Aaiff16 program book final

PRESENTED BY ASIAN CINEVISION

AAIFF.ORG

THE 39TH ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

July 2016 Dear Friends, Welcome to the 2016 Asian American International Film Festival!

The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is like no other festival experience in the City.

AAIFF is the longest running festival in the country devoted to films by and about Asians and Asian Americans and attendees will have the opportunity to view and experience films from some of the city’s most diverse filmmakers and talent.

It is especially significant that the AAIFF calls New York City home. The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is a proud supporter of the AAIFF for showcasing current and future New York City filmmakers. We support media in its many forms through our Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, a one-stop shop for all production needs in New York City, and NYC Media, the official TV, radio, and online network of the City of New York. Our City is a thriving center of media and entertainment and home to innovative storytellers who are adding new perspectives to the media landscape.

Each year we work with the hundreds of film, television, digital, and commercial projects that film on location in the five boroughs. Productions have access to the “Made in NY” Discount Card, which provides discounts at more than 1,200 local businesses. We also offer educational and workforce development programs, such as our ongoing “Made in NY” Talk series, which welcomes industry professionals from a variety of fields to share firsthand knowledge about their careers with students and interested New Yorkers. The “Made in NY” Marketing Credit program offers promotional support for those projects in which at least 75% of the film was produced in New York City.

We welcome you to take a look at our website – www.nyc.gov/film – and follow us on Twitter – @madeinny – and discover everything New York City has to offer the creative community.

Enjoy the festival!

Sincerely,

Julie Menin, Commissioner Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment

FESTIVAL SPONSORS presented by

presenting

leadership + official hotel sponsor

premier

program

media

FESTIVAL SPONSORS 9

exhibition partners

contributing

catering

10 FESTIVAL SPONSORS

community partners

FESTIVAL SPONSORS 11

THANK YOU Asian CineVision and the 39th Asian American International Film Festival would like to thank the following donors for their generous support of the Asian American media arts.

Board of Directors

Jacqueline McCaffrey James S.J. Liao John C Woo, Chairman John Shin Philip Lam Wynn Salisch

Emeritus

Gregory Chew Roger Garcia

AAIFF’16 Donors

Darin Darakananda Elizabeth Young Grace Rowe Jenelle Davis Jennifer Fong John Mhiripiri Katina Sosa Mathew Drain Michelle Bae

Riz Cantonais Robert Lee and Eleanor Yung Rocky and May Chin Saki Mori Stephanie Sparhawk Tina Chen

We would also like to thank the following individuals for helping us make this festival possible.

Abraham Ferrer, Visual Communications Adam Moore, SAG-AFTRA Aileen Liao, TDW&Co Albert Wang, AAIFF’12 Alexander Shih, NAAAP-NY Alia Jones-Harvey, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Amanda Nguyen, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Anderson Le, LAAPFF Anderson Le, Visual Communications/HIFF Andrea Louie, Asian American Arts Alliance Andrew Ahn Anna Zhou, AAIFF‘15 Ann Jun (Korea Times) Antony Wong Aurora Berdejo, AAIFF’15 Beatrice Chen, Museum of Chinese in America Becky Curran, SAG-AFTRA Betty Lo, Nielsen BG Hacker, MOMI Bianca Quesada, CAA Bing Chen, Bing Studios/Victorious Inc. Candace Barber, Nielsen

12 THANK YOU

Caren Wu Carlin Yuen, Google Catherine Chau, Emperor Group Christina Chou, CAA Christine Bradt, Beam Suntory Claudia Yeung, HKETO Clement Chiu, Emperor Group Courtney Miller, HBO Dai Sil Kim Dana Weissman, WGA East Danni Hu-Yang, AAIFF’15 David Magdael, Magdael & Associates David Schwartz, MOMI Dee Dee Halick, Deep Dish TV Denise Hughes, Village East Cinema Diane Taurus, Wyndham Garden Chinatown Ellen Kodadek, Flushing Town Hall Emma Yi, AAIFF‘15 Eugene S Park, Full Spectrum Features Eunice Chen Felix Tsang, Golden Scene Co. Ltd. Ham Tran

Han Hu Han Lam, NAAAP-NY Hisami Kurolwa Jason DaSilva Jeff Adachi Jeff Staple, Staple Design/Reed Space Jenna Bond, WGA East Jennifer Betit Yen Jennifer Christman, Beam Suntory Jennifer Kim, IW Group Jennifer Weng, AALDEF Jin Hye Kim, Korea Times Joe Seo Jorge Hernandez, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Joyce Yip June Jee Juni Li, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre Kara Miyagishima Karla Lopez, HBO Katina Sosa, Crosby Street Hotel Kelvin Yu, MASTER OF NONE/BOB’S BURGER Kenneth Lin, HOUSE OF CARDS Kevin Lee, AAIFF’15 Kia Brooks, Made In NY IFP Media Center La Frances Hui, MOMA Lambert Yam Lesley Yiping Qin Lia Chang Lindsay Altieri, Wyndham Garden Chinatown Lori Tan Chinn Marcus Hu, STRAND Releasing Margaret Fung, AALDEF Martha Tien Masahi Niwano, CAAM Melinda Chu, Time Inc Melissa Ng, HKETO Michael Liu, Flushing Town Hall Milton Liu, Visual Communications/LAAPFF Nathan Faustyn, STRAND Releasing Nelson Kim

Paloma Hagedorn Woo Patrick Wang Phil Chung, YOMYOMF Phil Yu, Angry Asian Man Rachel Cooper, Asia Society Rachel Rosado, Asia Society Richard Gant Roger Chu, Time Warner Center Ronny Chieng, The Daily Show Rosanne Ma Ruby Yang S Casper Wong, AAWMM Shu Lea Cheang Sonya Chung Stephen Gong, CAAM Steve Barclay Steven Jang, SDB Partners Susan Kim Susan Yu, TECO Susie Lim Tanner Chung, Kollaboration NY Telly Wong, IW Group Tim Wang, TDW&Co Tisa Chang, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre Tracy Chung Ursula Liang, 9MAN doc Yang Chen, AABANY

THANK YOU 13

f e st i va l S TA F F Asian Cinevision Board of Directors

JOHN C WOO, CHAIRMAN PHILIP LAM JAMES S.J. LIAO JACQUELINE MCCAFFREY WYNN SALISCH JOHN SHIN

AAIFF STAFF Executive Director John C. Woo Festival Director Judy Lei Programs Manager Haisong Li Marketing Manager Julie Tran Operations Manager Kevin Bang Operations Coordinator Shivon Shah Social Media Coordinator Julie An Social Media - Chinese Mengchan (Amelie) Li Program and Print Traffic Benjamin Yap Coordinator Program and Print Traffic Bae Yung Kim Coordinator Community Outreach James Park Coordinator

14 FESTIVAL STAFF

Program Book Coordinator Alexa Strabuk Web/Graphic Designer & Tech Dazhi Huang Post Production Coordinator Box Office Coordinator Ryan Bae Special Events & Development Coordinator Eric Danowski Public Relations Coordinator Nicole Bae Guest Services Coordinator Michelle Ahn Flushing Coordinator Alena Kim CineVue Coordinator Jackie Lam Program Book Designer Claire Chang

VENUES ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES | AFA 32 2 ND AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10003

ASIA SOCIETY | AS

725 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10021

CROSBY STREET HOTEL | CSH

79 CROSBY ST, NEW YORK, NY 10012

CUNY GRADUATE CENTER

365 5TH AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10016

ASIAN AMERICAN/ASIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE – CUNY 25 W. 43 RD ST,10TH FLOOR SUITE 1000 NEW YORK, NY 10036

FLUSHING TOWN HALL | FTH

137-35 NORTHERN BLVD, QUEENS, NY 11354

MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN AMERICA | MOCA 215 CENTRE ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE | MOMI 36-01 35 TH AVE, NEW YORK, NY 11106

TIME WARNER CENTER | TWC

1 TIME WARNER CENTER, 10FL, NEW YORK, NY 10019

VILLAGE EAST CINEMA | CVE

181-189 2ND AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10003

WRITER’S GUILD OF AMERICA

250 HUDSON ST, SUITE 700 NEW YORK, NY 10013

FESTIVAL VENUES 15

FESTIVAL TUES JULY 19

SAT JULY 23

HAPPINESS PRE-SCREENING RECEPTION

AAWMM TALK-BACK WITH MABEL CHEUNG

6:00PM | AS

HAPPINESS SCREENING AND Q+A WITH KARA WAI &CARLOS CHAN 7:00PM | AS

WED JULY 20 AAIFF’16 PRESS CONFERENCE 1:00PM | MOCA

THURS JULY 21 AAIFF’16 OPENING VIP RECEPTION

12:00PM | MOCA

72 HOUR SHOOTOUT

1:00PM | CVE HIDDEN HISTORIES AND THE POWER OF NARRATIVE FILM: TELLING THE STORY OF JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION AND BEYOND 1:30PM | CVE

FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH SHORTS PROGRAM 2:00PM | MOCA

CENTERPIECE: A TALE OF THREE CITIES 3:00PM | CVE

MELE MURALS 4:00PM | CVE

6:00PM | AS

ROOTS: REMOVALS AND RETURNS SHORTS PROGRAM 4:30PM | CVE

OPENING NIGHT: SPA NIGHT & GALA RECEPTION

HBO’S THE NIGHT OF SCREENING

7:00PM | AS

FRI JULY 22 NEW MEDIA PANEL 7:00PM | TWC

WE ARE BEAUTIFUL SHORTS PROGRAM 7:00PM | CVE

BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY 7:30PM | CVE

1000 HANDS OF GURU 9:00PM | CVE

6:00PM | CVE

MASTER OF NONE PANEL 6:00PM | CVE

MADE IN NY SHORTS PROGRAM 7:00PM | CVE

IN THE ROOM 8:15PM | CVE

HOLLOW

9:00PM | CVE

POLIS EVO

10:15PM | CVE

CRUSH THE SKULL 9:15PM | CVE

*Please visit aaiff.org for more information regarding this year’s program and events

16

CHINESE ART FILMS SHOWCASE

SCHEDULE SUN JULY 24

WED JULY 27

LGBTQ SHORTS PROGRAM 1:00PM | CVE PAINTED NAILS 1:30PM | CVE

CUNY ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL SHOWCASE

RIGHT FOOTED 3:30PM | CVE DAZE OF JUSTICE 4:00PM | CVE

5:00PM | CUNY GRAD CENTER

MADE IN FLUSHING: TWN SENIOR MEDIA WORKSHOP SHOWCASE & BRIGHT SUN MANSION 8:00PM | FTH

THURS JULY 28

THE DOG 6:00PM | CVE

ERIC G PERFORMANCE & 30TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SCREENING: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA 7:00PM | FTH

TYRUS 6:30PM | CVE

FRI JULY 29

SINGAPORE MINSTREL 8:15PM | CVE

6:30PM | CVE

FINDING LOVE SHORTS PROGRAM 8:45PM | CVE

MON JULY 25 STORMING THE WRITERS’ ROOM PANEL

JOLIN SAG-AFTRA SCREENPLAY READING 7:00PM | TWC

UNDER CONSTRUCTION 7:00PM | CVE

TOTO

6:00PM | WGA

8:15PM | CVE

TUES JULY 26

9:15PM | CVE

WORK-IN-PROGRESS SCREENING OF DANA DANA

SAT JULY 30

4:00PM | CUNY OFFICE

PEOPLE ARE THE SKY 8:00PM | FTH

FRI AUGUST 5 CHINESE ART FILM SERIES OPENING: FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE: THE BEIJING OPERA (3D) 7:00PM | CSH

TPE-TICS

CLOSING NIGHT: AWARDS CEREMONY FRONT COVER & RECEPTION 8:00PM | MOMI

SAT AUGUST 6 YOUNG LOVE LOST 2:30PM | AFA RIVER 5:00PMFESTIVAL | AFA SCHEDULE DEEP IN THE HEART 7:00PM | AFA

17

TICKET INFO GENERAL INFORMATION: All programs are subject to change and/or cancellation without prior notice. For updated program and event information, please check our lineup at: www.aaiff.org/2016/schedule NOTE: Please arrive 20 minutes before the scheduled program. Seating cannot be guaranteed for ticket holders who arrive after the program begins. Empty seats may be resold; no refunds will be issued.

