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Asian American celebrities party in San Diego

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The 9th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival will be presenting awards to its top films at a star-studded Gala Awards dinner on Saturday night, October 11 at the Town and Country Hotel Ballroom in Mission Valley. More than 700 people are expected to attend including actor John Cho (star of Harold & Kumar, and “Sulu” in the upcoming Star Trek prequel) who will present the lifetime achievement award to actor and humanitarian, Soon-Tek Oh, who has acted in American television and film since the 1960s.

A number of other celebrities are scheduled to attend including:

* John Cho, star of Harold & Kumar movies and Sulu in the upcoming Star Trek prequel

* Aaron Yoo, star of top grossing films, Nick and Nora, 21 and Disturbia

* Leonardo Nam, star of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 &2, Perfect Score

* Smith Cho, star of NBC’s new show, Knight Rider

* Yul Kwon, winner from Survivor: Cook Islands

* Sheetal Sheth, lead actress from Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

* Marie Matiko, star of Sum of All Fears

* Karin Anna Cheung, lead actress of Better Luck Tomorrow

Opening night of the 2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival

2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival

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9th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival

The San Diego Asian Film Festival is excited to announce its ninth season, taking place at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinema at Hazard Center, OCTOBER 9-16, 2008. As San Diego’s largest Pan Asian cultural event, more than 20,000 attendees will experience over 130 short and feature films from a record 17 countries including the Canada, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong , Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and the U.S.

Highlights include:

·Opening night film on Thursday, October 9 with the theatrical premiere of Academy Award Winning director Jessica Yu’s first narrative feature, PING PONG PLAYA, a hilarious comedy about a young man trying to fight for his family’s ping pong dynasty

·Closing night film on Thursday, October 16 – ALWAYS 2: SUNSET ON THIRD STREET, directed by Yamazaki Takashi, sequel to a heartwarming post-war Japanese film that swept Japan’s version of the Academy Awards.

·West Coast premieres of Korean thriller hit PUBLIC ENEMY RETURNS directed by Woo-Suk Kang: and one of the most sought-after martial arts froms from Thailand, CHOCOLATE, directed by Prachya Pinkaew, who also directed “Ong Bak”

·Controversial documentary, DIRTY HANDS: THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF DAVID CHOE directed by Harry Kim

·Free Films at Four series, we are offering free films to public at 4PM October 13-16

·Twelve short film programs including our popular all-animation program ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE and REEL VOICES, a free short documentary showcase by local high school students

Film festival organizers will also encourage attendees to register to vote through a REEL IN THE VOTE campaign to address why Asian Pacific Islanders have the lowest voter turnout and lowest political participation. Along with screening PSAs encouraging voter participation, the festival will present a free REEL IN THE VOTE films program on Tuesday, October 14 at the Hazard Center UltraStar.

Patrons can also attend three panels including one with the directors and stars of Harold & Kumar 2: Escape From Guantanamo Bay, plus a panel with local comic book artist Jim Lee, discussing the trend of converting comics into movies. More than 100 filmmakers and actors are scheduled to attend including John Cho (Harold and Kumar, and the upcoming Star Trek prequel), Aaron Yoo (Disturbia, 21, The Wackness), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), Smith Cho (Knight Rider, Ping Pong Playa), and James Kyson Lee (Heroes).

Buy 2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival Tickets here.

2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival Trailer

2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival Trailer

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9th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival

San Diego, the 9th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival is coming up running from October 9th through the 16th. So far, they’ve secure the top Asian American films, along with films from more than 13 countries including the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Singapore, and many other regions around the world!

Here’s the list from their site. This list is subject to change.

