AsianAmericanFilm.com

indieWIRE has posted a list of thirteen projects tapped for the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Lab -- and Jennifer Phang and Dominic Mah have made the cut with their screenplay "Look for Water." Click here for more info.

Joy Dietrich's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" starts screening on PBS stations across the country on May 1. Click here for more details.

The 24th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is underway even as we chat! Check out the official website for shows and screening times.

From Arthur Dong's newsletter:

We premiere in Manhattan today to great reviews (see below), and your help is critical now to show New York that HOLLYWOOD CHINESE can make it in the Big Apple.

SPECIAL SCREENING: Meet Tony Award winning playwright and HOLLYWOOD CHINESE cast member David Henry Hwang in person for post-screening Q & A, Sunday, May 4. See below for details.

Thanks to all for your support -- your E-blasting and word of mouth has and will continue to make a difference!

Arthur

============= Please Forward =============

STARTS IN MANHATTAN MAY 2, FRIDAY:
QUAD CINEMA
13th St. btw 5th & 6th Aves.
212/255-8800, Advance Tickets: 777-FILM #636
Daily @ 1:00, 2:50, 4:40, 6:35, 8:25, 10:10

DAVID HENRY HWANG IN PERSON: Chat with Tony Award-winning playwright and HOLLYWOOD CHINESE cast member David Henry Hwang in person for post-screening Q & A, May 4, Sunday, 2:50pm screening only. Limited seating, advance tickets advised!

"A fascinating exploration of the intricacies of cultural assimilation. Its impressive bonanza of interviewees and film clips make it a joy to watch...Disarmingly lofty from the get-go, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE tackles its topic with visual grace and narrative agility." --Mark Holcomb, Time Out New York

"HOLLYWOOD CHINESE documentary won't make you hungry an hour later! Beautifully captures the range of Hollywood's reflection of Asians, from Charlie Chan, who talked in fortune cookie aphorisms, to Susie Wong, the exotic prostie you ordered, with egg drop soup, from column B." --Michael Musto, Village Voice

"A welcome entry in the constituency-cinema canon, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE surveys a century's worth of Chinese-American actors and filmmakers, visionaries and dragon ladies, kung fu excellence and Fu Manchu insult, Oscar winners and cliché mongers...HOLLYWOOD CHINESE is a fine place to start understanding how, to paraphrase Charlie Chan, Representation like tea leaf in hot water: both need time for brewing." --Nathan Lee, New York Times

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

==================================================

HELD OVER - 4TH WEEK IN SAN FRANCISCO!
4 Star Theater
2200 Clement St. @ 23rd Ave.
415/666-3488
Screening daily @ 2:40, 7:00, 9:00
http://www.lntsf.com/4-star_theatre

Here's a not-to-be-missed screening for Bay Area readers! "Curse of Quon Gwon," the first ever Asian American film will screen TONIGHT at 7:30 at the Renaissance Rialto. Click here for screening times and locations.

The 1917 silent film will have live musical accompaniment via Wurlitzer and will be followed by a screening of Arthur Dong's "Hollywood Chinese" documentary.

Pick of the week! Dontcha dare miss it!

Nifty news via indieWIRE:

Jennifer Phang's drama "Half Life" won the "Acura Grand Jury for Best Feature" prize at the Gen Art Film Festival in New York, capping the week long event.

Click here for the film's official website.

Spread the word, gals and pals! Arthur Dong's acclaimed documentary "Hollywood Chinese" opens this Friday in San Francisco and Oakland! Here's a blurb from the CAAM site:

Fresh from its international film festival tour, including Toronto and a Best Documentary win at Taipei's Golden Horse Awards, the Chinese equivalent to the Oscars®, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE is a "delightfully entertaining" (FilmFestival.com) look at the Chinese in American movies. Featuring a virtual who's who of top Chinese and Chinese American film artists, including Ang Lee, Joan Chen, Wayne Wang, Nancy Kwan, James Hong, Lisa Lu, B.D. Wong, and writers Amy Tan and David Henry Hwang.Produced, Directed, Written and Edited by triple Sundance winner and Oscar® nominee Arthur Dong (Forbidden City, U.S.A., Licensed to Kill, Coming Out Under Fire).

Click here for all the details.

SAN FRANCISCO
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, April 11-17, 2008
Filmmaker in person, April 11, 7:30pm & 10pm
www.sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html 415/929-4650

OAKLAND
Grand Lake Theater, April 11-17, 2008
Filmmaker in person, April 12, 7:15pm
www.renaissancerialto.com/current/grandlake.htm 510/452-3556

An excerpt:

Why do you think the movie ["Harold and Kumar"] resonates so much with Asian American moviegoers? I mean, I know there are some rabid Harold and Kumar fans out there.

