Houston’s Asian American film festival, Slant: Bold Asian American Images, returns for the 11th year with an eclectic lineup that represent the best new works by Asian American filmmakers. From a mockumentary that follows a self-important spoken word artist to a sci-fi tale featuring a malfunctioning android, the five short films selected for Slant tell diverse stories. Slant Film Festival will screen for one night only on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 7:30PM at River Oaks Theatre, 2009 West Gray. Curator Melissa Hung and filmmaker Soham Mehta will be in attendance.
Works include Fatakra by New York-based, Houston-bred Soham Mehta, winner of a 2011 Student Academy Award. The film, about an immigrant family reuniting after years apart, screened earlier this year at South By Southwest (SXSW). Jaime Lo, small and shy, a charming animation by Toronto-based Lillian Chan, also tells a similar story about a family where one parent works abroad, but from a child’s point of view.
J.P. Chan’s Digital Antiquities and Tanuj Chopra’s PIA are both science fiction films set in the future, but their characters are searching for the past. The program closes with Asian American Jesus, directed by Yasmine Gomez and featuring performer Samantha Chanse as six different characters in a hilarious mockumentary exploring post-racial art and excuses for bad poetry.
SELECTED FILMS:
Jaime Lo, small and shy by Lillian Chan
Jaime Lo, a shy Chinese Canadian girl, observes the world around her through her drawings. When Jaime’s father is sent to Hong Kong for a year-long work assignment, Jaime must use her creativity to cope with his absence.
Fatakra by Soham Mehta
Naveen left India to chase his dreams in America. Three years and a recession later, his wife and son join him. Sparks fly as a family reunites.
PIA by Tanuj Chopra
In San Francisco, in the year 2063, much of human labor has been replaced with service androids called PIAs. One night, a mysterious and malfunctioning PIA appears at Syama Raval’s front door.
Digital Antiquities by J.P. Chan
In the year 2036, a woman in an antique electronics shop meets a desperate young man seeking to recover data from an old CD.
Asian American Jesus by Yasmine Gomez
In this mockumentary, performer Samantha Chanse plays six different characters including Truth is Real, a self-professed ‘mad scientist of the spoken word,’ and the subject of college freshman Suzette Law’s final project for her ethnic studies class.
For tickets and more info, go here.
Fatakra Trailer
More about the Slant Film Festival
Slant was established in 2001 by Melissa Hung, the founding editor of Hyphen, a magazine about Asian American culture. In presenting this festival, Aurora Picture Show participates in exploring the power of moving images in crafting identity and community.
