The action will be hot and heavy at the Polynesian Cultural Center, which beginning this week hosts the 2022 World Fireknife Championships.

Fireknife dancers from Hawaii, the mainland, Samoa, Tahiti, Japan and Australia will converge on the islands for two weeks, with the junior and intermediate competitions Wednesday. The contest continues next week with the men’s competition May 11 and 12. Contestants as young as age 6 have competed in the championships, which began in 1992.

Although travel restrictions have led to the cancellation of a women’s competition this year, visitors to the center will be able to view a trio of films about the top female fireknife dancer, Jeralee “Jeri” Galeai from Laie. At age 15, she became the first female fireknife dancer to place in the world championships competing against boys, and later became the first-ever women’s world champion. The screenings will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday. Visitors that day can also enjoy the Samoan Cultural Arts Festival, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., which will feature local students demonstrating Samoan traditions such as speech making, basket weaving, coconut husking, fire making, costuming and dance.

Tickets are $15 for the junior and intermediate competitions and the first round of the men’s competition. The finals of the men’s competition May 12 will be held during the intermission of the center’s evening show, “Ha: Breath of Life.” Admission is included in the $89.95 ticket price. The center is at 55-370 Kamehameha Highway in Laie. Visit polynesia.com or call 808-293-3333 for information.

Women’s filmmaking group exhibits new work

Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking, an organization that provides training and opportunities for young female filmmakers, will screen a series of short, episodic films produced by young auteurs next week. The organization, founded in 2011, aims to advocate for women and girls by “telling their stories through film.” Throughout the year, it provides training for women and girls in various aspects of filmmaking through its “reel camps,” which have themes such as “environmental justice” and “reproductive justice.” The burgeoning filmmakers learn skills such as camera work, scriptwriting, acting and post-production work.

This free screening, titled “Reel Wahine of Hawaii,” begins at 6 p.m. May 10 at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum, 250 S. Hotel St., and was scheduled to coincide with Children’s Mental Health Acceptance Month. It will feature films produced during the organization’s “Making Media That Matters” camp and its “Youth Mental Wellness” camp. Films to be screened include “Persevere” and “Finding Us,” which show teenage girls coming together to support one another through everyday problems, and “O is for Oliver,” about a person undergoing gender-identity issues. Some of the young filmmakers are expected to be on hand to discuss their creations.