Festival Favorite (and Audience Award Winner!) WHITE ON RICE, is opening in San Diego this weekend. What does that mean exactly?
Well, very few independent films see the light of day beyond film festivals. For the few and the lucky that make it beyond and acquire distribution, they get to see a limited run for theatrical premieres in some choice cities.
WHITE ON RICE has done just that and will be opening up in San Diego this Friday at the Gaslamp Reading Cinemas in Downtown. It's very important that we go and support this film as it makes it's debut. Not only is it a very funny and well deserved project- BUT- if it does well during opening weekend, they'll decide to keep it at the theater longer (which in turn gives hint to the Theater management that Asian American independent cinema is profitable in San Diego- and will allow for other films of this nature to be premiered!)
So go and see it this weekend! Opens TODAY and runs for a week.
*SPECIAL DISCOUNT: If you mention SDAFF you'll receive a discounted ticket- ONLY $7 (USUALLY $11!!!).
* CAST AND CREW will be in attendance too for Q+A on Saturday Night- 5:45 and 7:40 showings of the film.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
SDAFF 2009: Curtain Call
Fifteen days. We. Are. Done.
Last night was so fetch. The staff and volunteer leads were all dressed up, the theater was buzzing with people from everywhere, and the adrenaline was pumping. Part of the staff piles into theater seven, before the screening of IP MAN begins. Phil does a quick introduction for our chairman Dan Hom who proceeds to thank the board members and patrons. He then recognizes the four women in his life, mother, daughter and wife. And then of course, Lee Ann. Lee Ann gives thanks to everyone who makes this festival possible, and has the staff come to the front of the theater to be recognized. It feels good to know that we are making a difference and that our efforts are appreciated.
Hung out in the lobby for about an hour or so before we can go set up at All American Grill. Karin Anna Cheung is hilarious and she has some really funny behind the scenes stories of THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH. Then my friend and I were looking for my name on the stars from the star campaign. Genius that I am, I’m walking around looking up at the stars instead of where I’m going. I end up completely running into the chairs we have in the Ikea Lounge and made this loud scraping noise before losing my balance and falling into them. I stood up and started cracking up. My friend’s like, did you just trip over those chairs? I nodded, still laughing, and he tries to convince me that no one saw. It’s ok if you laugh at me. If I can’t laugh at myself for being a klutz, I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun as I do. Anyway, we didn’t find my star. Sad. But it was cool looking at all the different stars we had up.
Then hung out at the Toyota booth for a while before going upstairs with Karin, Mark, Chi and Eugene. Took a trip to YogurtLand and just kicked it until we could get into All American Grill. As soon as that place opened for us to set up, we took over. Food stations, go. DJ table and equipment, go. Silent auction, go. Add patrons and mix well for a good time.
The night went very smoothly and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We even had stars from WHITE ON RICE, THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH, and ALL ABOUT DAD come back to celebrate the closing night of our tenth anniversary. Thank you guys for making the trip! It’s much appreciated =)
Then cleaned up a bit before heading out to Chorus for some karaoke-ing. Good times.
Much thanks to:
Volunteers (this festival would not happen without you guys)
Staff (this festival would REALLY not happen without you guys)
Lee Ann Kim (this festival wouldn’t even exist without you)
Board of Directors (you guys rock!)
Sponsors (we love you guys!)
Community Partners (thanks for supporting!)
Patrons (we do this for you! Hope you all enjoyed it!)
Industry Guests (we do this for you too! Thanks for coming out!)
Our wonderful, wonderful, wonderful host, UltraStar Cinema and their staff
Tonight? Well, if the party don’t stop, then Megan’s farewell party is the place to be. And tomorrow night? That’s Halloween, silly. I’m sure you’ll find something to do. And Sunday? If you’re suffering from SDAFF withdrawals, go see Ong Bak 2 (it actually opens today at the Landmark Hillcrest Theater). If we can create enough demand for Asian film, we’ll send a message to the big wigs that we want to see Asians on screen! Thereby creating opportunities for Asian actors (Ok, so it’s a bit of a stretch, but we can try). And next weekend? WHITE ON RICE plays in theaters nationwide! As a bonus for the San Diego crowd, the cast will be back! Gaslamp Reading Theater.