DRAMATIC NARRATIVE FEATURES

200 Pounds Beauty directed by Yong-Hwa Kim (S. Korea)

Accuracy of Death directed by Masaya Kakei (Japan)

Always: Sunset on Third Street directed by Takashi Yamazaki (Japan)

Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 directed by Takashi Yamazaki (Japan)

An American in China directed by Ron Berrett (U.S./China)

Assembly directed by Feng Xiaogang (China/Hong Kong)

Big Man Japan directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto (Japan)

Black Belt directed by Shunichi Nagasaki (Japan)

Chocolate directed by Prachya Pinkaew (Thailand)

Dance of the Dragon directed by John Radel (Singapore)

Dororo directed by Akihiko Shiota (Japan)

Drawing Paper directed by Sunhee Kim (S. Korea)

The Fish Fall in Love directed by Ali Rafi’I (Iran)

Foster Child (John John) directed by Brilliante Mendoza (Philippines)

Genghis Khan: To The Ends of the Earth directed by Shinichiro Sawai (Japan)

Hellcats directed by Kwon Chil-in (S. Korea)

Kissing Cousins directed by Amyn Kaderali (U.S.)

L: Change The World directed by Hideo Nakata (Japan)

Lovers directed by Carl Zhang (Hong Kong)

Magazine Gap Road directed by Nicholas Chin (Hong Kong)

My Father directed by Dong Hyeuk Hwang (S. Korea/U.S.)

Ocean of Pearls directed by Sarab Neelam (U.S.)

Open City directed by Lee Sang-Gi (S. Korea)

Ping Pong Playa directed by Jessica Yu (U.S.)

Planet B-Boy directed by Benson Lee

Santa Mesa directed by Ron Morales (U.S./Philippines)

Secret directed by Jay Chou (Hong Kong)

Shadows in the Palace directed by Kim Mee-jeung. (S. Korea)

Sleepwalking Through the Mekong directed by John Pirozzi

Slingshot (Tirador) directed by Brilliante Mendoza (Philippines)

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers directed by Wayne Wang (U.S.)

Vexille directed by Fumihiko Sori (Japan)

The White Silk Dress directed by Luu Huynh (Vietnam)

The World Unseen Directed by Shamim Sarif (S. Africa)

FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES

Against the Grain: An Artist’s Survival Guide to Peru directed by Ann Kaneko (Peru)

A Cricket in the Court of Akbar directed by Andrew Mendelson (U.S./India)

Children of the Stars directed by Rob Aspey

Dirty Hands directed by Harry Kim (U.S./Africa/Japan)

Family Inc. by Emily Ting (U.S./China)

Follow Your Hearts: China’s New Youth Movement directed by Duncan Jepson

Hollywood Chinese directed by Arthur Dong (U.S.)

House of Sharing directed by Hein Seok (S. Korea)

The Killing of a Chinese Cookie directed by Derek Shimoda (U.S.)

Meaning of Tea directed by Scott Chamberlin Hoyt (U.S./Japan/India/Morocco)

Mystic Ball directed by Greg Hamilton (Myanmar/Canada)

Oh, Saigon directed by Doan Hoang (U.S./Vietnam)

Passing Poston directed Joe Fox and James Nubile (U.S.)

Please Vote for Me directed Weijun Chen (China/S. Africa/Denmark)

Red Race directed by Chao Gan (China)

Shame directed by Mohammed Naqvi (Pakistan)

Sleepwalking in the Mekong directed by John Pirozzi (Cambodia)

The Story of Spirits directed by Tien Nguyen (U.S./Vietnam)

Wings of Defeat directed by Risa Morimoto (U.S.)

Yours Truly, Miss Chinatown directed by Daisy Lin Shapiro (U.S.)