If a screening is sold out by the time you submit the ticket request, you may wait in the “Rush Line,” which forms one hour before showtime.

ADMISSION:

SPECIAL PROGRAM PRICES:

$15 General $11 Students and Seniors w/ I.D.

OPENING NIGHT at Asia Society

TICKET PACKAGES AND GROUP SALES: $60 (member) / $65 (non-member) Festival 6-pack $100 (member) / $110 (non-member) Festival 10-pack 6 or 10-pack vouchers can be redeemed for all ticketed programs EXCEPT for Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night. No limit per program. Ticket packages must be redeemed in advance. Ticket package sales end FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016.

Contact boxoffice@asiancinevision.org for more information about ticket packages and group sales.

18 FESTIVAL TICKET INFO

$150 VIP Reception, Screening & Gala Celebration $80 Screening & Gala Celebration CENTERPIECE PRESENTATION at Village East Cinema $20 Screening CLOSING NIGHT AND AWARDS CEREMONY at MOMI $50 General (Screening and Reception) FLUSHING SCREENINGS at Flushing Town Hall Free to the Public. No tickets required. First come, first served

FAQ I FORGOT TO BRING MY PRINT-AT-HOME TICKET. WHAT DO I DO?

HOW DO I BUY TICKETS? Buy your tickets online from the schedule page of our website. You’ll receive a confirmation email from boxoffice@asiancinevision.org titled: “Your order with 2016 Asian American International Film Festival.” You will need the link from this email to retrieve your purchased tickets at a later date.

The only alternative to online ticket purchase is to visit our guest services table at Village East Cinema during festival hours, at least a half hour before the screening. Some sessions may be sold out. Admission is not guaranteed.

Tickets are not available by phone or fax.

Box Office opens one (1) hour prior to the first show of the day. Please purchase tickets early as programs may sell out.

WHAT DO I DO IF A SCREENING IS SOLD OUT? There will be a rush line, which forms one hour before showtime, for sold-out screenings.

Bringing your print-at-home ticket is the most efficient way to get to your screening. If you forget or misplace it and cannot print another one, show your ticket on your Smartphone.

Lost the confirmation email? Come to guest services at Village East Cinema and we’ll resend the email.

CAN I GET A REFUND? There are no refunds or exchanges. If you have made a significant purchase in error, please email boxoffice@asiancinevision.org.

HOW DO I LOOK UP TICKETS I PURCHASED SO I CAN PRINT THEM OUT AT A LATER DATE? Search your email inbox for the email titled, “Your order with 2016 Asian American International Film Festival.” Click “Print Tickets,” and your tickets will appear in a new tab or window for you to print.

Arrive early and line up at guest services.

Admission is NOT guaranteed.

SOCIAL MEDIA facebook.com/aaiff

@AsianCineVision

@asiancinevision #aaiff2016

TICKET FAQ 19

p ro g r a m contents

STAFF NOTES | 22 CINEVUE ARTICLES | 25 AWARD NOMINATIONS | 32 SPOTLIGHTS | 37 OUR HOMELAND | 44 ASIAN AMERICAN CINEMA NOW | 54 SHORT FILMS | 62 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS | 69 BACK TO FLUSHING | 78 CHINESE ART FILM FESTIVAL | 82 SPONSOR ADS | 84 PRINT SOURCE | 90

21

THE WORLD ON

FIRE

from the executive director John Woo

I

n a year of political chaos, homophobia, mass migration, systemic corruption, racial strife, xenophobia, and whitewashing; where locations such as Paris, San Bernardino, Istanbul, and Orlando have been permanently altered, joining sites like Virginia Tech, Boston, Charleston, and Sandy Hook in our new reality.

The filmmakers selected for the 39th Asian American International Film Festival have risen to the challenge, presenting work that confronts everyday injustices with humility, passion, empathy, humor, and grace.

With much honor, Asian CineVision opens the 39th Asian American International Film Festival with SPA NIGHT, Andrew Ahn’s feature film debut, and closes July 30th with the New York City premiere of Raymond Yeung’s FRONT COVER—two very different approaches to new Queer Cinema. This year’s festival includes work from Mabel Cheung and Alex Law, champions of Hong Kong cinema for the past 30 years, as well as from filmmakers whose tireless pursuit and perseverance will light up movie screens in the coming ten days.

22 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

I am grateful to our 2016 sponsors, our venue partners, and especially our Community Partners for sharing these remarkable stories with your communities. Thank you to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office for your on-going support, the Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, and to all the contributors that make this work possible.

My heartfelt appreciation goes out to the amazing AAIFF‘16 staff and volunteers whose hard work keeps the trains running on time and on track.

Haisong, Judy, Julie, Michelle, Kevin, and the rest of you have assembled an incredible program with social justice, inclusion, and equality as our motivating force. You would think that after 39 years the work would get easier, but, in fact, it gets harder. Thank you team 2016 for your dedication.

Finally we remember those cultural giants whose courage, vision, and work ethic will continue to inspire the coming generations of storytellers: Muhammad Ali, Elie Wiesel, Prince, David Bowie, and Abbas Kiarostami, you are loved.

from the festival director Judy Lei

O

ne more year until the big 4-0 and AAIFF hasn’t experienced any type of mid-life crisis… yet. Just kidding. An emotional roller coaster? Maybe.

It’s crazy how an Asian American film festival like AAIFF can last for 39 years. I say “crazy” because the films we show aren’t conventional. No big stars, no blockbusters (not even an Asian blockbuster), no Marvel or DC Comics-level production, and most importantly: no whitewashing. We’re a film festival that attempts to humanize the Asian and Asian American experience, showcasing independent cinema featuring us—and we often do it on a shoestring budget. We believe in these stories; we believe in these established and budding filmmakers to come together at our festival to create a sense of film community in Asian America on the (b)east coast.

This year’s film line-up touches upon progressive issues including LGBTQ+, sexual identity, and social injustices. And let’s be real for a second, sometimes, no one wants to talk about these heavy topics. Year after year, we’re amazed by the creative ways in which filmmakers employ the moving image to tackle challenging issues.

They dare to make films about the marginalized.

No matter how much you hear that prejudice and discrimination no longer exist, don’t believe it.

That’s bullshit, for lack of a better word. AAIFF wants to be a part of the solution and showcase films debunking prejudices in this country, doing our small part to tell stories and dissolve these misconceptions.

One last thing before you run off to see films: GO OUT TO VOTE. It’s an important election year. By doing our small part in the political process, we will be able to amplify our voices in this country, and carve out a place we can call home.

There are ten days of meaningful content. We hope you can join us as we ride along on our beloved emotional roller coaster for its 39th year.

FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR 23

from the program manager Haisong Li

I

s the world getting better? Yes and no. It depends on your perspective. I can’t say enough about perspectives. While topics such as Donald Trump and Brexit, racism and hate crimes are highlighted in the media; we choose to focus on love, unity, and humanity.

By telling Asian and Asian American stories, discovering emerging talents, as well as engaging, challenging, and entertaining our audience, the AAIFF‘16 programming team handpicked 16 narrative features, 12 documentary features, and curated 6 shorts programs and 4 panels. This year’s participating films and filmmakers come from more than 15 countries including China, Australia, Nepal, Bangladesh, France, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Bhutan, among others.

Through portraits of fascinating individuals like Tyrus Wong (TYRUS), Jessica Cox (RIGHT FOOTED), Dawang Huang (TPE-TICS), Fairy Wang (FAIRY TALES), Bobby Choy (I HATE BIG PHONY), and Jolin Liu (JOLIN), we discover the complexity, beauty, vulnerability, and strength of humans in this world. Through documentaries such as 1000 HANDS OF GURU and MELE MURALS, we learn of art and spirituality. Through socially and historically relevant films like BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY, DAZE OF JUSTICE, and THE ORANGE STORY, we engage with important issues, finding solutions, and revisiting trauma to heal and forgive.

24 FROM THE PROGRAM MANAGER

Poet John Donne said that no man is an island. Life is about shared experiences. We want to understand relationships. If you do, too, check out our shorts programs FINDING LOVE and ROOTS: REMOVALS AND RETURNS to receive some witty and chilling insight. If you are a fan of horror, don’t miss CRUSH THE SKULL, HOLLOW, and METAMORPHOSIS. Oh, and if you want a good laugh, or even a good cry, come see our emotionally rich films like HAPPINESS, SPA NIGHT, A TALE OF THREE CITIES, FRONT COVER, UNDER CONSTRUCTION, and TOTO. I could go on and on about the movies that we selected for you, but no matter how much I say, my words could never be as fascinating as the films themselves. Please check out our website, get your tickets, and we’ll see you at the theater.

I hope you’ll resonate with these narratives, finding the diversity within your heart.

As within, so without.

CINEVUE ARTICLES

ASIAN AMERICAN X LGBT This year, AAIFF is spotlighting the Asian LGBTQ community, an extremely marginalized and underrepresented group with incredibly important and powerful stories. CineVue chatted with each filmmaker in the LGBTQ Shorts program about their inspiration, goals, personal growth, and more.

CineVue: What was the inspiration for your film?

Vicky Du, GAYSIANS: My film was inspired by my mom.

It’s my attempt to understand some of the cultural, political and historical forces that have shaped our relationship.

Jazmin Jamias, I HATE THE COLOR RED: The film is a love letter to video stores and is about the influences that technology brings into our daily lives. Asians, especially Asians in the LGBTQ community, strive for more humanistic, complex media representation and the only way we can achieve this is by sharing our own narratives. One of the major challenges is being able to represent ourselves truthfully and honestly with acceptance.

Hai Chin Hsu, BALLOT: Being queers, there are always pressures of being “not right” against society norms and the traditional family structure. This film attempts to portray this frustration of trying to match the [image of the perfect child] for their parents, but knowing that is just a [coping] strategy. The true self has been hidden in silence.

Tao Jia, HEART STATION: As a graduate student in film school, I wanted to tell an emotionally close story, in a self-reflective way…Moreover, from conversations that I had with my gay friends before, I realized that every one of us has experienced that unrequited love for straight men.

Also, I wanted to show more Asian gay males’ presence on the silver screen…This kind of story is culturally specific, political, but also beautiful and poetic! I believe it is attractive!

26 CINEVUE ARTICLES: ASIAN AMERICAN X LGBT

Larry Tung, COMING FULL CIRCLE: THE JOURNEY OF A TRANSGENDERED KOREAN ADOPTEE: I hope this film can help raise the awareness of the struggles and challenges experienced by many sexual and racial minorities. It’s my way of participating in social activism.

Oates Wu, LIKE HOPE: As an autobiographical filmmaker, I constantly revisit my life or memories to find inspirations for my new work…As [someone] coming from a conservative cultural background, my films gave me the voice I never had, the voice suppressed by the mainstream media. My films witness how I grow up.

They help me to understand myself.

CV: Have the people in your life who served as inspiration for your work seen your film? If so, what were their reactions?

Vicky Du: [My mom’s] watched the film twice but couldn’t fully understand the stories, since they’re in English and are very specific ideas that we’ve never discussed…But my family’s relationship with each other has started to change with the work of family therapy.

