The winners of the Interpretations Film Initiative were announced over the weekend at the 2010 San Diego Asian Film Festival. The winners are Aldous Davidson for How to Greet the Dead, Kha Do for Shine, Keith Eng for Struck at First Sight, Andrew Oh for Viewpoint, and & Joey Yee for Bottled Up. Take a look at some of the winning entries:
This experimental horror drama film is about 2 brothers who visit the “other side” and encounter their deceased mother, who died during childbirth. It’s time to meet your mother..
How to Greet the Dead by Aldous Davidson
Letting Go Is Never Easy. Humans were never made to live life alone. It is in others that we find this light that shines in times of darkness. And how tragic when that light that once guide us fade away. How do we remember, cherish, love, and move forward? The story is told in the visuals and does not rely on the text or dialogue. It is all like a dream or a memory. Images and visuals became “inclusios,” bookends. The color red on the girl and the balloon signifying love. The images of the sun and light portraying how friendship will always shine in our lives, especially in the contrast of the two scenes comparing the lonely dark life when we lose those we love, in light of the bright, shining, warm scenes of the memory.
Shine by Kha Do
Your Heart is the Target in this Romantic Comedy. Many of us are familiar with love at first sight. But what exactly goes through our heads during those short few moments? Struck at First Sight dives in to the heads of two guys to reveal what they see and how they act on it in the funniest way!
Struck at First Sight by Keith Eng
Look over your shoulder in this crime thriller. Perception and point of view allow us to have fun by revisiting commonplace scenarios and making them fresh again.
Viewpoint by Andrew Oh
Sooner or later, it’s all gotta come out. Despite how visual a medium film is, it can’t live without a good story. When it comes to a story, you can’t beat the creativity and imagination of the human mind, but sometimes the old cliche “truth is stranger than fiction” rings true.
Bottled Up by Joey Yee
Not everyone can win, but check out some of these other great entries: Spice It Up with Feodor Chin, Kill Joy by Steve Nguyen x Brian Tan, Doggy Style by Shane Sato, WWJD with Randall Park, Mother by John P. Raposas, The Necklace with Karin Anna Cheung, Voo Dude, Strangers in the Park, The Case, Zeist by Zero Kazama, Bathroom Battle Royale, and Above Average. Unfortunately, we couldn’t post everybody’s entry. See more shorts here.
See other shorts commissioned for Interpretations: Far East Futura, Orient Express by Wong Fu Productions, Represent by Iris Yamashita, Blowout Sale with Danny Pudi, Good Shot with Leonardo Nam, Cambodian American, I Felt My Life in Both Hands by Kenneth Bi, Rumble by Ken Leung, and Canvas with James Jean