Festival

Volunteer!

2005-03-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

Volunteers are great! The annual SFIAAFF Volunteer Appreciation BBQ went off without a hitch. The weather cooperated and we got only slightly grey skies. Charlotte Gutierrez, 2005 Volunteer Coordinator, was hostess for the day's activities: including barbecue by Taro, Khristine, Eddie, Seema, Jesse and Chi-hui; a raffle for unused vouchers put together by awesome Operations Coordinator, JC Rafferty; and well-manned bar by Guest Services Coordinator extraordinaire, Phoebe Tooke. Print Traffic Sam Rypinski, Events Assistant Philip, and yours truly - Sponsorship Manager - played back-up to the day's festivities. Music via turntable and powerbook was courtesy of the ever-supportive Brent Hall and his group of friends.

Jay Jao kindly brought his camera (photo credit above) and Ted Jocson (another great SFIAAFF photographer) came and weighed in on their thoughts about community and the 2005 Festival.

The event had the joyous feeling of a wrap party. We thank all our volunteers without whom our Festival would not be possible. :-)

Memories

2005-03-23T01:23:00.000-08:00

A brief Festival wrap-up meeting as we prepare for the last two weeks for the temporary staff. There was a question about highlights from the 2005 SFIAAFF.

Chi-hui enjoyed the Q&A for The Motel, when the young actor was asked about the masturbation scene and what his mom thought.

I enjoyed the The Year of the Yao Q&A when the question of Yao's opinions about Asian Americans came up and Chris Chen (the lone Asian American producer onstage) was forced to answer the question as the microphone became a hot potato for the non-Asian filmmakers and MC onstage.

There were also stories of great volunteers. Which really was one of the best things about the 2005 Festival.

Now we dig in for two more weeks to thank the people we couldn't accomplish this without.

Opening Night!

2005-03-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

I’m still a fan first, I realized this as I tried to sneak photos at both the Opening Night film and gala. Joan Chen, Michele Krusiec, and Lynne Chan were in attendance for their film, SAVING FACE. Written and directed by Alice Wu, the story is about a pregnant unwed middle-aged mother and her closeted lesbian daughter.

------
Working the sponsor will call desk at the Castro Theatre, I realized I had headset envy.

It's great to start off a film festival with a sold-out show.

The "S" is for Super

2005-03-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

The volunteers lastnight, rocked! They stuffed a little over 1,200 bags, and we're talking small items here, in under 5 hours. Wowzers!

The end product was very many orderly piles of canvas bags.

Thank you to David, Ken, Curtis, Tracy, Paula, Bonnie, Jocelyn, Candace, Jason, Lucy, Lucy's boyfriend (sorry I didn't get your name), Derek, Alex, Tomoyo, Mario, and Amanda - you guys are fabulous!

Movement of items

2005-03-08T23:47:00.000-08:00

Khristine and I helped the movers move hundreds of boxes filled with items for the Opening Night gift bags into the Castro Theatre.

Tomorrow, with an army of volunteers, we stuff those gift bags.

Three days

2005-03-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

Notes:

We're into the final countdown now. My next two days will be filled with tying up loose ends, writing specific sponsorship operation schedules, last minute ticket comps, and gift bags. So many gift bag items.
Dealing with ticket comps for sponsors is a lot harder than you ever think it will be. Paper tickets translates directly to tracking more paperwork. One does a mail-out every single day with the hope that tickets will safely reach their destination.
The Festival staff had a social on Sunday. I was the blow (a kick) that snapped the pinata.
Looking forward to the guests who are scheduled to be in town for the SFIAAFF: Jessica Yu, Sung Kang, Curtis Choy, Alice Wu, Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Him Mark Lai, Margaret Leng Tan, Victor Vu, IQU, Seksu Roba, and Dan the Automator. (I'm sure I'm forgetting someone...)

The Insider

2005-03-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Sort of. I'm not the programmer extraordinaire, but I've seen a handful of movies and I do have picks for the SFIAAFF this year.

In no particular order:

SAVING FACE (Opening Night, March 10, 7pm, Castro Theatre) -- Joan Chen does a great comical turn as a middle-aged mother who is coming to terms with her own choices about an indiscretion and the fact that her daughter is a lesbian, played by Michelle Krusiec. (Director and cast are scheduled to be in attendance at the screening and also at the Asian Art Museum.)*
TURTLES CAN FLY (Tuesday, March 15, 6:30pm, AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres) -- An amazing film that stars Kurdish-Iraqian child non-actors and their (very rough) lives the weeks leading up to the US invasion of Iraq. This is the movie from Iraq that you've heard so much about.*
MUSIC VIDEO ASIA (Monday, March 14, 8:45pm, AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres) -- Videos from your favorite Asian/Asian American Indie rock artists, including Guitar Wolf, Dealership, Citizens Here and Abroad, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.*
DUMPLINGS (Saturday, March 12, 9:45pm, Castro Theatre and Sunday, March 13, 8:10pm Pacific Film Archive) -- Directed by Fruit Chan and starring Bai Ling(who has now promised to be in attendance!!!) Dumplings in an excerpt of the life of a former abortion doctor and her specialty "youth rejuvenating" dumplings which she sells at a high premium. My favorite cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, shot this - he's known for intense color washes and interesting angles. He makes everything look gorgeous.*
SOCERESS OF THE NEW PIANO (Sunday, March 13, Castro Theatre) Documentary about the toy pianist, Margaret Leng Tan. Tan will be in the audience and will give a performance before the screening! How cool is that?
THE MOTEL (Closing Night, Thursday, March 17, AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres) Great coming of age film from director Michael Kang. It follows an adolescent, Ernest, as he bumbles his way through the mundanity of living in suburbia at the motel that his family runs. he meets a new motel resident and they become friends as they both struggle with where they are in their respective lives. Super hotty, Sung Kang, from BLT will be in attendance as will the actor who plays the protagonist, Ernest, and director Michael Kang.*

* I've seen this movie.

Unleashed

2005-03-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Presented by Asia Street on International Channel

UNLEASHED - Starring Jet Li
France/UK 2005 | 102mins | 35mm Color

Special Sneak Screening
MON 03.14 9:45PM
AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres

Jet Li teams with director Louis Leterrier (THE TRANSPORTER) and
producer/writer Luc Besson (LA FEMME NIKITA, THE PROFESSIONAL) in UNLEASHED,
arguably the most eagerly anticipated of Li's films made outside of Hong Kong/China.

Raised like a dog and forced to fight in death-matches all his life, Danny (Li) gets a new leash on life when he befriends a blind piano teacher (Morgan Freeman) and his young friend (Kerry Condon). He is forced to choose between his newly found humanity and the life he escaped when re-captured by his former master Bart (Bob Hoskins).

UNLEASHED boasts an original soundtrack by Massive Attack and action sequences-choreographed by the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping (THE FIST OF LEGEND, THE MATRIX)-that should satisfy Jet Li fans who have been disappointed by Hollywood productions that have failed to take advantage of his tremendous physical abilities. But those scenes are also woven into a dramatic narrative that showcases some surprisingly nuanced acting from the action star. UNLEASHED may well be Jet Li's most accomplished performance to date.