I don't know. I think there's something, from a racial standpoint, an attitude that feels accurate... And I think it might be the fact that it addresses race as we do--as people of color do--that we're aware of it, that we live with it, but it doesn't consume us. And sometimes, white media thinks that we're obsessed with it, and then Asian American films... we make films that obssess over her our race. It's an hour and a half of people talking about what it means to be Asian.

But Harold and Kumar addresses it, then doesn't, then addresses it, then kind of addresses it, then laughs at it... and then somebody smokes pot. You know, which kind of feels like life, which feels accurate. And there's something that resonates about that attitude. That's a guess. I really don't know. It really does beat me.

Click here to read the whole thing.

- Scene from Centerpiece film "Kissing Cousins"

Los Angeles, CA, April 4, 2008 Visual Communications (VC), the nation's premier Asian Pacific American media arts center today announced its program of films for the upcoming 24th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Presented by Honda beginning May 1 - May 8, 2008 at the Director's Guild of America (DGA), Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatres, ImaginAsian Center, The National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, and the Aratani/Japan America Theatre.

Formerly the VC FilmFest, this year VC officially changes the festival name to the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Known globally as Southern California's largest and most prestigious film festival of its kind, the fest launches the celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year's slate of over 160 films and videos from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international directors.

In this year's crop of films, Asian American female directors are featured prominently throughout the fest kicking off with Oscar® winning director Jessica Yu's comedy PING PONG PLAYA and closing with the Australian director Tony Ayres' moving drama THE HOME SONG STORIES starring Joan Chen in an award winning performance.

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

PING PONG PLAYA - A Film by Jessica Yu - The Los Angeles premiere of PING PONG PLAYA marks filmmaker Yu's comedy narrative feature debut starring Jimmy Tsai, Roger Fan, Elizabeth Sung, Smith Cho, Andrew Vo, Khary Payton, Javin Reid, Scott Lowell and Peter Paige

KISSING COUSINS - A Film by Amyn Kaderali - Filmmaker Kaderali brings his debut feature film to this year's festival starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Rebecca Hazlewood, Gerry Bednob, Zack Ward, Jaleel White and David Alan Grier

THE HOME SONG STORIES - A Film by Tony Ayres - Australian based director Ayres brings a personal story starring the amazing Joan Chen in one of her most powerful performances as a glamorous Shanghai nightclub singer and a mother of two who migrates to Australia and tries to begin a life for her family.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

• THE XIN LU BUS TOUR OF L.A. - teaming up with local filmmaker and longtime festival fave Ming-Yuen S. Ma, the Festival will present his four part series the way it was always intended to be shown: as a mobile bus tour of LA with the director.

• LA ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FEST FILMMAKER SEMINARS - this year panels are open to filmmakers and to the general public that will include:

o TOKE 2: THE HAROLD & KUMAR STORY - join the writers/directors of HAROLD & KUMAR: ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY - Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Scholossberg - along with actor John Cho, as they discuss the films and its franchise which has now achieved "classic" status amongst a new generation.

o MEDIA MESSENGERS: ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS AND OUR POLITICAL VOICE - meet the filmmakers, actors and media movers who have chosen to use their craft and embraced the media tools and the internet to level the political field and ensure that Asian Pacific American voices are being heard.

o SUCCEEDING AT SCREENWRITING - Oscar® nominated film scribe Iris Yamashita (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) will join renowned UCLA screenwriting professors Kris Young and Weiko Lin in this screenwriters boot-camp covering topics from pitching, choosing the right idea, character sketches, treatments, structure, writing habits and other tools and issues that help in developing a strong and successful script.

o VISUAL STORYTELLING - hailed cinematographer Matthew Libatique (IRON MAN; REQUIEUM FOR A DREAM) is slated to be one of the guests on a panel of visual geniuses featured in this panel of artists who have mastered the lens to bring films to life visually.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: THE PHILIPPINES
This year, the global cinematic spotlight will be on the Philippines with six films from Filipino international artists and two from Filipino American directors. These new filmmakers are fast becoming the "new wave of modern cinema" and the festival has cultivated some of the best from these new visionaries:

o SLINGSHOT - Brilliante Mendoza
o FOSTER CHILD - Brilliante Mendoza
o TRIBU (TRIBE) - Jim Libiran
o YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS A CHILD OUTSIDE - John Torres
o NEO-LOUNGE - Joanna Vasquez Arong
o PHILIPPINE SCIENCE - Aureaus Solito
o SANTA MESA - Ron Morales
o THE SENSEI - Diana Lee Inosanto

2008 FEST HIGHLIGHT: ASIAN AMERICAN FEMALE FILMMAKERS

This year, an unprecedented number of 10 Asian American female directors have feature films in our program. These include:

• PING PONG PLAYA - Jessica Yu
• NEVER FOREVER - Gina Kim
• YOURS TRULY, MISS CHINATOWN - Daisy Lin Shapiro
• OH SAIGON - Doan Hoang
• JOYFUL LIFE - Anita Chang
• WINGS OF DEFEAT - Risa Morimoto
• AGAINST THE GRAIN - Ann Kaneko
• LONG STORY SHORT - Christine Choy
• THE SENSEI - Diana Lee Inosanto
• CHANTS OF LOTUS - Fatimah Tobing Rony

