Category Archives: movies

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan interviews

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan interviews

This weekend Snow Flower and the Secret Fan opens to a limited engagement in select theaters across the country. Inspired by the bestselling novel by Lisa See, SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN is a timeless portrait of female friendship, set in 19th-Century China and modern day Shanghai. Wayne Wang returns to his roots telling stories about Asians/Asian Americans. Here’s a synopsis of the film:

In 19th-century China, seven-year-old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong – or “old sames” – bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, nu shu, between the folds of a white silk fan.

In a parallel story in present day Shanghai, the laotong’s descendants, Nina and Sophia, struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship in the face of demanding careers, complicated love lives, and a relentlessly evolving Shanghai. Drawing on the lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection, hidden from them in the folds of the antique white silk fan, or risk losing one another forever. What unfolds are two stories, generations apart, but everlasting in their universal notion of love, hope and friendship.

Listen to interviews from director Wayne Wang, producers Wendi Murdoch and Florence Sloan, and author Lisa See below.

Don’t worry if you don’t see it at a theater near you now. The film is slated to open wider in the next few weeks. You can get tickets at Fandango or movietickets.com.

Wayne Wang talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Wendi Murdoch talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Florence Sloan talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Lisa See talks Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

The House of Suh on MSNBC

The House of Suh on MSNBC

The documentary film “The House of Suh” has been playing at film festivals across the country and picking up awards along the way. If you haven’t had the chance to see it, you can catch the broadcast premiere this weekend on Sunday, July 17, 2011 at 10 PM EST on MSNBC. Here’s more about the film:

Obligation, choice and loyalty are the values called into question in this compelling portrait of the Suhs, a Korean-American family whose quest for the American Dream would end in the tragic collapse of their household. Eloquently narrated by the family’s youngest son Andrew, The House of Suh examines the complex dynamics of the Suh family and the values embraced and rejected by Andrew and his sister Catherine, culminating in their planning and execution of a crime that shocked the Korean-American community and ignited a media frenzy. Countering the media coverage, the film instead attempts to reconstruct the elements of a family torn apart, raising questions of whether it is the options we are given or the choices we make that define who we are.

It’s an intriguing look at complex family dynamics and cultural adjustments. If you like shows like 48 Hours Mystery and Crime & Punishment, you’ll like this award-winning documentary.

The House of Suh on MSNBC

Director Iris Shim and producer Gerry Kim talk The House of Suh

Harry Potter Rap 2 with Jimmy Wong

Harry Potter Rap 2 with Jimmy Wong

The much anticipated follow-up to the original Harry Potter Rap is here! Singer/actor Jimmy Wong wears drag and plays Cho Chang in Harry Potter Rap 2 : Voldemort is back. (Doesn’t Jimmy Wong make a lovely Cho Chang?) It comes just in time for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2! You can get the song on Voldemort Is Back (The Harry Potter Rap 2) (feat. Destorm, Jimmy Wong & Blake Lewis) - Voldemort Is Back (The Harry Potter Rap 2) (feat. Destorm, Jimmy Wong & Blake Lewis) - Single.

See these other Harry Potter spoofs : Like It’s Quidditch (Harry Potter Like a G6 Parody) and Potter Chan : Hogwart’s Action Hero

Harry Potter Rap 2 with Jimmy Wong

Lyrics to Harry Potter Rap 2 with Jimmy Wong

Voldemort is back, that’s no lie
muggles and witches all gonna die
throwi n a party for our dearly departed
take off your robes and get this party started

Gryffindor n Hufflepuff n ravenclaw n slitherin
It’s me, Ron Weasly, Time for pumpkin juice n gin
Roll up a blunt of gillyweed, with no more consequence
Hogwarts school of magic comin’ to a violent end

So pull up our um britches, witches, let out a scream
Let’s lick up inside the snitches of Beauxbatons Quidditch team
Give Luna Love good lovin’, are you sensing a theme?
Before we die we’re doin things that only we could have dreamed

My name is Cho Chang so be quiet, no speaky
You may think I’m prudish, but me-me-me so freaky
Licked Neville’s longbottom, you know that it’s true
Flicked Filius’ flitwick until it spewed goo

The stupid Dark Lord is back on the attack
It’s time to party hard on Sl ytherin crack
I hope Ron blasts my shrieking shack
So I can turn around and suck his dick

Sure, I’ve got Granger, but your privets drive me crazy
I wanna do a bunch of witches like a muggle swayze
Now that Voldy is back, we can do what we want
You can accio my clothes and I’ll accio your wand

Hello my minions it’s me professor snape
Looks like your hogwarts is in terrible shape
Bow down now, and I’ll forgive your mistakes
unless of course you’d rather party

2011 NY Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF)

2011 NY Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF)

Asian CineVision (ACV) is proud to announce the films and shorts programs of the 34th Annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF). The Festival’s main festivities will run from August 10-14, 2011 with screenings at Clearview Cinemas (260 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011), and additional screenings to take place at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA, 215 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013) and Maysles Cinemas (343 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027).