We’re starting to see each other as full complex beings with so many shared experiences, thoughts and feelings.

Just because we haven’t supported each other in the past doesn’t mean we can’t [now].

Oates Wu: I never show my films to any of my real life inspirations. I worry about their reactions, because usually my works talk about very intimate and personal issues like love, desire, fantasy, obsession, sexual frustration and shame. So maybe one day I will be able to do so.

CV: How has making your film changed you, both as a person and as a filmmaker?

Tao Jia: HEART STATION is a very important and special film to me…{In the process of making it,] I felt like I was peeling an onion, opening my wounds again and looking for answers. It was painful…This film couldn’t be made without heaps of people’s support, both financially and emotionally. I thank them so much. I feel like after this film, I said ‘bye’ to my past and now I am more confident as a young and healthy gay man, and also as a filmmaker.

Oates Wu: My films gave me the voice I never had, and it means everything to me. I slowly realized I have been carrying a lot of mental burdens...Also, the responsibility I feel as a content creator makes me more and more aware of the issues of the society, who I am as an artist and what I need to do as a filmmaker.

CV: Are there any depictions of Asian Americans in media that you feel are adequately complex?

Jazmin Jamias: Aziz Ansari and Mindy Kaling…They really are the driving forces behind their own shows and who use their own voice and experiences to question social norms and life in general. I also would like to add Margaret Cho, who although not fictional, has been outspoken about her experiences.

Oates Wu: Unfortunately I can’t think of any. [A lack of diversity] is a huge problem in American media, especially in mainstream media. Asian Americans are extremely underrepresented, stereotyped and whitewashed…We are focused on only the mainstream

representations out there, and forced to identify with those concepts. In the end we are fetishized or antifetishized, we are objectified and castrated, consciously or unconsciously. It is extremely important for us young filmmakers to think about diversity in our projects, no matter how big or small.

CV: What’s next for you?

Vicky Du: I’m starting production on a feature-length documentary that continues to explore how history shapes our personal relationships. This film will have more of a transnational (China and US) perspective and will focus on women.

Jazmin Jamias: I’m right now writing my next project that deals with aging parents. But my hope is to make a feature film in the future...That is my ultimate goal.

Tao Jia: I don’t know. I never know what I am going to do next. Life is full of surprises, challenges and doubts…But one thing I am sure of is I will never stop making films as this is how I communicate with people.

Oates Wu: I’m in post-production for my new short film called Behind the Bear’s Eyes right now. The story is about a twenty-six-year-old Chinese woman who lost her American visa in the visa lottery…The film talks about what she does for her last two days in the place she calls home. I want to use this film to talk about identity, lost of identity and fear. Then I will focus on writing my first feature. It will also deal with race and identity lost.

CINEVUE ARTICLES: ASIAN AMERICAN X LGBT 27

POINT OF INTEREST: INTERVIEW WITH RAY YEUNG OF FRONT COVER CineVue had the singular privilege of chatting with seasoned director Ray Yeung about his second feature film FRONT COVER, which will close the 39 th Asian American Film Festival on Saturday July 30 at 8 p.m. at the Museum of the Moving Image. FRONT COVER focuses on Ryan Fu (Jake Choi), a gay celebrity fashion stylist who has rejected his Chinese heritage and must work with closeted actor Qi Ning (James Chen) from China. The two men fight their growing attraction to each other, struggling to come to terms with their own identities.

CV: How did you choose New York as the setting?

RY: New York is a fashion capital and also has a very big Chinatown. Ryan is brought up in Chinatown, but has an issue telling people about his background.

There’s such a big [economic] range in New York, and you can imagine someone making a journey to climb up. New York is a very good representation of the “American Dream,” really.

CV: What was the inspiration for the film?

RY: Growing up in Western society as any ethnic minority, you always try to fit in. Chinese culture is not seen as something hip or chic, so you try to hide that. The same thing happens in the gay scene where the image of male beauty is Caucasian men who are tall and blond and strong with blue eyes, and you don’t see any sexy Asian men. Your own identity is diminished. The main character tries so hard to fit in. He’s literally distanced himself from his cultural heritage.

28 CINEVUE ARTICLES: POINT OF INTEREST

Now that China’s a superpower, many Chinese people who come to the West have a very strong cultural identity and also can be very arrogant. I wanted to have the contrast of someone who is ashamed of his Chinese heritage meeting someone who is proud of it. Since I’m gay myself, I thought it would be interesting to turn it around and have the guy from China hide his sexuality and the guy from Western society be openly gay. They are a mirror image of each other.

CV: What do you think about the portrayal of gay people in Asian media? Western media?

RY: In Asia, there’s hardly any representation at all in TV. If there are any… gay characters are comic reliefs, campy, and one-dimensional. Asian movies with gay storylines usually are sad and have a sense of helplessness. There is very, very low Asian representation in America. In this day and age, it’s quite ridiculous.

CV: How much fashion research did you have to do?

CV: What do you hope audiences take away from your film?

RY: I have a lot of friends who work in the fashion industry and I visited their offices and warehouses.

I gave the draft to a friend who’s a fashion stylist.

He’d say about the scene with the photo shoot, “This would happen, this wouldn’t happen.” Most of the clothes I borrowed by raiding their closets. [laughs]

RY: For any Asian American, to feel that they have a stronger sense of pride in their heritage. It’s important for audiences to feel they can be proud of who they are. A lot of Asian guys in general only date white guys to upgrade themselves, so to speak. That is a kind of colonized mentality that needs to change. People have to look at themselves and their prejudices and not make sweeping generalizations.

CV: How did your filmmaking style evolve from your first film CUT SLEEVE BOYS to FRONT COVER? RY: CUT SLEEVE BOYS is much more of a wacky slapstick comedy, heightened [quirkiness]. With FRONT COVER, I wanted to go a little more romantic, classical, realistic. They both approach the same topic, but FRONT COVER is more serious. I learned how to work with actors CUT SLEEVE BOYS and improvise with them. I could ask an actor to play the other character. Also, I got the confidence that I could do an engaging ninety-minute feature.

CV: What’s next for you?

RY: I moved back to Hong Kong, where I’m originally from, and Hong Kong is going through a lot of changes and struggle that I want to capture before it’s gone. I’m beginning to write a project that hopefully, we can start shooting next summer.

It’s more serious social realism.

CINEVUE ARTICLES: INTERVIEW WITH RAY YEUNG OF FRONT COVER 29

SPA NIGHT: IMPRESSIONS FROM A MODERN PROGRESSIVE KOREAN AMERICAN

by Tracy Chung

O

N MOTHER’S DAY THIS YEAR, MY SISTER INVITED my mother and me to her place for a quiet ladies’ weekend. I’d been having a tough time in my personal life, and Sis was going to be away for a month or so, and Mom was just worried. What better way to spend Mother’s Day than in family therapy?

The evening’s featured entertainment was a private screening of SPA NIGHT by Andrew Ahn. Sis, our septuagenarian mom, and I sat side-by-side on a lumpy sofa craning to watch the film, which buffered at times due to lack of bandwidth, on said sister’s 14-inch screen Macbook–hardly VIP advance screening conditions. At least there was plenty of bourbon in the house.

The film opens with the main character, David (Joe Seo) and his parents at a Korean spa in Los Angeles. If you don’t know what a Korean spa is, well, I’d say you’re not missing much. It’s essentially a communal bathhouse.

Gross. My sister once said, “If you can get used to the nakedness, it’s great!” It’s not so much the nakedness that I couldn’t deal with. It was just the sheer premise– communal bathing. I can’t stand doing too many things communally. I avoid all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants. I never want to take a cruise. While I was living in Seoul, I went to a spa only once, because my mom and sister were visiting, and they wanted to go. Mom made me get a massage, in addition to trying the communal bath. The masseuse straddled me wearing nothing but panties and a headband (samurai style). She was stocky, and had exceptionally soft man hands.

Despite my distaste for Korean spas, I do have an affinity for Asian American creative work, so I was up for watching SPA NIGHT, the opening film of the 2016 Asian American International Film Festival. It certainly seemed like something I would much rather do than go to a Korean spa in Flushing. At least that’s what J.C. Woo thought. Probably some kind of social experiment, having us watch it during a family therapy weekend. Mom

30 CINEVUE ARTICLES: SPA NIGHT

was surprisingly attentive during the film. She definitely had instant recognition with the family dynamic in the film, and most of the dialogue throughout is in her native tongue of Korean. The film certainly kept me engaged. I was also surprisingly not as uncomfortable as I thought I would be watching the sex scenes with my mom.

When J.C. Woo asked me what my reactions were, and what my peers’ reactions would be, I was torn. On one hand, I enjoyed the film, for the same reasons that I tend to be fond of other well-crafted, Asian American indie films: a lot of stillness, interesting cinematography (on the streets of LA Koreatown), good dramatic acting, familial conflict, and deep suffering. I am reminded of high quality Asian American independent films like Charlotte Sometimes and Saving Face from the 90s, the period of my life when I sought out as much Asian American artistic, social, and political engagement as I could find.

I like how SPA NIGHT portrays the dynamic of a struggling, Korean immigrant family with some compassion. There is little doubt in my mind that the experiences of both being an immigrant and being the child of immigrants are wrought with emotional trauma. Our family was pretty much devoid of expressions of love and compassion, so even the simplest forms are notable. For instance, when David’s father comes home drunk as a skunk, and his mother really lays into her husband, he…wait for it… apologizes. And he says it…with feeling. Then his father leaves, and his mother instructs David to follow him to make sure he doesn’t drive. Regret, disappointment, forgiveness, and of course, safety first.

On the other hand, my friends and colleagues from graduate school would appreciate SPA NIGHT even more than me, because they might not be as down on Korean spas. But back in the 90s, when I was among Asian American professionals in the DC area, most people I talked to did not embrace a then rising

Korean American author, Chang-Rae Lee. Most of my “peers” (I was a grad student, and most of this crowd were consultants or lawyers) said they didn’t love Lee’s breakout novel Native Speaker because they “couldn’t relate to it.” They tended to prefer Don Lee’s short story collection Yellow, or better yet, Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. My peers didn’t seem to appreciate that the novel was doing something distinctly different in the realm of Asian American fiction, carving out a new creative and discursive space.

SPA NIGHT is carving out new space, in terms of visualizing a difficult human landscape. For instance, I don’t think I’ve seen any other film that narrates a young male’s closet homosexuality so starkly through the lens of male bodies. (But admittedly, I have seen very little in the past decade.) Again, a lot of unspokenness. The arc of male bodies begins with David’s selfies of his own body (abs and cock) and progresses to his being surrounded by the “nakedness” of the spagoers. His voyeuristic position elevates (literally, he goes upstairs) to seeing the male bodies desiring and pleasuring each other through the secret sexual encounters in the sauna. Ultimately, David participates with his own body through his sexual encounter with another man in the steam room. David initiates by asking the man if he is Korean, to which the man responds, “Yes,” and David says, “Me, too.” As if that is code for “We are the same, and we want each other.”

At the same time, I realized that SPA NIGHT is doing something familiar. The film portrays David as a deferent, filial young Korean American, tortured by an identity that has no place in his family or community. Isn’t this the story of Mu-Lan? David performs the classic act of the good son. He behaves subserviently in adoration of his parents. He cannot tell them the truth about working at the spa, much less about his sexual identity. He agrees to go to the costly SAT prep classes even though he is

not interested in going to college. Still performing what is expected of him, David goes on a Korean-mothersarranged visit to USC, where his old church friend Eddie is his host. David feels like an imposition upon arrival, which unfortunately foreshadows an unpleasant departure.