Scene from Long Story Short

FEATURE FILMS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

North America - USA and Canada:
• AGAINST THE GRAIN: AN ARTIST'S SURVIVAL GUIDE TO PERU (USA/Peru) Dir: Ann Kaneko
• CONFESSIONS OF A SALESMAN (Canada) Dir: Ho Tam
• ETIENNE! (USA) Dir: Jeff Mizushima
• THE KILLING OF A CHINESE COOKIE (USA) Dir: Derek Shimoda
• KISSING COUSINS (USA) Dir: Amyn Kaderali
• LONG STORY SHORT (USA) Dir: Christine Choy
• NEVER FOREVER (USA/South Korea) Dir: Gina Kim
• OCEAN OF PEARLS (USA) Dir: Sarab Neelam
• OH, SAIGON (USA/UK/Vietnam) Dir: Doan Hoang
• OPTION 3 (USA) Dir: Richard Wong
• [OS] (USA) Dir: Ming-Yuen S. Ma
• PING PONG PLAYA (USA) Dir: Jessica Yu
• PRETTY TO THINK SO (USA) Dirs: Francis Hsueh, Steven Hahn
• SANTA MESA (USA/Philippines) Dir: Ron Morales
• SENSEI, THE (USA) Dir: Diana Lee Inosanto
• UP THE YANGTZE (Canada) Dir: Yung Chang
• WINGS OF DEFEAT (USA/Japan) Dir: Risa Morimoto
• YOURS TRULY, MISS CHINATOWN (USA) Dir: Daisy Lin Shapiro

International:
• BLACK HOUSE [Geom-eun jip] (South Korea) Dir: Shin Terra
• BLOOD BROTHERS (Hong Kong/Taiwan/PRC) Dir: Alexi Tan
• CHANTS OF LOTUS (Indonesia) Dirs: Nia diNata, Upi, Lasja F. Susatyo, Fatimah Tobing Rony

• DRUMMER, THE (Hong Kong/Germany) Dir: Kenneth Bi
• FLOWER IN THE POCKET (Malaysia) Dir: Liew Seng Tat
• FOSTER CHILD (Philippines) Dir: Brilliante Mendoza
• F**KIN' RUNAWAY (Japan) Dir: Motohashi Keita
• HAPPINESS (South Korea) Dir: Hur Jin-ok
• HOME SONG STORIES, THE (Australia) Dir: Tony Ayres
• JOYFUL LIFE (Taiwan) Dir: Anita Chang
• MADE IN KOREA: A ONE WAY TICKET SEOUL-AMSTERDAM (Netherlands) Dir: In Soo Radstake
• NEO-LOUNGE (Peoples' Republic of China/Philippines) Dir: Joanna Vasquez-Arong
• PHILIPPINE SCIENCE [Pisay] (Philippines) Dir: Auraeus Solito

• PLOY (Thailand) Dir: Pen-ek Ratanaruang

• QUICKIE EXPRESS (Indonesia) Dir: Dimas Djayadiningrat
• SLINGSHOT [Tirador] (Philippines) Dir: Brilliante Mendoza
• TRIBE [Tribu] (Philippines) Dir: Jim Libiran
• WIDE AWAKE [Riteon] (South Korea) Dir.: Lee Gyu-man
• YEARS WHEN I WAS A CHILD OUTSIDE (Philippines) Dir: John Torre

Established in 1983, The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival presented by Honda is Southern California's leading showcase for Asian Pacific American and Asian international cinema. This year, the eight-day movie-rama will also include a complement of filmmaker seminars, panel discussions, workshops, and awards.

For ticket and program information, a complete listing of sponsors and partners, and to purchase tickets, log on to www.vconline.org or contact Visual Communications at (213) 680-4462 x68. Tickets will go on sale on April 7 online.

Scene from "Blood Brothers"

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Presented by Honda and supported by the following sponsors: Presenting - Honda; Premiere - Directors Guild of America; Platinum - Gilead Sciences, Inc.; Official Festival Beer - Michelob ULTRA; Official Domestic Airline - Southwest Airlines; Gold - Macy's; Wells Fargo; Silver - CBS; Eastman Kodak Company; Fox Entertainment Group; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Bronze - SAG Indie; Community - CJ Entertainment; Writers Guild of America, west; Foundations, Grants and Government Support - Department of Cultural Affairs; Los Angeles County Arts Commission; National Endowment For The Arts; Supporting Partners - Asian Pacific Community Fund; Project By Project; Awards - Eastman Kodak Company;Entertainment Partners; LA Digital Post; Media - LA36; LA 18/KSCI-TV; ImaginAsian TV, in Hollywood Magazine, inmag.com. *Note these were confirmed sponsors as of press time.