The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, runs March 10-17, 2005 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post Street, and the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street in San Francisco; and the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way in Berkeley and March 18-20 at the Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 South Second Street in San Jose.

For more information, please telephone (415) 865-1588 or visit www.naatanet.org/festival.

[From a press release Chi-hui Yang sent out earlier this morning.]

Running

2005-03-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

We start soon - 8 days until showtime.

Tomorrow I hang banners at the Kabuki 8 Theatres and I can already feel it clicking in, this automatic-drone mode of just doing.

Here's hoping we see you at the movies!

Launch

2005-02-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

Launch Party tonight (02.10) at 111 Minna Gallery! It should be a good time with eats courtesy of First Crush and desserts courtesy of the Bakery Box.

8pm-11:30pm
21+
$20/ $15 NAATA member

Come out and celebrate and pour over the glossy pages of our catalog! See the clips and dance to music c/o Massive Selector: DJs Proof and Panty ROBber.

Make this evening the first good memories of the 2005 Festival!

Catalog In

2005-02-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

The catalogs are in. Tomorrow is the press conference and this Thursday is the Launch Party at 111 Minna. Be there at 8pm!

Final Proof

2005-01-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

At Noon earlier today, our final catalog proof session. We all found a few mistakes that we felt lucky to catch. The catalog hits the streets on February 10, 2005. The same day as our launch party at 111 Minna.

Chadha & Berges

2005-01-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes exciting things happen behind the scenes. The team behind BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM stopped by to wish NAATA a happy 25th. The result will be unveiled at the SFIAAFF.

Proof!

2005-01-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day of proofing for the 2005 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival catalog. Jason Sanders is back onboard as editor extraordinaire. Look out for the finished catalog when it hits the streets on February 8th!

Programming Finished!

2005-01-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

Taro and Chi-hui finished the programming tonight! Yay! That means that beyond choosing the films in the program - they also slotted all the films (chose times and venues for them). Good thing too, as we're in catalog production mode.

Taro then kindly assisted me with preparing ad and logo files for the designer as technology wasn't working out for me today. Strangely doing the work for a Festival is as exciting as it seems. (Well depending on what role you play as well. From the standpoint of the "core four" it's pretty intense.)

Tough

2005-01-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

The Festival is plugging along, but last week was very tough. A sponsor pulled out and though I admire their service immensely -- it's difficult to be okay with this. A colleague (also a sponsorship manager) said it was "really wrong" for them to do something like this to us. I mean we're a non-profit, we make decisions depending on the resources we are promised. I've mostly put it behind me, but doubt always accompanies an event such as this.

Programming had a similiar thing happen, two films they felt were onboard, decided not to show at our festival. I'm mentioning it, because this is the busiest time for us and they probably won't think of posting now.

We're all on edge and there is an expectancy that is hard to describe. We're holding our breath until March 10. Not literally, of course, but it feels that way.

It would be great if we can blog more during this time, but the nature of the business means we have other things on our mind. I'll try to do my best to continue posting, in the interest of this, I've invited my assistant Khristine to join the blog.

Proposal

2004-12-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

Photo by Albert Chau 2004.

It all started with a phone call from a colleague at another organization:

day1: A phone call.
Colleague 1: Xcompany is interested in working with NAATA, C2, and C1
me: That's great. Thanks. I'll e-mail some info to you, if you're speaking to them now. (Send an e-mail 3 hours later)

day2: A phone call.
Xcompany: Hey we're interested in working with NAATA and C1 said I can contact you and ask you some questions.
me: Okay. What can I do for you?
Xcompany: Well we're interested in the young demographic of 21-29 and we're interested in hosting a music event, so what do you have?
me: Wow, that's great. We have this music showcase (blah, blah, marketing pitch).
Xcompany: And where will X company branding be?
me: It is on posters, blah, blah... Why don't I send you the proposal, a detailed demographic breakdown, and type of marketing we do for the DIS event?
Xcompany: Oh that would be great. Can you send photos too, so we can get a feel for how your festival feels?
me: Yes, I'll send the packet to arrive by tomorrow and I'll send the photos electronically.
(goodbye pleasantries, hang up phone.)

I hurriedly rush to format a new DIS proposal, get all marketing materials together and FedX the package to arrive the next afternoon. Next day - get photo disks from the 2004 SFIAAFF and sort through for photos of DIS that show either the crowd or the branding from last year's sponsor. Create a slideshow of highlights of the DIS events using Flickr. Then create tinyurl.com links for the longer links to the professional photographer's online albums of opening and closing night, using the slideshow functionality. Send Xcompany a nice e-mail an explain that she should click on the links to see slideshows of the music events, plus ON and CN. Then everything is sent off by 1pm.

day 2: A phone call at 2pm.
C2: Hi Mai. Did you receive a call from Xcompany?
me: Yes.
C2: What did you talk about?
me: We spoke about sponsorship, blah, blah...
[back & forth about how C2 can pitch their music event, etc...)
C2: Funny thing, she's my neighbor!
me: Oh. What a small world.
C2: I wonder if I should send her materials directly.
me: When I spoke to her, she wanted the packet, so I already mailed it off to her.
C2: Maybe I should mention this to C1?
me: Yeah, that's probably a good idea, I think C1 is traveling now...
C2: I'll send my materials separately then.

day 3: An e-mail between C2 & C1, I'm copied.
C2: Hey C1, funny thing Xcompany is my neighbor! Blah, blah..
C1: What a small world. why don't you steer this relationship then? I'll send my packet to you for drop off.
C2: Okay.
me: Hey guys. I just wanted to let you know that as I was speaking to Xcompany, she had a lot of questions and then asked for a packet so I sent that to her last Friday afternoon. She has photos of our events as well.

day 4:
e-mail from C2: Hey Mai, how were you able to send Xcompany your photos electronically, we're having a lot of problems with dealing with photos for our events.

I sent an e-mail explaining what I did and sent her the links, so she could see the outcome.

With the internet and knowledge of free tools on the web I was able to send my proposal and all accompanying marketing tools and photos of the event within one day of Xcompany's request of it. And in the for-profit world we deal with (as opposed to the npo world that C1, C2 and I work in), time and follow-thru is infinitely important. Sending the proposal and all accompanying requested marketing materials within one day is not too much to ask for. Additionally, though we have technology constraints related to onhand resources - there is a wealth of free webtools on the internet that we can utilize to achieve our desired results.

First Staff Meeting of the Season

2004-12-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

Today we had our first SFIAAFF Staff meeting of the 2005 season. The ice breaker was: What was your high or low of the week?

Mine
High: Reaching a SFIAAFF goal
Low: Still being sick

Things are going well so far.

Looking for Guest Services Coordinator

2004-12-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

We're still looking for someone to run the Guest Services Offices, (Guest Services Coordinator) so if you know anyone who may be interested... It is a position that plays host to the visiting film and film festival industry guests. Think of it as having out-of-town friends visiting, but like 200 of them - at roughly the same time.