Still the depth of David’s desire and pain is unmistakable, and Ahn’s ability to convey such emotional trauma with economy–little narration, few characters, localized setting–perhaps made it easy for us in the family viewing to take it in. We were all drawn to David and his family. Though they were down and out financially, they were mostly good and kind to each other. We all felt deep sorrow for David and his conflict with himself.

At the end of David’s first sexual encounter in the steam room, the spa manager opens the door, and the other man runs out. David turns his head to the side in shame. Then, he goes into the bathhouse and proceeds to scrub himself to the point of bleeding. His tears, his anguish, his self-hate, and self-inflicted suffering were intense. I’m pretty sure we all had our faces scrunched up watching that scene.

I’m not saying that I know anything about being in the closet. But I do know a lot about trying to be what other people expect me to be. I think we all know how the shackles of family can bind. Sometimes we have to break away. Yet we keep coming back, even if it’s not the same kind of family, and maybe it is less constricting.

Sometimes we just want to be around other people who know how screwed up we are. At the end of the film, David stands up in church with his parents at his side.

He remains standing, after the other congregants have sat down. Perhaps he is trying to pray the gay away.

Or, perhaps he is trying to stand alone, stand out from the flock. Nonetheless, I was left hopeful but sure that David’s process of realizing his sexual identity is far from over.

Tracy Chung is an Asian American arts enthusiast. She narrowly escaped the life of a perpetual grad student, but returned to campus life as an administrator in academic affairs and students services at the University of Maryland. She is also a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise and craft IPAs. She has no middle name, but her seven-year-old son calls her “Mommo” (his spelling, pronounced mom-oh).

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AWARD NOMINATIONS EMERGING DIRECTOR (NARRATIVE)

YOUTH VISION ONE-TO-WATCH AWARD

Canzhao Lam | THE DOG Rubaiyat Hossain | UNDER CONSTRUCTION Viet Nguyen | CRUSH THE SKULL

Baoming Song | BE WITH THE MOUNTAIN Roshnee Desai | COVER UP Hongzhi Liu | MOMMY GOODBYE Ha Rim Jeong, Gun Sik Park, Ji Yeon Lee | SEARCHING FOR BONG Aditya Khadka | DHARTIPUTRA Nadine Asmar | THE BLIND OF CATHEDRAL

EMERGING DIRECTOR (DOCUMENTARY) Michael Siv | DAZE OF JUSTICE Xi Jie | SINGAPORE MINSTREL Jessica Wanyu Lin | TPE-TICS Tobias Reeuwijk | 1000 HANDS OF GURU

EXCELLENCE IN SHORT FILMMAKING Rongfei Guo | FAIRY TALE Weronika Mliczewska | SPEECHLESS IN JAPAN Oates Yinchao Wu | LIKE HOPE Amelie Wen | FATA MORGANA Jazmin Jamias | I HATE THE COLOR RED Elaine Xia | METAMORPHOSIS Trevor Zhou | THE WALTZ Randy Yang | VIDEO Aya Shiroi | HARRY ON THE CLOUDS Shingo Usami | RICEBALLS

32 AWARD NOMINATIONS

SCREENPLAY FINALISTS Leslie Lyshkov | THE ABOLITIONISTS Joy Lin | PIECES OF HOPE Jaimal Yogis | CITY OF DRAGONS

JURORS AAIFF‘16 Emerging Director of Narrative Feature

NELSON KIM wrote and directed the award-winning feature film SOMEONE ELSE (AAIFF 2015), starring Aaron Yoo and Leonardo Nam. The movie was hailed by the LA Weekly as “a tense, unexpectedly moving psychological study of a man’s unraveling” and by VCinema as “a highly intriguing debut.” Go to SomeoneElseMovie.com to learn more.

In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Nelson is also an adjunct professor of film at Fordham and Columbia.

KELVIN YU is a Taiwanese-American actor and an Emmy Award-winning writer. Best known for his breakout role as Aziz Ansari’s handsome and charismatic friend Brian in the Netflix series Master of None, Yu has also been writing on the Fox animated series Bob’s Burgers for the past 6 seasons. A Los Angeles native, Yu studied theater and communications at UCLA and his previous acting credits include: Gus Van Sant’s Milk, JJ New Yorker, Teen Vogue, GQ and Bon Appetit. In addition, she has produced digital content for Target x WhoWhatWear, Canon, Samsung, Patron, Lexus, Porsche, Sephora, Anna Sui and YouTube to name a few. Gigi is a double alumna of New York University’s undergraduate and graduate film programs, where she holds a faculty position. Currently, Gigi is in production on a feature documentary about WAKALIWOOD in Wakaliga, Uganda.

GIGI DEMENT has produced several award-winning films, including GOD OF LOVE, winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short — making her the first Filipino in history to produce an Oscar-winning film. She then went on to produce BASTARDS OF YOUNG (which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival) and the critically acclaimed feature film BABYGIRL, which was made in association with Escape Pictures, Samson Films LTD and the Irish Film Board. Most recently, she has been exploring the world of new media, producing for Conde Nast Entertainment and their associated brands, the likes of which include Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Teen Vogue, GQ and Bon Appetit. In addition, she has produced digital content for Target x WhoWhatWear, Canon, Samsung, Patron, Lexus, Porsche, Sephora, Anna Sui and YouTube to name a few. Gigi is a double alumna of New York University’s undergraduate and graduate film programs, where she holds a faculty position. Currently, Gigi is in production on a feature documentary about WAKALIWOOD in Wakaliga, Uganda.

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JURORS AAIFF‘16 Excellence in Short Filmmaking

ASEEM CHHABRA is a film festival programmer, film journalist and freelance writer in New York City.

He is the festival director of the New York Indian Film Festival and the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival in Pittsburgh. He is also the voice of Shadow Puppet #1 in director Nina Paley’s award-winning animated film, Sita Sings the Blues.

Aseem has been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Outlook, Mumbai Mirror, Rediff.com and India Abroad; has a regular column in The Hindu and has been a commentator on Indian cinema and popular culture on NPR, CNN, BBC, ABC’s Good Morning America, Associated Press and Reuters. Aseem can be followed on Twitter @chhabs.

RONNY CHIENG is Chinese stand-up comedian and actor born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, raised in Manchester, NH, USA and Singapore, who graduated from the University of Melbourne in Australia in 2009 with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce.

Ronny started comedy in Melbourne in 2009. Since then has he had 4 sold out global stand up comedy theater tours in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and London.

FAWZIA MIRZA was named by the White House as a 2016 Champion of Change in Asian American and Pacific Islander Art & Storytelling. She received the 2015 Chicago 3Arts Award in Acting and was named by Indiewire Magazine as a “Top Ten Creative”.

She is a former attorney, now an actor, writer, producer who believes in the power of art and comedy to breakdown stereotypes across identity and defy the idea of the ‘model minority’. She’s done theatre, made web series, short films, plays. Her recent mockumentary The Muslim Trump where she played the Muslim illegitimate daughter of Donald Trump appeared in Vice, Jezebel, NBC News, Marie Claire, Jezebel and more.

Her short film Spunkle is touring the festival circuit now, already screening at Inside Out, Frameline, Palm Springs Shortfest and Outfest. Her feature film she co-wrote and stars in, Signature Move, films in August and is about a Pakistani, Muslim lesbian who falls in love with a Mexican woman in Chicago, all while trying to find her identity in love and wrestling. @thefawz www.fawziamirza.com MANSEE KONG is an independent filmmaker and teaching artist. Current projects include WHAT HAPPENED TO DANNY, a feature film about 19 year-old U.S. Army Pvt. Danny Chen, who was hazed and racially abused to death by his supervisors in Afghanistan; and HERE TO STAY, a community-based workshop series and large-scale public projection project of the CHINATOWN ART BRIGADE – with artists Tomie Arai and Betty Yu – in collaboration with CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities. ManSee is a 2016 A Blade of Grass Fellow for Socially Engaged Art and native New Yorker with an MFA in Film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

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JURORS AAIFF‘16 Emerging Director of Documentary Feature

STEPHEN MAING is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. His feature documentary, High Tech, Low Life about two of China’s first dissident citizen-journalists was broadcast nationally on PBS’ award-winning series P.O.V. He has directed films for the New York Times, Time Magazine, CNN, The Nation & The Intercept. His short film, The Surrender, produced with Academy Award winner Laura Poitras, documented State Department intelligence analyst Stephen Kim’s harsh prosecution under the Espionage Act and received Grand Jury Awards at numerous festivals including a 2016 World Press Photo Award for Best Long Form Documentary.

Stephen is a fellow of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, a grant recipient of the MacArthur Foundation, ITVS, CAAM & New York State Council on the Arts, and a 2016 John Jay/Harry Frank Guggenheim Reporting Fellow. He continues to direct an on-going series of films about policing and the criminal justice system.

MIAO WANG is an award-winning filmmaker who focuses on creative and cinematic documentaries that inspire cultural understanding and a humanist perspective of the world. Her critically-acclaimed documentary films Beijing Taxi (feature-length) and Yellow Ox Mountain have screened at over 50 international festivals and institutions, with US theatrical release, and broadcast nation-wide on PBS. Beijing Taxi is digitally distributed by Sundance Artist Services. She directed Made by China in America, a documentary short in Morgan Spurlock’s acclaimed We the Economy series. Wang is a recipient of grants and fellowship from the Sundance Institute, the Jerome Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, the Tribeca Film Institute, Tribeca All Access, IFP Filmmaker’s Lab, Independent Film Week, Women Make Movies, and the Flaherty Film Seminar. She is finishing her second feature-doc Maineland.

URSULA LIANG is a journalist who has told stories in a wide range of media. She has worked for The New York Times Op-Docs, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, Asia Pacific Forum, StirTV, the Jax Show, Hyphen magazine and currently freelances as a film/television producer and story consultant. Liang also works for the film publicity company, the 2050 Group, is a founding member of the Filipino American Museum, and sits on the advisory board of the Dynasty Project. “9-Man” (www.9-man. com), her debut as a director, won 6 awards and aired on public television.

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JURORS

AAIFF‘16 For Youth By Youth MARK COLUMBUS is a Student Academy Award® finalist for making “Battle of the Jazz Guitarist.” His films have played at Telluride Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam, Rooftop Summer Series, Palm Springs Shortsfest, and Vimeo Staff Picks.

He is currently in post-production on his first feature, Return of the Jazz Guitarist, and works freelance, directing and editing for clients such as Buzzfeed and Blizzard. Mark holds an M.F.A. in directing from the UCLA School of Film and Television.

ELIZABETH LO is a documentary director whose work has been broadcast nationally and showcased at festivals around the world including Sundance, New York Times Op-Docs, Hot Docs, AFI Docs, True/False, SFIFF, BAMCinemafest, and PBS’ POV. Elizabeth was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine in 2015 and was featured in the 2015 New Directors’ Showcase at Cannes Lion and the 2016 Next Director Award Shortlist in London. Her documentary, HOTEL 22, won a Cinema Eye Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking, a Golden Dragon Award for Best Short Film at the Krakow Film Festival and has played at over seventy film festivals. She has been nominated for an IDA Documentary Award, and was the inaugural recipient of the 2016 Investigative Fund for Documentary Film Fellowship by the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms and the Nation Institute.

Elizabeth holds a B.F.A. in film and literature from the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU and an M.F.A. in documentary film from Stanford University.

KRISTOF DEAK started his career in editing before studying directing at Westminister Film School. He has been working in London and Budapest directing fiction short films and TV drama episodes. His films have received the Grand Prix and Best International Short Film Award at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia and the Audience Awards at Festival du Cinema Européen, Festival International de Cine Lanzarote and TIFF Kid’s International Film Festival.

