The 16th San Diego Asian Film Festival returns in November 5th – 14th for a crammed fest of 130+ films…
The San Diego Asian Film Festival is coming back for a 16th year during a 10-day festival, from November 5th – 14th in 2015. Presented by the Pacific Arts Movement, the SDAFF is the largest showcase of Asian cinema on the West Coast with more than 130 films and programs from 20 countries, and is coming to San Diego in just over a month for Asian film fans of all tastes.
The SDAFF this year will feature delights in the catalogue such as THE ROYAL TAILOR from Lee Won-suk, Sion Sono’s incredible LOVE & PEACE, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR. Here at easternKicks we loved being part of the festival last year; getting involved with the action in San Diego from the UK, and we’ll be doing the same this year! Late on Thursday evening at a massive launch part, the SDAFF line-up was fully revealed to the world, including 130+ films from 20 countries, and a massive line-up of incredible cinematic delights on display.
AN
NAOMI KAWASE / MASTERS / FRANCE, GERMANY, JAPAN / 2015 / DRAMA, FOOD / 113 MINS
The neighborhood pastry chef gets an unusual applicant to be his assistant: a 76-year-old woman with a surprising knowledge of how to improve the red-bean sweetness of his pancake confections. But with the secret recipe comes secrets about the woman’s background, and the chef is brought to rethink his inspiration.
THE ASSASSIN
HOU HSIAO-HSIEN / MASTERS / CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN / 2015 / DRAMA, EXPERIMENTAL, MARTIAL ARTS / 104 MINS
The great Hou Hsiao-hsien’s long-awaited martial arts adaptation is a masterpiece of the wuxia spirit. An assassin is ordered to kill her cousin but then scales away from a life of violence. Intricately ordered and immaculately detailed, but always profoundly naturalistic, Hou stuns with a treatise on beauty and justice that is beyond words.
ATOMIC HEART
ALI AHMADZADEH / DISCOVERIES / IRAN / 2015 / COMEDY, DRAMA, FANTASY / 93 MINS
Decked out in dyed hair and rhapsodizing on life in their twenties, a pair of partiers cruise the Tehran streets and along the way encounter a chic old friend and a charmer with a devilish side. Without a doubt the most surreal new Iranian film is also the coolest.
THE BEAUTY INSIDE
BAEK JONG-YEOL / ASIA POP! / SOUTH KOREA / 2015 / FANTASY, ROMANCE / 127 MINS
Imagine waking up every morning with a different face. Now imagine falling in love with somebody, only to know that their first impression will be the last. In the grand tradition of Korean romantic fantasy, THE BEAUTY INSIDE turns this premise into a lush exploration of amorous and cinematic surfaces.
BEING GOOD
MIPO O / DISCOVERIES / JAPAN / 2015 / DRAMA / 121 MINS
A teacher has about had it with his rowdy students. A mother realizes she hasn’t a clue how to discipline her young daughter. Director Mipo O captures the anxiousness of childcare with paralyzing effect, but also a realist’s take on adults’ desires – even inclinations – for doing the right thing.
THE CASE OF HANA & ALICE
SHUNJI IWAI / MASTERS / JAPAN / 2015 / ANIMATION, DRAMA / 100 MINS
In this animated prequel to Shunji Iwai’s 2004 hit, we find out that the titular high schoolers first met when they whimsically started looking into the famed murder surrounding a classmate. Their amateur sleuthing becomes a teenage dance of friendship, illuminated by the gentle hues of youth.
CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR
APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL / MASTERS / THAILAND / 2015 / EXPERIMENTAL / 122 MINS
Apichatpong Weerasethakul casts another spell on his characters and audience, this time watching over a hospital full of soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness. Past worlds – a school, ancient ruins – animate strange states of longing and dreams held in suspension.
CHANGING SEASON: ON THE MASUMOTO FAMILY FARM
JIM CHOI / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY, FAMILY, FOOD, LGBT / 57 MINS
Nothing is forever, and certainly not on the Masumoto family farm. Despite the peach farm’s renown, age and a depleting water table threaten its longevity. Enter Nikko: daughter, hapa, queer, and the personification of the farm’s changing season as well as its enduring spirit.
