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2008 DC APA Film Festival

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APA Film Presents the 9th Annual DC Asian Pacific American (APA) Film Festival Sept. 25 through Oct. 4, 2008 at locations throughout the Washington, D.C., area including Landmark’s E Street Cinema, Navy Memorial Theater, Goethe-Institut, and Freer Gallery of Art. The festival will showcase 14 features and over 45 short films. A complete schedule of films and descriptions is available at http://www.apafilm.org.

The Opening Night Presentation on Sept. 25th is AMAL, a complex drama involving a family’s dispute over their father’s will and his connection to a humble auto-rickshaw driver in New Delhi, India. Director Richie Mehta and lead actor Rupinder Nagra are scheduled to attend.

On Sept. 27th, the festival presents a day of programs at the Freer Gallery of Art, including the documentary THE SIAMESE CONNECTION about Chang and Eng, the famous conjoined twins of the 19th Century from Thailand; and LONG STORY SHORT, profiling Larry and Trudie Long, a popular Chinese American husband-and-wife nightclub act of the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Several other documentaries will make their DC premieres. MAUI BOYZ follows ten local men from Maui as they live, work and play according the “Aloha Spirit” of Hawaii. Dr. Sharadkumar Dicksheet, a Nobel Prize nominee and wheelchair-bound doctor, is the tenacious star of FLYING ON ONE ENGINE (SXSW 2008), traveling to India every year to perform hundreds of free operations for children with facial deformities. A pair of documentaries investigate the human rights struggle of Korean comfort women who were forced into military sexual slavery during World War II (BEHIND FORGOTTEN EYES, THE HOUSE OF SHARING.).

A number of films feature ensemble casts of new and veteran Asian and American actors, including the romantic comedy KISSING COUSINS (starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Gerry Bednob (40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN), Jaleel White, and David Alan Grier); and Filipino drama SANTA MESA (starring Jaime Tirelli (BELLA, GIRLFIGHT), Melissa Leo, and introducing Jacob Shalov).

Two programs will be presented in partnership with the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Anne Kaneko’s AGAINST THE GRAIN explores the lives of working artists amidst political and economic unrest in Peru; and SITA SINGS THE BLUES is a modern retelling of the Ramayana through spirited animation and blues music.

The Closing Night Presentation is KILLING OF A CHINESE COOKIE, Derek Shimoda’s offbeat documentary that ponders the life and meaning of the fortune cookie in American pop culture.

DC APA Film Festival Trailer Contest Winner by Chihwen Lo. (see all the 2008 DC APA Film Trailer Contest Finalists)

Ping Pong Playa in theaters nationwide

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We’ve been blogging about Ping Pong Playa for awhile now by following Ping Pong Playa through Asian American Film festivals, being picked up by IFC, and even C-dub’s exploits. (You can win an Ping Pong Playa autographed poster.) If you missed the movie at the various Asian American film festivals, find Ping Pong Playa at a theater near you.

Here’s the synopsis for Ping Pong Playa

Christopher “C-dub” Wang is a suburban guy who sports an urban swagger, waxes political on all things Asian American, and clings to pipe dreams of a career as a pro basketball player. Blaming genetics for his failure to make the NBA, C-dub lives at home, works a dead-end job, and squirms in the shadow of his older brother, Michael, a doctor and ping pong champion.

With a family-run store devoted to all things ping pong and a mom who teaches it at the local Chinese Community Center, the Wangs’ entire world revolves around the sport. But despite the family legacy, C-dub opts to spend his free time playing video games and daydreaming about get-rich quick schemes with his best friend JP Money.

C-dub is kicked back into reality when his mom and Michael are hurt in a car accident, leaving his father to watch over the store and forcing C-dub to take over his mom’s ping pong class of misfits. C-dub starts to appreciate the benefits of ping pong when he starts using the class to make some extra money on the side and befriending one of the kids who happens to have a beautiful older sister.

But when the Wang family livelihood is threatened by a rival ping pong player’s attempts to lure the kids away, C-dub begins to take things more seriously. With the National Golden Cock Tournament coming up and an injured Michael unable to defend his title, C-dub must become the player he pretends to be and defend his family’s ping pong dynasty.

Support Ping Pong Playa

Learn about the origins of C-dub

Ping Pong Playa trailer

Find Ping Pong Playa at a theater near you.

PING PONG PLAYA will be opening in theaters THIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th!!!