AAIFF’16 Screenplay Competition KEVIN SCULLIN is an actor, voice-over artist, announcer and writer; He has appeared in Off-Broadway with the “Ridiculous Theatrical Company”, “Penquin Rep” and various other performances with NY and Regional Companies. On TV, he worked on a variety of shows including “Law & Order”, “Saturday Night Live” & “One Live To Live”. Various Motion Pictures and Indies including “Return To Paradise” and “A Very Serious Person”. He currently serves as NY Local Board member and National Alternate for SAG-AFTRA and is active within it’s Diversity Departments.

MINNIE LI is a producer. She has worked with the Asian American International Film Festival, RightsFest, the Hamptons Film Festival, DOC NYC, and the Tribeca Film Festival. Her production portfolio includes Half-Life, The Iran Job, X/Y, Last Days of the Nazis and web series on PBS. She wrote film reviews and interview pieces for the online blog, Limité Magazine. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego and her Master of Arts in Cinema Studies at New York University.

MIKHA GRUMET has been Producing for over 20 years. Her experiences began in Documentary Filmmaking, and has grown into Independent Documentary making and commercial work.

In the commercial world Mikha began working extensively on CGI jobs, fueled by a passion for working with ever advancing technology. Shooting 3D, Virtual Reality and Experiential campaigns, she is always pushing the envelope!

Mikha’s producing expertise has lead her to the role of Executive Producer, both freelance and on staff, at companies like Prologue, 1st Ave Machine, Love Savage and Sibling Rivalry to name a few.

36 JURORS: YOUTH BY YOUTH // SCREENPLAY COMPETITION

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SPAnight NIGHT spa night spa Thursday, July 21 | 7:00 PM | Asia Society SPA NIGHT Dir. Andrew Ahn | USA | 2016 | 93 mins | English, Korean with English subtitles

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ddressing many modern-day issues of subcultural identity, sexual identity, and first generation immigration, Andrew Ahn makes his feature directorial debut with SPA NIGHT. Featuring breathtaking performances from leads Joe Seo, Haerry Kim, and Youn Ho Cho, coupled with beautiful cinematography, the audience is taken into the intimate lives of a family striving toward the ‘American Dream.’

Like many immigrant children, David (Seo) serves as an intermediary between his parents’ insular Koreatown life in Los Angeles and the frenetic landscape of the city. When the family restaurant is forced to close, threatening their household balance, tensions mount.

An unfamiliar twist to a very familiar immigrant story, David rejects his parents’ dreams for him to pursue an education. Skipping his SAT prep classes, he secretly takes a job at a Korean spa to help his family make ends meet. Quickly, David finds himself caught between traditional Korean culture and the underground world of gay hookups.

SPA NIGHT turns the common coming-of-age story into a raw and honest portrayal of an immigrant family trying to make it in their new country. With a plethora of emotional and relatable motifs, AAIFF‘16 is proud to present SPA NIGHT as its Opening Night Presentation.

SPA NIGHT had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival where lead actor Joe Seo, won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance. Both Director Andrew Ahn and lead Joe Seo will be in attendance.

Andrew Ahn is a Korean American filmmaker born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His short film “DOL” won numerous accolades after its premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Ahn is an alum of Film Independent’s Project Involve and serves on the board at Los Angeles Performance Practice. community partners: Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of NY (GAPIMNY), GORI Social Club, KoreanAmericanStory.org, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), Project by Project

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aAtale TALEof OF

three cities Saturday, July 23 | 3:00 PM | Village East Cinema A TALE OF THREE CITIES Dir. Mabel Cheung | China | 2015 | 130 mins Chinese with English subtitles | New York City Premiere

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ower couple Mabel Cheung and Alex Law’s portrayal of the true story of Jackie Chan’s parents, offers a remarkable panorama of China during the 1930s through the 1950s.

During the Sino-Japanese War, Fang Daolong (Sean Lau), a customs officer with two sons, falls in love with Chen Yuerong (Tang Wei), a young widow forced to smuggle opium in order to support her two daughters.

It seems fate has brought the two together only to rip them apart. Fang’s former life of espionage haunts him as both the Nationalists and the Communists seek to end his life. The lovers flee across the country, trying to outrun his past. Eventually, though, the mounting danger forces them to separate not only from each other, but also from their own children.

The two are forced to correspond through letters.

The title of the film denotes the cities Wuhu, Shanghai and Hong Kong, which Fang and Chen journey between as they evolve from acquaintances to lovers to refugees of the Chinese Civil War. Through the bombings of Shanghai, the massacres in Nanjing, and other unspeakable war atrocities, their abiding connection gives them the will to survive. Time as a fleeting commodity weaves throughout this multi-faceted, lushly evocative film, as well as the idea of the immovable power of destiny.

The bond between Fang and Chen reflects a generation’s strength in a time of utmost anguish, and a country’s hope for a brighter future. Director Mabel Cheung and screenwriter Alex Law will be in attendance.

Mabel Cheung is an award-winning filmmaker that graduated from the University of Hong Kong, majoring in English Literature and Psychology. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Drama and Visual Arts from Bristol University, UK, and an M.F.A. Degree in Film Production from the New York University Graduate Film School. community partners: Chinatown Youth Initiatives (CYI), Coalition for Asian American Children & Families (CACF), Hong Kong Association of New York (HKANY)

SPOTLIGHTS: A TALE OF THREE CITIES 41

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front FRONT cover COVER Saturday, July 30 | 8:00 PM | Museum of the Moving Image FRONT COVER Dir. Ray Yeung | USA | 2015 | 87 mins | Chinese, English with English subtitles New York City Premiere

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ith FRONT COVER, Veteran filmmaker Ray Yeung, has brilliantly pieced together a narrative that explores the complicated intersections of racial identity, sexuality, and corporate success. Poignant and witty, the film tells the story of hard-working Ryan Fu (Jake Choi), a gay Chinese American working as a celebrity fashion stylist in New York City. Day-to-day, Ryan, who has distanced himself from his Chinese heritage, expertly completes his tasks at work, even impressing his hard-to-please boss.

When he is ordered to style an international actor from China (James Chen), to whom he was assigned based purely on their shared ethnicity, Ryan hesitates. His boss tells him that if he complies, the business will generate a lot of money for the magazine. Eventually Ryan concedes to completing the job, citing all that he’s sacrificed to ‘make it’ in the exclusive fashion world. Upon first meeting, the actor Ning and Ryan clash, revealing contrasting cultural norms and expectations. The conflict intensifies when Ning hurls out homophobic remarks at Ryan’s expense.

In a little under 90 minutes, the story anchors itself on the charm of a surprising relationship arc between two unlikely individuals. A truly fresh take on the natural drama and pervasive comedy of life, FRONT COVER will screen at the Museum of Moving Image on Saturday, July 30, followed by a reception to celebrate the conclusion of AAIFF‘16. Director Raymond Yeung and lead actor James Chen, as well as other cast and crewmembers will all be in attendance.

Ray Yeung has written and directed over eight short films. His first feature film, “Cut Sleeve Boys” premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and won Best Feature at the Outfest Fusion Festival in Los Angeles. Yeung, a Columbia University MFA graduate, has also served as chairman of the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival since 2000. community partners: Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of NY (GAPIMNY), National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), Project by Project

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HOLLOW Saturday, July 23 | 9:00 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Ham Tran | Vietnam | 2014 | 99 mins | Vietnamese with English subtitles | New York City Premiere With beautiful cinematography and a mysterious series of events, director Ham Tran brings viewers into the sinister world of Chi, a rebellious 18-yearold. As soon as Chi returns to her hometown, on the day that her rich stepfather makes a generous donation to the village temple, everything starts to take a dark turn for the worst. At the celebration, Ai, her little sister, drowns in a nearby river. Her death sets off a string of mysterious, inexplicable events that any viewer can try, but fail, to rationalize.

The sisters’ uncle Thuc, a local policeman, travels to the village morgue to identify the little girl’s body.

Quite suddenly, Ai sits up, very much alive. He brings her home, withholding from telling the family that she drowned in the river. Everything seems fine

until Ai begins to show signs of spiritual possession, much to the horror of her loved ones. They bring her to a shaman where he relays a terrifying diagnosis: a dead person does not possess Ai… she is possessed by someone living.

Grief-stricken and confused, Chi searches for answers. During her search, she stumbles across several startling discoveries, one of which follows her home and threatens to destroy her entire family.

As dark secrets unravel and evil unleashes its true visage, HOLLOW will grip you from start to finish, maybe even after it’s finished and the credits have rolled. From award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ham Tran, AAIFF’16 marks the film’s New York City Premiere.

Born in Vietnam, Ham Tran immigrated to America as a refugee in 1982. His explorations in playwriting, prose, poetry, music, drawing, painting, film and video became a journey to assemble new and lost historical and cultural identity. Tran received his MFA in Directing from the UCLA Film and Television. As an editor, he has edited most of the highest box-officegrossing Vietnamese films. He has been won and been nominated for dozens of prestigious awards. community partners: University of Virginia Asian and Asian Pacific American Alumni Network

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IN THE ROOM Saturday, July 23 | 8:00 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Eric Khoo | Hong Kong, Singapore | 2015 | 90 mins | Cantonese, English, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mandarin, Thai with English subtitles IN THE ROOM tells the stories of six different couples who stay overnight in the same room across several decades. Room 27, a small single in the slowly deteriorating Singapura Hotel, has seen it all: passion, sensuality, heartbreak, and sex.

Veteran filmmaker Eric Khoo proves that he can expertly capture the fleeting dalliances of lovers past and present, and how they fester and fade as time marches forward. Each narrative highlights the shared undertones of love across time and the nuances in the way that we deal with them.

First, we see a black-and-white shot, set in the 1940s, featuring the hotel in its heyday, untarnished by the imminent Japanese occupation. On the night of the invasion, a British expat and his Chinese lover say goodbye to each other, leaving colonial/imperial

aftertastes that set the tone for the rest of the film.

Viewers see the same room juxtaposed with other narratives through the hotel’s steady decline into ruin, a surprising metaphor for how relationships in the story function.

Conceptually poignant and striking, IN THE ROOM is one of Khoo’s best, showcasing his love for horror and his humanizing approach to cruelty. As each story plays out, the narrative arcs begin to reflect Singapore as an international hub, full of diversity and nationalities that all somehow find themselves in the same room. With the hotel room as the film’s transitory agent, this feature provokes a unique nostalgia and longing, reserved only for those who live for each moment.

Cultural Medallion (the highest art award in Singapore and presented by the President) recipient and award-winning filmmaker Eric Khoo who helms Zhao Wei Films/ Gorylah Pictures has been credited for reviving the Singapore film industry and for putting Singapore onto the International film map in 1995. He was the first Singaporean to have his films invited to major film festivals such as Berlin, Venice and Cannes. community partners: Ma-Yi Theater Company

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JOLIN Friday, July 29 | 6:30 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Siyan Liu, Danni Wang | China, USA | 2016 | 67 mins | Chinese with English subtitles New York City Premiere Siyan Liu and Danni Wang’s documentary JOLIN reveals that the U.S. isn’t the only country where you can reinvent yourself and shape your own destiny. The odds are overwhelmingly stacked against aspiring actor Jolin: she was abused by her single mother, forced to work in a factory for a pittance, and now dances in a nightclub where she is often sexually harassed.

Her dream of emulating The Little Mermaid—moving between two disparate worlds—is threatened by her fierce desire to be financially independent. She also risks severe condemnation from her mother if her secret ambitions were ever uncovered.

be ashamed of your job, no matter how shameful it is,” she declares, whose homeland, Dongguan, is the manufacturing and the sex capital of China. Offstage, the young woman is soft-spoken and self-contained, a far cry from her onstage stripper persona. But the liberty of performing make the sacrifices worth it.