Interested? Have any questions? E-mail lynne [at] naatanet [dot] org and she'll give you the 411 on the SFIAAFF and the position.

Publicity Coordinator in da house

2004-12-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

Today was Seema's first day at the SFIAAFF/NAATA. She'll be helping coordinate all the publicity for the 2005 SFIAAFF.

Sundance around the corner

2004-11-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

Today the schedule for the Sundance Festival was released. This means several things to us as an organization, the first being that NAATA, ACV, and VC are hosting a filmmaker reception at Sundance.

The second being how the films accepted into Sundance affect our programming for the Festival. Chi-hui and Taro are looking forward to confirming a number of films this week, so we'll have a better grasp of the themes of the Festival. As we move into December, we're shoring up the programming and (hopefully) the sponsorship too!

Launch Party!

2004-11-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendar for the SFIAAFF Launch Party! The kind folks at 111 Minna Gallery host our annual launch party on Thursday, February 10, 2005. The party will premiere our 2005 trailer and catalogs will be available to the public. The event is usually packed. The party will be 8pm - 11:30pm, the admission is $20 general and $15 for members. Come join the party ad be the first on your block to pick up the 2005 catalog!

Sticky SFIAAFF

2004-11-24T17:20:00.000-08:00

File Under: Festival Planning

Recently came across this article from Sticky Sauce that addresses what we're hoping to accomplish with the Festival blog/site duality. Every year we update our site to mirror the marketing campaign/ programmatic themes of that particular SFIAAFF. But what happens the other 9 1/2 months of the year that the updated SFIAAFF site isn't up?

So this year we decided to maintain a blog to create a year-round presence of what we're doing in preparation for the event. To create transparency in our efforts. But we're mired in knee-deep work sometimes and we forget to update, please excuse us we're still looking for the sweetspot of our "regular" work and our posting habits about that work.

In recently writing the employee manual for the In-Kind Coordinator position (recently filled by the awesome Farah Shaikh) I was reminded that writing itself is a learning process. That being able to analyze how you got, or planning how to get to a certain goal, position, etc... looked at in a document/written form actually allows you to step away from the topic and re-approach it differently. In short: looking at things in meta-form can actually help give alternate perspectives when you pull away and look at it wholistically.

We're at a point with the SFIAAFF where this is crucial in going forward. We're 23 this year and our presenting organization, NAATA, is 25. We've still got a lot of work to do as we continue "Projecting Asian America."

Asian Art Museum

2004-11-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

File Under: Opening Night Sponsor

The SFIAAFF has been lucky enough to have the Asian Art Museum return as sponsor of the 23rd SFIAAFF Opening Night Gala. The marketing team (particularly Ami Tseng and Tim Hallman) at the Asian Art Museum has always been very suppportive of the work we at NAATA have accomplished over the years. It is only fitting that they host our gala during our NAATA's 25th anniversary.

If you haven't yet been to the new Asian Art Museum at the Civic Center then you're missing out. Check out the current exhibit at asianart.org. We look forward to seeing you on March 10th!

Save the dates! SFIAAFF

2004-11-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

The 23rd San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) will take place March 10-20, 2005.

The Festival will take place in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre, the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, and the Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose.

March 10 - 17: San Francisco, Berkeley
March 18 - 20: San Jose

And more

2004-11-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

File Under: Film Festival Planning

We at the SFIAAFF have hit that phase called "laying the groundwork" also known as "more of the same". This is the unglamorous, but so very important part of the Festival process. We (the staff) have made our asks and proposals and we wait. And all of us are waiting, albeit for different things. Taro and Chi-hui wait for the films to confirm after we invite them, I wait for the sponsors to get back to me with answers to my proposals and Lynne waits for potential employees to send in their resumes. The four of us hold our collective breath, until January when answers come in and then we start running with the catalog. :) (Which should be another post.)

Matrimony!

2004-10-31T16:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Don Young and Lisa Nguyen who wed on Saturday, October 30th. They had a beautiful ceremony at a buddhist temple in San Jose and a wedding banquet at the Golden Wok in Mountain View. Don, who is the PTV Director at NAATA met Lisa when she was a volunteer for the SFIAAFF.

Campaign

2004-10-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Noon to begin the process of choosing the look and feel of our Festival's campaign. The colors and themes will be echoed throughout the year's collateral. So, it's really important to us, debating and tweaking and getting "what if scenarios" to slight adjustments.

We ask questions such as: "Where is the Festival?" "Where has it been and where is it going?"

Chi-hui said it was one of the most important meetings of the year as it really drives our image and holds our marker in time.

"2003 was the year of the director and audience chair in conversation"

"2000 was the Japanimation"

Noon is great - they have really compelling images and design elements, elements that pinpoint our movements as a Festival. It feels very edge of precipice-esque this discussing and debating the relative merits of each mock-up.

"I tell you if we choose the RIGHT campaign the Festival will be perfect!"

"But what is right? What is perfect?"

What we choose, of course.

Coffee break

2004-10-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting in Starbucks, drinking my 2nd coffee fix for the day and was trying to let my mind wander onto non related work issues. I was going to give myself a 15 min break. Sitting across the aisle from me was a man in khaki pants and a white button down shirt and a woman sitting across from him. After a few minutes I could tell that he was a Starbucks manager and the woman was a newly hired Starbucks employee. I tried to not eavesdrop…but my interest peaked as the do’s and don’ts (mostly don’ts) rules of Starbucks kept pouring out of the manager’s training spiel. Here were some of the rules:

DRESS CODE:
-You must wear solid black or white button down shirts (no logos of any kind, turtlenecks ok).
-No hats (this includes sunglasses worn on the head as a decorative headband)
-No nose piercings
-Dyed hair color such as pink, blue, green: forbidden

PHONE CALLS:
-Allowed to have a cell phone on, but may not answer it while speaking with a customer
-Must leave the floor if you need to talk on the cell phone
-Phone must be on vibrate ring or off.

INTER-RELATIONS:
-You can only date someone who is on the same power level as you. (cashier+cashier=fine, cashier=manager=not fine)
-If you want to date someone who is at a higher level than you, you must be transferred
(this is so favoritism or risks of sexual harassment don’t happen)

I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. My mind returned to work as it normally does even if I’m not physically in the office. Part of my job is to hire and train seasonal staff and interns. I am always looking to improve and one area I plan to focus on this year is better training. Listening to this Starbucks manager, I thought…wow. Here’s the difference between corporate and non-profit. So many rules and regulations. We have a more of a...throw them in the deep end of the water and hope they can swim, than any formal training. We do have manuals and evaluations from past years and a timeline that we give to our new staff. But even this is more of a general, broad stroke view of their position. How they chose to budget their time and handle their work load is up to the individual. This can be good and bad. Good in that we are giving the message that we are all adults, we trust you and believe you will complete your work. Bad in some people need more guidance and feel this independent attitude leaves room for more misunderstandings, which lead to mistakes (since what’s expected was never told). So I thought about this…what is the best way to train an employee? I also thought about not just training, but what the training says about the work environment. Lots of rules indicate a tense, possibly even resentful work environment. No rules could be more relaxed but could lead to lack of accountability. Unless you have superb people on staff…which we’ve been very lucky with. (intentional pat on the back) Anyway, my fifteen minutes were up and I headed back to the office plugging this away in my mental "think about later" file.

