VAFF announces 2007 Festival line-up
Oct 21, 02:50 AM by administrator
Vancouver Asian Film Festival enters its second decade with its largest program of films and attending filmmakers
Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) celebrates its 11th year with its largest line-up of features, shorts, and documentaries from Asian filmmakers from North America. This year, we see the increasing trend towards more feature films from this community. Other highlights include international features from Asia, panel discussions and parade of celebrity host presentations from 15 of Vancouver’s top acting talents. The Festival takes place at Tinseltown Theatres from November 1 – 4 with 15 selected program screenings covering 41 films.
Tickets and membership cards are available at the door from the VAFF Registration desk prior to each screening. Advance tickets and Festival Gold Passes may be purchased online at www.vaff.org beginning Oct 18th. Attendees must be 18 years of age or older to attend and present a current VAFF membership ($1 fee). More: info@vaff.org.
- More and More Filmmakers:
The list of filmmakers coming to support their films is long, and most notable this year are Justin Lin, Fay Ann Lee, Ho Tam and Quentin Lee:
Justin Lin achieved critical and commercial success from his breakthrough work at Sundance with BETTER LUCK TOMMORROW through to the Hollywood action hit THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT. In 1997, he attended the 1st VAFF along with Quentin Lee with their film SHOPPING FOR FANGS. On Opening Night, Justin returns to the 11th VAFF to screen FINISHING THE GAME, a comedy about producers attempting to complete Bruce Lee’s unfinished final film. Also screening will be Anson Ho’s documentary BUILDING A JOURNEY, which follows Justin and his crew behind the scenes. Justin will also speak to VAFF audiences in the special program IN THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR WITH JUSTIN LIN, sharing his journey from indie filmmaker to Hollywood success and on being an Asian-American filmmaking pioneer. In attendance will be actor Roger Fan, star of FINISHING THE GAME and many of Justin’s films.
Writer/director Fay Ann Lee brings her soon-to-be-released romantic comedy FALLING FOR GRACE for its Canadian premiere. A sold out hit at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, this film features a huge list of stars, including Margaret Cho, Ken Leung, Gale Harold, Roger Rees, Christine Baranski, Lewis Black, and Bobby Flay.
In this year’s Artist Spotlight, one of North America’s most accomplished artists, Victoria, BC’s Ho Tam (BOOKS OF JAMES) will screen his retrospective piece, CONFESSIONS OF A SALESMAN, inviting audiences to connect with his body of work and discuss his art.
Also returning to VAFF and closing this year’s Festival is Hong Kong/Canadian director Quentin Lee (ETHAN MAO), with his documentary 0506HK, exploring today’s Hong Kong and his personal and political perspectives on whether or not to relocate there from Los Angeles, one decade after The Handover.
- More Features:
Adding more international flavour are 3 feature films set in Japan, Hong Kong, and U.S/China:
Writer/Co-director David Ren’s twistedly romantic/unromantic SHANGHAI KISS mixes both Asian culture shock and the Asian male libido into a frothy comedy that stars the emergent Ken Leung, and Kelly Hu, Hayden Panettierre, and the great James Hong.
First rule of Death Note: The human whose name is written in this note shall die. Fans of the popular manga series in Japan and campy, sci-fi, horror, psychological crime thriller lovers will love DEATH NOTE 1. Shusuke Kaneko’s live-action adaptation topped the Japanese box-office, pushing aside blockbuster American films.
From Hong Kong, Chiu Leung Chun’s touching and sentimental feature film MR. CINEMA shows how political ideology of China alienates father and son when the hardships of life in a changing Hong Kong takes its toll on the family. This is preceded by Irene Kwan’s AH X shows a displaced Asian American girl looking to rediscover her identity and her place in the world.
- Two Panel Discussions & Screenings:
A pair of Program screenings are accompanied by panel discussions to help educate the public at large and to establish on-going dialogue between filmmakers and the various Asian communities. What challenges do media depictions bring and what work is required of Asian filmmakers?
In the program HIROS AND VILLAINS, filmmaker Nilesh Patel moderates a discussion on depictions of Asians in the media, with panelists director Jason Furukawa, casting director Judy Lee, filmmaker Binky Mendez, and city councillor B.C. Lee. Preceding this discussion are three short films reflecting each filmmaker’s own interpretation of these images. In Tze Chun’s WINDOWBREAKER it’s all too easy to point the finger, while Adeline Huynh’s ANOTHER WESTERN reflects on her childhood in the land of cowboys, and Kim Noonan and Neal Sickles’ RUNNING DRAGON looks at the conflicts of adoption and westernization.
