SPECIAL SCREENING OF "THE FAREWELL" STARRING AWKWAFINA & TZI MA

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival just added a special screening of the Awkwafina and Tzi Ma starring film, The Farewell. The Sundance hit directed by Lulu Wang follows the account of Wang’s own life which was previously featured in NPR’s This American Life.

The Farewell tells the story of New Yorker Billi (Awkwafina), who emigrated from China to the US with her parents when she was a young child. Now years older, she discovers that her grandmother, Nai Nai, who still resides in China, is dying from cancer. Her family decides to conceal the truth from her grandmother and instead, create a plan to have an impromptu wedding as a cover for them to say their “final” goodbyes to their Nai Nai.

The LAAPFF special screening of The Farewell will take place at 7:30pm, Wednesday, May 8 at the Regal LA Live: A Barco Innocation Center. For tickets and more information, you can head to https://festival.vcmedia.org/2019/

The Farewell is scheduled to hit theaters July 12.

FILIPINO FILMMAKER MAKES HISTORY AT LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL

Diane Paragas and her film, Yellow Rose, will make history at this year’s 35th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, making her the first Filipina American Filmmaker to open the festival.  

Directed and written by Diane Paragas, the American movie musical follows the story of Rose, played by Tony award nominee Eva Noblezada, a 17 year old girl who tries to fulfill her dream of becoming a country music star all while facing the threat of deportation. Joining Noblezada is Broadway star and Tony Award winner, Lea Salonga who plays Rose’s aunt. Rounding out the cast is Dale Watson, Liam Booth, Gustavo Gomez, Libby Villari and Princess Punzalan.

“I am so humbled that our film has been chosen for this honor.” Paragas told Deadline.com

Paragas also stated that Yellow Rose has taken over 15 years to make and “it couldn’t come at a more important time when anti-immigrant sentiment is at an all-time high. This is a story for everyone facing challenges in finding their voice, their dreams and, more importantly, their home.”

Francis Cullado, the Executive Director of Visual Communications expressed their excitement in showcasing Diane Paragas as the first ever Filipina American Opning Night presentation, saying

“We feel that Yellow Rose’s themes stemming from our collective experiences of what defines American can create cultural cross-connections throughout our diverse communities.”

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival will run from May 2nd to May 10th. For more information, you can head to https://vcmedia.org/festival

FINALISTS FOR THE 2018 HBO ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN VISIONARIES COMPETITION HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED

The top three finalists for the 2018 HBO APA Visionaries short film competition include Director Feng-I Fiona Roan’s short “Jiejie”, “June” directed by Huay-Bing Law and the Maritte Go directed film, “Remittance”. 

HBO’s Asian Pacific American Visionaries, is a short film competition that was created in 2016 to encourage and provide emerging APA directors a place to showcase their work.  Sponsored by HBO, the panel of judges include HBO executives, industry leaders and fellow APA filmmakers.  This year’s competition asked filmmaker’s to explore the concept of “home” in creative and innovative ways. 

“Jiejie” directed by Feng-I Fiona Roan follows the story of two young sisters who are raised by their single immigrant mother in Los Angeles during 1997. On the sisters’ first day at church, older sister Fen Liang betrays her little sibling, Ann fueling an unprecedented outburst since their immigration. Taipei born Roan, received her Directing MFA from the American Film Institute.  Roan’s projects focus on strong female leads as well as explores their relationships in an “intimate, familial, naturalistic atmosphere.” 

“June” is set in 1955 and is a story of a Chinese Wife who tries to fit in at her husband’s Texas University graduation party.  The short is directed by Huay-Bing Law whose films have premiered at numerous Film Festivals including the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Fest, Lone Star, Hawaii International and Austin Film Festival.

The Maritte Go directed film, “Remittance” is inspired by Go’s immigrant family experience and follows a Filipino cruise worker who receives a phone call that her son is in the hospital. Filipina American Go received her Masters in Film/TV Production from USC.  Fueled by her attraction for horror films, she is currently in preproduction to direct and write a horror anthology produced by Radio Silence.

"HBO is proud to not only be part of the dialogue about media diversity but also leading new conversations around it," stated Jackie Gagne, VP Multicultural Marketing at HBO. "With Asian Pacific American Visionaries, we are empowering communities through representation while celebrating great artistic talent."

"In order for progress and change to be possible for Asian Americans in Hollywood, the major studios and networks must find ways to work together with our community," said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications, the organization that produces the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. "The Asian Pacific American Visionaries program demonstrates HBO's continued industry excellence and sets an example for other companies who are serious about diversity."

"HBO is a network that continues to break new ground with both its award-winning programs and commitment to developing diverse talent," said Michelle K. Sugihara, Executive Director of CAPE. "Asian Pacific American Visionaries perfectly aligns with our organization's core principles of creating new opportunities for APA artists and advancing culture through entertainment."

The top three films will premiere at the upcoming Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in April 2018 and will be offered the opportunity to license their film to premiere exclusively on HBO during May 2018; to coincide with Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

2017 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

The 33rd annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival kicked off on April 27th with the screening of Justin Lin’s film, “Better Luck Tomorrow”. It’s hard to believe that it was 15 years ago when I first saw this movie. So much has happened since then, and at the same time, it's bittersweet to see that not much has changed. We can still relate to the characters of the film as well as their storylines.

I have been a huge supporter of the LAAPFF for several years and am always thrilled to see which movies will be screening.  The films being showcased are always some of the best and do a wonderful job in representing the talented filmmakers, directors, writers, and actors in our APA community. This year was no different.  

One example of this was Justin Chon’s movie, and Sundance Audience Award winner “Gook” which takes place during the 1992 LA Riots. “Gook” has received numerous positive reviews, including a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.7 rating on IMDB. Samuel Goldwyn also picked up the North American rights for the film, which is scheduled to be released sometime in August. “Gook” is screening at the LAAPFF Orange County on Wednesday, May 10th.

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Justin Chon throughout the years - from his “Twilight” roles to “Seoul Searching” and his other directorial debut movie, “Man Up.”   It’s such a thrill to see him go from talented actor, to director and writer. I cant wait to see what else Justin has in store for us.

I also had the opportunity to be a juror for the Shorts Documentary competition; which was also the first time this category was created.  What an honor!  Each of the short documentaries in the competition was told in their own beautiful way. The other jurors and I had a difficult time reaching a decision. 

In the end, The Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Alisa Yang for her documentary, “Please Come Again” which centered on her story and the history of the love hotels in Japan.  After watching the short, I was completely speechless.  “Please Come Again” incorporated only text and visuals of the love hotels and the different meanings each room has held throughout the years.  It was not only a documentary on Alisa’s life, but also used the love hotels as a metaphor for the female body.

The Best Cinematography award was presented to “Forever, Chinatown”.  “Forever, Chinatown” follows the life of 81 year old artist, Frank Wong, who, for the past 40 years has recreated memories of his childhood, living in San Francisco’s Chinatown, through miniature models.  The cinematography for the short docu captured every intricate detail of the film, including Wong’s touching, nostalgic and some times bittersweet memories, the miniature models he created and was able to lucidly encapsulate the tone of the documentary. 

Jennifer Zheng took home the Best Director award for her documentary “Tough”.  Zheng’s choice in creating an animated documentary was an interesting but well told one.  “Tough” tells the story of a Chinese mother and British born daughter who openly talk as adults for the first time and honestly discuss growing up in their respective backgrounds and the cultural issues they struggled with.

Congratulations to all of the winners.

The Orange County portion of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is still going on until May 11th.  For more information and for tickets on the movies currently screening, you can head to www.vconline.org