Angry Asian Man loves him some "Planet B-Boy" -- and now has posted a link through which you can buy songs from the soundtrack of the Benson Lee film.

FROM B-BOYS TO BLUEBERRY NIGHTS TO DARK MATTER TO HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPING GUANTANAMO BAY AND JACKIE AND JET - WOO HAH!
ASIAN AMERICAN/ASIAN FILMS ARE HITTING THIS SPRING!

Print this out - it could get long!
CELEBRATE ASIAN AMERICAN AND ASIAN INTERNATIONALCINEMA!

We apologize if you got this more than once. We know we are on so many different lists. Please pass this information on to other people who are interested in Asian American and Asian international cinema. We try very hard to keep you always updated as to films that are popping up in your area. Please note that you are a part of over 12,000 people who are on this list nationwide and it is published on www.asianamericanfilm.com!

Note: To subscribe - send an email that says "please subscribe" to apafirstweekend@aol.com

For those of you who are first timers here, the mission of this email newsletter blast to keep everyone aware of Asian American and Asian international films that will be coming out so that we can go out and support them.

First weekend box office receipts are very important to Hollywood and to our films because these reports will make or break a film. If the films does well on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the "first" weekend it comes out, theater owners and distributors will make their decisions on Monday mornings about a film's life.

So, we encourage each and every one of you to go out there and support our Asian American and Asian international filmmakers. It is at the box office where we can show our strength and our power for our films and and filmmakers. Even if you don't have the time to sit through the film on the first weekend - go to the theater and purchase a ticket so that we can show box office $$$ numbers. It is extremely important. At the end of the day.. the color in Hollywood is GREEN! Show up and vote for yourself at the box office!

**********************************************
Sorry that it's been a long time since you received an update from us - but it's been a bit crazy here. This week and this spring, we have MANY OPPORTUNITIES to see films that are by, for and about US!

From global break dancing b-boys to American zombies to hard working Chinese grad students at the Univeristy of Iowa in 1991 to the historic pairing of JET LI and JACKIE CHAN to BLUEBERRY NIGHTS to a love triangle between two Korean men and one of their wives to the return of our two favorite Asian Americans escaping from GUANTANAMO BAY - there is something for everyone!!!

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. B-BOYS FROM KOREA, JAPAN, LAS VEGAS AND PARIS HIT SCREENS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

2. AMERICAN ZOMBIES TAKE OVER

3. WATCH OUT FOR THE HISTORIC PAIRING OF JACKIE AND JET IN FORBIDDEN KINGDOM

4. HAROLD AND KUMAR ARE BACK - APRIL 25

5. DARK MATTER FROM CHEN SHI-ZHENG OPENS IN APRIL IN SELECT THEATRES

6. SUNDANCE HIT "NEVER FOREVER" COMES TO THE BIG SCREEN IN APRIL AND MAY

7, BRICK LANE and MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS WILL HIT US THEATRES ON APRIL 11!!!

8. HOLLYWOOD CHINESE - A FILM BY ARTHUR DONG COMES TO THEATRES

9. SF ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED

10. 21 GETS THE HOLLYWOOD TREATMENT - PULLLLEEEZZE

11. MORE?

*******************************************************************************************************
1. B-BOYS FROM KOREA, JAPAN, LAS VEGAS AND PARIS HIT SCREENS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
If you were in LA or NY last weekend then you experienced one of the most exciting films to hit the circuit - PLANET B-BOY from director BENSON LEE.
At the San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival, the film got a rousing standing ovation and walked away with the "audience award" and the "jury prize" for
BEST DOCUMENTARY!

Having premiered at the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL last year, Benson and his crews of b-boys from FRANCE - "phaze - t;" KOREA - "Last For One" and "The Gamblerz;" JAPAN - "ICHIGEKE;" and from LAS VEGAS - "KNUCKLEHEAD ZOO" have made this film a "must-see" on the film festival circuit and now in theatres. The film is being distributed by ELEPHANT EYE FILMS and will be coming hopefully to a theatre near you.

Last weekend , they were the number #1 per box office screen winner - $14,000 per screen on two screens. Woo hoo. Below are the screening cities for this week - so get on the PLANET B-BOY tip by checking out www.planetbboy.com

3/28
Los Angeles, CA
Imaginasian Centre
251 South Main St
http://www.theimaginasian.com/la/index2.php

3/28-4/03
Irvine, CA
Edwards University Town Center 6
4245 Campus Drive
http://www.fandango.com/edwardsuniversitytowncenter6_aabhi/theaterpage

3/28-4/03
San Diego, CA
Landmark Ken Cinema
4061 Adams Avenue
https://tickets.landmarktheatres.com/Landmark.aspx?TheatreID=220

3/28 Old Pasadena, CA
Laemmle's One Colorado
42 Miller Alley
http://www.laemmle.com