Take care, SDAFFers!
Last night was so fetch. The staff and volunteer leads were all dressed up, the theater was buzzing with people from everywhere, and the adrenaline was pumping. Part of the staff piles into theater seven, before the screening of IP MAN begins. Phil does a quick introduction for our chairman Dan Hom who proceeds to thank the board members and patrons. He then recognizes the four women in his life, mother, daughter and wife. And then of course, Lee Ann. Lee Ann gives thanks to everyone who makes this festival possible, and has the staff come to the front of the theater to be recognized. It feels good to know that we are making a difference and that our efforts are appreciated.
Hung out in the lobby for about an hour or so before we can go set up at All American Grill. Karin Anna Cheung is hilarious and she has some really funny behind the scenes stories of THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH. Then my friend and I were looking for my name on the stars from the star campaign. Genius that I am, I’m walking around looking up at the stars instead of where I’m going. I end up completely running into the chairs we have in the Ikea Lounge and made this loud scraping noise before losing my balance and falling into them. I stood up and started cracking up. My friend’s like, did you just trip over those chairs? I nodded, still laughing, and he tries to convince me that no one saw. It’s ok if you laugh at me. If I can’t laugh at myself for being a klutz, I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun as I do. Anyway, we didn’t find my star. Sad. But it was cool looking at all the different stars we had up.
Then hung out at the Toyota booth for a while before going upstairs with Karin, Mark, Chi and Eugene. Took a trip to YogurtLand and just kicked it until we could get into All American Grill. As soon as that place opened for us to set up, we took over. Food stations, go. DJ table and equipment, go. Silent auction, go. Add patrons and mix well for a good time.
The night went very smoothly and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We even had stars from WHITE ON RICE, THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH, and ALL ABOUT DAD come back to celebrate the closing night of our tenth anniversary. Thank you guys for making the trip! It’s much appreciated =)
Then cleaned up a bit before heading out to Chorus for some karaoke-ing. Good times.
Much thanks to:
Volunteers (this festival would not happen without you guys)
Staff (this festival would REALLY not happen without you guys)
Lee Ann Kim (this festival wouldn’t even exist without you)
Board of Directors (you guys rock!)
Sponsors (we love you guys!)
Community Partners (thanks for supporting!)
Patrons (we do this for you! Hope you all enjoyed it!)
Industry Guests (we do this for you too! Thanks for coming out!)
Our wonderful, wonderful, wonderful host, UltraStar Cinema and their staff
Tonight? Well, if the party don’t stop, then Megan’s farewell party is the place to be. And tomorrow night? That’s Halloween, silly. I’m sure you’ll find something to do. And Sunday? If you’re suffering from SDAFF withdrawals, go see Ong Bak 2 (it actually opens today at the Landmark Hillcrest Theater). If we can create enough demand for Asian film, we’ll send a message to the big wigs that we want to see Asians on screen! Thereby creating opportunities for Asian actors (Ok, so it’s a bit of a stretch, but we can try). And next weekend? WHITE ON RICE plays in theaters nationwide! As a bonus for the San Diego crowd, the cast will be back! Gaslamp Reading Theater.
Take care, SDAFFers!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
NORTH KOREA NEEDS A “KOREA” (CAREER) CHANGE
One of this year’s most engaging topics at the SDAFF were the various films and forums that discussed the rampant and tyrannical regime that exists in North Korea and how that Communist country is currently being ruled by a man in which part of his name pretty much describes the situation of the people of N. Korea…ill.
Kim Jong-il, son of N. Korea’s first god complex president Kim Il-sung, became president of North Korea October 8th, 1997, three years after Il-sung passed away in 1994 from a heart attack.