COIN LOCKER GIRL
HAN JUN-HEE / ASIA POP! / SOUTH KOREA / 2015 / THRILLER / 110 MINS
Dickens meets Godfather when Il-Young, abandoned in a coin locker as a baby, grows up as a fierce daughter in a family of loan sharks. But teenage rebellion turns deadly when she starts to battle her adopted mother, the intimidating, coiffed-for-murder matron of the Chinatown underworld.
COUP D’ETAT
YOSHISHIGE YOSHIDA / MASTERS / JAPAN / 1973 / 110 MINS
Kiju Yoshida depicts the 1936 attempted coup against the Japanese government by Ikki Kita, played by the late Rentaro Mikuni. Equal parts political and sensual, the film ties the past to modern Japan in haunting ways.
CRUSH THE SKULL
VIET NGUYEN / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / COMEDY, HORROR, THRILLER / 83 MINS
Chris Dinh and Katie Savoy are in love, but they need fast cash. Luckily, they’re professional thieves. Unluckily, they break into a house with no exit and no cell phone reception and no explanation for the torture pit they discover there. Luckily for us, their hapless misadventures are sheer comic gold.
THE DARK HORSE
JAMES NAPIER ROBERTSON / ASIA POP! / NEW ZEALAND / 2014 / DRAMA / 124 MINS
Whale Rider’s Cliff Curtis stars as Maori chess legend Genesis Potini, an outsider in life who nonetheless stands up for underprivileged youth by creating opportunities for them through chess. Based on a true story, this raw and inspiring drama stokes passion that transcends class and disease.
DEADMAN INFERNO
HIROSHI SHINAGAWA / ASIA POP! / JAPAN / 2015 / COMEDY, HORROR, THRILLER / 108 MINS
A crew of washed-up yakuza are about to hang up their coats until ZOMBIES ATTACK!! With the help of a high-kicking daughter, a reggae-loving fisherman, a questionable cop, and absolutely zero help from the authorities, they rediscover their calling in Japan’s most pitch-perfect horror-comedy in years.
DIGITAL PIONEER: BUZZFEED
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / PANEL / 60 MINS
The website BuzzFeed has become not only one of the most formidable presences on the internet, but also one of the most significant platforms for Asian American artists. We welcome BuzzFeed producer and performer Eugene Lee Yang to talk about BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, changing demographics, and new opportunities for filmmakers.
EROS + MASSACRE
YOSHISHIGE YOSHIDA / MASTERS / JAPAN / 1969 / 202 MINS
Kiju Yoshida’s legendary biopic of anarchist Sakae Osugi and his sensually-complicated relationships with three women. Epic in size and ambition, Yoshida tells the story of a man who is the image of modern Japan.
FEMALE PERVERT
JIYOUNG LEE / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / COMEDY / 62 MINS
Jiyoung Lee is back and the sleaze is as bemused an awkward as ever! This time we follow Phoebe, designer of video games of unappreciated genius and the lone champion of casual, mundane perversion, as she surveys the manscape while throwing shade at its petty intellectualism. Hilarious, screwy, enchanting.
FLOWERS OF TAIPEI: TAIWAN NEW CINEMA
HSIEH CHINLIN / MASTERS / TAIWAN / 2014 / DOCUMENTARY / 109 MINS
Some of the world’s most famous directors and curators debate, reminisce, and celebrate “Taiwan New Cinema,” the film movement that reshaped cultural dialogue in 1980s Taiwan and introduced groundbreaking new talents like Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang.
FULL STRIKE
DEREK KWOK, HENRI WONG / ASIA POP! / HONG KONG / 2015 / COMEDY, SPORTS / 108 MINS
A down-and-out ex-badminton champ shakes off her shuttlecock to reclaim her family honor from a trio of conniving thieves. Only in Hong Kong can this sports redemption tale play out with the lunacy of a thriller and the hysterical charms of a goofy comedy.