3/28 - 4/03
San Francisco, CA
Landmark Lumiere theatre
1572 California Stret
https://tickets.landmarktheatres.com/Landmark.aspx?TheatreID=225

3/28-4/03
Berkeley, CA
Landmark Shattuck theatre
2230 Shattuck Avenue
https://tickets.landmarktheatres.com/Landmark.aspx?TheatreID=200

3/28-4/03
Washington, DC
Landmark E Street Theatre
555 11th Street NW
https://tickets.landmarktheatres.com/Landmark.aspx?TheatreID=264

2. AMERICAN ZOMBIES TAKE OVER WEST HOLLYWOOD!
Grace Lee's funny and satircal hit film AMERICAN ZOMBIE hits theatres this week in LA playing exclusively at the Laemmle Sunset 5! And check this out - filmmaker Grace Lee will be at this weekend's 7:30 pm showings.

AMERICAN ZOMBIE was a huge SLAMDANCE 2007 hit and rode the crest of the festival circuit all of last year. Suzy Nakamura leads the cast of indie film stars in this crazy comedy. Now it's your chance to see it on the big screen.

Here's the synopsis:
Filmmakers Grace Lee ("The Grace Lee Project") and John Solomon ("Nonsense Man") team up to shoot a documentary about high-functioning zombies living in Los Angeles and their struggles to gain acceptance in human society.

Despite their wildly different working styles, Grace and John manage to chronicle the hopes and dreams of four fascinating subjects: IVAN, a convenience-store clerk who longs for a career in publishing; LISA, a florist trying to recover her lost memories; JUDY, a hopeless romantic who learns to accept her true nature; and JOEL (pronounced "Yo-El"), a committed political activist striving for zombie rights. As Grace strives to get to know the zombies "on their own terms," John is eager to uncover their darker side and rallies to get the crew permission to shoot at a three-day, zombies-only retreat called Live Dead where the documentary takes an unexpected - and dangerous - turn. What transpires there is beyond anything the filmmakers could imagine, as they are forced to re-evaluate their ideas about tolerance, identity politics and the future of the human race.

"American Zombie is the must-see zombie movie of the year."
zombiereportingcenter.com

"Sharply funny and a winner all the way, Lee not only pokes fun of L.A., subcultures and the documentary form, but also herself."
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

"But the mere fact that Lee can make both a media satire and, in the end, a creepy horror flick, while at least alluding to bigger social issues, suggests the breadth of her wit and intelligence."
Andrew O'Hehir, salon.com

"American Zombie is definitely shambling towards greatness."
www.stomptokyo.com

"American Zombie is a fresh, entertaining, and creatively awesome take on the whole zombie genre."

"...high original and funny."
SLUG Magazine (Salt Lake Underground)

"...all in all, a very clever, inventive and creepy follow-up to The Grace Lee Project."
www.angryasianman.com

"...a clever and tightly woven tale of a filmmaker a little too deep into the lives of her subjects."
Aint-it-Cool News

"bone-nicking Swiftian satire..."
LA Weekly

"American Zombie brilliantly satirizes documentaries about identity politics and minority images."
Chicago Sun-Times

Check out the fun website - http://americanzombiemovie.com

3. WATCH OUT FOR THE HISTORIC PAIRING OF JACKIE AND JET IN FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
Yep - it's what you have been waiting for - JACKIE CHAN and JET LI - in one film together! This is truly historic and also stars COLIN CHOU, Asia pop star CRYSTAL LIU and others. This one you can bring your whole family and kids to - lots of action and lots of fun.

Check out the trailer on their website http://www.forbiddenkingdommovie.com

The trailer is amazing!

Opening APRIL 18 in theatres everywhere!!!!

4. HAROLD AND KUMAR ARE BACK - APRIL 25 - THIS TIME IN GUANTANAMO BAY
First off - go to this website - http://whatwouldnphdo.com/ - this is the site!

All we can say is on April 25 - RUN DON'T WALK!

If you liked the first HAROLD AND KUMAR - you will love HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY!

Forget "21" and the brouhaha - see the film that kept Asian Americans in the lead roles!
The franchise continues and the sequel is just as good if not better as the first and even raunchier. Go and have a laff.

Note: It is rated R - so kids under 17 have to go with their parents - yeah right!

5. DARK MATTER FROM CHEN SHI-ZHENG OPENS IN APRIL IN SELECT THEATRES
The Sundance Award winning film DARK MATTER from director Chen Shi-Zheng is slated to open April in theaters across the nation on a platform release. First opening in NY on April 11 and then Los Angeles and other cities following each week.

The film stars Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn and Liu Ye in a film based on a true story at the University of Iowa in 1991 involving Liu Ye's character as a young grad student from
China who has decided to develop his thesis project around a hole he discovered in his professor's theory (played by Quinn) - which is not taken well by the professor.