Mill Valley Film Festival

2004-10-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

File Under: Festival Planning

Last night, Lynne and I made our way over to Mill Valley for the Mill Valley Film Festival which had two commendable opening night films, I (heart) Huckabees and Finding Neverland. It sounds (and is frankly) glamorous that we can attend Opening Night celebrations as part of our research for work.

Unfortunately, yet expectedly our conversations usually go something like this:

Lynne: "Interesting, they had people saving those reserved seats on every row."

Me: "Yeah, did you notice if they said thank you to the sponsor in their opening speech?"

At the party, Lynne is checking the set-up of the room and I am asking the workers if they are a sponsor or vendor. Yeah, we're party animals here, really. No, really.

Mill Valley put on an excellent Opening Night and their program looks fantastic. NAATA is co-presenting A Tale of Two Sisters at the beautiful Castro Theatre and I'll be in the audience watching. See you at the movies.

Fall Asian Film Series

2004-10-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

File Under: Programming

We sometimes forget to post because we're working on stuff (and sometimes our computers are ever-so-slow).. But exciting things are ahead for the Festival staff as we head into the fall. Mainly our Fall Asian Film Series at the lovely Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Here is the brief synopses of the programs:

October 5, 19, 26, 2004
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street, San Francisco

Tuesday, October 5, 7:30pm
SPIRITS (OAN HÔN)
Dir. Victor Vu (2004, Vietnam/USA, Video, 105mins)

Memories and obsessions haunt a struggling writer as he meets two mysterious women—one a spirit, the other harboring her own—in this eerie and chilling ghost story. Set in Vietnam but shot entirely in Southern California, SPIRITS is a karmic parable which uncovers a troubled history between this world and the other.
Co-presented by: East Meets West Foundation, Association for Viet Arts
In Person: Director Victor Vu
----------
Tuesday, October 19, 7:30pm
CHINESE RESTAURANTS: ON THE ISLANDS
Dir. Cheuk Kwan (2003, Canada, Video, 72mins)

In this fascinating exploration of the Chinese diaspora in the Carribean, director Cheuk Kwan uses the lens of the family-run Chinese restaurant to examine the community halls and cemeteries of Cuba’s Barrio Chino, the legendary Soong’s Great Wall restaurant in Trinidad, and the Hakka-Creole-Indian mixings of Mauritius’ food, culture and people.
Co-presented by: Chinese Culture Center.
----------
Tuesday, October 26, 7:30pm
ONG-BAK: MUAY THAI WARRIOR
Dir. Prachya Pinkaew (2003, Thailand, 35mm, 105mins)

Watch out Jackie Chan—here comes Thailand’s muay thai superstar, Tony Jaa. When Ting (Jaa) journeys to Bangkok to retrieve his village’s stolen sacred Buddha, he encounters one inconceivable obstacle after another, from the circus-like gauntlet along Bangkok’s food stalls to a mind-boggling tuk tuk chase. Jaa delivers jaw-dropping flurries of elbows and knees in one of the most exciting action performances in recent memory.

TICKETS MAY BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE

TICKET PRICES
$8 General Admission
$7 NAATA, YBCA Members, Students/Seniors

BY PHONE: 415.978.ARTS (2787), daily 11am – 6pm, no service fee

BY FAX: 415.978.5210, 24 hours a day, $5 per-order service fee

ONLINE: www.ybca.org , 24 hours a day, $5 per-order service fee plus $1.50 handling fee per ticket

IN PERSON: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Box Office
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Galleries and Forum
Building 701 Mission Street @ Third Street
Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 12pm to 6pm, no service fee

Go and see hot Asian and Asian American Cinema before your neighbors do.

She's Back!

2004-08-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

File Under: Film Festival Planning

Lynne is back! Our great Festival Associate is back - straight from the swamps of Florida, Ms. Connor returns to San Francisco to help us organize the 2005 SFIAAFF!

Welcome Back!!

Fundraising

2004-08-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

File Under: Fundraising

So I'm back with the writing proposals and sending out of packets. I'm in asking mode again. We have big aspirations this year and with the economy looking bleak. It may be a tough sell. We're looking to get a big cable channel, a car company, and a mobile phone company to get in there and represent. If any one feels generous, please advocate for us at your company.

For more information about sponsorship benefits go to our website. Please call soon, I'll be waiting by the phone.

Visions

2004-07-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

File Under: Miscellaneous

This weekend we had a very well-attended event. It was called HEROic Visions, a conversation with Ellen Poon (Special effects advisor on Hero). Yes, we should have posted about it here. But you know, we're ramping up now.

Laying the groundwork for WORK.

Which segues quite nicely into the presentation we had today at the "now weekly" staff meeting. Last week NAATA decided that if we were to get a better grasp on our org and where we are going [this relates to a Scenario planning meeting we had a few weeks ago that was facilitated by the Global Business Network --- they asked us this question: "Where would you (NAATA/Your Dept.) be given different combos of political/funding/social scenarios?"] Individual/ Cross-departmental ideas of where certain departments would be or where they would flourish was varied. At the staff meeting we realized that perhaps it made sense for everyone at NAATA to engage in more interdepartmental dialogue.

So today Festival was up to bat first. We gave a rather thorough assessment of where we are and where we want to be. We also fielded questions from fellow staffers regarding our goals and practices and also how the financials will pan out.

It seems do-able, these goals. Having Chi-hui, Taro & I hash them out and then present them helps us address how we plan to accomplish everything. In a way we are moving in towards an essential team building phase and it feels pretty good.

A Common Vision

2004-07-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

File Under: Film Festival Planning

Last week Taro, Chi-hui and I sat down to try to envision the Festival in 2006 and 2010. It seems an important question, yet one that hasn't been asked in the recent past. "Where is the SFIAAFF going?"

We need to imagine where we want the SFIAAFF to be, so that we can work backwards to put policies and practices into place to make that vision a reality. It is important to write this information down, to concretely outline our hopes and dreams for the SFIAAFF so that the Festival proceeds at a trajectory that we'd like it to (whether or not we will be personally here to carry out all the policies and practices).

We're still working out the details of many of the nitty gritty of the vision, but some tidbits include a good brand and an event that is a destination.

The best thing about this exercise is us sharing what we each consider an ideal SFIAAFF.

A Cloud of Smoke

2004-07-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

File Under: Synopsis & Review

HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITECASTLE is a very light romp in the vein of DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? (written by the same peeps). The movie is enjoyable in the same way as well. Weird things happen to Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) as they embark on an Odyssey worthy search for Whitecastle Sliders after smoking out in their apartment.