As she forges a path to stardom, she butts heads with her mother, and reconnects with her estranged father in an aptly theatrical way. The documentary, filmed over two years, examines the universality of broken families and the risks of pursuing fame and fortune. Both directors will be in attendance, along with the subject of the film, Jolin.

Jolin may not be the prettiest model, or the most talented singer, but she is by far the most driven. “Never Siyan Liu received her MFA in Social Documentary Film from School of Visual Arts in 2015. She used to be a screenwriter for fiction films. She has been worked as an assistant director in the Documentary Channel of China Central Television (CCTV-9) for two years.

Danni Wang is a Chinese filmmaker based in New York City who graduated from MFA in Social Documentary Film at School of Visual Arts in 2015. Her college thesis documentary short “Family Stories” was officially selected by China Independent Film Festival 2013 and Chinese Documentary Festival 2013. community partners: Kollaboration New York, University of Virginia Asian and Asian Pacific American Alumni Network

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POLIS EVO Saturday, July 23 | 9:45 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Ghaz Abu Bakar | Malaysia | 2015 | 120 mins | Malay with English subtitles New York City Premiere What happens when a big city cop teams up with a small town cop? POLIS EVO, director Ghaz Abu Bakar’s well-received action comedy, answers that question in full. When an old chemistry teacher is found dead in the small town Terengganu, linked to the same red meth that Inspector Khai (Shaheizy Sam,) an experienced narcotics inspector, has been tracking in the city, Khai travels there to investigate and solve the case. Upon his arrival, he’s paired with local Inspector Sani (Zizan Razak) to bring down Malaysia’s most dangerous and most powerful drug lord.

The pair’s contrasting personalities complicate their mission. Khai is Kuala Lumpur’s finest policeman, firm and swift in action, at his physical peak, and sporting a gun wound. Meanwhile, his new partner Sani is an earnest family man who religiously

adheres to procedures and protocol, satisfied and happy with his life in Terengganu. Both men soon realize that the case to which they’ve been assigned is much more complicated than either had initially anticipated. This is no ordinary drug case.

When their mission takes a tragic turn, becoming increasingly more personal by involving Sani’s own family in the case, the two must learn to trust each other. Only then can they stand a chance of surviving against a cold-blooded syndicate that will do anything to keep their drug operations alive.

POLIS EVO was one of the highest grossing Malay movies of 2015, garnering rapid international success. Going beyond the buddy cop clichés and hackneyed plots, this is a film you won’t want to miss.

Ghaz Abu Bakar is a film and video director from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, having worked on many music videos and several films. community partners: New York Malaysian Association (NYMA)

48 OUR HOMELAND: POLIS EVO

SINGAPORE MINSTREL Sunday, July 24 | 8:15 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Ng Xi Jie | Singapore | 2015 | 87 mins | Chinese, English with English subtitles International Premiere Busking is widely considered a lower art form, but Roy Payamal’s unique performance art pieces on the streets of Singapore might inspire a change of heart. SINGAPORE MINSTREL follows this distinct, enigmatic character in the Singapore busking scene, granting greater insight into his philosophy, way of life, and approach to art.

A pioneer in the Singapore busking scene, Roy has been performing since the 1980s. A selftaught juggler and fire-eater, his current act in a residential district has him in full-body silver paint, grotesquely moving to metal music against an installation art piece. Amidst the non-stop bustle of Singapore, Roy’s work is a jolt; able to stun, intrigue, and captivate local audiences who’ve never anything quite like it. He brings art into the streets, but, without institutional recognition, a question

remains: can Roy’s work really be considered art?

Roy introduces us to a diverse cast of buskers, from the 70-year-old man who dances to hits like “Gangnam Style,” to the seasoned performer struggling to pass busking auditions in order to renew his license. Each provides a lens into the oftoverlooked lives of those trying to liven the streets of Singapore.

Combining a variety of filmic elements, interviews, Roy’s personal handphone footage, and mimed re-enactments of past memories, SINGAPORE MINSTREL is an insightful dive into the lives of an offbeat troupe of performers. The film explores what culture means in a high-energy metropolis that develops quicker than the culture it leaves behind.

Xi Jie Ng creates intimate encounters for a noisy world. Her works dance between the forms of film, performance, installation, socially engaged art and writing, and have been presented in Singapore, USA, Finland and India.

Last year, “Singapore Minstrel,” her debut feature, premiered at the 26th Singapore International Film Festival.

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THE DOG Sunday, July 24 | 6:00 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Canzhao Lam | China | 2015 | 88 mins | Cantonese with English subtitles | New York City Premiere Employing cinema-verité techniques of hybrid cinema, director Canzhao Lam makes his striking debut in this fresh, peculiar journey through the perspective of a stray dog. With raw performances from amateur actors and high-contrast black and white cinematography, THE DOG delves into each character to reflect both the authenticity and occasional absurdity of the lives of those who live “below the line” in Guangzhou, China, many of of whom are migrant workers.

In a series of vignettes, THE DOG follows each storyline as the stray dog goes from one owner to another. The dog’s owners range from a lonely wife to a drug dealer to a monk. Lam takes his time

with each owner through long takes and poignant silences, almost as if he’s trying to characterize the dog’s perspective, observing his various owners and their peculiar interactions. In this sense, THE DOG steps out of the traditional form of storytelling, and despite countless mundane conversations, Lam does an excellent job in keeping the audience engaged and continually surprised.

A fresh take on the cinema form, aiming to explore space in films, THE DOG invites the audience to join a lonely rebel’s exploration and revelation of a money-oriented world. AAIFF‘16 marks THE DOG’s New York Premiere. Director Canzhao Lam will be in attendance.

Born in 1994, Lam Can-zhao is from Chaozhou, China. Before he transferred to Guangdong Literary Vocational College, Lam majored in music. He is now a junior student studying film production. community partners: Ma-Yi Theater Company

50 OUR HOMELAND: THE DOG

TOTO Friday, July 29 | 8:15 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. John Paul Su | Philippines, USA | 2015 | 116 mins | Tagolog with English subtitles New York City Premiere Antonio “Toto” Estares (Sid Lucero), a room service attendant at a Manila hotel, struggles to support his family, especially his ailing mother. Toto is hell-bent on, quite literally, chasing the American Dream, wanting to move from typhoon-ravaged Tacloban, Philippines to the promised land of the U.S. as his father did before he died and left their family penniless.

His father had promised to petition for his family to follow him to Las Vegas, but he ended up a dishwasher who drank and gambled everything away. The only thing Toto inherited from his father was his ambition, which Toto’s mother had at one point, too.

Toto fails to acquire a U.S. visa, risking friendships, his job, a ton of borrowed money, his dignity, and his heart in the

process. What he doesn’t realize is that—in a way—he’s already in the “promised land.” The hotel is chalk full of Americans representing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the land of the free. After Toto has a run-in with a few unsavory Americans and gets ripped off, he loses faith.

But his journey is far from over.

John Paul Su’s debut feature film TOTO is all about the power of a dream. Lucero’s irrepressible, irreverent leading performance, which earned him the Best Actor Award at the LA Comedy Fest, reminds us that there’s a Toto in all of us, and maybe that’s a good thing. Director John Paul Su, along with a slew of cast and crewmembers will be in attendance.

NYU Tisch alum, John Paul “JP” Su, won the Directors Guild of America’s Best Asian-American Student Filmmaker Award for his short film “Pagpag” (The Refuse). He is a Disney/ABC-DGA Directing Program alumnus, and currently one of the selected directors of NBCUniversal’s Emerging Directors Program. community partners: Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), University of Virginia Asian and Asian Pacific American Alumni Network

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TPE-TICS Friday, July 29 | 9:15 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Lin Wan-Yu | Taiwan | 2015 | 68 mins | Mandarin with English subtitles | U.S. Premiere In director Lin Wan-Yu’s directorial debut, TPETICS follows Huang Dawang, also known as Black Wolf or Yingfan-Psalmanazar, a sensation from the Taiwan sound, performance art scene. Dawang has developed a distinct style of improvisation and electronic noise. Between shots of Dawang’s “Black Wolf Nakashi” show and everyday moments of his life, the viewer is clued into the breadth of Dawang’s emotions, which inform his unique shows. TPE-TICS follows him from his cluttered mind and bedroom, to a ruin in the middle of Taipei.

“Why do I stand on the stage like this? Because I am a mental disorder of the 20th century,” shouts Dawang on stage. As the documentary unveils more of Dawang’s personal life, the complex shows and music begin to make sense in their deliberate, engaging, and shocking fashion.

Isolation and depression give way to introspection and reconciliation of past trauma through art as a means of accessing raw, human emotion to explore the human condition. AAIFF‘16 marks TPE-TICS’s U.S. Premiere.

Lin Wan-Yu is an independent filmmaker now engaged in documentaries and video design. She works with sound art performers, choreographers, and theatre workers. The collaborators including Shu-Yi and dancers, Very Mainstream Studio, and Kandala Records. She’s particularly concerned about the arts and culture for a small minority, and she aims to investigate human’s differing values.

52 OUR HOMELAND: TPE-TICS

UNDER CONSTRUCTION Friday, July 29 | 7:00 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Rubaiyat Hossain | Bangladesh | 2015 | 88 mins | Bengali with English subtitles New York City Premiere On the surface, Roya (Shahana Goswami) has everything.

She is highly educated, she consistently plays the lead in a theatrical version of Rabindranath Tagore’s Red Oleanders, she is married to a peaceful man, and lives in a beautiful apartment. But beyond the superficial, Roya is profoundly discontent with her public and private roles, searching for meaning in the mundane in urban Bangladesh.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION explores both colonial and postcolonial Bangladesh with a layered lens: the story of Red Oleanders within Roya’s own story. The 1924 play critiques capitalism and industrialization while

modern day Bangladesh continues to grapple with the exploitation of factory workers and escalating Islamic fundamentalism.

Roya strives to unsettle Tagore’s iconic feminine image of the archetypical Bengali woman in her contemporary staging of the play, and pushes against traditional constraints. This film is as revolutionary as the stage production to which it pays homage. UNDER CONSTRUCTION was awarded the Best Audience and Special Mention Awards from the Dhaka International Film Festival 2016, in addition to the Golden Durian Prize for Best Feature at SalaMindanaw Asian Film Festival.

Director Rubaiyat Hossain will be in attendance.

NYU Tisch alum, John Paul “JP” Su, won the Directors Guild of America’s Best Asian-American Student Filmmaker Award for his short film “Pagpag” (The Refuse). He is a D Rubaiyat Hossain is one of Bangladesh’s handful of female filmmakers, known for her critically acclaimed debut feature film “Meherjaan” (2011) which faced political and cultural wrath in Bangladesh for its anti war narrative, and its critique of masculine nationalism from a feminine point of view. The film was stripped down from theaters across Bangladesh only one week after its release, and is still prohibited from being screened.

Rubaiyat completed her B.A. in Women Studies from Smith College, USA and M.A. in South Asian Studies from University of Pennsylvania. Currently she lives between Dhaka and New York making films and attending Tisch School of Arts at New York University in Cinema Studies. isney/ABC-DGA Directing Program alumnus, and currently one of the selected directors of NBCUniversal’s Emerging Directors Program. community partners: Bangladesh Circle, University of Virginia Asian and Asian Pacific American Alumni Network

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54

1000

HANDS OF THE GURU Friday, July 22 | 9:00 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Tobias Reeuwijk | USA | 2015 | 65 mins | Dzongkha, English with English subtitles | U.S. Premiere The Kingdom of Bhutan is the only remaining Vajrayana Buddhist country in the world today.