The film examines the struggles and trials of young immigrant grad students as they grapple with cultural, language and behavorial barriers which are often mis-understood
or seen as mis-communication by their mainstream counterparts. Liu Ye puts in a powerful performance and Streep as the community empathizer who offers a helping hand to Liu and his fellow colleagues. The film has garnered some discussion as critics have been discussing the timing of the release only one year after the VT incident. However, in the broader sense of the film - it is so much more than a story of campus violence, as it was based on a true story. Definitely worth a look.

6. SUNDANCE HIT "NEVER FOREVER" COMES TO THE BIG SCREEN IN APRIL AND MAY
Gina Kim's NEVER FOREVER finally comes to the big screen beginning in April in New York and San Francisco and then to Boston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles through May. The film won a special jury prize at Sundance 2007 and stars Vera Farmigia and David McInnis in a love triangle.

Here's the Sundance synopsis:
Sophie seems to have an idyllic life; she's the perfect Caucasian housewife for Andrew, her successful Asian American husband. Their relationship is put to the test, though, when she can't conceive a child. To save her marriage, Sophie does something desperate. She initiates a bold and clandestine venture with Jihah, an illegal immigrant from Korea. Sophie soon finds this new arrangement spiraling into a situation
that may actually destroy what it was meant to liberate. In Never Forever, writer/director Gina Kim arranges every shot with a calculating eye, building a step-by-step urgency. Her story is rich and her filmmaking lean and precise. Kim creates the perfect tone, right down to a climate of extreme repression where the sexual energy is nearly combustible.
The insightful art direction and costume design are marvelously refined for an independent film. And Vera Farmiga's incredible performance as Sophie is a true gift.
Her ethereal beauty--crystal blue eyes and porcelain skin--gives her the appearance of a rare doll, which isn't too far from the pampered existence she represents.

As the perfect counterpart to two gifted leading men, her mastery of Sophie's gradual transformation makes Never Forever an unforgettable cinematic experience.

7, BRICK LANE and MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS WILL HIT US THEATRES ON APRIL 11!!!
Two films from abroad that are worth taking a look at this week in select cities are:

BRICK LANE - A young Bangladeshi woman, Nazneem, arrives in 1980s London, leaving behind her beloved sister and home, for an arranged marriage and a new life.
Trapped within the four walls of her flat in East London, and in a loveless marriage with the middle aged Chanu, she fears her soul is quietly dying. Her sister Hasina, meanwhile, continues to live a carefree life back in Bangladesh, stumbling from one adventure to the next. Nazneen struggles to accept her lifestyle, and keeps her head down in spite of life's blows, but she soon discovers that life cannot be avoided - and is forced to confront it the day that the hotheaded young Karim comes knocking at her door.

Very moving and the acting is great.

MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS - from WONG KAR WAI - the long awaited US film from Kar Wai looks so beautiful and is shot so well. You can tell he is a huge fan of NORAH JONES who carries her role well - but it's her supporting actors DAVID STRAITHARN, NATALIE PORTMAN and RACHEL WEIZ who kick ass here along with JUDE LAW who help JONES round out her character who takes a soul searching journey cross country. It was hard not to compare this to IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - with its moodiness and long shots and the vibrant colors - unfortunately, it's not as sexy, but instead it comes off more melodramatic. However, still worth seeing if you are a Kar Wai fan.

8. HOLLYWOOD CHINESE - A FILM BY ARTHUR DONG COMES TO THEATRES BEGINNING APRIL 11
Fresh from its successful festival tour, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE - A FILM BY ARTHUR DONG will come to theatres in April. Below are dates and venues where the film will be playing and where the Oscar nominated filmmaker will be:

SAN FRANCISCO
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, April 11-17, 2008
Filmmaker in person, April 11, 7:30pm & 10pm
www.sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html 415/929-4650
---------------
OAKLAND
Grand Lake Theater, April 11-17, 2008
Filmmaker in person, April 12, 7:15pm
www.renaissancerialto.com/current/grandlake.htm 510/452-3556
---------------
NEW YORK CITY
Quad Cinema, May 2-8, 2008
www.quadcinema.com 212/255-8800
---------------
LOS ANGELES
The Egyptian Theater, May 15-22, 2008
www.americancinematheque.com 323/466-3456
---------------
PASADENA
Laemmle's One Colorado Theaters, May 16-22, 2008
www.laemmle.com 626/744-1224
---------------

Check out the website at: http://deepfocusproductions.com/HollywoodChinese/index.html

9. SF ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival ended last week and awarded prizes to the following outstanding films:

Narrative Competition
Best Narrative Feature Award:
Amal, Dir. Richie Mehta

Special Jury Award (tie)
Always Be Boyz, Dir. John Kwon
Santa Mesa, Dir. Ron Morales

Documentary Competition
Best Documentary Feature Award
Planet B-Boy, Dir. Benson Lee

Special Jury Award
Wings of Defeat, Dir. Risa Morimoto

Comcast Audience Awards
Narrative Feature
Om Shanti Om, Dir. Farah Khan

Documentary Feature
Planet B-Boy, Dir. Benson Lee

It was a great festival this year. Congrats to CAAM and Chi -Hui and Taro on a job well done!