GETTING INTIMATE WITH DR. KEN
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / PANEL / 60 MINS
Join us for a probing, awkwardly intimate conversation with everyone’s favorite doctor-turned-comedian Ken Jeong, star of Community, the Hangover films, and the new ABC sitcom Ken.
GO AWAY MR. TUMOR
HAN YAN / ASIA POP! / CHINA / 2015 / ROMANTIC COMEDY / 128 MINS
A plucky 30-year-old artist is hospitalized, but while friends fret about her health, she finds herself pleasantly distracted by her gorgeous doctor played by Daniel Wu. Gracefully personifying the manic spirit and emotion of the original web comic, actress Bai Baihe proves why she’s China’s new box office queenSearch
THE GRIEF OF OTHERS
PATRICK WANG / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DRAMA / 103 MINS
A death in the family paralyzes but also reveals connections and their consequences, especially upon the unexpected arrival of a visitor. With an exquisite condolence wrapped in loving humor and an active style that envelops and hugs, director Patrick Wang unites characters and audiences in a fertile grief that belongs to all.
HAPPY HOUR
RYUSUKE HAMAGUCHI / DISCOVERIES / JAPAN / 2015 / DRAMA / 317 MINS
The precious balance holding together four best friends is tested when one announces that she will be divorcing her husband. With a grandeur and detail afforded by its running time, HAPPY HOUR explores that balance through a feat of fortitude and the poise of simply “being there” between friends.
I HAVE SEEN MY LAST BORN
SAMUEL GRAY ANDERSON, LEE ISAAC CHUNG / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / RWANDA, USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY / 79 MINS
This affecting documentary follows Rwandan filmmaker Jean Kwezi and his commitment to building a relationship with a teenage daughter he abandoned years ago. With a spirit of openness and responsibility, Jean and the filmmakers emanate hope, regret, and love for family
IT’S ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG
EMILY TING / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / HONG KONG, USA / 2015 / DRAMA, ROMANCE / 79 MINS
Real-life couple Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg play Americans finding their ways in the streets of Hong Kong – only to find themselves in a precarious web of flirtation. Emily Ting’s debut breezily captures expats’ now-whats and what-ifs in a sparkling Hong Kong.
THE KIDS
WEI-SHAN YU / DISCOVERIES / TAIWAN / 2015 / DRAMA / 90 MINS
Bao-Li and Jia-Jia meet in middle school and become forever connected in this remarkable debut by Sunny Yu, who structures her document of youth as a mystery with overlapping revelations. As money problems, the pressure of family, and the seduction of redemption mount, so does the film’s willful sympathy.
LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM
YAMASHITA NOBUHIRO / MASTERS / JAPAN / 2015 / DRAMA, MUSICAL / 103 MINS
An amnesiac awakens knowing nothing about himself except that he can sing! His process of self-discovery, enabled by an ambitious teen at a recording studio, brings him face-to-face with buried demons and a talent that can lift him to redemption. From the director of Linda Linda Linda.
THE LAST REEL
SOTHO KULIKAR / ASIA POP! / CAMBODIA / 2014 / DRAMA, HISTORICAL / 105 MINS
The rebellious Sophoun is milling about a crumbling movie theater when something catches her eye: a picture of her mother from decades ago. Digging into her mom’s history unearths an entire catalogue of glamour from the golden years of Cambodian cinema, inspiring Sophoun to bring the past back to life.
LITTLE BIG MASTER
ADRIAN KWAN / ASIA POP! / HONG KONG / 2015 / COMEDY, DRAMA, FAMILY / 112 MINS
Miriam Yeung plays a star school principal who can get any job she wants, but opts instead to save a struggling kindergarten from closing on its five students. With uncommon sincerity and a mountain of cuteness, this family-friendly Hong Kong hit fights class inequality with the fervor of principle.
LORNA
SIGRID ANDREA BERNARDO / ASIA POP! / PHILIPPINES / 2014 / ROMANTIC COMEDY / 124 MINS
Lorna, 60, has men in her midst: the ex-husband, the smooth-talker, the overseas boyfriend, and the rock star with a stoned smile. Love should come easy, but as Lorna quickly learns, it doesn’t always get easier with age. Shamaine Buencamino and Lav Diaz alternate stealing the show in this retro, dashing comedy.
