Category Archives: filmfestival

Actionfest

We’re not sure how often Asian action films make it out to North Carolina, but if you’re in the Asheville, NC area, check out Actionfest. Here’s more about this action pack film festival:

Action cinema finally has a home at Actionfest, the world’s only film festival devoted exclusively to action films. Actionfest celebrates the genre by showcasing the latest and the best in action cinema from all over the world for four wild days at the Carolina Asheville in beautiful, Asheville, NC. We’re out to show that action films can not only be art, but they’re one of the best forms of pure cinema there is. From crazy martial arts films from Thailand to British crime thrillers and to the latest in Hong Kong action, action films are a universal language, and we’re out to prove that they can excite any audience in any place in any language. Actionfest will bring to Asheville some of the most exciting, original, even daring action films being made today, in addition to screening new Hollywood blockbusters and fresh indies.

Some of the Asian films making their way to Actionfest include The Good, the Bad, and The Weird, Ong Bak 2, Vengeance, 14 BLADES, and more. Get additional info and tickets here.

Actionfest Trailer

2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

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As Southern California’s largest and most prestigious film festival of its kind, the 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) launches the celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 170 films and videos from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international directors from 20 countries. Over the past 26 years, the festival has presented over 3200 films and videos by Asian American and Asian international artists since 1983. This year, 36 feature films and 134 shorts and videos will be showcased throughout the 10-day fest.

Berlin Film Festival hit film AU REVOIR TAIPEI from LAAPFF alum/USC grad filmmaker Arvin Chen will open the festival on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at the DGA at 7PM with the filmmaker and cast scheduled to attend the Los Angeles premiere. The romantic comedy executive produced by German film director Wim Wenders and produced by LAAPFF alum In-Ah Lee (The Grace Lee Project, American Zombie) was an audience fave in Berlin.

AU REVOIR TAIPEI Trailer

Another LAAPFF alum, filmmaker Quentin Lee (Drift, Ethan Mao, Shopping for Fangs) brings his hit sex comedy THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH to the fest as the American Centerpiece film on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at the DGA at 7PM with director Lee, screenwriter Koji Sakai and film’s stars Karin Anna Cheung (Better Luck Tomorrow), Archie Kao (CSI, Desperate Housewives), and Wilson Cruz (He’s Just Not That Into You, My So Called Life, Noah’s Arc) in attendance.

THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH Trailer

Le Thanh Son’s action packed film CLASH – Vietnam’s current box office smash is slated for the LAAPFF International Centerpiece premiering on Sunday, May 2 at 7PM at the DGA. CLASH reunites the team behind the LAAPFF 2007 closing night film The Rebel and stars Johnny Tri Nguyen and Veronica Ngo in this hard-hitting thriller. Incorporating stylish action sequences and stunning cinematography, the film continues to propel the current Viet Wave Cinema. Cast members will join Director Le Thanh Son at the LA premiere.

CLASH Trailer

In a World Premiere slot, the 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is proud to present THE MIKADO PROJECT from Festival alum Chil Kong on Saturday, May 1 at 9:30 PM at the DGA. The comedy centers on an Asian American theater troupe – The Angry Buddha Theater Ensemble – as they try to mount the popular theater piece after they lose their leading male star. Director Kong and his all-star cast of actors including Tamlyn Tomita, Erin Quill, David McInnis, Allen Liu and Ryan Yu and others are slated to attend the gala event.

This year, the LAAPFF will present the North American premiere of the hit South Korean comedy THE ACTRESSES from director E. J-yong in the Special Sneak Preview slot on Saturday, May 8 at 7PM at the Downtown Independent Theater. Shot as a documentary, this comedy send-up is an inside look at the dramatics of six of the most famous actresses in Korean film who were gathered together by Vogue Korea for a photo shoot on Christmas Eve 2008. The multi-generational cast played themselves and worked without a script creating their dialogue, while playing up the varied facets of their respective private and public personas. With THE ACTRESSES, it’s always about the drama on and off screen for stars Youn Yuh-jung, Lee Mi-sook, Choi Ji-woo, Ko Hyun-jung, Kim Min-hee and Kim Ok-vin.

Closing out this year’s fest is the Southern California premiere of the current Hong Kong smash BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS from director Teddy Chen and featuring an all star cast including Tony Leung, Simon Yam, Donnie Yen and kickboxer/MMA fighter Cung Le. This blockbuster action film will be presented Thursday, May 6 at 7PM at the Aratani Japan America Theatre in Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles with actor Cung Le at the gala.

BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS Trailer

Something special this year at 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival will be the celebration of Asian American icon Bruce Lee’s 70th birthday. Together with Bruce Lee Enterprises, the festival will highlight the life of this legend with special screenings including a free outdoor screening of the classic THE CHINESE CONNECTION on April 30 at Madang the Courtyard in Korea Town at Western and Wilshire Blvd. and a special screening ENTER THE DRAGON on May 1 at Noon at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 and an outdoor free screening In addition, two special panel discussions are scheduled as follows:

· May 1 – 1:30 PM following ENTER THE DRAGON screening with filmmakers Reginald Hudlin and Brett Ratner, president of Bruce Lee Enterprises Shannon Lee, actor/martial artist Bob Wall and others to be announced. Guests will discuss the impact of Bruce Lee on world wide pop culture.

· May 2 – 4:00 PM at the DGA Atrium – a special panel with the Lee Family and friends including wife Linda Lee, daughter Shannon Lee, God-daughter/actress Diana Lee Inosanto and others to be announced. The guests will discuss Bruce Lee as the man, the father, the husband, and the friend.

This year marks a strong year for non-fiction works at the LAAPFF with submissions way up than other years. The 2010 documentary line-up includes award winners and premieres and a special spotlight on Academy Award® winner/LAAPFF alum Freida Lee Mock. Some of the films are:
· LAST TRAIN HOME – Lixin Fan
· ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE – Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath
· ONE VOICE – Lisette Marie Flanary
· STATE OF ALOHA – Anne Misawa
· A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILES – S. Leo Chiang
· IN THE MATTER OF CHA JUNG HEE – Deann Borshay Liem
· MAMACHAS DEL RING – Betty M. Park
· BEIJING TAXI – Miao Wang
· AOKI – Ben Wang and Mike Chang
· MACHO LIKE ME – Helie Lee
· MY TEHRAN FOR SALE – Granaz Moussavi
· LT. WATADA – Freida Lee Mock
· SING! CHINA – Freida Lee Mock

One of the ongoing objectives of the LAAPFF is to support and present the best of Asian American filmmakers. This year, these films include many filmmakers who are based in the US, but have gone to Asia to film, as well as those here at home:
· AU REVOIR TAIPEI – Arvin Chen
· GOD IS D_AD – Abraham L. Lim
· KTOWN COWBOYS– Daniel Park
· THE MIKADO PROJECT – Chil Kong
· RASPBERRY MAGIC – Leena Pendharkar
· SF STORIES – Raul Jocson
· STRANGERS – Michael Aki
· THE TAQWACORES – Eyad Zahra
· THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH – Quentin Lee
· CLASH – Le Thanh Son
· THE MOUNTAIN THIEF – Gerry Balasta

For ticket and program information and to purchase tickets, go here or contact Visual Communications at (213) 680-4462 x68. Tickets are on sale now online.

2010 San Diego Asian Film Festival Call for Entries – Early Deadline Approaching

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2010 San Diego Asian Film Festival Call For Entries

The San Diego Asian Film Foundation (SDAFF) is approaching its’ early deadline for the 2010 Call For Entries, April 30. Get your film in before the submission fee increases! SDAFF will celebrate its 11^th annual film festival season to an estimated audience of more than 18,000 during 8 days of film, panels, and exciting special events.

The San Diego Asian Film Festival is competitive, seeking entries in the following categories: narrative feature, narrative short, documentary feature, documentary short, and animation. An independent jury selects winners in each category, along with the Grand Jury award, which are announced at the Festival’s Gala Awards Night on Saturday, October 23, 2010. Festival programmers also select a first-time filmmaker to receive the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award, which is accompanied by a $1,000 prize.

Films/videos submitted must be directed or principally acted by an artist of Asian or Pacific Islander descent; or whose subject matter relates to Asian or Pacific Islander culture.

· Early Deadline: April 30, 2010 ($25 Submission Fee)

· Late Deadline: June 11, 2010 ($40 Submission Fee)

The 11^th San Diego Asian Film Festival is schedule for October 21-28, 2010 at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinemas at Hazard Center. All rules, entry forms, application, and festival info can be found online at www.sdaff.org. The San Diego Asian Film Festival is an event of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting audiences with the Human Experience through the Pan-Asian media arts.