The program THE ART OF REVOLUTION looks at the power of the media to affect change in social and political turmoil and what opportunities and challenges our filmmakers have today and tomorrow. Join moderator, long-time community advocate, Hayne Wai, and panelists: activist/writer/historian Jim Wong-Chu, Dr. Henry Yu (UBC & UCLA), Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, a NY-based spoken word artist, and our Spotlight filmmaker Ho Tam, as they discuss this year’s significant anniversaries in Asian-Canadian history, what were the catalysts for change then, and what role media can play now. Four short films illustrate this lively discussion including Valerie Soe’s art/film/revolution, followed by the powerful anti-war statement BYSTANDING by Karen Lin, while Tadashi Nakamura’s PILGRIMAGE shows the power of commemoration, and Ling Liu’s OFFICER TSUKAMOTO documents the unsolved murder of San Francisco’s first Asian police officer.
- The Vanishing Art of Chinese Opera:
Two films take a special look at the characters, struggles and beauty of the traditional art of the Chinese opera. Cecilia Pang’s LITTLE TIGER provides a portrait of a group of immigrant artists who struggle to retain their cultural and artistic identity in America. Joe Chang’s MADAME ZHANG’S DREAM uses the modern technique of animation to illustrate the beauty of the traditional form.
- Unique Perspectives on War:
Shuibo Wang’s THEY CHOSE CHINA documents U.S. soldiers who refused to return to America at the end of the Korean War in 1954. Lee Wang’s SOMEONE ELSE’S WAR documents how low-paid South and Southeast Asians do the dirty work at U.S. military bases during the war in Iraq. Preceding these 2 films is Minh Nguyen’s retelling of THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES.
- Lovin’ the Alien:
Three films that focus on the challenges and triumphs of immigrants: Siu Ta’s CUT AND DRY documenting one hair dresser’s personal story, Heland Lee’s D4 DELIVERY, the story of struggle and alienation in the Big City, and Duc Ngyen’s BOLINAO 52, a Vietnamese boat person recounts her harrowing experiences on the seas.
- A Long List Of Shorts:
From award winners to deeply personal scenes and hilarious calling card pieces, short films offer the chance to explore more stories for those who love variety. Several will qualify for the annual BEST CANADIAN SHORT AWARD, to be announced at a filmmakers’ luncheon on November 4th. Wonderful short programs have been a long-standing tradition at VAFF. Along with shorts already mentioned in other programs, these are some of this year’s best from developing Asian filmmakers in Canada and the U.S.
Among these are Jeff Chan and Ken Tsui’s hilarious NOISE AND MUSIC, and AIR AND WATER, Alfred Liu’s fantasy musical E.V.E.S., Alberto Valenzuela’s THE SHRINE, Frank Yeenan Chan’s uphill RUSSIAN HILL ROULETTE, Howard Duy Vu’s funny and correct/incorrect EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, Jeff Chan’s delicious and bitter THE SCOOPERS, and Kathy Huang’s ironic doc MISS CHINATOWN, U.S.A. The façade of the perfect family is peeled away with Jennifer Tippin’s animated BAI RI MENG, Norman Lup-Man Yeung’s HELLO FAYE, P.J. Ravel’s touching LEAD ROLE FATHER, Jae-Ho Chang’s quietly pained THE LAST VACATION, Adam Mar’s rebellious BLUE, Kabir Shaukat Ali’s finality THE BIRTHDAY, and Franklin Peterson’s adaptation MY FATHER’S CHINESE WIFE. Other shorts dealing with relationship anxieties are Dennis Luu’s youthful REMEMBER THE DAYS, Michael Kim’s hookup MOUSE, A LOVE STORY, and Ty Phillips’ cerebral panic BRAINFART.
The Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society (VAFF) is a not-for-profit organization that provides a forum for independent North American Asian filmmakers to showcase their work to both Asian and non-Asian audiences. The aim of VAFF is to foster an understanding and appreciation of these filmmakers and providing them a springboard to larger film festivals. And the Society endeavours to represent the often-ignored North American Asians caught between two cultures.
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