And here's to you Taro - good luck with your new ventures in Japan! Drop us a line and let us know how you are doing.

10. 21 GETS THE HOLLYWOOD TREATMENT - PULLLLEEEZZE
Ok, so we all heard the whole story about how the film "21" got Hollywoodized and it made a lot of people mad who stood up and said something.

Hats off to those who spoke out - but understand this is exactly what Hollywood wants to do is to make stories like these more palapable in their own minds for the general market. Making the lead Caucasian was too bad because it felt that it took away from what could have been a powerful opportunity for an Asian American actor. However, unless we, as a community, show Hollywood that we can support films starring our own - we will continue to stay in this same boat. Boycotting the film is one way of showing our power - but even better - supporting films that star us or have an Asian American attached as director or producer will help. African American audiences have proven this and Gay audiences have too. And most recently, Latino American audiences are starting to register. But until, we as an economic force as Asian Americans come out on first weekends for our own films - we will still have the same problem.

So, it is entirely up to us as a community to support our product in theaters and our film festivals. Come out in droves and bring friends - friends of all colors but show up and be counted. Because at the end of the day, the only color in Hollywood is GREEN!!!

If we show up for HAROLD AND KUMAR, DARK MATTER, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE, FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, PLANET B-BOY, AMERICAN ZOMBIE, NEVER FOREVER, MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, BRICK LANE, etc... over the next two months on first weekends en masse - we may make Hollywood take notice. Ask yourself - when will we ever have two Asian American males in lead roles in a film (let alone a sequel) like in HAROLD AND KUMAR? Just take a look at the billboards and bus posters around your towns - nice to see us. Check yourself...

Use your power - vote for you!

11. MORE?
This is an exciting time right now for Asian/Asian American film with lots of product coming out this year. The upcoming LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL from Visual Communications (formerly the VC Film Fest) is about to launch on May 1 - so stay tuned here for more info. Come out to LA and enjoy the films and meet other people like you.

Stay tuned for more here.

Love to hear your feedback - so send us a message - apafirstweekend@aol.com

Peace,

APA FIRST WEEKEND FILM CLUB!

AngryAsianMan.com has posted an interview with "Planet B-Boy" director Benson Lee. Check it out.

The New York Korean Film Festival has an early submission deadline of May 30 for its Short Film Competition. Click here for the details.

Here's a note from Grace Lee about "American Zombie," now playing in Los Angeles. The upshot -- the better the film does this week, the more likely it'll get picked up by theaters in other cities, so spread the word!

Just wanted to remind you that AMERICAN ZOMBIE is now playing at the Sunset 5 in Los Angeles. The Friday and Saturday night shows had sell-out crowds and the audience reaction has been great. We've even received some good reviews (see below from LA Times and LA Daily News)

This weekend is especially crucial to get good box office numbers in order for the film to expand, so if you are looking for something to do on Sunday, please come to the theater TODAY. You can even use the coupon for discounted tickets -- $6 for a movie? That's a bargain! AZ is a small indie movie, but it packs a lot of bite!

If you can't make it on Sunday, we are still playing until Thursday. And there will be a Q&A session after the 7:30pm show on Tuesday with me and some cast and crew as part of a special Slamdance-sponsored screening.

Thanks so much for your support of independent filmmaking!

Grace Lee

And here's an excerpt from the Los Angeles Daily News review:

But what starts out as a typically liberal plea for acceptance and equal rights slowly turns into something much darker, a metaphor for American paranoia at its hysterical worst - and, perhaps, its most justified. No one here gets out alive, or at least without being implicated in some kind of delusional prejudice, smug documentary filmmakers least of all. Lee and Solomon are hilariously passive-aggressive with one another ("Nobody wants to see `The Grace Lee Project 2,' " he says as the director keeps turning the camera on herself). And the key zombie players are all terrific, as are the film's funky/downscale L.A. locations.

Click here to read the whole thing.

Margaret Cho, currently on tour with her new stand up act, has been tapped by VH1 for a reality show. Here's an excerpt from a Las Vegas Review Journal article, in which Cho hints that her "so pamous" mother may get the spotlight she deserves in the new show:

In the 1990s, a sitcom was the brass ring for any stand-up comedian, and Cho scored one with "All American Girl." Now, the likes of Kathy Griffin's "My Life on the D-List" have made reality the new vehicle of choice.

"I brought the first Asian-American family to television 13 years ago, and now I'm bringing the second Asian-American family to television," she says. Cho made her mother famous in her early stand-up routines, and now people can see her for themselves.

Click here to read the whole article.