Their very long evening includes Neil Patrick Harris on ecstasy stealing their car, a ride on a cheetah, the offer of a foursome with a hot woman and her disfigured husband, bullet wound surgery, a trip to Princeton University, and a jailbreak.

Critics will very likely point to the undeveloped female characters as the main disappointment in the flick. (And yes, that could be better.) Others may point to some of the very obvious race focused jokes, but you know what - that's just life. The characters of Harold & Kumar come off like regular Asian American guys and for Hollywood that is very commendable.

I'm not a fan of these types of easy-gag type of movies, but I enjoyed Harold & Kumar for everything that it is. And when I left I told my friend that I liked it much better than DODGEBALL.

The Dealio

2004-06-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

File Under: Miscellaneous

Our friends over at Dealership (who kindly played Directions in Sound at the 2004 SFIAAFF) were recently in Los Angeles filming a video for a single off their soon-to-be released new album ACTION ADVENTURE.

Photos from the set reveal a green screen, martial arts moves, and doubles! Wow!

Hmm, I wonder if the video will be done in time for the 2005 SFIAAFF Music Video program...

Susan Arakawa wins award for MANKAI

2004-06-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

File Under: News

The folks at indieWIRE report:

MCKNIGHT WINNERS: The IFP/Minneapolis/St Paul has announced the 2004 McKnight Screenwriting Fellows:Susan Arakawa and Brad Pecelj.

Each receives a $25,000 cash award, a public reading of their winning screenplay, and guarantees admission into the 2004 IFP Market. Arakawa's "Mankai" is about a young Japanese sushi chef who moves to Brooklyn, and Pecelj's "An Unforgettable Stranger" is a mystery/drama about an unhappy married couple who meet two strangers.

Searching for a Fitting Closing

2004-06-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

File Under: Film Fesival Planning

For the past few weeks Khristine and I have been scouting venues for the 2005 SFIAAFF Closing Night. We're looking for a different place than the War Memorial Green Room where we've had it in years past.

At this point we've hit most of the venues that are within our price range that hit the criteria:

Wheelchair accessible

Parking available nearby

Pretty architecture

Pretty inside

Centrally located

Stage in main room

Independent catering and alcohol - okay

So now we're thinking of alternative spaces. We've thought of large galleries (perhaps) and now we're thinking of different types of alternative spaces. We're getting wild here, we're thinking in dotcom terms.

That is - remember when dotcom parties were every and anywhere? [I remember an airplane hangar on Treasure Island, some retail stores, and more clubs than I can count.] That's what I'm thinking of.

So, if anyone remembers a cool (and affordable or sponsorship-related-able) place I'm up for any and all suggestions, e-mail me yo!

Two Korean films--vastly different

2004-06-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

It's 6:25pm and I'm sitting in the practically empty theatre. There's maybe 20 of us in total in the audience. We're waiting to see the film "The Road Taken." I wonder if it's because of the subject matter that doesn't attract crowds? Since there is such a small audience, the person collecting surveys for the drawing is forced to talk to people indivdually who can't seem to figure out..what a survey is. Questions like, what's the survey for? What do I need to fill it out? Do I have to fill it out? Are called out randomly. I roll my eyes annoyed. If you were a regular festival goer, you would know that it's in your best interest to fill out the very short survey to be entered into the drawing. I started to feel like I was back in high school and these audience members were whining kids who didn't want to do their homework. One woman in the audience called out quite snottily that she didn't receive a pencil to fill out the survey. Where was her pencil? I took a deep breath in at the stupidity of some people. I recognized her as the woman who minutes before downstairs at the ticket booth was complaining that she couldn't buy her tickets a day in advance. There's always one person...

"The Road Taken" is based on the true story of Kim Son-Myong who spent 45 years in jail for standing up for his beliefs and ideals. He was a south korean who joined the North Korean army and was imprisoned for being a communist traitor. The film starts out light...showing how living in a prison has it's own routines and expectations. How friends or commrades as they called each other were the lifeline to survival. They had a tapping system on the walls that enabled them to communicate with one another. Outside news was told through this way. But soon, you started to feel like you were in that prison with them. It started to become repeitious. Torture, bad food, little humanity and yet, still not surrendering to South korean politics were the only thing that kept these men in jail. Even after 45 years of the character who played Kim Son-Myong is released and free to go on a special pardon, there isn't that sense of redemption. I was left feeling...quite sad. Not really inspired by this man's fight. Just wondering, if it really was worth it? His whole life..gone, spent in a jail. He watched as all his friends left or died. And for what? To be loyal to his beliefs?

Thankfully, the next movie I saw that night was the Korean, romantic comedy (emphasis on the comedy) called "Please Teach me English." The backbone of the story was Korea's facination to learn english. It's believed that if you speak english, it will advance your career, your love life and will open all doors to the infinite possibilities in life. Na Yeong Ju, an entry level, government offical is picked out of everyone in her office to learn how to speak english because of a run in with an angry customer. She attends enlish classes and meets Park Mun-Soo, a slick rick playboy type who she immediately falls for. He in turn likes the Australian English teacher, Cathy. I was anticipating this movie being similar to "My Sassy Girl," my all time favorite Korean film. But...it actually topped it. I have never laughed so hard in a movie theatre! And it wasn't just sections that were chucklesome. The whole movie...I laughed, the audience laughed...every was laughing. Certain parts, the audience even clapped, they were so entertained. This was the kind of movie experience I was used to at this festival. A packed crowd, craning your neck to read the subtitles..and laugh out loud fun. Hands down, I would recommend this movie to anyone who needs a little pep in their step. A Korean film not to be missed!

NYAFF.."Dance With the Wind"

2004-06-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the second day of attending the NY Asian Film Festival. Out of all the films I planned to see, this was the film I was anticipating the most. I knew I was going for work purposes, but I couldn't help but insert my own personal biases toward Korean films. Not only was it a romantic comedy (my all time favorite type of genre...and yes, my tastes drive home the stereotypical girl preference)....but there was dancing! Call me strange, but I am a sucker for any movie that showcases dancing. I've even stooped as low as to watch "Centerstage" since dancing was the main focus. I was imagining this film to be compared to "Strictly Ballroom." I couldn't wait to see if my assumption was correct.

I walked in at 8pm, a half hour before showtime and was slightly disturbed to find absolutely no crowd. No lines, nothing. I was insulted on behalf of all korean romantic comedies out there. Around 8:15, a small crowd started to form. Even though the film was supposed to start at 8:30pm, the 6:30pm screening hadn't even let out yet. Instead of crowding at the bottom level of the theatre, people started to form a line up the stairs. This was good to alieviate the bottle necking effect down below, but wasn't wise as far as control. Anyone could stand on the stairs even if they didn't have a ticket and get in. The ticket takers and ushers were no where to be found. Finally at 8:30pm, the crowd was let out and we were let in. The sense of urgency to have the film start on time, the people standing in the back of the theatre wearing headsets were glaringly missing. But since no one seemed to be worried about the late start, I wasn't either.