LOVE & PEACE
SION SONO / MASTERS / JAPAN / 2015 / COMEDY, MUSICAL / 117 MINS
From the warped mind of Sion Sono comes one of his most entertaining films to date. An office nerd has glam-rock dreams but only his pet turtle gives him any encouragement. Things blow up (literally) when a magic spell turns the sewers and the city into a musical fantasy-world.
MADE IN JAPAN
JOSH BISHOP / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY, MUSICAL / 90 MINS
Howdy neighbors! So says Tomi Fujiyama to her friends in the U.S. who are about to discover just what kind of neighbor she is. With cowboy hat and guitar, she’s determined to re-take the Grand Ole Opry stage, where in 1964, she became the country music institution’s first Japanese star.
THE MASTER
NAWAPOL THAMRONGRATTANARIT / DISCOVERIES / THAILAND / 2014 / DOCUMENTARY / 80 MINS
Thai filmmakers and critics reminisce on the neatly-kept corner stall of a bustling market, where in the 1990s, a shadowy entrepreneur sold lovingly-smuggled works of world cinema on VHS, and inadvertently transformed the face of Thai cinema forever.
MISS INDIA AMERICA
RAVI KAPOOR / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / COMEDY, FAMILY / 93 MINS
Lily is a college-bound valedictorian with a gilded future, so beauty pageants are way below her. But when a case of sass strikes, she finds out what she’s not above: some good ol’ fashioned competition. Thanks to a wily script and Tiya Sircar’s knockout comedic performance, nobody is safe from Lily’s schemes.
MISSING PEOPLE
DAVID SHAPIRO / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY / 81 MINS
Decades after her brother’s unsolved murder, Filipino American art gallery director Martina Batan becomes strangely obsessed with the violent work of a black New Orleans artist. A trip to the artist’s hometown sparks questions of cultural appropriation and the dual demons that have brought these worlds together.
MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART
JIA ZHANG-KE / MASTERS / CHINA, FRANCE, JAPAN / 2015 / DRAMA / 131 MINS
A poignant epic spanning decades and continents, Jia Zhang-ke’s latest masterpiece follows a love triangle from its dance-infused beginnings to its jet-set millennial melancholy. Jia explores China’s past, present, and future as only he can: with a canto-pop heart and a bleeding love for ordinary people strewn apart.
MYSTERY KUNG FU THEATER
It’s a secret.
NO NO SLEEP + THE PALACE ON THE SEA + CURTAINS
MASTERS / 53 MINS
Three shorts by outsiders (a Malay Chinese in Taiwan, a Taiwanese in America, and a Burmese Chinese in Taiwan) peer with active eyes into lives and settings unseen.
OBON BROTHERS
AKIRA OSAKI / ASIA POP! / JAPAN / 2015 / COMEDY, ROMANCE / 107 MINS
A struggling director moves in with his sick brother after his wife’s divorce threats send him packing. On top of that: a forced double-date that’s no good for anybody. But in honor of the follies of fate, OBON BROTHERS spins calamity into gentle observation and wry, cool comedy.
OFF THE MENU: ASIAN AMERICA
GRACE LEE / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY, FOOD / 56 MINS
Taking Pictures. Of food. Add documentarian Grace Lee to that list and you get more than delectable soft-focus close-ups, but also fascinating portraits of Asian Americans and their relationships with the meals they cook, serve, eat, and sell, from Hawaii to Texas to Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
OFFICE
JOHNNIE TO / MASTERS / CHINA, HONG KONG / 2015 / MUSICAL / 117 MINS
Megastars Chow Yun-fat and Sylvia Chang engage in power-plays, sideline deals, and other dubious games of high finance. In any other hands, this would be a routine takedown of corruption. In Johnnie To’s, it’s a high-flying musical with pop stars and living legends spinning corporate intrigue to dizzying heights.