This year the Asian American International Film Festival will feature over 70 films from 16 countries; of those films, 6 are New York Premieres, 8 are East Coast Premieres, and 3 will be making their U.S. Premieres at AAIFF’11.

The Asian American International Film Festival is deeply honored to open the festival on Wednesday, August 10th with the New York Premiere of AMIGO (USA), directed by acclaimed independent filmmaker John Sayles about the Philippine-American War in 1900. Screening on Saturday, August 13 is the Festival’s Centerpiece Presentation SAIGON ELECTRIC (USA/Vietnam), directed by Stephane Gauger. This feature delves into lives of hip-hop dancers in Vietnam’s capital. Lastly, AAIFF is proud to end the festivities with the light-hearted romantic comedy WEDDING PALACE (USA/South Korea), directed by Christine Yoo, as its Closing Night Presentation.

On Thursday, August 11, 2011, AAIFF will present a LGBTQ themed film line-up. In collaboration with community partners from the LGBTQ community, AAIFF will screen the non-traditional romantic comedy WHEN HAINAN MEETS TEOCHEW, directed by Yew Kwang Han, and TALES OF THE WARIA, a documentary about the transgender community in Indonesia directed by Kathy Huang.

Other highlights at the Festival include award-winning director Ramona Diaz’s new documentary film THE LEARNING making its New York Premiere at AAIFF’11. The film follows four Filipino women teaching inner city kids in Baltimore. More films of note includes: LIVING IN SEDUCED CIRCUMSTANCES, THE LULU SESSIONS, and plenty of short films from Top Spin to PRESCOTT PLACE

2011 NY Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) trailer

More about Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF)
The AAIFF was born in the seminal New York summer of 1977, a program of 46 short films and videos from across the U.S. fulfilled a growing need for social understanding, cultural diversity in American, and independent cinema. Thirty-four years later, the AAIFF has grown to include films from more than 30 countries, a variety of topical panels and workshops, industry mixers, staged readings, exclusive interviews, receptions and more.

2011 72 Hour Film Shootout

2011 72 Hour Film Shootout

Hey filmmakers, the 72 Hour Film Shootout is back. This weekend leave your day job at the office, grab a bunch of friends, and make a film. Competitors have 72 hours to write, shoot, edit, and submit a 5 minute short film based on a Contest theme announced promptly at 8:00PM EDT / 5:00PM PDT, Friday July 15, 2011 at a launch party in New York City and the 72 Hour Website.

Past themes:
2004 – “Hide and Seek” | 2005 – “AKA” | 2006 – “Obsessive/Compulsive” | 2007 – “Elizabeth Ong is Missing” | 2008 – “A First GoodBye” | 2009 – “Times Up”

  • All Teams must register online before 12:00 AM July 15th to compete and send in a $45 entry fee

  • All Entries must include in their film the following caption:

    “This film was made possible in part by the support of the 2011 72 Hour Film Shootout presented by the Asian American Film Lab”

  • One lead actor AND one key production member must be of Asian descent.

    A key production member is a director, producer, writer, director of photography, or editor. A lead actor is one who plays a character that drives the storyline. However, one person of Asian descent can fulfill both requirements (for example, an Asian actress who also directs with the rest of the cast/crew being non-Asian).

  • Team Film, including credits, must not exceed 5 minutes in duration.
  • Any type of video or film or digital camera may be used.

This year they’re also accepting digital submissions. The Top 10 Team films will be premiered at the 2011 Asian American International Film Festival in New York City on Saturday, August 13th, 2011 and qualify to win several individual and cash prizes! Get more details here.

2011 72 Hour Film Shootout

Hafu : documentary film about mixed Japanese

Hafu : documentary film about mixed Japanese

According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, one in thirty babies born in Japan today are born to a couple where at least one parent is a non-Japanese. An upcoming documentary follows several of these biracial Hafus. Here’s a synopsis of the film :

With an ever increasing movement of people between ‘places’ in this transnational age, there is a mounting number of mixed-race people in Japan, some visible others not. “Hafu” is the unfolding journey of discovery into the intricacies of mixed-race Japanese and their multicultural experience in modern day Japan. The film follows the lives of six hafu–the Japanese term for people who are half-Japanese. By default of living in Japan, they are forced to explore what it means to be multiracial and multicultural in a nation that once proudly proclaimed itself as the mono-ethnic nation. For some of these hafu, Japan is the only home they know, for some living in Japan is an entirely new experience, and others are caught somewhere between two different worlds.

The documentary is slated to be released late 2011. For more info on the film, you can go here. This film reminds us of another biracial documentary “Left By The Ship“.

Hafu : documentary film about mixed Japanese