Where: NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES and BAY AREA

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NEW YORK CITY

AMC Village 7, New York, NY

Regal E Walk (42nd street) , New York, NY

LOS ANGELES

Chinese Theater, Hollywood, CA

Glendale Exchange, Glendale, CA

Alhambra Palace, Alhambra, CA

IRVINE

West Park Regal, Irvine, CA

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Metreon AMC, San Francisco, CA

Shattuck Landmark, Berkeley, CA

Camera 12, San Jose, CA

and then…

When: SEPTEMBER 12

Where: SEATTLE and HOUSTON

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SEATTLE

Lincoln Square, Bellevue, WA

Meridian Regal, Seattle, WA

Alderwood AMC, Lynwood, WA

HOUSTON

Marq E Houston, TX

2008 DC APA Film Trailer Contest Finalists

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Back in July, we told you about the 2008 DC APA Film Trailer Contest. The special jury of Asian American film makers and industry folk have reviewed all submissions and have chosen three finalists. Members of the jury include veteran filmmaker Grace Lee (THE GRACE LEE PROJECT, AMERICAN ZOMBIE), prolific producer Karin Chien (THE MOTEL, ROBOT STORIES), and up-and-coming film maker Tze Chun (WINDOWBREAKER, writer: CASHMERE MAFIA). Now it’s your turn to vote on the finalists and decide who wins the prizes. (We like #3 below.)

The 9th Annual DC Asian Pacific American (APA) Film Festival runs September 25 – October 4 at locations throughout the Washington, D.C., area, including the Landmark’s E Street Cinema and the United States Navy Memorial Theater.

2008 DC APA Film Festival Trailer Contest – 1

2008 DC APA Film Festival Trailer Contest – 2

2008 DC APA Film Festival Trailer Contest – 3

UPDATE: the winner is 2008 DC APA Film Festival Trailer Contest – 1 directed by Chihwen Lo. First Runner Up is #2 directed by Paul Moore. Second Runner Up is #3 directed by Jason Chew.

2008 DC APA Film Trailer Contest

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The 9th Annual DC Asian Pacific American (APA) Film Festival is coming up this September and they neeed your help. DC APA Film and Scion Motors have partnered up again this year to bring you the 2008 DC APA Film Festival Trailer Contest, now in its third year. It’s all pretty simple. You make a 30-second trailer promoting their festival. Your trailer may be highlighted on their site and included as part of their promotional efforts for the festival. The Grand Prize winning trailer will also be screened before most — if not all — screenings throughout the festival. And if that’s not incentive enough for you, they’re awarding cash prizes to the top two finalists, $600 to the grand prize winner and $200 to the first runner up. For details and rules, go here.

Here’s last year’s winner for the 2007 DC APA Film Trailer Contest

Miss Washington Elyse Umemoto Photo Scandal

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TMZ posted some unflattering photos of Miss Washington 2007 – Elyse Umemoto. Among the photos posted include the pageant winner flipping off the camera while wearing her crown, drinking and playing what appears to be beer pong, and making obscene sexual gestures. Running on a platform to promote diversity and women’s empowerment, Elyse Umemoto was also the second runner-up in this year’s Miss America pageant.

While her scandal is not as big as Miss Nevada’s, the Miss Washington Scholarship Organization is embarrassed by the pictures. Quick reaction also by Elyse Umemoto. She held a press conference in Tacoma, Washington the same day the scandal broke. In her apology, she says that someone she trusted stole the photos from her, she’s not proud of how she was depicted, and that being a public figure and role model is a full-time job. (We think Elyse Umemoto has learned her lesson.)

Elyse Umemoto’s press conference apology

Bhutan:Land of the Thunder Dragon

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Smithsonian Folklife Festival Presents
Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon

June 25-June 29 and July 2-6, 2008

Location: outdoors on the National Mall of the United States in Washington, D.C., by the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

This summer, visitors to the 42nd annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival will have the rare opportunity to learn about the rich culture of the virtually unknown Kingdom of Bhutan. “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon” will examine the fascinating culture, customs and history of this isolated mountain kingdom whose king initiated a unique government policy of “Gross National Happiness.” The country is situated in the eastern Himalayas and is bordered by China and India. In a mere few hundred miles, its geography changes from low-lying, steamy jungles to some of the world’s highest peaks.

Through live demonstrations, dance and musical performances, narrative sessions and a variety of hands-on activities, the program will explore Bhutan’s rich culture, which has been preserved, in part, through its relative isolation from outside influences. The program, which will feature approximately 140 Bhutanese artists, dancers, cooks, craftspeople, carpenters, farmers and representatives of monastic life, is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Bhutanese life and culture ever presented outside of the kingdom. The Bhutanese delegation will be led by His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck.

The Festival will be held Wednesday, June 25 through Sunday, June 29 and Wednesday, July 2 through Sunday, July 6 outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. Admission is free. Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, with such special evening events as concerts and dance parties beginning at 6 p.m.

Watch the trailer for Bhutan:Land of the Thunder Dragon