OPERATION POPCORN
DAVID GRABIAS / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY / 81 MINS
After fleeing Laos as refugees, a squadron of military-minded Hmong men in California plot to stage a coup in their estranged homeland with the help of the US government and its AK-47s. Filled with wily characters and pixelated evidence, this is both a documentary about secret wars and an edge-of-your-seat mystery.
OUT OF MY HAND
TAKESHI FUKUNAGA / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / LIBERIA, USA / 2015 / DRAMA / 88 MINS
When Cisco and his fellow rubber workers go on strike, it feels both inevitable and insufficient. When he turns instead to driving a cab in New York City, he’s still haunted by the same forces of captivity. Takeshi Fukunaga’s stirring tale of tenacity is an essential portrait of a transnational Liberia.
RADHE RADHE: RITES OF HOLI
PRASHANT BHARGAVA / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / INDIA, USA / 2013-2014 / DOCUMENTARY, MUSICAL / 35 MINS
The peerless Prashant Bhargava was only 42 when he passed away this May. We pay tribute to him with one of his final works, a short celebration of vitality in spirituality, chaos, color, and dance, and a celebration of spring in collaboration with jazz luminary Vijay Iyer.
REEL VOICES
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 120 MINS
12 high school students from San Diego create documentaries based on subjects in their own lives.
In This Program: OUR RELIGION, PLAN BEE, 1946-2014, DEPRESSION, OBSESSED, BURRITO BOYZ, DOORS OF CHANGE, GENDERATION, LIMITING FACTOR, FROM PILOT TO PHOTOGRAPHER, SAFETY ON
REUNIFICATION
ALVIN TSANG / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / HONG KONG, USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY / 85 MINS
In the early 1980s, Alvin’s family decided to move from Hong Kong to the United States. His mom and sister went first. But when he and his dad arrived a few years later, Alvin discovered that his family could never be the same again.
THE ROYAL TAILOR
LEE WON-SUK / ASIA POP! / SOUTH KOREA / 2014 / COMEDY, HISTORICAL / 127 MINS
Court politics get tangled in this farce about an emperor, his personal tailor, and a cocksure young designer who has wild ideas about fashion, spinning the city asunder. From one of Korea’s best comedy directors comes sexy period intrigue with a distinctly modern twist.
SEOUL SEARCHING
BENSON LEE / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / SOUTH KOREA, USA / 2015 / COMEDY / 105 MINS
Don’t you forget about 1986, when the Latin Lover collided with the punk and the pastor’s daughter on a Seoul summer camp for overseas Korean youth to discover their roots. And by roots, we mean soju, laughs, and that weird science of young love.
SHORTS: ALL-STARS ONLY
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 72 MINS
It’s shirts vs. skins in this feisty set of shorts about the unexpected superstars of music and sports.
In This Program: ALL OF ENGLAND DANCING, FROM TONGA, CHINESE UP THEM EYES LIKE BEYONCE, BRITNEY-HOLICS ANONYMOUS: A SPEAR-ITUAL AWAKENING, SUMO ROAD ~THE MUSICAL~, ALL THE WAY
SHORTS: ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 81 MINS
The magic of animation comes alive in this collection of short films.
In This Program: THE LAST VIEWING, BOUND FOR GLORY, BATTLE DEADLINE, PULSE, WAY OUT, “CUZ HE’S BLACK”, WAITING, NO ROBOTS, TRACKS, WHY DO I STUDY PHYSICS?, CHOPS, TIGER JK, YOON MI-RAE: TURN IT UP, A SPACE DOGYSSEY, THE SEED, RAIN LOTUS, JINXY JENKINS, LUCKY YOU, RUNAWAY, PET, LEVEL ON, DIVIDE, MULTIPLY, SPACE CRITTERS, JOHNNY EXPRESS
SHORTS: DEARLY DEPARTING
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 90 MINS
In these short films, road trips and journeys home bring family together and pave the paths for self-discovery.