One could possibly say that if Il-sung thought he was a god, his son Jong-il must have been a connoisseur of cheese, thus the crazy notion that Jong-il’s motto could have been “cheeses saves.” But Jong-il also had a god complex and legend has it that he too can control the weather.
However, apparently he must have been sleeping during the 1990s as he was not able to bring about the needed weather pattern changes to nullify the great famine between 1995 and 1998, that was brought on by drought and flooding.
Seriously, all kidding aside, it does not matter how much the West pokes away at Kim Jong-il, he will merely poke away at his own people until they burst and deflate into nothingness.
Where Tibet has Gere, Dafur has Speilberg, and even Bangladesh had the Beatles, no celebrity is willing to speak out for the dying, starving and oppressed people of N. Korea.
Yet there are filmmakers and others trying to get the word out, to let the world know what the frick-frack is going on over in N. Korea as their pseudo-smiling president has become famous to American teens for his persistent bad hair days as depicted in the puppet-comedy TEAM AMERICA, and the too well known to the discerning public for the hair raising fear he instills upon the his people, and his hair-brained nuclear weapon schemes.
They are a different brand of celebrity, ones who are willing to speak for the N. Koreans who needlessly die in concentration…oops…I mean labor camps for committing deadly crimes like reading a bible, stealing a slice of bread for a meal, being a friend or relative to someone who said something negative about N. Korea or “god forbid” about Kim (which of course he does forbid).
I have already written about the powerfully emotional treatise on the plight of a N. Korean man trying to save his dying wife by sneaking into Communist China to get medicine and the subsequent events that affected him, his wife and only child in CROSSING.
Over the weekend, there were two main events that were a must see: The eye opening documentary film KIMJONGILIA, directed by N.C. Heikin; and the NORTH KOREA: IN FOCUS panel featuring Heikin, UCSD’s Professor Stephan Haggard and human rights activist for the N. Korean people Hannah Song.
In the heart wrenching KIMJONGILIA, a handful of Korean refugees who escaped the damning clutches of N. Korea reveal through personal accounts of life North of the 38th Parallel, a life that in no way parallels anything we are accustomed to in the United States.
What makes this film more powerful than any of those documentaries that bludgeon you with images of inhumane suffering and archive footage of violence gone awry, is that via dance and the compelling stories of these brave men and women that fled N. Korea, you get drawn into the film and hear what is being said, so you tune in rather than get turned off.
What was disappointing (but expected) to hear was how the Chinese treat the N. Korean refugees. Although they are required by international law to protect these defectors, the Chinese gladly send them back to N. Korea, knowing full well that they will be killed upon their return.
The Chinese claim that the N. Korean’s are a burden on that part of the country’s economy. It must also be a burden getting all that money through a growing economy compliments of Western Capitalism…oops, wrong…that doesn’t exist in a Communist country…right?
The NORTH KOREA: IN FOCUS panel further discussed and analyzed these above topics and much more as I was able to weasel in a final comment at the end of the panel when I summarized, “So what you are all saying, is that North Korea needs a career (Korea) change.”
Kim Jong-il, son of N. Korea’s first god complex president Kim Il-sung, became president of North Korea October 8th, 1997, three years after Il-sung passed away in 1994 from a heart attack.
One could possibly say that if Il-sung thought he was a god, his son Jong-il must have been a connoisseur of cheese, thus the crazy notion that Jong-il’s motto could have been “cheeses saves.” But Jong-il also had a god complex and legend has it that he too can control the weather.
However, apparently he must have been sleeping during the 1990s as he was not able to bring about the needed weather pattern changes to nullify the great famine between 1995 and 1998, that was brought on by drought and flooding.
Seriously, all kidding aside, it does not matter how much the West pokes away at Kim Jong-il, he will merely poke away at his own people until they burst and deflate into nothingness.
Where Tibet has Gere, Dafur has Speilberg, and even Bangladesh had the Beatles, no celebrity is willing to speak out for the dying, starving and oppressed people of N. Korea.
Yet there are filmmakers and others trying to get the word out, to let the world know what the frick-frack is going on over in N. Korea as their pseudo-smiling president has become famous to American teens for his persistent bad hair days as depicted in the puppet-comedy TEAM AMERICA, and the too well known to the discerning public for the hair raising fear he instills upon the his people, and his hair-brained nuclear weapon schemes.
They are a different brand of celebrity, ones who are willing to speak for the N. Koreans who needlessly die in concentration…oops…I mean labor camps for committing deadly crimes like reading a bible, stealing a slice of bread for a meal, being a friend or relative to someone who said something negative about N. Korea or “god forbid” about Kim (which of course he does forbid).
I have already written about the powerfully emotional treatise on the plight of a N. Korean man trying to save his dying wife by sneaking into Communist China to get medicine and the subsequent events that affected him, his wife and only child in CROSSING.
Over the weekend, there were two main events that were a must see: The eye opening documentary film KIMJONGILIA, directed by N.C. Heikin; and the NORTH KOREA: IN FOCUS panel featuring Heikin, UCSD’s Professor Stephan Haggard and human rights activist for the N. Korean people Hannah Song.
In the heart wrenching KIMJONGILIA, a handful of Korean refugees who escaped the damning clutches of N. Korea reveal through personal accounts of life North of the 38th Parallel, a life that in no way parallels anything we are accustomed to in the United States.
What makes this film more powerful than any of those documentaries that bludgeon you with images of inhumane suffering and archive footage of violence gone awry, is that via dance and the compelling stories of these brave men and women that fled N. Korea, you get drawn into the film and hear what is being said, so you tune in rather than get turned off.
What was disappointing (but expected) to hear was how the Chinese treat the N. Korean refugees. Although they are required by international law to protect these defectors, the Chinese gladly send them back to N. Korea, knowing full well that they will be killed upon their return.
The Chinese claim that the N. Korean’s are a burden on that part of the country’s economy. It must also be a burden getting all that money through a growing economy compliments of Western Capitalism…oops, wrong…that doesn’t exist in a Communist country…right?
The NORTH KOREA: IN FOCUS panel further discussed and analyzed these above topics and much more as I was able to weasel in a final comment at the end of the panel when I summarized, “So what you are all saying, is that North Korea needs a career (Korea) change.”
SDAFF 2009: Twice as Nice
ROUGH CUT was amazing!!! I love how at the surface level, it’s mindless fun, but when you start thinking about it, the movie is actually pretty deep. There’s a lot of different layers going on, and the movie doesn’t get too much into them, leaving it ambiguous and open for interpretation. Between the lines, ROUGH CUT touches on identity, coming to terms with who you are versus the appearance you portray, and prioritizing what is important in life. I love how the lines between reality and imagination blur together, in more than one way, defining, or trying to define, what is real and what isn’t. And the action sequences were really good, I think they were realistic enough. Actually, I think the tone throughout the movie was pretty realistic, as in you get pulled in emotionally, empathizing with the characters. My favorite scene, which is NOT an accurate portrayal of the movie as a whole, is where Mi-na and Gang-pae are in the bathroom and Mi-na keeps kissing Gang-pae. He asks her, “why do you keep kissing me?” and Mi-na responds along the lines of to take the pain away, so you don’t get hurt. AW! Too cute! And the ending was like, whoa, did that really just happen? The movie is excellent and I didn’t want it to end. I’m so glad I caught it. I want to see it again =)
Then hung out at the theater, raving about how much I liked ROUGH CUT, running into friends of all sorts, and letting the volunteers find similarities between my brother and me. That was too much fun. All week, the volunteers have been bugging me about never being at the theater the same time as my brother because we don’t look alike at all and they wanted to compare the two of us. So they had this joke going where the two of us were the same person, just in different disguises. I think they decided we have similar smiles and that we’re both light of heart. Either way, I love my brother <3.
Then headed in to see MUSHI-SHI. I don’t follow the anime, so the whole experience was new to me. The second half of the movie was such a mind trip. At the end, everyone was like, “What?!” and I spent the rest of the credits with my friend Vince (who follows the anime) trying to figure out what just happened. There are still parts of the ending that neither one of us know what to make of.
Then we had some more volunteer fun. Still trying to find similarities between my brother and me. And all I’m going to say is that Anthony and I are trouble for Mark.
Tonight’s gonna be a good night.
IP MAN (7pm) and All American Grill for the reception afterwards. Silent auction and announcing the winner of our Star Campaign (again, it doubles as a raffle for a 7-day Holland America Line Cruise for TWO to the Caribbean or Mexico! Winner need not be present).
ALL ABOUT DAD (5:30pm) Added screening! Director Mark Tran and actor Chi Pham are scheduled to attend! Yay!
THE REAL SHAOLIN (7:30pm) Added screening!
LEGEND IS ALIVE (9:30pm) Added screening!
IP MAN (Encore @ 9:45pm)
Then hung out at the theater, raving about how much I liked ROUGH CUT, running into friends of all sorts, and letting the volunteers find similarities between my brother and me. That was too much fun. All week, the volunteers have been bugging me about never being at the theater the same time as my brother because we don’t look alike at all and they wanted to compare the two of us. So they had this joke going where the two of us were the same person, just in different disguises. I think they decided we have similar smiles and that we’re both light of heart. Either way, I love my brother <3.
Then headed in to see MUSHI-SHI. I don’t follow the anime, so the whole experience was new to me. The second half of the movie was such a mind trip. At the end, everyone was like, “What?!” and I spent the rest of the credits with my friend Vince (who follows the anime) trying to figure out what just happened. There are still parts of the ending that neither one of us know what to make of.
Then we had some more volunteer fun. Still trying to find similarities between my brother and me. And all I’m going to say is that Anthony and I are trouble for Mark.
Tonight’s gonna be a good night.
IP MAN (7pm) and All American Grill for the reception afterwards. Silent auction and announcing the winner of our Star Campaign (again, it doubles as a raffle for a 7-day Holland America Line Cruise for TWO to the Caribbean or Mexico! Winner need not be present).
ALL ABOUT DAD (5:30pm) Added screening! Director Mark Tran and actor Chi Pham are scheduled to attend! Yay!
THE REAL SHAOLIN (7:30pm) Added screening!
LEGEND IS ALIVE (9:30pm) Added screening!
IP MAN (Encore @ 9:45pm)
Etienne! at SDAFF!
Etienne! is our special film as it features an adorable hamster as one of the leading actors. Etienne! himself was not able to attend the screening, but the director of the film, Jeff Mizushima, attended- along with Richard Vallejos who played Richard, and Vito Razi who played ...... Vito!
Etienne! was a huge success at our festival! We love Etienne! Yes! Etienne! always needs to be written with an exclamation mark! Don't forget!
Etienne! was a huge success at our festival! We love Etienne! Yes! Etienne! always needs to be written with an exclamation mark! Don't forget!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
SDAFF 2009: The Choices We Make
It’s amazing how the choices we make can influence a person, and in a position of authority, an entire community.
Last night I went to the 9500 LIBERTY screening at the Jacobs Center. I’m really glad I went because most of the audience was not from the festival; rather they were from our community partners (Anti-Defamation League, UCSD Cross Cultural Center, USD Trans-Border Institute, Bayside Community Center, Border Angels, and MAAC Project). It’s good to see a different crowd coming out to support.
The documentary follows the race relations and the impact of the passing of an immigration policy in Prince William County, VA, from bloggers to politicians, to immigrant families to people who have been there their entire lives. The first time the immigration policy was on the agenda to be voted on, the board of supervisors unanimously voted in favor for it, despite the questionable language of the policy. The result of which negatively effected the community. Immigrant families no longer felt welcomed, leaving the county the same time the housing bubble burst. Prince William County suffered economically worst than other areas that did not have the same policy.
The choices we make, the things we say, even the most off-handedly ones, and equally important the things we don’t say or do, have a ripple effect of touching someone’s life. So when we make conscious decisions on serious issues, our impact are that much greater.
Can you imagine, if each board member voted the way their gut told them to, without fear, they could have avoided this whole fiasco? I don’t know how some people live with themselves, knowing that their actions have serious consequences and still chose to do the popular thing, even though it’s not the right thing.
Life’s not easy, but it usually has a way of coming back to haunt us, whether we realize it or not.
I don’t think Eric Byler or Annabel Park intended for such a discourse on actions and consequences, but that’s the beauty of interpretation.
Take care, SDAFFers.
Tonight:
Second screening of 9500 LIBERTY at 4pm at the UltraStar theater. Director Eric Byler to attend.
ROUGH CUT at 7:10pm
MUSHI-SHI at 10pm (If I’m not to tired).
Tomorrow:
Closing night! IP MAN and All American Grill for the reception afterwards. Silent auction and announcing the winner of our Star Campaign (again, it doubles as a raffle for a 7-day Holland America Line Cruise for TWO to the Caribbean or Mexico! Winner need not be present).
Last night I went to the 9500 LIBERTY screening at the Jacobs Center. I’m really glad I went because most of the audience was not from the festival; rather they were from our community partners (Anti-Defamation League, UCSD Cross Cultural Center, USD Trans-Border Institute, Bayside Community Center, Border Angels, and MAAC Project). It’s good to see a different crowd coming out to support.
The documentary follows the race relations and the impact of the passing of an immigration policy in Prince William County, VA, from bloggers to politicians, to immigrant families to people who have been there their entire lives. The first time the immigration policy was on the agenda to be voted on, the board of supervisors unanimously voted in favor for it, despite the questionable language of the policy. The result of which negatively effected the community. Immigrant families no longer felt welcomed, leaving the county the same time the housing bubble burst. Prince William County suffered economically worst than other areas that did not have the same policy.
The choices we make, the things we say, even the most off-handedly ones, and equally important the things we don’t say or do, have a ripple effect of touching someone’s life. So when we make conscious decisions on serious issues, our impact are that much greater.
Can you imagine, if each board member voted the way their gut told them to, without fear, they could have avoided this whole fiasco? I don’t know how some people live with themselves, knowing that their actions have serious consequences and still chose to do the popular thing, even though it’s not the right thing.
Life’s not easy, but it usually has a way of coming back to haunt us, whether we realize it or not.
I don’t think Eric Byler or Annabel Park intended for such a discourse on actions and consequences, but that’s the beauty of interpretation.
Take care, SDAFFers.
Tonight:
Second screening of 9500 LIBERTY at 4pm at the UltraStar theater. Director Eric Byler to attend.
ROUGH CUT at 7:10pm
MUSHI-SHI at 10pm (If I’m not to tired).
Tomorrow:
Closing night! IP MAN and All American Grill for the reception afterwards. Silent auction and announcing the winner of our Star Campaign (again, it doubles as a raffle for a 7-day Holland America Line Cruise for TWO to the Caribbean or Mexico! Winner need not be present).
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
BIG WHEELS KEEP ON TURNING PROUD SDAFF KEEPS ON BURNING
Over the past three days, for me and my wife Silvia (the Chi Reader in the lobby), we have been burning that mid-night oil having the most awesome time you can imagine, getting home around 1:00 am every night. By the way what day is it today?
Silvia gave readings to over 75 people, offering advice on emotional issues, physical injuries and the most common problem dehydration, as she would also explain the importance of what color is best for chi flow and how to drink water.
When I was not watching a film, I’d be doing bean detox and handing out the ancient Chinese secret of Chi Twigs, some say Chi Sticks, but if you say that too fast, it sounds like a concession stand snack.
We’re also happy that we have been able to help out the SDAFF volunteer staff who in my opinion have been doing a bang up job….dudes and dudettes, you guys rock and roll.
This is the first in a series of 8-track flashback blogs, no not stuff from the 1970s, but bits and pieces of stuff that I have not been able to yak about yet that hopefully will add flavor to the festival’s events and share stuff about the films and interview bits that you may not have already heard about.
So in the words of WAYNE’S WORLD, when they do that funky flashback special effect…doodely doot, doodely doot, doodely doot.
I am so happy that Dustin Nguyen’s film LEGEND IS ALIVE finally arrived from Singapore, Friday, Oct. 16th, one day after it was supposed to show on opening night. It would have been a shame to deprive audiences of such a great film.
But it arrived with an unbeknownst beckoning of broached beggared and brandished absences that boggled our brains after Nguyen bestowed upon of us at the break.
I hear some of you perhaps saying….”What?” Read on.
So Sunday afternoon, Oct. 18th, 2009 was the West Coast premiere of LEGEND IS ALIVE, Nguyen’s second martial arts spectacle where he plays a mentally challenged martial artist named Long who is taught the Vietnamese martial art of Tay Son Binh Dinh as a means to cope with his mental deficiencies.
In order to inspire Long to do good, his female martial arts teacher tells Long he is the son of Bruce Lee but that he should never practice martial arts to hurt people only to use them to protect those who are in need. Of course events conspire that lead him to break out of his shell and do the right thing.
Of note, Tay Son Binh Dinh originates from Binh Dinh province and although the history is unclear two major practitioners of the art led what is known as the Tay Son Uprising that began in 1771 and ended in 1802, where during these times King Nguyen Hue fought and defeated Ching Dynasty invaders from China.
Although known for its aggressive sword fighting techniques, it is one of the few Vietnamese martial arts that women were encouraged to learn thus the smart choice of making Long’s teacher in the film a woman.
After the film, SDAFF’s Phil Luque chatted with Nguyen.
Grinning a grinly grin, Nguyen grunted, “Hmm, the ending of the film has been changed.”
The version of the film sent to the festival was from Singapore and apparently the censors of the movie over there decided to re-edit the film without telling anyone.
As you can imagine, any country that will arrest you for trying to sneak chewing or bubble gum into the country is going to take out a sizeable bite of the film, chew it up and swallow it, because spitting out gum in public is punishable with execution (well not really, just up to one year in prison and/or a public flogging).
Well, who ever edited this film deserves a flogging with a piece of sticky gum and a prison sentence of watching Wrigley’s Chewing Gum commercials for a year.
Nguyen was attracted to the story sharing that in the film Bruce Lee is not the legend that is alive but that the living legend is the mother’s unrequited love for her child who is sick due to the effects of agent orange.
The herbicide agent orange, part of the United States government's initiation to create rainbow chemicals (named by using a color to describe the compound), was used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam war to defoliate Vietnam’s jungles in order to eliminate hiding places for the North Vietnamese and to also destroy food crops that fed their armies.
After Nguyen filled us all in on the missing parts, certain parts of the film made more sense.
It is important to note that this is not a kung fu or martial arts film and when Nguyen signed on to do the film it had very few fights. But as the project moved along, the director kept adding in more action scenes and soon it had received the label of being a martial arts film.
What is so refreshing about Nguyen’s performance is that the fights look nothing like what he did in his first martial arts film THE REBEL and that is a testament to him and the fight choreographers of the film.
Nguyen closed the by saying that this was physically the hardest film he ever worked on as you can tell that the main villain knew nothing about martial arts or how to fight on camera as he constantly kept hitting Nguyen for real.
But at the end of the day, it was not the fighting that made the film, but the story and Nguyen’s performance. Cheers, lad.
Silvia gave readings to over 75 people, offering advice on emotional issues, physical injuries and the most common problem dehydration, as she would also explain the importance of what color is best for chi flow and how to drink water.
When I was not watching a film, I’d be doing bean detox and handing out the ancient Chinese secret of Chi Twigs, some say Chi Sticks, but if you say that too fast, it sounds like a concession stand snack.
We’re also happy that we have been able to help out the SDAFF volunteer staff who in my opinion have been doing a bang up job….dudes and dudettes, you guys rock and roll.
This is the first in a series of 8-track flashback blogs, no not stuff from the 1970s, but bits and pieces of stuff that I have not been able to yak about yet that hopefully will add flavor to the festival’s events and share stuff about the films and interview bits that you may not have already heard about.
So in the words of WAYNE’S WORLD, when they do that funky flashback special effect…doodely doot, doodely doot, doodely doot.
I am so happy that Dustin Nguyen’s film LEGEND IS ALIVE finally arrived from Singapore, Friday, Oct. 16th, one day after it was supposed to show on opening night. It would have been a shame to deprive audiences of such a great film.
But it arrived with an unbeknownst beckoning of broached beggared and brandished absences that boggled our brains after Nguyen bestowed upon of us at the break.
I hear some of you perhaps saying….”What?” Read on.
So Sunday afternoon, Oct. 18th, 2009 was the West Coast premiere of LEGEND IS ALIVE, Nguyen’s second martial arts spectacle where he plays a mentally challenged martial artist named Long who is taught the Vietnamese martial art of Tay Son Binh Dinh as a means to cope with his mental deficiencies.
In order to inspire Long to do good, his female martial arts teacher tells Long he is the son of Bruce Lee but that he should never practice martial arts to hurt people only to use them to protect those who are in need. Of course events conspire that lead him to break out of his shell and do the right thing.
Of note, Tay Son Binh Dinh originates from Binh Dinh province and although the history is unclear two major practitioners of the art led what is known as the Tay Son Uprising that began in 1771 and ended in 1802, where during these times King Nguyen Hue fought and defeated Ching Dynasty invaders from China.
Although known for its aggressive sword fighting techniques, it is one of the few Vietnamese martial arts that women were encouraged to learn thus the smart choice of making Long’s teacher in the film a woman.
After the film, SDAFF’s Phil Luque chatted with Nguyen.
Grinning a grinly grin, Nguyen grunted, “Hmm, the ending of the film has been changed.”
The version of the film sent to the festival was from Singapore and apparently the censors of the movie over there decided to re-edit the film without telling anyone.
As you can imagine, any country that will arrest you for trying to sneak chewing or bubble gum into the country is going to take out a sizeable bite of the film, chew it up and swallow it, because spitting out gum in public is punishable with execution (well not really, just up to one year in prison and/or a public flogging).
Well, who ever edited this film deserves a flogging with a piece of sticky gum and a prison sentence of watching Wrigley’s Chewing Gum commercials for a year.
Nguyen was attracted to the story sharing that in the film Bruce Lee is not the legend that is alive but that the living legend is the mother’s unrequited love for her child who is sick due to the effects of agent orange.
The herbicide agent orange, part of the United States government's initiation to create rainbow chemicals (named by using a color to describe the compound), was used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam war to defoliate Vietnam’s jungles in order to eliminate hiding places for the North Vietnamese and to also destroy food crops that fed their armies.
After Nguyen filled us all in on the missing parts, certain parts of the film made more sense.
It is important to note that this is not a kung fu or martial arts film and when Nguyen signed on to do the film it had very few fights. But as the project moved along, the director kept adding in more action scenes and soon it had received the label of being a martial arts film.
What is so refreshing about Nguyen’s performance is that the fights look nothing like what he did in his first martial arts film THE REBEL and that is a testament to him and the fight choreographers of the film.
Nguyen closed the by saying that this was physically the hardest film he ever worked on as you can tell that the main villain knew nothing about martial arts or how to fight on camera as he constantly kept hitting Nguyen for real.
But at the end of the day, it was not the fighting that made the film, but the story and Nguyen’s performance. Cheers, lad.
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