2010 San Diego Asian Film Festival Preview Trailer

2010 DisOrient Film Festival

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2010 DisOrient Film Festival

The 2010 DisOrient Film Festival is the the fifth anniversary of the Oregon film festival. Over the past four years, DisOrient has garnered a national reputation for organizing a unique and quality film festival amongst industry and filmmaking professionals. Festival attendees can experience three days of films, workshops, parties, panels and special guests. Out of over 70 film submissions this year, the jury selected only the best new films. This year’s program has about six features and 22 short films. Some issues covered in this year’s films include transracial adoption, post-Katrina environmental activism, and resistance to the Iraq war, among other issues on Asian American identity and community.

In his feature directorial debut, Patrick Epino is scheduled to attend and show MR. SADMAN for the opening night on Friday, April 23. The late Al No’mani stars in MR. SADMAN, the story of Mounir, a sheltered Saddam Hussein body-double who loses his job and moves to Los Angeles in search of a new start. Unfortunately, Mounir doesn’t know how to be anyone else. After the film, soul/r&b singer Dawen is scheduled to perform at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum for the Opening Night reception. Los Angeles based singer/songwriter Dawen will be performing live during the Opening Night Reception. The director of this year’s centerpiece film A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES, S. Leo Chiang, will lead a workshop on filmmaking and social justice on the University of Oregon campus before the opening night screening of MR. SADMAN. Filmmaker H.P. Mendoza (songwriter, screenwriter, “Rodel” of COLMA: THE MUSICAL) returns to DisOrient with FRUIT FLY for the Closing Night program on Sunday, April 25. Local Eugene/Springfield middle school and high school Asian American filmmakers will also premiere their work. Other films slated to be shown include Why Am I Doing This?, Operation Babylift, and Second Moon.

You can get tickets for the 2010 DisOrient Film Festival here .

2010 DisOrient Film Festival trailers

2010 Chicago Asian American Showcase

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The 2010 Chicago Asian American Showcase gets under way this week. The festival is book-ended by two imaginative comedies. The opening night film is Quentin Lee’s sexy THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH, about a lusty bachelorette’s search for her baby-daddy when a surprise pregnancy threatens to change her party-girl lifestyle. The opening night experience is enhanced by the opening in the Film Center’s gallery/café of the art exhibit “Laura Kina: A Many Splendored Thing” with a free reception. The closing night film, RASPBERRY MAGIC by Leena Pendharkar, is a delightful and timely tale in which a middle school science experiment proves to be key to a family’s survival of the economic downturn.

The selection of new features includes unsettling psychological thrillers STRANGERS by Michael Aki and MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME by Soopum Sohn. Abraham Lim’s GOD IS D_AD is a thoughtful yet wacky road movie, and Patrick Epino’s MR. SADMAN has fun with political satire through the story of a Saddam Hussein impersonator stranded in L.A. Award-winning CHILDREN OF INVENTION enthralls with superb performances by child actors in a story of two kids ingeniously fending for themselves. In honor of the 15th anniversary of Asian American Showcase, two Asian American classics, SHOPPING FOR FANGS and SUNSETS REVISITED, are scheduled for special screenings.

Eight feature-length documentaries range in subject matter from AOKI, a profile of social activist and Black Panther Party founding member Richard Aoki, to LESSONS OF THE BLOOD, an exposé of WWII Japanese chemical warfare, and A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES, a chronicle of the transformation of a Vietnamese American community in the wake of Katrina’s destruction. Three films, GOING HOME, OPERATION BABYLIFT, and WO AI NI MOMMY, explore from many perspectives the issues and repercussions of Asian adoptions in the U.S.

Two shorts programs, “Chicagoans” and “The Young, the Fresh and the New,” highlight developing talent. Chicagobased international jazz star Tatsu Aoki, a School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumnus, appears with his new band Tokyo Nami on the “Chicagoans” program. Special events include a tribute to performance artist Anida Yoeu Ali, the panel discussion “Byte This: Surviving the Digital Age,” and the music showcase “Declare INDIEpendence.”

For more information and tickets, go here.

Raspberry Magic trailer

On the Clock – Ben Wang & Mike Cheng

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On the Clock - S. Leo Chiang

Interview with Ben Wang & Mike Cheng, directors of AOKI, playing at 2010 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. The struggle for freedom, justice and equality transcends racial and ethnic barriers.—Huey Newton This nimbly crafted documentary presents a moving portrait of the life of Richard Aoki (1938 – 2009), a third-generation Japanese American best known for being a founding member of the Black Panther Party.

On the Clock – Ben Wang & Mike Cheng