In This Program: TADAIMA, THE STORY OF SNOW, DAY PASS, SUNNYSIDE, FRANK & KASS, OFF THE GRID
SHORTS: DRUNK IN LOVE
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 98 MINS
In these shorts, getting home while under the influence of love is going to take some unusual maneuvering.
In This Program: ONE SHOT, SLEEPWALKERS, TOURISTS, UNREQUITED LOVE, BALLOT, IT’S NOT ALWAYS SUNNY, DRAMA
SHORTS FOR SHORTIES!
ASIA POP! / 45 MINS
Family-friendly animated and live-action short films about resilience, childhood, acceptance, and friendship.
In This Program: SUPER GIRL, AFTERNOON CLASS, JOHNNY EXPRESS, HELLO FROM MALAYSIA, SWITCH MAN, DECORATIONS, BY YOUR SIDE
SHORTS: FREE SAMPLES
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 87 MINS
Everyone likes free samples. Whet your appetite on this assortment of flavors, emotions, and the best things in life.
In This Program: NOVEMBER, DISTANCE BETWEEN, FISH EYE, JEANNIE WONG WANTS TO DO EVERYTHING, ENFILADE, DANDEKAR MAKES A SANDWICH, THE PRIDE, CHINK
SHORTS: MOMMY QUEEREST
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 104 MINS
From mama drama and a possessed phone to an off-the-rails dinner party, the queer life sometimes veers over the top.
In This Program: WHEN MOM VISITS, PAPER WRAP FIRE, OPERATION MARRIAGE, SEX, POLITICS & STICKY RICE, FAMILY GATHERING, TALKING TO MY MOTHER, HOMOPHONIA, COMING HOME
SHORTS: TALKING BACK
ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / 99 MINS
Filmmakers turn their cameras on their parents and grandparents, inciting conversation, chasing tough memories, and refusing the paralysis of silence.
In This Program: VISITING MUM, CHOPPING ONIONS, MY SISTER SWALLOWED THE ZOO, A FAMILY DAY, RAYMOND, GIAP’S LAST DAY AT THE IRONING BOARD FACTORY, TAK CHUNG WU
SNAKESKIN
DANIEL HUI / DISCOVERIES / PORTUGAL, SINGAPORE / 2014 / EXPERIMENTAL, HYBRID DOCUMENTARY / 105 MINS
In 2066, the remaining member of a cult looks back on its history when he discovers film footage of its pre-founding in 2014. Altogether strange and death-defying, this is an alternative history of Singapore told from the future, showing racial and cultural fault lines manifesting as a nation’s ghosts-in-the-making.
SNOW PATHS
KIM HEE-JUNG / DISCOVERIES / SOUTH KOREA / 2015 / DRAMA / 100 MINS
An alcoholic checks into a forest convent for rehabilitation, but has an icy relationship with the nuns – that is, until he meets one with an other-worldly obligation to him. Their connection is just one of many enigmas in a film blurring religious and secular, burning passion and the cold of winter.
SOMEONE ELSE
NELSON KIM / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DRAMA / 72 MINS
A law internship brings the studious Jamie to New York City, but it’s the seduction of women and nightlife that really commands his attention. Or is it? Nelson Kim’s sinuous drama of doubles and family rivalries tackles expectations of good and bad Korean American men with twisty glee.
SWAP
REMTON ZUASOLA / DISCOVERIES / PHILIPPINES / 2015 / THRILLER / 96 MINS
Staged in a magnificent single take while zipping in time and shifting breathlessly across locations, SWAP follows a young couple as they confront the unimaginable: the kidnapping of their son. The film’s theatrics foreground a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse, while the ghosts of social upheaval loom behind the curtains.
TAXI
JAFAR PANAHI / MASTERS / IRAN / 2015 / EXPERIMENTAL, HYBRID DOCUMENTARY / 82 MINS
Jafar Panahi’s third film while banned from filmmaking is a shocker of unwavering mastery. With an almost cheeky love of the camera, Panahi mounts several camcorders in a taxi he drives around town, interacting with passengers and brazenly putting to the test the ethics of cinema in urban Iran.