I looked around the audience and noticed that this night's crowd mostly consisted of young Asian professionals. Probably Korean. In the year's past Koreans came out in droves to support the Korean films showcased in the festival. My Sassy Girl, JSA and Chingu all were sold out. JSA was so popular that they added another screening to meet the high demand. Tonight would not be a sold out show.

A few minutes later a man introduced the start of the show. I couldn't help but be disappointed that Grady wasn't introducing the film. His energy and exaggerated voice stirred the crowd into excitement and always induced laughter. This guy was bland and barely audible since microphones didn't seem to exist in the theatre. He simply said that the drawing was about to happen. Tonight was a chance to win:
*"God of Cookery" DVD
*"Double Vision" VCD
*Zatauchi Tshirt
I crossed my fingers hoping that my name would be pulled and I could win the "God of Cookery" DVD. We had screened "God of Cookery" at our festival, but I wasn't able to watch it myself. The names were announced quickly and without any flare. My name was not called. Would I ever win one of these drawings?!

"Dance With the Wind," directed by Park Jun-Woo gave us a glimpse into the shady world of..gasp, dance. Starting with the jive and working up to ballroom dancing, Poongshik (played by Lee Sung-Jae) is innately drawn to dance. He finds himself seducing married women and taking their money, not because he's a gigalo, but because of his deep love and need for dance. Yeonhwa, an undercover cop is assigned to the case to bring Poongshik down. Apparently Poongshik seduced the wrong woman, the police captains wife...and now justice must be served. Yeonhwa is checked into the hospital with a fake neck injury to get closer to Poongshik, who for reasons that aren't explained upfront is also serving time in the hospital. Poongshik tells Yeonhwa the story of his life, how he became a smooth, sauve, irressistable ladies magnet, but most importantly, a passionate dancer. There are more twists and explainations to his story, but what shines out the most is the appreciation for the art of dance. Also, there are laugh out loud, funny moments. The best scene by far is the first dance instructor Poongshik seeks out. A tiny old man who can barely stir in sugar for his tea, but becomes a young 20-something year old man again once he starts to dance. The last half of the movie starts to drag, and the ending is not clearly defined, but all in all a very enjoyable film.

Attending the NY Asian Film festival..."Macabre Case of Prom Pi Ram"

2004-06-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

I'm back in NYC, the place I called home before I moved to SF. I came for some personal business, but decided to extend my stay so I could attend two Asian Film festivals: the NY Asian Film festival (June 18-27) and Asian Cinevision's film festival (July 16-24). I had gone to these festivals while living in NY, but had come from a different perspective, as a viewer or patron. I wasn't looking out for structure, organization and if any of these films could potentially be shown in our festival. Now, with a year of festival experience behind me, I had a different agenda in mind. I was going to see how their festivals ran operationally, to network, to publicize NAATA and our festival and to watch films that could potentially be showcased in our festival.

NY ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL: I entered the Anthology Film Archives at 6:15pm (a museum known for preserving and exhibiting films as an art form), and was surprised to find a short line in front of the box office. Usually 15 minutes before showtime, there was a long line outside that wrapped around the building with people anxiously waiting to buy a ticket. On my way up to the 200 seat theatre, I was handed a survey. Inside the theatre, I was again surprised at the low turn out. The first three rows were practically empty and other vacant seats were sporadically spaced here and there. I figured about 70% of the theatre was filled. Usually the shows were sold out and I had to fight for a seat. I reasoned that it was a 6:30pm weeknight showing. Most people in NY didn't get out of work till after 7pm. I also noted that the majority of the crowd seemed to be white. This was evidence of the growing, if not established interest for Asian culture and arts by non-asian folks.

At 6:30pm instead of the movie starting, workers climbed up a tall ladder to fix a hanging drape that would have blocked a corner of the screen. The movie was obviously not going to start on time. My theatre operational mind kicked in and I did a time count. If we started at 6:30pm, the film was 108 minutes long, so it would end at 8:18pm. This did not include the introduction and commerical/ trailer time. Add another 10 minutes. So really, we'd be exiting the theatre around 8:30pm, also the time when the next film was supposed to start. I wondered who did the programming schedule? Usually the rule of thumb to turn around a theatre (exit the people from the theatre, clean the theatre, and fully seat the next screening) is a 1/2 hour.

As I waited, I was vaguely aware of the music video by Full Metal Alchemist playing on screen. I looked around the theatre for any posters or signs of the sponsors. There were two huge hanging posters that said, "Discover the tiger!" I could only guess that it was advertising Tiger beer, their main sponsor.

At 6:36pm, Grady (one of the organizers for the festival) started the show. In an exaggerated, game show host way he:
*welcomed the crowd
*annouced the two sponsors (Tiger Beer & Yesasia.com)
*explained the audience award
*announced last minute changes in schedule and added titles
*read a review of the film festival from The New Yorker
Then came my favorite part. Where he announced the winners of the drawing.
Audience members that dutifully filled out their surveys were automatically entered to win a chance at three prizes--a movie poster, a mask or a dvd. My name was not drawn. Sadly, I was not a winner. This past year at our festival, we also had an audience survey and membership forms that we wanted people to fill out right away. The trick is to give them the incentive to want to do this. I thought the instant gratification, win a prize from a drawing (right now) worked well at the NY Asian Film festival.

Finally the screening started. We sat through two commercials for Tiger beer, 1 commercial for yesasia.com and two movie trailers (both that were not subtitled) before the actual film started. I leaned back in my seat preparing to soak in the movie.

"Macabre Case of Prom Pi Ram," directed by Manop Udomdej is a film that quietly peels away the darkness of the human condition in a small country town. It starts out with two good cops who are determined to solve the mysterious murder of an unknown girl found dead next to the train tracks. Told in a linear fashion with full scenes of flashbacks to what really happened, this is not a complicated story. But as the movie progresses forward, the horror of what this woman had to endure becomes painful to watch. Thoughts of oh no, oh no...not again? Not again! raced through my mind. It would make any woman, passive feminest or activist want to jump into the screen and save this victim from the awful, sick men who seem to have no conscience. The only redemention for the victim is that the cops do solve the case by the end.

I left the theatre in a daze, still thinking about the film, trying to sort out how I really felt about it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a line wrapped around the building seeming to have no end. It was 8:45pm, and the next screening would soon be underway. I smiled, happy for the crowd that they were about to see an incredible film, "Vibrator" and proud of the NY Asian film festival for attracting such interest on a Monday night.

And they're off... Frameline Opening Night

2004-06-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

File Under: Reconnaissance

Last night Taro, Chi-hui, Khristine (intern) & I attended the opening night party for FRAMELINE 28. Michael & crew put on an amazingly good party. The event took place at City Hall to commemorate the strides that Gay & Lesbian marriage has had this year. The gala was fun with plenty of alcohol flowing and Jimi Mistry and Kyle Maclachlan representin'.