What sets this particular Buddhist sect apart from others across Asia is the incorporation of the thangka in meditation. Thangkas are intricately detailed scrolls that represent a form of spiritual and historical storytelling, passing on the blessings of past spiritual gurus. The more a practitioner meditates using these sacred scrolls, the more a thangka comes to life through visualization.

This art form has contributed to Bhutan’s rich cultural heritage for many years, but because of improper care and storage, their presence is deteriorating. Additionally, making new thangkas, with the same intricacy and attention to detail that they were once made with, is something of a lost art form. Though monks are trained to make new ones,

the training can take many years to master. This combination of things, coupled with the younger generation’s fascination with technology over culture, puts these unique historical treasures at risk of being lost forever.

Now, a diverse group has come together to help save the cultural and historical significance that the thangka represents. Led by an American art conservation master, four monks and a royal scholar have all teamed up to restore these holy relics to their former glory, dedicating their lives to do so and making it their job to pass the knowledge onto others. 1000 HANDS OF GURU follows these individuals over the course of three years, working together to pass on the age-old traditions of a culture before it’s too late. Director Tobias Reeuwijk will be in attendance.

Writer, director and producer Tobias Arend Tze-Hao Reeuwijk was born in Hong Kong and was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Growing up he spent a large part of his childhood borrowing the family’s home video camera, eventually pursuing visual storytelling professionally. community partners: Chinatown Youth Initiatives (CYI), Coalition for Asian American Children & Families (CACF)

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BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY Friday, July 22 | 7:30 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Ben Wang | USA | 2015 | 58 mins | New York City Premiere In this honest portrait, Ben Wang humanizes Eddy Zheng as he follows Zheng’s journey from a prisoner to one of the nation’s most recognized activists for prison reform and youth violence prevention. With an award-winning crew and a hybrid cinematic style that combines cinema verité footage, interviews, archival footage, and real journal entries, BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY presents a second chance at life.

Although Zheng entered prison barely speaking English, he left as a college graduate, mediator, poet, and writer.

Even so, after Zheng’s release from custody, his trials continued as new immigration laws threatened his deportation. At the same time, cultural stigma and secrets forced him to face the shame and trauma his imprisonment left on his family, and the constant struggle to make amends with his parents, victims, and himself.

An immigrant at the age of 12 and with his parents working long hours, Zheng was left socially and culturally isolated, leading him to discover a surrogate family in the burgeoning street gangs of Chinatown. At 16, Zheng was tried as an adult for kidnapping and armed robbery, ultimately serving more than 20 years in California prisons and jails, including 11 months in solitary confinement for advocating for Ethnic Studies in the prison’s college curriculum.

Winner of the CAAMFest AUDIENCE AWARD for Documentary Feature, AAIFF’16 is proud to host BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY’s New York Premiere and to invite our audience on Zheng’s journey to freedom, rehabilitation, and redemption. With constant exploration of the complexities and flaws of the criminal justice system, Zheng reminds us all to breathe a little and appreciate life. Composer, Scott “Chops” Jung will be in attendance.

Ben Wang’s previous documentary films include AOKI which screened at numerous festivals and MAMORI, a short documentary film. Wang also co-edited “Other: an API Prisoners’ Anthology,” the first anthology of writings and artwork featuring API prisoners. community partners: Asian Amerian Bar Association of New York (AABANY), National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum - New York City (NAPAWF*NYC), Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA)

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CRUSH THE SKULL Friday, July 22 | 9:15 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Viet Nguyen | USA | 2015 | 80 mins | New York City Premiere Ollie (Chris Dinh) and Blair (Katie Savoy) are a regular couple that do everything together: they have fun and trade jokes… oh, and they rob houses for a living. When their last job goes horribly wrong due to a hilarious convergence of incidents, they fall into debt, owing money to a powerful mob boss. To pay it off they take one last job with the help of Blair’s brother Connor (Chris Riedell) and his friend Riley (Tim Chiou). The task is to break into a secluded vacation home in the mountains.

Easy enough.

Unfortunately, Connor, who planned the whole operation, is inept and ill prepared and the group unwittingly wanders into a house equipped with bolted doors, bulletproof windows, and no easy way out. As they explore, looking for a way out, they come to realize that the seemingly normal home is really a sadistic murder house with maze-

like corridors and is owned by a psychopathic serial killer. Remote controlled doors, controlled by the killer, eventually separate the group of thieves and they must fend for themselves, unaware of what lies lurking at every turn.

CRUSH THE SKULL is director Viet Nguyen’s first feature film, winning the Nightfall Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival and Best Narrative Feature at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. Mixing humor and horror, his creation is a thrilling hybrid between a slasher and heist film, where scares are bookended by goofy jokes and unexpected humor. If you’re looking for a night full of screams and laughs, don’t you dare miss it. Actor Tim Chiou will be in attendance.

Viet Nguyen, an Austin native, graduated from film school at the University of Texas and now resides in Los Angeles. Viet has also directed a number of projects in television and new media, including CW’s hit series iZombie, the Veronica Mars spin-off series “Play It Again, Dick,” and the documentary “By the Fans: The Making of the Veronica Mars Movie.” community partners: Asian American Arts Alliance

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DAZE OF JUSTICE Sunday, July 24 | 4:00 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Michael Siv | USA | 2016 | 69 mins | English, Khmer with English subtitles | New York City Premiere This film finds itself years after the devastating genocide in Cambodia at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Filmmaker Mike Siv, a former documentary subject himself and a survivor, now goes behind the camera with a film that follows his journey from California to the Khmer Rouge Trials, filming a feisty professor who has gathered Cambodian American refugees to testify in court.

Candid and tragic, Siv has created a hard-hitting and poignant film that expertly accesses the deeply buried pain of the past. As four Cambodian Americans return home to reconcile with the past they left behind, they are forced to process the grief, loss, and trauma that they’ve experienced. Their

recollections of and reflections on their shared history may differ, but all four individuals gather to achieve closure.

DAZE OF JUSTICE paints an all-encompassing picture of the after-effects from this tragic period in Cambodian history. Through interviews with former Khmer Rouge, survivors, and the descendant of a Khmer Rouge leader, histories of Cambodia’s dark past and quiet present become clearer and a path to closure, justice, and forgiveness is opened. As the film draws to a close, the outcome of the trial seems ambiguous, allowing viewers to reconsider their notions of justice and forgiveness. AAIFF‘16 marks the film’s New York Premiere. Teddy Yoshikami will be in attendance.

At six years old, Michael Siv immigrated to San Francisco with his mother as refugees, leaving behind his father and brother in Cambodia. He became involved in filmmaking through an after-school media program located in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, run by the award-winning filmmaker Spencer Nakasako. At 24, he was featured in Nakasako’s film “Refugee”, documenting his return to Cambodia to meet his father and brother. Siv’s first documentary “Who I Became,” was part of the “Matters of Race” series that premiered on national PBS in 2003.

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PAINTED NAILS Sunday, July 24 | 1:30 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Dianne Griffin, Erica Jordan | USA | 2015 | 57 mins | New York City Premiere PAINTED NAILS follows the daily life of Vietnamese American Van Hoang’s nail salon in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Both Van and her husband spend most of their day at their business, which is always bustling with diverse female customers of every ethnicity. One client, displaying her vividly colored nails for the camera, states that she not only comes for the great price, but also for the warm and caring environment that Van provides for her customers.

Meanwhile, Van finds out that her health problems, including two miscarriages in the past, were caused by toxic chemicals in the nail products she uses at her salon.

Upon learning this fact, Van begins to involve herself in the fight for safe, healthy, and nontoxic cosmetics.

When the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative and

the Women’s Voices for the Earth coalition invite Van to testify against existing regulations for cosmetic products before Congress, Van, her husband, and their daughter travel to Washington, DC. During their visit, we witness Van’s transformation from a self-described shy woman who speaks minimal English, to a courageously forthright woman who becomes the voice of her profession.

Through the advocacy of nail salon safety groups and the media, Van hopes that her story will raise consciousness surrounding the prevalence of toxic chemicals in cosmetic products. PAINTED NAILS sheds light on the dangers that many Asian immigrant salon workers face as a result of the dozens of unregulated chemicals in consumer goods, calling our attention to the lives of disenfranchised immigrants well beyond just the nail art industry. Director Dianne Griffin will be in attendance.

Erica Jordan is an award-winning independent filmmaker whose documentary “In Plain Sight” premiered at 2014 Mill Valley Film Festival and won the 2016 Impact Docs Award. Jordan’s feature films “Walls of Sandand” and “In the Wake” have screened and received awards at film festivals throughout the world. She is currently in post-production on a new documentary, Bound to Freedom about modern-day slavery.

Dianne Griffin’s feature documentary “White Hotel” premiered at the New Directors New Film Series at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Film Society of Lincoln Center and was distributed worldwide by Jane Balfour Films LTD, London, England. Griffin is driven to enter unfamiliar territory, creating intimate connections and telling stories of dignity, suffering and compassion, which move us to act. community partners: Asian Amerian Legal Defense & Education Fund (AALDEF), National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum - New York City (NAPAWF*NYC), Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA)

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RIGHT FOOTED Sunday, July 24 | 3:30 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Nick Spark | USA | 2015 | 82 mins RIGHT FOOTED follows the inspiring life of Jessica Cox, an Asian American woman that has never let her disability stop her from achieving her dreams.

Her strength and independence is showcased throughout the film as she charges forward in the face of doubt. This documentary chronicles her as she advances in life, balancing a strong desire for independence as a newlywed and embodying the power of human perseverance.

As Jessica navigates the world of romance and marriage, she has to temper her natural drive, a quality that has fueled Cox’s success up until now.

Now, she must learn to do this with a partner, a constant figure to support her. Together, the pair

travels the world on a tour of inspiration and empowerment. This moving documentary serves as a beacon of hope for everyone who has ever felt like the underdog.

RIGHT FOOTED is about the power of human will, and how an individual’s experience can impact others on the deepest of levels, both personally and politically. Directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Nick Spark, Jessica’s amazing story of overcoming adversity is provoking, accessing the very parts of us that might be perceived as disadvantages only to reclaim them to work in our benefit.

Nick Spark is a Los Angeles based writer and award-winning documentarian with a longstanding passion for unconventional characters, including the oft-overlooked female heroine. He has appeared on PBS’ History Detectives, Japan’s NHK, and National Public Radio concerning his research projects. He is an MFA graduate of the USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and has an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. community partners: Apex for Youth, Coalition for Asian American Children & Families (CACF), United East Athletics Association (UEAA)

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TYRUS Sunday, July 24 | 6:30 PM | Village East Cinema Dir. Pamela Tom | USA | 2015 | 77 mins | New York City Premiere In TYRUS, follow the journey of unsung artist Tyrus Wong as he moves from his home in China to the impressive studios of Golden Age Hollywood. Born in Guangzhou, Wong immigrated to the U.S. with his father at the age of nine. Having discovered his artistic talent at a young age, Tyrus began doing calligraphy, a practice that would later influence his approach to painting: paying special attention to strokes.

Tyrus led an active and vibrant life as a young artist, leading the Orientalist movement in California during the 1930s. After the birth of his daughter, he landed a job at Disney as an “in-betweener.”

His work caught the eye of Walt Disney, with his paintings later becoming the visual basis for Bambi.

Despite his contribution to the film’s design, Tyrus

was fired before the completion of the production, and received credit as a background artist.

He went on to work at Warner Brothers for more than 25 years, painting hundreds of live-action films, including Rebel Without A Cause. Tyrus was responsible for producing the first visual interpretation of hundreds of films, inspiring the mise-en-scène of many beloved classic films.

TYRUS presents the first in-depth portrayal of this living legend, not only capturing the richness and texture of his career, but also the inner life of a rare individual whose struggle makes us reflect on prevailing diversity issues in the film and art industry today. Director, writer, producer Pamela Tom will be in attendance.