Under the Skin directed by Billy Burke (U.S./Japan)

SHORT FILMS

364 Cranes directed by Vincent Lin

A Drop of Life directed by Shalini Kantayya

A Passing Rain directed by Myoung Hwa Kim

The Agent directed by David Kim

Aim For The Heart: A Guide to Vampire Defense directed by Fernando Huerto

The Asian Arrow directed by Richard B Quebral

An Immigrant Girl’s Journey directed by Lonny Stevens

Anjali directed by Maya Anand

Bite Me directed by Jason Fong

Blood Debts directed by Roland Nguyen

Bombay Skies directed by Rita Rani

Bookie directed by Bao Tran

The Breakup directed Erica Eng

California King directed by Eli Akira Kauffman

Celebration directed by Rochelle Lozada

Cookies for Sale directed by Wes Kim

Damn the Past! directed by Julie Kang

Dance of a Freebird directed by Ruslan Pak

Dead Man’s Hour directed Nathan Kitada

Dear Heidi directed by John Ferrie

Drowning directed Erica Eng

EAT directed by Arvin Chen, Danny Jai Lee, & Jon Maxwell

Escaping the Norm by Glenn Gimutao

Follow the Signs directed by Steve Godwin

Gandhi at the Bat directed by Stephanie Argy

Giving Care directed Clarissa De Los Reyes

I-Hotel directed by Jason Nou

Just directed by Edward Gunawan

Legend directed by Mark Villegas

Kali Ma directed Soman Chainani

Knees directed by Minhyun Park

LibraAmor directed by Steve Ellington

Light My Fire directed Lee Jong-Pil

Light Years directed by Richard Martin

The Little Knave directed by Sarah Naomi Campbell

Little Manila directed by Marissa Aroy

Look Again directed by Jennifer Lin

Mamo’s Weeds directed by Akira Boch

Miss Popularity directed by Wayne Yung

Moon Lady directed by Wendy Cheng

My First Crush directed by Rocky Jo

The Oh-Malleys in Daddy’s My Mercedes directed by Chil Kong

Passage directed by Angela How

The Postcard directed by Josh Kim

Residue directed by Jared Davis

Save Ron Jr. directed by Michael Yubane (U.S.)

S/he directed by Gina Pei Chai Chen

Smile directed by Julia Kwan

Snap-shot directed by Suel Kim

Souvenirs from Asia directed by Joyce Wong

The State of Sunshine directed by Z. Eric Yang

Sublingual directed by Karen Lin

Tiffin directed by Ai Lene Chor

Timeless directed by Jeffrey Ferrer

The Trident directed by Anurag Mehta

Triple 8 Palace directed by Alexander Ku

Untitled directed by Edward Kim

What Happened on the Fourth Date directed by Vijay Mathew

With Every Breath directed by Lindsey Yung

WIANBU – Comfort Woman directed by James Bang

The Women’s Kingdom directed by Xiaoli Zhou

You’ve Got Male directed by Ryan Kim and Christopher Nguyen

ANIMATION

Abridged directed by Arjun Rihan

Alien Abduction directed by David Han

Against the Grain directed by Kevin Kolodinsky

Apple/Bird & the Bee “Again & Again” directed by Dennis Liu

Awkward directed by Cesar Kuriyama

Battle of the Album Covers directed by Rohitash Rao

Hallucii directed by by Goo Shun Wang

Josie’s Lalaland directed by Yibi Hu

Ketchup directed by Wenchung Lu

Magicicada directed by Benett Kim

Meat Days directed by Wen-ming Hsieh

The Mouse Trap directed by Woon Han

Nadal Vs. Alien directed by Tak Hoon Kim

The Possum directed by Chris Choy

Prekisstoric Times directed by Leo Matsuda

Sexy girl and Carpenter directed by Dong Keun Lee

Shooting Star directed by Ryan Chen

Snow Day directed by Kim Hazel

Sports and Diversions directed Bum Lee

Swimming Moon directed Nahomi Maki

Yellow Sticky Notes directed by Jeff Chiba Stearns

2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival Trailer

Samurai Girl coming to ABC Family

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Samurai Girl continues in the tradition of Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior and Mulan. Disney/ABC may have found a niche for Asian female warriors. If the target audience for these films eats it up, Disney/ABC will continue to produce them.