As always it's a social/work event. I go into these gala parties with darting eyes. And what do I see? There seems to be an increase in using projections and/or transparencies for logos on walls during opening night festivities. The special events planner utilized the space very creatively, breaking the party up into three rooms (1) the main foyer with a string quartet playing, (2) the live band covering disco-era music room, and (3) the quiet room with tables and very little ambient music. It worked out really well, the event didn't feel packed, but felt full of people. The flow of the crowd was pretty awesome and one didn't have to wait more than 5-10 minutes in the busiest of lines (for alcohol).

Frameline rocks! Catch a movie if you get a chance, the Festival runs through June 27th.

Submitting Online Via Withoutabox

2004-06-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

File Under: Film Festival Planning

Not long after our 2004 festival has wrapped, we’re already at work gearing up for next year, and it starts with opening our call for entries. And with this, my very first blog ever, I’m going to write about a first for our festival—an online submission process.

We’re partnering with Withoutabox.com, a company established just a few years ago. The way it works is that filmmakers enjoy discounts and the convenience of submitting forms online, while festivals are able to import data directly into the database rather than wasting hours of staff time manually inputting information as indicated on the printed forms. (We help save trees, too, by using online press kits!) Considering that the technology itself (an online application form) is not difficult to create, and since Withoutabox.com charges a commission on each entry, we weren’t initially sold on the merit of this service. But one notion intrigued us. Since Withoutabox.com has over 30,000 filmmakers using their system, if even a small percentage of those filmmakers have Asian American projects to submit, we could potentially reach several hundred eligible applicants and perhaps help increase the number of submissions we receive.

The two big questions are these:
1) What percentage of the filmmakers out there are Asian American (or making Asian American films)?
2) Of those, how many are familiar with our festival?

There’s no way to really know, but by the end of the year, we’ll find out if Withoutabox has helped us find more Asian American projects. Then there’s always the issue of a number of Asian American filmmakers choosing to not submit their work to an Asian American film festival, hoping instead to screen at a more "mainstream" festival, but that’s a whole other topic to be discussed later.

A Private Screening of ZATOICHI

2004-05-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

File Under: Miscellaneous

Last night NAATA had a preview screening of ZATOICHI: The Blind Swordsman --- a new movie by Takeshi (Beat) Kitano.

A preview screening is a great way for Festival (and NAATA) to engage the public in a way that doesn't involve us asking for financial support. A screening brings together the members, the donors, the volunteers, the friends, and the staff for an evening of cinematic entertainment. The audience is united in its support of NAATA and the SFIAAFF and through attending the event are given a nugget of exclusivity.

"Be the first one on your block to watch ZATOICHI!"

The evening is beneficial situation for all involved. Audience members are given a free, exclusive preview, NAATA is given an opportunity to support Asian Film and reward supporters, and the film studio (in this case, Miramax) is given a marketing opportunity with a highly targeted demographic, thus increasing their chances of a "word-of-mouth" marketing campaign.

The Day After Tomorrow

2004-05-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

File Under: Synopsis and Review

Sometimes a movie is so bad it is funny. Not a funny to everybody movie, but a post ironic - "ha-ha! can you believe they poured money into this?" type of thing. To me that is what THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW was all about. It put me in a really good mood, as disaster movies normally do. (Am I right here?)

On the representin' front, Tamlyn Tomita does a good job as Janet Tokada, Jim Hamaguchi as Taka and Russell Yuen as Hideki, the Japanese Astronaut, Nobuya Shimamoto as the Japanese Policeman, Bunrey Miyake as the Japanese Shop Owner, Alvin Tam as Japanese Reporter, Mikio Owaki as the Noodle Chef, Rob Fuguzaki as the National Newscaster, Leyna Nguyen as Misc. Newscaster #1, Lina Patel as Misc. Newscaster #2 - there were perhaps more that I didn't catch.

Hopefully we're getting to a place in media where it is a no-brainer that Asian Americans will be cast in roles (both starring and supporting) in which ethnic identity doesn't play a factor.

Frameline 28

2004-05-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

File Under: Reconnaissance

Yesterday the Festival Department went to the Press Conference for the 28th San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Frameline is our neighbor at the 9th street Independent Media Center, we cheer them on and they do the same for us. Their program is impressive starting with the Opening Night feature TOUCH OF PINK and closing with D.E.B.S.. After the announcements by Michael Lumpkin (Festival Co-Director) and Jennifer Morris (Festival Co-Director) TOCUH OF PINK was screened.

The casting of Kyle MacLachlan as the Cary Grant imaginary confidant was truly inspired. One scene that had MacLachlan in full safari gear straddling an ice sculpture was just hilarity inducing. The story follows Alim (Jimi Mistry) as he deals with coming out to his mother and what that means to his relationship with his British boyfriend. The movie will make a great Opening Night, heading the schedule for a gripping festival that wil touch on both light and hard issues facing the community, such as marriage rights and a gay slasher film.

Check out the schedule if you get a chance, Frameline does an awesome job of putting on a great Festival year after year.

Clean-up & Reporting

2004-05-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

File Under: Film Festival Planning

I'm at that point of the Film Festival cycle when reporting to sponsors and foundations (government and private) are what preoccupies my time. There are two pieces to this project that make it excruciating; the first is double checking payments received and getting those who haven't paid to "pay up;" the second being actual grant reporting to justify monies received. I will elaborate more on the latter now.

Grantwriting can, arguably, be an art. You write what exciting programs you have in mind if only you could get the money to fund it.

The best grants are realistic, imaginative and contain an arc - just like a story, your project/program/non-profit is the protagonist. You give reasons why your story makes sense and (if you're good) you let them know how you can prove it to them that you've done (or attempted to do) everything you say you will. All the while allowing for the possibility that an unexpected outcome may happen, but you'll judge what happens by this specified criteria so everyone can see how the results may come to pass.

The most important thing to do when you write all this is that you follow through with the measures you describe to judge the efficacy of the project/program/non-profit. You'll save yourself time and hair-pulling if you have these measures built into the program themselves (e.g. questionnaires as part of a panel discussion). Then when the time comes you can compute the data from the questionnaires put it in the context of the original grant and send it off to the foundation.

And if you don't have technology issues like we do at NAATA (OS 9.2 for chrissakes!) then the process is rather smooth. Taking into account that you're a good writer, that you aren't burnt out, etc... but I digress.

Happy reporting!

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring

2004-05-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

File Under: Synopsis & Review

A quiet Korean and German movie that tells the fable of life and the burdens we carry with us. The movie takes place on a small floating monastery, a monk lives with a young boy (probably about 5 years old). The monk is his master out to teach the boy how to find tranquility and live a similiar life of Zen peacefulness. In the first vignette of Spring, the boy is chastised for his treatment of small creatures. It is so beautifully simple that it seems to be beamed right out of a koan. Things change in Summer, as the boy is shown to be approximately of teen age. A sickly young girl comes to live with them on the monastic boathouse and (of course) an affair between the two youths blooms.

