Award winning director, Ken Ochiai will screen three of his films, “Half Kenneth,” “Lucky Lotus,” and “No More” at the 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF). The films were selected by over 1000 submissions and it is extremely unusual to screen three films by the same director. He will attend the screenings for Q&A.

Most notably “Half Kenneth,” a heart warming story about half-Caucasian/half Japanese brothers who escape from the Japanese American internment camps, has been selected by over 30 international film festivals all over the world and won numerous awards including the Best Short Film at the Rome International Film Festival, Governor of Tokyo Award and Best Short Film at the Short Short Film Festival which is the biggest short film festival in Asia and an Oscar qualified film festival.

Ochiai is the first Japanese native to win the Special Jury Prize from Directors Guild of America for directing “Half Kenneth.” “Making this film was my way of expressing my gratitude and appreciation for those brave immigrants who have opened many closed doors and allowed me to pursue my dream in the U.S. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far.” said Ochiai at a recent award acceptance speech.

Screenings for Ken Ochiai films will be held at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival:

May 1st Saturday
Half Kenneth
PROGRAM21 6:00 PM
Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90046

Half Kenneth synopsis:
1945: after the death of his father, Ken escapes Japanese American internment camp to find his Caucasian mother who lives in town. Things become complicated, however, when Ken’s little brother, Jo, joins him at the last minute.

Half Kenneth Trailer

May 1st Saturday
Lucky Lotus
Program17 10:00PM
Directors Guild of America
7920 Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90046

Lucky Lotus synopsis:
Cong is an aging beauty and a hustling business woman who is also a loving, but controlling mother to her daughter, Lien. Cong owns and operates Lucky Lotus, a prominent hostess bar where men come for flirtatious conversation and friendship. Her daughter Lien is one of the most popular hostesses at Lucky Lotus, but she is tiring of the bar lifestyle her mother forged for her. When Cong discovers that Lien has other aspirations, Cong forgets that she is a mother and instead tries her best to manipulate Lien into staying at Lucky Lotus. Will this obsessive mother learn to let go?

Lucky Lotus Trailer

May 4th Tuesday
No More music video
PROGRAM52 9:15PM
Downtown Independent
251 South Main St Los Angeles CA 90012

We can’t figure out how director Ken Ochiai did this music video. There are forward and backward sequences to form a cohesive music video with a story line. You have to see it to understand what we’re talking about.

No More music video teaser

More about Ken Ochiai

Ken Ochiai made his first film at age 12. Immediately following his high school graduation, he left his hometown of Tokyo to pursue his dream of becoming a film director in the United States. Ken graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television Production and the American Film Institute’s M.F.A Directing program. He has made more than 30 short films, commercials, and music videos and won over 10 international accolades. Ken also worked on Inception (Waner Bros.) as an interpreter for Christopher Nolan on Japan Unit. He is currently working as a professional writer/director in LA and has a number of projects in development in Japan and the U.S including two feature scripts “Summer 47” and “Half Kenneth.”