Korean Americans up to the Aegibong Observatory last week to look into North Korea. Many Korean Americans have parents and grandparents who fled North Korea during the war, and who left family behind. It is really a matter of fate whether you ended up on this side or that, as was clear from the stories everyone shared. 🙏 We’ve had a full week of @thecouncilka events celebrating the rise of South Korea and Korean Americans. But for those of us who joined our day trip, it was important to take a minute to remember the division and the North Koreans who are shut off from the world as intensely as South Koreans and Korean Americans are a part of it. Don’t be fooled by the images that suggest that North Korea is thriving. I was surprised by how many South Korea taxi drivers asked me, after learning how much time I’ve spent in North Korea, if the North Koreans are living well. Even as North Korea’s economy improves, thanks to help from Russia and China, I have no doubt that life is still extremely hard. Sept. 9 marks the 78th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People‘s Republic of Korea. In many ways, North Korea is stronger than ever. In anyways, it is more isolated than ever. #DPRK #정권수립일 #북한 #NorthKorea
 
Thank you to Peter Lee for some of these photos, and to @goldenpiece_korea for providing the delicious fusion cheesecake 떡 that we snacked on when Starbucks was closed.
 
(Yes, there’s a Starbucks right at the border where you can sip your American coffee while gazing into North Korea. Next time, Catharina Min!) by @newsjean

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