‘Descendants’ dissection, 34 films

When is a film festival not just a festival of films? When it also has a live musical concert.

The Hawaii International Film Festival’s Spring Showcase includes not just 34 films screening in seven days, it features a gig called "Sound X Vision: Music from ‘The Descendants,’" and yes, "The Descendents" will make a return visit so it can be discussed by a panel.

The Spring HIFF runs April 13 through 19 at two screens in the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theatres IMAX. Films are coming from China, France, the United States, Taiwan, Japan, India, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Norway, and 24 of these are Hawaii premieres and eight are U.S. premieres.

There will be a free screening of "The Descendents" at noon April 14, followed by a panel discussion with the film’s music supervisor Dondi Bastone and soundtrack musicians Jeff Peterson and Cyril Pahinui. The event is sponsored by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s Creative Industries Division and The Recording Academy, which produces the Grammys.

The concert, featuring musicians who played in the film, occurs at 7 p.m. the same day at theVenue. Admission is $30 ($25 in advance at hiff.org).

Film admission is $12 ($10 seniors, students and military; $8 HIFF members) and can be obtained at the theater box office or by calling 447-0577. Film times are subject to change as the festival draws closer.

Here are some of the highlights. For a more complete rundown, visit honolulupulse.com.

» "Always (Ohjik Guedaman)": The literal translation of the Korean title is actually "Only You," but either title is appropriate for a doomed love story between a retired boxer and a telemarketer who is slowly going blind, and they meet while sharing a parking lot attendant’s booth to watch a Korean soap opera. U.S. premiere 8:45 p.m. April 13.

» "Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban)": Based on a popular GameBoy video game in Japan, this live-action film deals in "future courts" where prosecutors and defense attorneys have only three days to try their cases, and anything goes. Attorney Phoenix Wright gets a big case right away — his boss is murdered and an innocent person is framed. U.S. premiere 7 p.m. April 14 and noon April 15.

» "Agent Vinod": We’re talking about a kind of Bollywood James Bond, an international man of mystery played by Hindi superstar Saif Ali Khan, along with Hindi superstarlet Kareena Kapoor. The soundtrack is chockablock with hot pop music. U.S. premiere 8:15 p.m. April 14 and 5 p.m. April 15.

» "Always: Sunset on Third Street 3 (Always Sanchrome No Yuhi ’64 3)": If you’re not familiar with manga genius Ryohei Saigan’s long-running comic "Sanchome no Yuhi," it’s an interpersonal-relations epic set in a small Tokyo neighborhood beginning in the late ’50s, and events are tied in with public works projects. This is the third film based on the series, and the characters are dealing with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. U.S. premiere 6 p.m. April 15 and 3 p.m. April 17.

» "Romancing in Thin Air (Gao Hai Ba Zhi Lian)": A movie star is dumped by his on-screen romance, and he boozily decamps to the Himalayas, where he befriends an innkeeper. U.S. premiere 6:15 p.m. April 16.

» "Love On-Air (Won-Deo-Pool Ra-Di-O)": This is a blissful rom-com in which a washed-up girl singer finds a second gig as a disk jockey, creates a cool show and then has things fall apart. U.S. premiere 8:45 p.m. April 16 and 3:30 p.m. April 18.

» "City in Blossom": How about a film festival romance set at a romantic film festival? A college student and a city official squabble and break up, then bump into each other at the Puchan International Fantastic Film Festival, where the peach blossoms are in bloom. The film is directed by Kim Young Bin, who also directs the actual film festival. U.S. premiere 3:30 p.m. April 17.

» "Couples (Keo-Peul-Jeu)": Mix together a cafe owner, a policewoman, a swindler, a mobster and a private eye who meet during a bank robbery and you have the makings of a rather quirky, and complicated, romantic comedy. U.S. premiere 8:15 p.m. April 17 and 5 p.m. April 19.

» "Sukiyaki (Gokudo Meshi)": Four prisoners bet their New Year’s Eve special dinners on who can tell the best story of the greatest meal ever consumed. Winner eats all. U.S. premiere 8:30 p.m. April 18 and 12:30 p.m. April 19.

» "Dragon (Wu Xia)": Donnie Yen’s latest martial arts masterpiece has him as a modest paper maker battling bandits, and he does it with such style the local police suspect him of being a serial killer. Set in 1917, the film’s sense of visual style and elegant choreography has earned it comparisons to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Hawaii premiere 6:30 p.m. April 13.

» "The Orator (O Le Tulafale)": A quiet taro farmer in Samoa needs to get his act together and speak up against those who would ruin his village, but many don’t take him seriously because he’s a dwarf. Hawaii premiere 6 p.m. April 18 and 1:15 p.m. April 19.

» "Liberal Arts": The well-worn trope of dissolute middle-aged men being "awakened" by hot young coeds gets another workout from actor-writer-director Josh Radnor. Stars youngest Olsen sister Elizabeth, who’s hot right now. Hawaii premiere 9 p.m. April 13 and 3 p.m. April 16.

"Peace, Love & Misunderstanding": Grandma Grace lives in Woodstock, ever since the music festival, smokes dope and howls at the moon. Daughter Diane is a divorced Manhattan lawyer. Jane Fonda and Catherine Keener are the stars, and you can guess who’s playing which part. Hawaii premiere 3 p.m. April 14.