THANATOS, DRUNK
CHANG TSO-CHI / MASTERS / TAIWAN / 2015 / DRAMA, LGBT / 107 MINS
The aptly-named Rat crawls through a subcultural, emotionally subterranean world left to him by an alcoholic mother and shared with a brother who has just returned from the United States. Chang Tso-chi’s despairing, shockingly-felt drama plays like a woozy dream interrupted by bouts of emotional acuity.
THERE IS A NEW WORLD SOMEWHERE
LI LU / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DRAMA, ROMANCE / 103 MINS
Stuck in a dead-end arts job, Sylvia escapes with a handsome stranger who invites her on a road trip through the Deep South. An adventure of romance, risk, and validation, Li Lu’s debut feature tantalizes with the deeply-felt charge of a woman taking bold strides to define her own future.
TWENTY
LEE BYEONG-HEON / ASIA POP! / SOUTH KOREA / 2015 / COMEDY / 115 MINS
Three buds may be entering their twenties, but they are by no means men, at least as evidenced by their skirt-chasing and general shirking of responsibility. But the circling women force them into adulthood, a ride fuelled by soju, awkward laughter, and above all, a bond to survive any decade.
TYRUS
PAMELA TOM / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2015 / DOCUMENTARY, HISTORICAL / 72 MINS
You may not have heard of Tyrus Wong, but you’ve seen his work in classic films like Bambi and Rebel Without a Cause. This enchanting documentary follows the Chinese American pioneer from his art school beginnings during the Depression to his years as a production illustrator leaving indelible brushstrokes on Hollywood history.
WE ARE FAMILY
JIM WANG / ASIA POP! / TAIWAN / 2015 / COMEDY
Three slacker roommates who can barely take care of themselves are put to the test when an old friend arrives with a baby, a wad of cash, and a plea for help. Now, the trio must get creative to keep the crying baby happy and secret from prying eyes.
THE WHISPERING STAR
SION SONO / MASTERS / JAPAN / 2015 / SCIENCE FICTION / 100 MINS
A delivery-robot travels from planet to planet dropping off packages for human clients. Perched behind her intergalactic console, she starts to wonder about the worlds of humans, so far apart in space, so far away in each other’s memories.
WINNING GIRL
KIMBERLEE BASSFORD / ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA / USA / 2014 / DOCUMENTARY, SPORTS / 68 MINS
16-year-old Teshya is a 125-pound judo and wrestling champion who dreams to be world champion. But her journey, followed across four years in this sensitive documentary, shows the physical and economic costs for a tenacious teen and her supportive family in Hawaii.
WONDERFUL NIGHTMARE
KANG HYO-JIN / ASIA POP! / SOUTH KOREA / 2015 / COMEDY / 123 MINS
In this touching comedic fantasy, the city’s top attorney dies in an accident, but is given a second chance at life if she can trade places with an ordinary mother for one month. Leave it to actress Uhm Jung-hwa to take no prisoners – even when locked-up in her own suburban cell.
THE WONDERFUL WEDDING
HUANG CHAO-LIANG / ASIA POP! / TAIWAN / 2015 / COMEDY, ROMANCE / 104 MINS
A cranky Taiwanese dad gets the dreaded news that his precious daughter is marrying a mainlander, setting off a cross-cultural comedy of reluctant in-laws and pre-marital hijinks. Fuelled by love and a sense of fun, this box-office hit impressively balances genuine anxiety with straight-up silliness, a fitting allegory for cross-straits relations.
ZINNIA FLOWER
TOM SHU-YU LIN / ASIA POP! / TAIWAN / 2015 / DRAMA, ROMANCE / 96 MINS
They say it takes 100 days to mourn a death. Director Tom Lin, who made the gripping ZINNIA FLOWER to cope with his wife’s own passing, gifts us the story of two strangers who lose their loved ones in a car crash and discover that mourning takes more than time, but an unexpected, liberating journey of solitude.
For ticketing info, full film details, and schedule, please visit sdaff.org or contact info@pacarts.org
For more information about Pacific Arts Movement, visit www.pacarts.org.
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