The film is told with very little dialogue and extremely lush scenes of the area that the monastic boathouse exits in. The fable of the story is the fragility of life and the burdens we carry. There is an extremely strong metaphor about doors and the use and placement of doors. The kanji for "shut" as in "shut the door" is also fraught with meaning. Kim Ki-Duk did an excellent job of carving out the simple beauty without words.

Supersize Me

2004-05-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

File Under: Synopsis & Review

Morgan Spurlock chose to make himself a guinea pig for the sake of a documentary. For 30 days he had the sedentary lifestyle of an average American and he ate at McDonalds every day for 30 days. He would not eat it if it wasn't on the McDonalds menu.

So what happened?

Kidney problems, impotence, depression, and addiction to the food.

Some strange stuff. A really good examination of the Fastfood Industry a la Michael Moore-style. It makes one question what they're putting into their body. The film has been hitting the Film Festival circuit. Both screenings sold-out at the SFIFF, so San Franciscans have been chomping at the bit (pardon the very deliberate pun) to see it.

Beat! Beat! Retreat! Retreat!

2004-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

File Under: Film Festival Planning

The last two work days, May 6 and 7 respectively was spent at a house in the Upper Haight district of San Francisco.

The four of us, what I like to call the "core four" or "core of four" sat down and hashed out on Day 1 what went right and wrong with the 2004 SFIAAFF. Then on Day 2 by hashed out what we wanted for the 2005 SFIAAFF.

So what went wrong?

personnel issues (which lead to a whole host of issues)

lack of planning

lack of team cohesiveness

What went right? Basically what made us look professional to the outside.

fundraising

ticket sales

outreach

programming

guest services

It was cathartic and exhausting to try to shape a common vision. I realized that we may all be working very hard towards a vision of the SFIAAFF, but that we may be working at cross purposes if that vision is not the same vision. After the retreat, I'm not sure we all have the same vision. But we are getting closer.

VC or The LA Asian American Film Festival

2004-05-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

File Under: Reconnaissance

A free ticket on SWA and I was off to Los Angeles to see how the crew at Visual Comunications put on an Asian American Film Festival. They turned 20 this year.

Opening Night Film was Wayne Wang's Chan is Missing. An engaging tale of two cab drivers and their search for their friend Chan. Shot cinema verite style by Mchael Chin (with sound by Curtis Choy) the gritty camera work perfectly compliments the pair as they banter througout the film in their quest for not only Where Chan is, but Who Chan is. Therefore asking in a wider context about the Asian American experience (embodied by Chan) and his environs.

The Festival itself - it's hard not to do a side-by-side comparison of our differences - the biggest difference being only geography. [VC and NAATA are aligned in mission statements.] A point-by-point rundown would do both NAATA and VC a disservice.

An enviable thing they do have is much more Hollywood-style star power: James Hong, John Cho and from Big Fish Ada and Arlene Tai. This was in addition to the usual cast of characters, including the SDAFF crew and Director Im Sang-soo.

Being the starf*cker that I am this lent a shiny glint to the evening of good conversation, tapioca drinks and sumptious desserts.

Goodbye Dragon Inn (Bu Jian Bu San)

2004-04-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

File Under: Synopsis & Review

Tsai Ming-liang directs this story about the death of cinema. Slow-paced and lushly filmed, the story follows the inhabitants of a movie theatre on the last night before the closure of a Taipei movie theatre.

As a young man sits in the theatre he notices that two older men sitting in the audience are the same men who are on the screen in Dragon Gate Inn. Two co-workers try to make a connection, a young loud chomping girl taunts a man as she watches the movie. Moments like these are layered as past, present, and future interact in this romantic eulogy for a dying era.

Sometimes Roger Garcia just gets it so right. Come prepared for the pace of slow mourning.

Some Kind of Monster

2004-04-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

File Under: Synopsis & Review

On Sunday, 18 April a bunch of the NAATA staff went to see the Metallica documentary: Some Kind of Monster. It was pretty good. If you're a music fan or doc. fan you can find something compelling here.

The doc. follows the band as they gear up to record St. Anger (2004). After 22 years, the band is in serious need of some overhaul and therapy. They hire a therapist, a type of "life coach" to help them deal with each other as they record the album. The film is at turns funny, frustrating, and almost but not-quite heart wrenching.

In the same way that Bernard Sumner came out looking good in 24 Hour Party People - Kirk Hammett comes out looking the best in Some Kind of Monster. He doesn't seem as self-focused as Ulrich or Hetfield and when no one is talking to each other they are still talking to Hammett.

The piece will get wide release in San Francisco in July 2004, so check it out then.

Opening Night at the SFIFF

2004-04-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

File Under: Reconnaissance

Last night we all went to the SFIFF Opening Night screening and party.

The movie was Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes - an exceptional movie that showed the awkwardness of interacting individuals as they struggled to find these commonalities - usually finding it in sharing these two (little) vices.

It was weird to assess what the SFIFF did vs. what we did at the SFIAAFF. I had never looked at a film festival with such a critical eye - "Oh look they give away bottles of SKYY vodka in giftbags." (Not worrying about possibly contributing to the delinquency of minors.)

Our job that evening (everytime we go to a Film Festival) was to try to see how we could improve the SFIAAFF. We also schmoozed a bit with fellow industry people and a little bit more with those who were affiliated with the SFIAAFF in some way shape or form. Ah, congregation at these events!

Generally a good time was had by all. [Really - I took a poll.:-)]

Anticipation

2004-04-07T18:32:00.001-07:00

Now in theatres! Shaolin Soccer and soon Robot Stories (starring Tamlyn Tomita)...

It feels good to get heaping spoonfuls of good cinema.

Highlights of the 2004 SFIAAFF:

2004-03-23T17:12:00.000-08:00

* Opening Night at the Asian Art Museum --- it seemed everyone and their mom were jammed into Samsung Hall

* The Special Events Coordinator continual loading and unloading of beverages

* The first weekend at the CAstro and the long lines that accompanied the packed screenings

* Directions in Sound at Cafe Du Nord - Polysics Rocks!

* Nancy Kwan getting mobbed as she left the Anna May Wong panel

A Press Conference

2004-03-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

File Under: Reconnaissance

Today we went to the SF Int'l's press conference. The announcer screwed up the ED's name. It was a little embarrassing. Funnily enough, my co-worker told me that the ED is infamous for misaproprisms - and sure enough she mangled eclectic - giving it just a few more consonants than it was used to. [It came out sounding like ekta-lech-tic.]

Their program looks really good. Including a film called VIBRATOR which we tried to get for the SFIAAFF.

And so we raise a toast to the 22nd

2004-03-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

File Under: Film Festival

Our festival just ended. And with the week break between the San Francisco and San Jose portions it seemed so anticlimactic to do that small portion before calling it a day.

I already had my downtime. My weeping for the physical toll of the intense schedule. Buying groceries and renting videos so I wouldn't have to deal with people for awhile.

Now we're here again. It feels very discombobulating.

Both portions screened IMELDA on its last day. A fitting end, a fallen hero(ine).