Benson Lee's documentary "Planet B-Boy" is playing now in San Francisco, Berkeley, San Diego, and Washington. Here's an excerpt from Philip W. Chung's rave review of the film:

For those who think break dancing peaked in 1984 with the release of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, Benson Lee's new documentary Planet B-Boy will be a revelation. Not only is break dancing alive and well, it's gone international. And the center of it all is an unlikely place: Braunschweig, Germany, where every year crews from all over the world descend for the "Battle of the Year" showdown, the Olympics of break dancing.
...
Planet B-Boy also works on another level. Of the four crews who make it to the final round, three are Asian. Watching a film that subtly argues that the best b-boys in the world are Asian and realizing just how much hip-hop has permeated Asian culture is very inspiring. If you don't feel moved by the film's outcome, hell, if you don't stand up and cheer, revoke your Asian identity immediately.
...
There hasn't been a feature this dynamic from a young Asian American filmmaker since Better Luck Tomorrow.

For more information, visit planetbboy.com.

Grace Lee's feature film "American Zombie" opens today in Los Angeles. Here's an excerpt from the Los Angeles Times review:

Grace Lee's faux documentary "American Zombie" takes one of horror cinema's enduring subjects -- the undead -- and crafts an amusing media satire on our fascination with/fear of marginalized cultures.

And here's an excerpt from Lee's posting about the film at apaforprogress.org:

AMERICAN ZOMBIE - (opens March 28 for one week!)
Laemmle Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd.
Showtimes Daily: 12:30, 2:50,5:10, 7:30, 10:00
Tickets www.laemmle.com

I'll be doing a Q&A with cast after the 7:30pm shows on Friday and Saturday. You can watch a trailer and get a coupon for discounted ($6) tickets for opening weekend at www.americanzombiemovie.com

Also, there is an art exhibition currently up at Scoops Ice Cream parlor in East Hollywood. It's called THE ART OF AMERICAN ZOMBIE and features art from the Los Angeles Zombie Underground. The owner/proprietor of the shop Tai Kim is creating some special flavors inspired by the movie for this weekend only.
More info on the show at theartofamericanzombie.blogspot.com

Racialicious and Hyphen discuss the controversy over the casting of the movie "21," which features Caucasian actors as leads in a story based on the real-life misadventures of a group primarily made up of Asian Americans.

From the official announcement:

THE COALITION OF ASIAN PACIFICS IN ENTERTAINMENT AND FOX ENTERTAINMENT GROUP ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 9th ANNUAL NEW WRITERS AWARDS

THE DEADLINE IS MAY 30, 2008

Winners of the CAPE Foundation New Writers Awards will each receive a cash prize of $4,000, Final Draft software, a staged reading of their script and opportunities to meet/pitch to seasoned entertainment executives.

Previous winners include filmmaker Alice Wu (SAVING FACE) and Young Il Kim, whose winning script HYUNG"S OVERTURE was optioned by producer and CAPE Board of Advisor member, Teddy Zee (PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS).

CAPE's Board of Advisors include distinguished executives and artists such as Ang Lee, John Woo, Terence Chang, Dean Devlin, Warrington Hudlin, David Henry Hwang, Lou Diamond Phillips, Richard Sakai, B.D. Wong, Chris Lee, Fritz Friedman, Janet Yang and Teddy Zee.

For more information, please go to: http://www.capeusa.org/NewWritersAward.html.

For Submissions Downloads, please go to: http://www.capeusa.org/NWA_Downloads.html.

Jenn at Reappropriate has a long and thoughtful post about Fay Ann Lee's "Falling From Grace." The kicker:

As I have described in my other posts, I worry that Asian American moviegoers are too wrapped up in their own interests to consider supporting films within the Asian American cinematic genre but outside their own personal experiences. Asian American cinema is languishing without robust investment and distribution of artistic works exploring the diversity of Asian American identity, both by mainstream investors and apathy within our own community. Our community is defined by its stratified differences in ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality: not every film can address and satisfy all of these competing interests. While most of the community agrees that stereotypes of Asian Americans remain prevalent in Hollywood, stereotypes are best combatted by an increasingly varied offering of Asian American depictions, not a transition to an equally limited by arbitrarily "more positive" form of Hollywood-as-political-propaganda. "Falling for Grace" depicts a traditional White male/Asian female pairing, but it does so in order to offer a non-traditional re-interpretation of this coupling -- in essence, it combats stereotypes by offering a different take on how Asian American women have been traditionally portrayed, lending complexity to the Asian American female archetype in film.

Until we, as a community, are willing to support all kinds of Asian American cinema -- even those that don't speak specifically to our individual political interests - and thus demonstrate our interest in this genre, we cannot expect that Asian American cinema will ever be as varied and as interesting -- not to mention artistic and experimental -- as we need it to be. There are few Asian American films as feminist as "Falling for Grace" because it's so difficult to sell such films to a community so enraptured by the narratives of men, but the lack of such purely feminist stories remains a sad disparity in Asian American cinema.

Click here to read the whole thing.