Synopsis for Samurai Girl

Based on a series of popular young-adult novels, “Samurai Girl” follows the journey of 19-year-old Heaven, the sheltered adopted daughter of one of Japan’s wealthiest and most powerful families. Protected and watched over at all times by her loving but enigmatic father, Heaven is raised in opulent but confined surroundings, with every detail of her life tended to and extravagantly provided for in the tradition of Japan’s hierarchal society. But when Heaven finds herself in San Francisco for her arranged wedding to the son of one of her father’s business associates, she has no idea that her protected life is about to be shattered and that her past is linked to an ancient secret prophecy which both good and evil forces will fight to the death to control.

THE CAST:

Jamie Chung as Heaven Kogo

Brendan Fehr as Jake Stanton

Saige Thompson as Cheryl

Kyle Labine as Otto

Anthony Brandon Wong as Tasuke Kogo

Steven Brand as Severin

Kenneth Choi as Sato

Stacy Keibler as Linda

You can catch some of the cast of Samurai Girl on Friday, July 25 at Comic-Con in San Diego.

Noon–1pm: “Samural Girl” Q&A panel with stars Jamie Chung, Brendan Fehr, Stacy Keibler, executive producers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, and co-executive producer Luke McMullen. (Room 2) 1:30-2:30 PM: “Samural Girl” autograph session in booth #3913.

Watch the preview for Samurai Girl

Reel in the Vote 2008

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REEL IN THE VOTE is a non-partisan campaign launched by the San Diego Asian Film Foundation to encourage more Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs) to participate in the democratic process during this crucial election year. Through the power of grassroots media and the sheer number of attendees at our annual film festival, they believe REEL IN THE VOTE can make a difference.

If you have access to a video camera and a great idea, here’s your chance to take action in 30 seconds! The San Diego Asian Film Foundation is challenging YOU to submit a 30-second public service announcement that promotes civic responsibility and democratic participation in the electoral and public policy processes. In other words, your PSA should help encourage voter registration and participation in the APIA community. Be creative!

They will choose a winner to receive $1000 and a Sony HDF-FX1 HDV Camcorder (worth $3700), plus bragging rights – the winning PSA will be screened before all film programs at the film festival. Entries must be postmarked by July 31, and no more than 30 seconds in length.

Download contest rules and application.

Watch a sample PSA

SDSU Asian Pacific Student Alliance

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San Diego State University’s

Asian Pacific Student Alliance

Proudly Presents:

FLASHING LIGHTS : 2008 Fashion Talent Show

Friday April 18th, 2008 @ 6PM

On Friday, April 18th 2008 in Montezuma Hall, located at San Diego State University’s Aztec Center, we are holding our annual Fashion Talent Show. The show’s purpose is to showcase Asian American and Pacific Islander’s place in society and how we contribute to the community with our talent and taste in fashion. The event will feature fashions from prominent designers in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. There will be various talent and exhibition acts from all over the Southern California region, including dance troupes and musical artists competing for this year’s title of “Fashion Talent Show’s Best Act.”

Music artists on the list include Roscoe Umali and Tatum Jones.

Roscoe Umali brings together all elements of the term “Emcee” in a way that has not been seen since the Golden Era of Hip Hop. In the short span of a year he has redefined the meaning of hustle by collaborating with hip-hop legends such as E-40, Raekwon the Chef, Smif N Wessun, Talib Kweli, and Westcoast Kam. Roscoe is also slated to perform at the “Asian Excellence Awards“.

Los Angeles-based R&B group formed in February 2007 by Asian-American singer/songwriters Hans Cho, Justin Fong and Michael Lee. Under the moniker of their former band name, At Last, the three have appeared on TV shows such as, “America’s Got Talent,” “Showtime at the Apollo,” and “The Wayne Brady Show” and have shared the stage with the likes of Boyz II Men, The Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake. See their latest music video “Ain’t No Sunshine”: