Asian American Film of the Week - The Trident

After David Carradine's death, there was the mourning by family, friends, and fans. There was also a reminder from some in the API community that Carradine's legacy is tarnished. That his involvement in the series Kung Fu (and his last feature role in Crank 2 as an Asian mobster) renders him persona non grata for Asians in the US.

Although I agree that his image will forever be linked to issues of racially-biased casting in Hollywood, there is something to be said about this durable actor.

I want to remember him in a positive way, I would not want people dancing on my grave especially when I am an actor who needs to make money, and the only I can do it is to take a role that deservedly belonged to an Asian (a great one in Bruce Lee). Carradine is not exactly to blame for this.

So, that being said, "The Trident" is David Carradine's last short film, and I am proud to recommend this as the Asian-American film of the week. Carradine dons the "wise" hat to help a young South Asian man (Aalok Mehta; American Chai, Redline) find his inner spirit and channel the past to rescue his wife in the present. The film has healthy nuggets of hindi wisdom in this great little short. Anurag Mehta does a fine job at the helm and gives the audience a great deal of respect for spirituality and is idealistic when it comes to the way we handle conflicts today.

If you want to check out this short (and I know you will!) the link is here on hulu.com: Tridentfilm.

Thanks again for reading and see ya next week...

SDAFF EVENT: FREE SCREENING AT BALBOA PARK

Next Big SDAFF Event: FREE Screening Aug 6 W/ Museum of Art in Balboa Park.

We're showing SHADOW MAGIC, a story about the introduction of Cinema in Beijing, China back in 1902. Watch it on the big lawn adjacent to the Museum. Bring a Blanket, Picnic, Family, and Friends and come enjoy this big community event.

Thurs, Aug 6
Balboa Park, SD Museum of Art
1450 El Prado, SD, CA

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Reel Voices: Lora

Over the next several weeks, I'm going to introduce you to each of our 2009 Reel Voices students, and if motivation holds out, perhaps I'll say a little something about the instructors.


Lora is a senior at High Tech High in Point Loma. She's perhaps our quietest student, but also the most studious. Though she doesn't say much, you get the feeling she is listening to every thought and evaluating it.
When you give a camera to the students who are talkative in class - you have some idea what to expect based on how they've come across so far. Lora was a dark horse - we had no idea what we were going to see!
In our first hands-on camera exercise, Lora shocked us with video that was technically very good - good exposure, in focus, white balanced - more so, every shot looked like it'd been composed by a cinematographer. Great shots, with subjects moving in and out of frame, and interesting compositions. As we critiqued the exercise, she took notes of what was said - both good and bad.
Lora shot a large part of her documentary over the last few days - she is working with an artist who struggles to make his living with his art, and a large showing of his was at ComicCon. I haven't seen the video she shot yet, but I can't wait to see the story come together.

Look for the Reel Voices program - including Lora's film (title to be released!) on Sunday, October 18th.

All Fest Pass and Ticketing News!

It's that time.... The 10th San Diego Asian Film Festival All Festival Passes and Value Packs are Officially on Sale!

EXPERIENCE 15 days of 150+ Films, Parties & Events at one low price! A limited number of All- Festival Passes are now available for SDAFF members.

We also offer 10 packs and 4 packs of tickets to the General Public. These value packs on sale now too! Spread the love ya'll! TELL EVERYONE!

MORE INFO AND TIX LINKS HERE: ALL FEST PASSES AND VALUE PACKS

Seoul Int'l Animation and Cartoon Festival!

"In Korea, genres like animation and cartoons are not highly valued and belittled by the mass audience--" explained my friend, Sun-Mi. It's probably due to people's impression that comic book authors spend hours and hours drawing in the room like a hermit, but the success very hard to achieve and financial gain extremely meek...

so festivals like this is good to promote how much advanced the animation genre has become now, and we all know that animation these days are very impressive-- just gotta give the public a chance to see it for themselves.

Here's a short overview video I put together. Excuse the shaky camera moves. (it's the director's style...?) Enjoy!

Comic-Con Day Three and Four

Wow! Saturday and Sunday flew by so fast, I could not update the blog fast enough!

While my neighbors at The Blood Factory Continued to wreak havoc and mayhem (the good kind), I was still trying to find my way around the con floor and see even more cool sights.

There was a lot of great panels on Saturday, including the amazing True Blood panel, where Alan Ball started what could become a war of words between his show and Twilight. Ball stated that True Blood's vampires are "real vampires". I would love to see a cage match between Bill the Vampire and Edward Cullen... Go True Blood!

There were more cool costumes, including this amazing Hulk that was a hit in the hall.

Also, there was another cute animal-thing on the floor.
I have no idea what it is, so whoever knows, please comment so that I can continue my "pop-culture"education.

There was also a Scooby-Doo dude, who thought ahead and had pictures of himself to show how much he loves his beloved pooch alter-ego. The last two days of comic-con are always bittersweet, yes, Comic-Con is great and fun and amazing, but, its also very exhausting and time consuming. This is one of the few truly amazing staycations possible in SD (with the exception that there is no outdoor activity involved). The best thing about comic-con for me is that there are other people in this world who love comics and popular art and writing; here there were no judgements for anyone on a personal level (although Twilight fans got the brunt of much criticism and hate). Comic-Con is a chance for the "geeks" and "nerds" to be "cool" (whatever that really means!). In my humble opinion, it's a nerd's world, and we are all enjoying the effects of that here in San Diego. Until next year, Ramen Chef Jimmy will be the last image we'll see of Comic-Con '09. Until next year....

F.A.P. Concert!

Hello again film fans! Yesterday I attended a great event in San Diego featuring some awesome Asian-American talent! Featured Acoustic Playlist was a charity concert for the Children's Hunger Fund held at the Joe and Vi Jacobs Center. While I was there I caught up with some of the SDAFF staff, who were raffling off free passes for this year's 2-week 10th Anniversary Asian Film Festival!








The amazing talent showcased at the concert included Ramiele Malubay of American Idol fame and Victor Kim of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew (Quest Crew), among others. My personal favorites were AJ Rafael (an amazingly talented guitarist, pianist and singer) and the last act, Gabe Bondoc whose voice and guitar skills are comparable to that of John Mayer! If you get a chance, I highly recommend checking out these great artists on YouTube and BlogTV! I hear that there is another event featuring AJ Rafael scheduled for the end of August in Anaheim, so keep your eyes open for that!

Until next time!

THIRST: Quenched, with a desire for a little more spritzz

Jini's THIRST has been quenched........!

Still reporting from Seoul, Korea, Jini has found the single venue in a college-town theater that still plays Park Chan Wook's THIRST.

even better... it was a midnight showing!!

No problem for that here-- even though it was a bit too far from the place I'm staying, Korea's night life is pretty vibrant especially in the summer. There were plenty of 24hr places that me and my two friends can chill (attempt to get a wee nap) until metro opens again at 5:30 in the morn'.

Personally, I have had such anticipation for this film. For weeks prior, I've been visiting the film's official site, watching the trailer (and making others watch too) and listening to the OST on loop. I was thrilled to find out that I was still able to watch it on a big screen, with good sound system. It was probably the anticipation... that made me think up too much about the film on my own. I had created my own images and plotline in my head that the film could not satisfy nor overpower my bizarre imagination regarding the film...

I liked it, but I'm not madly in love with it. It still had Park's stylish, vibrant morbidity (oxymoron, I know) within the film's visuals and plotline. Yet it did not top the effect that OLD BOY had on me. Sorry, this after-thought report is a little too wordy, yet vague... just like how there are mixed reviews everywhere regarding the film...!

I'll just sign-off by leaving a lil pic. Here's me before entering the theater... trying to keep calm, while inside I'm goin-- "Oh my gaaaaddd I'm about to watch THIRST!!! !@#$%^&!!"

(pointing at the screen above. Can you tell that it's the poster for THIRST?)

Comic-Con Day Two

Day Two at Comic-Con was pretty awesome! Well the booth did well, we had a guest celebrity neighbor, and yours truly channeled his inner manga character...

Our neighbors, The Blood Factory, had a special guest: none other than Danny DeVito, who is actually one of the architects of the new horror "Splatter Cuts" site.

DeVito sliced and diced guests to sheer delight and caused Elite security to create a line so that the crowd could not block the aisle.

The thing that I had never done in Comic-con is dress up for it... That changed today when I donned the make-up of the all evil one, Johannes Krauser II (From SDAFF Extreme film Detroit Metal City). What can I say? I felt like singing "Satsugai" all day!









Then I found another new super cute character (Patrick Star, the starfish from Spongebob SquarePants!) Pretty cool stuff, and his assistant was really nice.

Also, Superman flew in! (Check out the blurring on the hands and face ha!) Leaping comic-con attendees in a single bound, Sups sure showed up well for himself.

The day did start off with a bang!.... Or should I say stab! (I know, bad, really bad horror humor)

Jason Vorhees showed up and did not look pleased when the registration folks messed up his paperwork, 15 minutes later and a few dismember volunteers later... Jason is in line for Twilight swag... (ha! kidding! if only that were true...)

What a great day to be a fan!

Comic-Con Day One

I thought that Day Zero of Comic-Con would be pretty easy and smooth... about 10,000 people later, it was apparent that this would be bigger than ever.

Then Day One arrived, and oh my! The fun started for me bright and early. The doors to the con open at around 9:20 and then the thousands of comic-con goers that would burst through every hall of the convention center. We prepared the booth to get ready to raise some needed funds for both Film School Confidential and SDAFF Extreme (Being the first ever Asian Extreme program at the Festival).

I felt immediate kinship with our neighbors at The Blood Factory (see "victims" above) who are having a ball making crazy short films (one of them featuring Danny DeVito who will be there Saturday for a autograph session). Our other neighbors include the return of Tartan Asian Extreme (Now Palisades Tartan), Legendary Pictures (the production company behind the new Batman movies, 300, Watchmen, The Hangover, and the upcoming Trick r Treat).

I also was amazed at the many sights that are not even the booths. When I saw my first 6'8" nearly 300 pound Darth Vader, I was at first scared, then I thought, "how cool is it that the only place I could ever see a nearly 300 pound 6'8" Darth Vader is at Comic-Con!!"

Walking through the hall, I got to see some really cool booths both large and small. From large studios like Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. to smaller production houses like Lions Gate, Funimation, and Viz. I got to see artists and and small press along the way, including Secret Identities, the first graphic novel featuring the stories of Asian-American Superheroes.


Until tomorrow, why don't you marvel at the cuteness that is this cute blue creature! (please comment on who this is becuase I have no idea!)

SD International Children's Film Festival Starts This Weekend!

Hey All,

Just a Friendly Reminder, the SD International Children's Film Festival begins this weekend with it's first stop at Comic Con on Kids Day. It'll be held in the Convention Center Walls. Check out the website for all info about programming that day.

Festival will run until Aug 16. SDAFF will be co-presenting films with them next weekend at the Photographic Arts Museum in Balboa Park. Yay!

Click Here for More Info

8th Asian Film Festival of Dallas ends tonight

Back from Texas where I had a blast! It was hot and sweltering but it actually cooled down about 10 degrees when I got in. I went from the airport directly to LOTUS for the official Kickoff party. Nick and I arrived with filmmaker Mark Tran (ALL ABOUT DAD) who also just flew in from LA. An hour and a half late, there was no more Chang beer, but it didn't seem to phase anyone. Everyone was still drinking and dancing and having a good time. I had to cool off and get some free Natsumi gelato. Natsumi had a cart at Lotus offering the usual chocolate and vanilla flavors but also some special Asian flavor creations such as Black Sesame and Thai Iced Tea. Thanks Natsumi for the free tastings!

We all stayed in the official sponsor hotel, STAYBRIDGE SUITES near DFW. This new hotel is wonderful. The rooms have a mini kitchen and full fridge. The decor and the bed makes you feel like you are staying at a Starwood, but for probably much less the price.

Opening night almost went smoothly. ICHI screening had technical issues that turned out to be an improperly produced HDcam tape which caused the film to run at the incorrect speed. Nonetheless the audience mostly stayed through the film and watched it as is. You can check out ICHI in the "proper" speed at SDAFF in Oct.

The opening night film, btw, was Dante Lam's BEAST STALKER which is so awesome on the big screen. It MIGHT come to SDAFF, so I hope you all try to catch it.

Saturday was a busy day as ALL ABOUT DAD brought a packed house and a very lively Q&A. I had a great time hanging out with "DAD" himself, actor CHI PHAM and his 2 sons Duc and Nguyen from San Jose.

[Here's filmmaker MARK TRAN chatting with the new fans after the screening.]






Nick and I also watched WRITTEN BY the new Wai Ka Fai film. Very bittersweet and complex film about death, life after death, grief and sorrow.

The crowd for NEKO RAMEN TAISHO (aka pussy soup) was a riot. It was so much fun to hear everyone laugh at all the silly puppet stuff. This film is coming to SDAFF, so be sure to check it out and grab some beers beforehand.

Later that night we went with some of the festival peeps and the ALL ABOUT DAD gang to some karaoke in K-town. Mark and Chi are fabulous at the mic. Chi even did some dance moves to "Billie Jean."




[Nick is gettin' into it while Chi is on the mic.]








The next morning was our last day. My friends Eric and Tien were kind enough to host the ALL ABOUT DAD gang at their house in Irving. We had an amazing Vietnamese cookout (without having to do any work). Yummy short ribs, mussels, BBQ pork and Vietnamese crepes. Nothin' like Southern hospitality!


[Chi and his sons enjoying the Vietnamese homecookin' Texas style]








We said our goodbyes right before the intro of KIMJONGILIA. There was a nice mix of people in the screening. I hope the film helps garner awareness of the suffering in North Korea. If you saw the film and want to know how to help, please visit www.linkglobal.org.

I'm sad to not be able to be there tonight for the CLOSING FILM - IP MAN but I'm sure it'll be a great night. IP MAN is one of the best Hong Kong martial arts film I've seen in a while and it's coming to SDAFF, so stay tuned.

Reel Voices Reunion

As the temperatures crest 90, the parking lots within miles of the beach are full, and the ChocoPies melt in your hand, not in your mouth... you know it's July. And when it's July, it's camera check-out time for SDAFF's Reel Voices.

To celebrate the first day of camera checkout, pizza was ordered, sodas were consumed, and we invited the illustrious alumni of Reel Voices to come in and give advice on what the '09 class should have been paying attention to over the past several weeks.


(Intern Holly Cramer looks on as alumni Roland Lazarte, Ali Tanaka, Ryan Medel and Joska Charles spin yarns about how difficult editing a documentary can be.)

Much of the advice centered on the editing of the projects... the part the students always seem to think it going to go easy, but can take days or weeks longer than planned. The universal advice was "don't procrastinate" -- advice that will serve them well in life, as well as in editing -- although some of us artistic types battle that advice even once we attain "instructor" status!

Some of the alumni used a little artistic license to exaggerate their instructor's reacton after seeing the first draft -- c'mon guys, it couldn't have been that bad! But all agreed that they were happy with their films upon completion, and the recollections of premiere day were great across the board.

Thanks to those of you that attend the screenings and support the films. It means a lot to the students, and we hope we leave you with a little piece of them, as well.

SDAFF Comic Con Contest

SDAFF Will be at COMIC CON This year! Visit us @ Film School Confidential Booth #4019 (Near Warner Brothers) and learn more about our EXTREME Program this year. Say HELLO to Phil!

COMIC CON PHOTO CONTEST:
1. Take a creative photo at SDAFF Booth
2. Upload it to this facebook page (www.facebook.com/sdasianfilm) OR Upload to TWITTER w/ @SDAFF
3. Best Picture (appropriate) wins a SDAFF Prize Package with Films+Free Tix to Asian Film Fest

Face Book Page

Twitter Page

Featured Acoustic Playlist This Saturday

A really cool event is going down this Saturday at the Market Creek Plaza in San Diego. The good people with Blog TV, Fizix (an amazing street wear and urban boutique in North Park), and Magec (Local Promotion Company) are putting together a HUGE concert with Youtube Celebrities to raise money for the Children's Hunger Fund. Artists like Gabe Bondoc (#61 most subscribed Youtube Musician), Alyssa Bernal (#65 Subscribed of ALL TIME on Youtube), and Passion will be performing live. They've got TONS Of talent and all for a good cause.

SDAFF will have a booth too!

Market Creek Plaza Amphitheater
310 Euclid Ave, San Diego, CA 92114

For more information CLICK HERE

Reporting from SEOUL: YOUTH INT'L FILM FEST!

Jini is in SEOUL, Korea!

So while I'm here, I'll do my best to venture in all the film related events happenings here and there in this tiny but vibrant city (a little too rainy and hot though ;p )

Few days ago, I was able to visit SEOUL INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL. It is their 11th year, and they feature films for youth from all over the world--including 2008 Taipei Film festival's winning documentary: We Are Flying, a documentary showing youth boys in juvenile halls learning how to unicycle and through it learning about the importance of friendship and love.

It was a small, but brightly lit venue with exciting Korean-Pop music playing in the background. After one screening, out from the elevator came out a bunch of middle/highschool students in their uniforms. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, being outside of school with all their classmates.

Directors paid a visit and held a talk session with the students. 2 directors of popular Korean romantic comedies-- Hellcats and My Girlfriend is a Tutor-- which SDAFF screened in our previous years.

I didn't realize that there can be so many films just for youth! I got to talk to the programmers too, and they feel the priceless value of the film festival through seeing children enjoy the films and them getting a chance to talk to filmmakers. Totally agreed!

All Fest Pass and Ticketing News!

You heard it here first: BIG NEWS ABOUT 10th San Diego Asian Film Festival ALL FESTIVAL PASSES AND TICKETING NEXT WEEK. Be prepared...

Asian American Film of the Week - Ocean of Pearls

Last week I introduced you to Kissing Cousins (if you had not known about it already). Now, for a dramatic turn into the South Asian-American world with the film Ocean of Pearls.

This film, which played at our festival in 2008, is the story of a young doctor who struggles with identity, the morals of medical practice and how he handles relationship struggles. The multi-layered plot breathes life into the audiences view of the complications that South Asian-Americans go through everyday.

The main character Amrit, is from two worlds (being a Sikh and a doctor) but seems to belong to neither. This complication causes a lot of heartache and at times wreaks havoc on his love life and his complex relationship with his father.

This film gets high marks for its dramatic maturity and its ability to handle complicated identity issues.

This film is getting theatrically released this year, for more info go to the official film website.

San Diego International Children's Film Festival

Film Festival season is in the air. Last week we talked about the New York Fest...Here's something local: San Diego International Children's Film Festival SDAFF will be co-presenting a series of FREE child-friendly film programs from China at this year's SDICFF Friday, July 31-Monday, August 3 Museum of Photographic Arts, Balboa Park 1649 El Prado San Diego, CA 92101 FREE ADMISSION

For films and information Click Here

Blood and Vampire Fun!

Blood: The Last Vampire is the story of Saya (portrayed by Gianna Jun), a 16 year old half human/half vampire (ie: Blade) who uses her samurai like skills to fight bloodsucking vampires like herself.  Her strength and resilience are put to the test when she attempts to bring down Onigen, the evil patriarch of all vampires!

The film is a live action remake of the 2000 Japanese anime film of the same title.   If you love vampires and the anime film, go and check it out for a fun time at the movies!  

A Great Summer Movie

Hello film fans! I hope you all are having a great summer so far! I know I am! One of the best things to do on a hot summer day is to kick back in my nice cool house and watch a great Asian film! The last one I picked up was a Hong Kong film released in 2000 called Summer Holiday.



If you're looking for a light, funny, romantic story, this is definitely a good one to watch! Summer Holiday is about a career minded woman named Summer who loses her job and seeks to aid her financial situation by selling the beach property that she and her cousin had purchased together. The only problem is, he has sold his half to his friend named Mo Mo. After spending some time together, however, both become attracted to one another and conflict ensues. I hope you all get a chance to check this one out!

Hong Kong and Asian Actors in PUSH

If you did not get the chance to catch "PUSH", the sci-fi/action movie about humans with extraordinary powers, during it's theatre release, it is now out on DVD. The film features the city of Hong Kong and a slew of Asian film actors, including Xialo Li as the evil lollipop loving "Watcher." No butt-kicking martial arts in this movie, but it is a fun film to watch and enjoy in a dull summer tv weekday evening!

Asian American Film of the Week - Kissing Cousins

Last night, I went to see the new Eros released Bollywood film "New York". During the course of watching the film I recognized one of the actors in a supporting role. Samrat Chakrabarti is one of the better South Asian American actors working today and he does a great job in a really funny, insightful little diddy called "Kissing Cousins".

The film starts off with Samrat's character, Amir telling a young caucasian girl that her relationship is over. Amir is not breaking up with her, he is actually a "professional heartbreaker"; what that means you'll have to find out when you watch the film. He is also a very cynical bachelor who gets frustrated with family and friends who really don't respect him.

Amir returns home to find his attractive British cousin Zara (Rebecca Hazlewood), which then leads to some really funny moments.

The film is clever, has great human moments, especially when dealing with the human condition of relationships. The chemistry between Amir and Zara is really pleasant and delightful. It is a fresh breeze of a film that features two South Asian leads who are not stereotyped or typecast. Gerry Bednob (40 Year Old Virgin) offers momentary comic relief but otherwise delivers a solid role. Even Jaleel White and David Alan Grier have cameos.

So, when you want a break from Bollywood, "Kissing Cousins" offers a great Asian American film experience. See you next week!

Reel Voices 2009

Hard to believe we're halfway through classes for Reel Voices 2009 already... in some ways it feels like we just started, and in others I wonder how we'll cover everything we need to cover before the end of the summer!

Last week, Apple offered to bring us in to their Fashion Valley store, and learn Final Cut Pro with the geniuses. (Geniuses not only in stature, but in title!) We took them up on their offer, and spend two and a half hours with Dane and Alan. We broke students into groups of two, and Apple had set aside enough copies of FCP so that each student would have their own computer.

Alan took editing newcomers Steve and Joey, Dane worked with FCP 101 graduates Junia and Lora, Akira joined forces with Lupe and Holly, and Staci and I braved Color Correction and 3d motion.

Everyone learned a lot, we created some SDAFF buzz in the Apple Store, and now we're ready to get the whip crackin' with a couple of shooting and editing exercises back at ARTS this week, before we begin camera checkout and get student projects from concept to completion!



Top Row: Joey, Alan, Holly, Mike, Steve.
Bottom Row: Dane, Junia, Lora, Staci, Lupe, Akira

Asian American Film Of the Week! Shanghai Kiss By Phil Luque

-Shanghai Kiss –

Besides the fact that the film stars Hayden Panettiere (from Heroes and the upcoming “I Love You, Beth Cooper”), the film features one of the better Asian-American actors out there Ken Leung. Leung is seemingly touched by the spirit of Woody Allen as he lives an existence that is at best monotonous and unfulfilled. It isn’t until his character, Liam, a struggling actor, meets a 16-year old girl who is a little mature for her age (still very awkward) that he realizes that he has to do something with his life.

He then finds out that his grandmother dies and leaves him a house in Shanghai, a place he has never visited nor connected to. He ends up meeting a beautiful and mysterious woman there named Micki (Kelly Hu) who inspires questions about what he will do with the rest of his life.

This film is light and maybe a little awkward at times, but it delivers on many levels and it shows how Asian-Americans are capable of leading a quality film.

-Agree? Disagree?..... Comment!

For more information and to purchase film Click Here

:: Foxes and Bots ::

With the release of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," some fans tune in for the likes of the former Even Stevens and the vixen Megan Fox. All well and dandy, but take a stroll down memory lane and let us remember the good ol' days of the good ol' originals.

What became a giant phenomenon in America actually began in Japan in 1970's due to the Microman and Diaclone toylines. These were the original Transformers and caught the eye of Hasbro. Of that partnership, the Transformers comic and a TV show were born, including the popular Optimus Prime and Megatron, but also a slew of other characters that were unnamed within the original toy line-up.



After a cascade of spin-offs, the popularity has been renewed with the most recent Blockbuster hits.

With the bombardment of comic-turned-movie productions, it seems Hollywood likes to take advantage of our childhood and bring us back to the old school days and tug at our heartstrings. In my opinion, whether it's good or bad, it's working. *fist shaking ensues*

:: SDAFFvietca ::