Asian American Film Fest 2011 in NY

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Sunday, 07 August 2011 05:00

Written by Film FestivalTraveler Staff

The 34th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) takes place August 10 - 20, 2011 at Museum of Chinese in America, Clearview Chelsea Cinemas and Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan, New York City from August 10-14 with community screenings from August 13 - 20, 2011 at Big Screen Plaza and Maysles in Manhattan and Flushing Library in Queens.

The annual Asian American International Film Festival is produced by Asian CineVision (ACV), a nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, promotion and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video. AAIFF is the nation's longest-running festival of its kind.

The Opening Night Presentation is the New York premiere of director John Sayles‛ newest film, Amigo, starring Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, Ronnie Lazaro, Yul Vazquez, Garret Dillahunt. Set during the Philippine-American War in 1900, the film relates the story of a Filipino village mayor caught between two forces: his own people and the invading US military.

The Centerpiece Presentation is Saigon Electric, directed by Stephane Gauger. A traditional ribbon dancer auditions for a coveted spot at the national dance academy. However, after a disappointing rejection, she finds comfort in the friendship and vibrant energy of one of the city's best hip hop crew, Saigon Fresh.

The Closing Night Presentation is Wedding Palace, directed by Christine Yoo, starring Brian Tee, Hye-jung Kang. A 29-year-old advertising executive is pressured to get married by family and friends to avoid an ancient family curse: a horrible death if he’s not married by 30. While on a business trip in Seoul, he meets a young woman and the two instantly fall for each other. A long distance courtship commences and it looks like the curse will be averted -- that is, until she arrives in LA and turns out not to be what he expected.

Some documentaries are:

Anna May Wong: in Her Own Words
dir. Yunah Hong
"Transcending from the silent era into sound film, the legendary Anna May Wong co-starred with the likes of Marlene Dietrich and Douglas Fairbanks. The first Chinese American movie star is captured in this documentary through rich archival footage, interviews with studio colleagues, commentary by filmmakers, scholars and re-enactments of her letters and diary by actress Doan Ly."

Enforcing the Silence
dir. Tony Nguyen
Vietnamese American journalists remain the largest group of immigrant reporters killed on U.S. soil. Thirty years after the unsolved murder of Lam Duong, friends of Lam, federal investigators, and journalists speak out about the risks that Vietnamese Americans face for exercising their First Amendment rights.

The Learning
dir. Ramona Diaz
The film follows four Filipino women "on a challenging and emotional journey as they leave their homeland and loved ones to teach at inner city Baltimore schools. Each woman tells a uniquely universal tale of the lives of overseas Filipino workers around the world."

Some of the narratives are:

Rakenrol
dir. Quark Henares
with Jason Abalos, Glaiza de Castro
Some die-hard underground punk fans decide to form a band, and with a former rocker and a drummer, they become Hapipaks. But Punk isn't just a genre of music, but a lifestyle.

The Piano in a Factory / Gang de qin
dir. Zhang Meng
with Wang Qian-yuan, Shin-yeong Jang, Qian Liu
Chen is in a nasty custody battle with his estranged wife. A man of little means, he struggles to obtain a piano at all costs in order to convince his young daughter to stay with him.

Strawberry Cliff
dir. Chris Chow
with Leslie-Anne Huff, Anthony Chaput, Eason Chan
"Kate possesses the power to predict death, and makes a pact with Jason, who is predicted to die. He will send a signal from beyond the grave to prove that there is an afterlife. Shortly after Jason's death, Kate receives a mysterious phone call. Does an afterlife really exist?"

Events include:

Charlie Chan in Egypt – A Conversation with Yunte Huang, author of Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History.

Kickstarter Hall of Famer: How Jennifer Fox Raised $150,000 – for her spiritual documentary My Reincarnation about a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and his Western-born son -- and became the #1 Top Raising Finished Film on Kickstarter.

Surviving the New Independent Media Landscape: a Conversation with Kimi Takesue

The Public Interest: Reporting from the Arab's Spring Front – a Conversation with May Ying Welsh, correspondent and camerawoman for Al Jazeera English.

Panel: Digital Distribution of Film and Television – Moderated by Jennifer Choe Groves, partner and chair of International Intellectual Property Rights and Entertainment at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP.

Some animation films are:

A Sushi Love Story
dir. Mike Blaney
A stop-motion pas-de-deux in which star-crossed lovers -- two pieces of sushi -- deal with love, loss and separation.

Ballet of Unhatched Chicks
dir. Shaun Seong-Young Kim
"This delightful ... film combines the whimsy of ballet and cute baby chicks to produce a film reminiscent of Walt Disney's Fantasia."

Dream Giver
dir. Tyler Carter
A regular night of dream delivering turns awry when the Dream Giver's magic escapes his control.

Several short film programs are also being screened throughout the Festival.

In addition, the 72 Hour Shootout returns. Teams from around the country write, shoot, edit and produce a short film on a surprise theme in 72 hours, and the Asian American Film Lab will reveal the top ten films of this year’s competition.

For more information, visit http://www.aaiff.org.

Asian American International Film Festival
August 10 - 20, 2011

Museum of Chinese in America
215 Centre Street
New York City

Clearview Chelsea Cinemas
260 West 23rd St
New York City

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
The Jacob Burns Moot Court Room
55 Fifth Ave
New York City

Big Screen Plaza
851 Avenue of the Americas
New York City

Maysles
343 Lenox Avenue
New York City

Flushing Library
41-17 Main Street
Flushing (Queens), New York 11355

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