Pamela Tom is a writer, director and producer whose work includes documentary and narrative film and television. She received her BA with Honors from Brown University and an MFA in film from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television.

Tom is the recipient of the Walt Disney Writing Fellowship, the Dorothy Arzner Award For Outstanding Woman Director, the Edna and Yu Shan Han Award, and the Asian Pacific Women’s Network Award. She has taught documentary film several universities. community partners: Chinatown Youth Initiatives (CYI), Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA)

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FINDING LOVE SHORTS PROGRAM Sunday, July 24 | 8:45 PM | Village East Cinema Love comes in all shapes and forms, yet sometimes it is the hardest thing to find. It is an ineffable phenomenon, having existed since the beginning. AAIFF‘16 invites you to embark on multiple journeys, zeroing in on those who seek love, find love, or desperately want to understand it. These films are equally heartwarming as they are chilling, proving that love is a heady potion and sometimes, its demons cannot be controlled.

Cronos

metamorphosis

that loving feeling

3 minutes

Dir. Chieh Yang | USA | 2015 | 11 mins: On a sunny beach, a vacationing man must resist the dangerous hallucination that continues to taunt him: that his girlfriend and his son are having an affair behind his back. The ultimate paranoia tale, tension between the characters quickly escalates when he’s forced to confront his worst nightmare.

Dir. Li Lin Wee | Singapore | 2014 | 11 mins: Similar to Singapore’s historical declaration of independence from Malaysia, Ena attempts to burst out of her mother’s overprotective arms to take control of her own life once and for all. To do this, she attends her first social, despite hearing the critical voice of her mother in her head.

Dir. Elaine Xia | USA | 2015 | 23 mins: When a 1990s woman accidentally kills her cheating, alcoholic, and abusive husband in selfdefense, she finds a unique way to dispose of the evidence. With themes of karma and retribution, this short warns of what happens when weakness is mixed with suffering. Hint: It’s not a pretty picture.

Dir. Julia Chang | USA | 201 | 6 mins: At a local speed-dating event, Ron meets Jessie.

Over the course of their three-minute encounter, the pair begins to get to know one another, eventually offering up all-too-honest assessments of each other. With levity, this short film comments on the current state of love and how it’s sustaining itself in the 21st century.

mandala

Dir. Guan Xi | China, USA | 2015 | 23 mins: A story about loss, death, healing, and rebirth, this short follows a talented artist grieving the suicide of her lover. While roaming the streets of New York City, she encounters a Tibetan monk who mysteriously requests her artistic services.

that day

Dir. Xiaolu Hu | USA | 2015 | 20 mins: Featuring raw dialogue and cinematography, “That Day” shares a real depiction of an unhealthy and abusive relationship.

community partners: Asian Columbia Alumni Association (ACAA) Post Screening Q&A: Julia Chang, Director, 3 MINUTES Glory Ngim, Actor, THAT LOVING FEELING

SHORT FILMS: FINDING LOVE 63

FOR YOUTH

BY YOUTH SHORTS PROGRAM

Saturday, July 23 | 2:00 PM | Museum of Chinese in America Curator: Rosanne Ma This program celebrates the newest generation of media makers under 21. This year’s selection spans five countries across Asia. By exploring complex themes of natural disaster, disease, war, job security, gender inequality, and religious conflict, these films seek to educate and inspire, in the hope of achieving a more compassionate world.

be with the mountains

Dir. Baoming Song | China | 2016 | 30 mins: In response to increasing leprosy outbreaks during the 1950s, China relegated its sickly to remote villages. This short transports us to the oncequarantined Luosongdi Village, documenting its residents’ inability to overcome their residual fears of social stigma in the hopes that one day, they may reunite with their families.

searching for bong

Dir. Ha Rim Jeong, Gun Sik Park, Ji Yeon Lee | South Korea | 2015 | 21 mins: Seeking inspiration in a difficult industry, these three student filmmakers go on a desperate search to locate and interview their idol, famed Korean film director Bong Jun Ho. Their reflexive commentary proves relatable to anyone trying to “make it.”

cover up

dhartiputra

Dir. Roshnee Desai | United Kingdom | 2015 | 3 mins: This mixed media film explores the subconsciousness of a woman traveling alone at night in urban India.

Employing animated images, abstract visual aides, and a stripped-down voiceover, Director Roshnee Desai has created a narrative that’s as compelling as it is captivating.

Dir. Aditya Khadka | Nepal | 2015 | 5 mins: At 15 years old, Director Aditya Khadka is an awardwinning filmmaker, recently nominated for the “Glocal Teen Hero of Nepal 2015” designation. Set following the devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake, his latest film chronicles the rescue of a 4-monthold baby after he is buried under the rubble of his own house for a harrowing 22 hours.

mommy goodbye

blind of the cathedral

Dir. Hongzhi Liu | China | 2016 |15 mins: 17-year-old Ding struggles with identity and loyalty in a family broken by marital strife and infidelity.

This film challenges the general perception of what a “standard” Chinese family is and complicates our own understanding of familial relationships and adolescent development.

Dir. Nadine Asmar | Lebanon | 2015 | 18 mins: 27-year-old Bachir is Christian and blind. A 15-year-old student named Hala is Muslim and has her sight. When these two meet in front of a cathedral, it seems fate has brought them together.

Threatened by civil war, in a country exacerbated by sectarianism, can Hala and Bachir’s love survive?

community partners: Apex for Youth, Chinatown Youth Initiatives (CYI) Post Screening Q&A: Roshnee Desai, Director, COVER UP Aditya Khadka, Director, DHARTIPUTRA

64 SHORT FILMS: FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH

LGBTQ SHORTS PROGRAM Sunday, July 24 | 1:00 PM | Village East Cinema These shorts explore the myriad of ways in which the LGBTQ+ community and the Asian American community intersect and work together. While some aim to directly address this intersection, through meditations on family, Asian American culture, and identity clashes, others feature characters learning to be both LGBTQ+ and Asian American successfully.

gaysians

i hate the color red

ballot

heart station

Dir. Vicky Du | USA | 2015 | 13 mins: In this illuminating patchwork documentary, five queer and trans Asian Americans explore their relationships with their family and culture. Living an authentic life can be one of the most difficult things to do and these subjects offer a vibrant snapshot of how each has accomplished that, sharing their processes in doing so.

Dir. Hai Chin Hsu | USA | 2015 | 13 mins: Christine, a young Chinese American woman is out with her friends but not with her family at home. She fights with her conservative mother about Proposition 8 in California, a ballot proposition created by samesex marriage opponents in 2008. This conflict pushes both mother and daughter to confront their own fears, spotlighting the irony of being in denial.

coming full circle: the journey of a transgendered adoptee Dir. Larry Tung | USA, South Korea | 2015 | 24 mins: Nearly half a century after she was adopted, a transgender activist named Pauline Park, currently based in New York City, finally makes her first visit to her native Korea.

Compelling and powerful, this documentary short follows Park as she reconnects with her birth country, attempts to find answers, and participates in the Korea Queer Festival.

Dir. Jazmin Jamias | USA | 2015 | 19 mins: A moving comedy about Sophie, a lesbian video store owner, and her carefree, troublemaking brother. Still recovering from the loss of their parents, the siblings receive bad news about their inherited store. With the fate of their family’s beloved store on the line, Sophie is forced to get creative.

Dir. Tao Jia | Australia | 2015 | 17 mins: In a waiting room, a man hears his name called out. This coming-of-age drama features a gay man’s infatuation with a straight actor. Eventually, he enrolls in his crush’s acting classes where his true feelings can pass as a convincing performance. When he receives a scary potential diagnosis, his life begins to take a turn.

like hope

Dir. Oates Yinchao Wu | USA | 2015 | 14 mins: A Chinese foreign exchange student in America falls in love with his straight friend and, during a few fleeting moments of pure, unedited honesty, he dares to hope for what cannot be.

community partners: Asian Amerian Bar Association of New York (AABANY), Asian Columbia Alumni Association (ACAA), Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of NY (GAPIMNY), National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum - New York City (NAPAWF*NYC), National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), Project by Project,

Post Screening Q&A: Vicky Du, Director, GAYSIANS Jazmin Jamias, Director, I HATE THE COLOR RED Larry Tung, Director, COMING FULL CIRCLE: THE JOURNEY OF A TRANSGENDERED ADOPTEE Pauline Park, Subject, COMING FULL CIRCLE: THE JOURNEY OF A TRANSGENDERED ADOPTEE

MADE IN

NEW YORK SHORTS PROGRAM

Saturday, July 23 | 7:00 PM | Village East Cinema In the city that never sleeps, a story lurks in every corner. From experimental narratives to stories of friendship and love, these shorts grant viewers a new lens through which to understand our relationships and how they drive us forward. Featuring a diverse array of genres, voices, and perspectives, this selection of films showcase a rare energy that can only be found in New York City.

call taxi

Dir. Julian Kim | USA | 2016 | 14 mins: On his way to catch a flight, Jason, a second generation Korean American, calls in a Korean call taxi service to JFK. The driver turns out to be his father. This unexpected encounter goes from an innocuous drive to a relatable conversation that digs into the Asian American experience from perspectives both young and old.

parachute girls

Dir. Alex Rubens | USA | 2016 | 12 mins: Two estranged sisters are reunited when Ellie, the younger sister, crashes elder sister Evelyn’s dinner party out of the blue. Upon their reunion, old sibling rivalries and startling revelations come to light that threaten the suburban façade Evelyn has worked so hard to build.

cork man

Dir. Yam In Dawn Han | USA | 2015 | 13 mins: Director Dawn Han crafts a Lynchian tale about a man with a mysterious hole in his head, forced to hide his deformity.

One day, he is pursued by a mysterious figure. Strange and compelling, there’s no explaining the peculiar appeal of a man with a hole in his head.

the opposite of fairytale

Dir. Jennifer Betit Yen | USA | 2016 | 23 mins: When Celeste, a kind social worker, meets Josephine, an elderly patient in a nursing home, the two develop a close friendship. Soon, her family comes to visit and it becomes apparent that Josephine has fallen victim to one of America’s hidden epidemics: elder abuse.

video

Dir. Randy Yang | USA | 2015 | 15 mins): Shot in a single long take, this film captures a heated interaction between a white woman and two black teenage girls who’ve captured her racist rant directed toward a homeless black man on video.

a jew and a hindu meet the pope

Dir. Jonah Einstein | USA | 2015 | 10 mins: Two broke friends try to make a quick buck off tickets they won to see the Pope’s historic visit to New York City.

Somehow, though, they get split up and hilarity ensues and maybe, just maybe, they find themselves a little closer to God.

community partners: Asian Amerian Bar Association of New York (AABANY), KoreanAmericanStory.org, Ma-Yi Theater Company Post Screening Q&A: Julian Kim, Director/Writer, CALL TAXI Peter S. Lee, Producer/Writer, CALL TAXI Dawn Han, Director/Writer, CORK MAN Jennifer Betit Yen, Writer/Producer, THE OPPOSITE OF A FAIRY TALE Randy Yang, Director/Writer, VIDEO Alex Rubens, Director, PARACHUTE GIRLS Jonah Einstein, Director, A JEW AND A HINDU MEET THE POPE

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ROOTS

REMOVALS & RETURNS

SHORTS PROGRAM

Saturday, July 23 | 4:30 PM | Village East Cinema This year, we are thrilled to present the following shorts, paying homage and tribute to the loved ones that keep us grounded. Not only do they shape who we are, but they also sacrifice their own desires and dreams so that we may have our own. They remain a part of us: to welcome us upon return, to support us in our failures, and to help us celebrate our successes. To all the parents, the pillars that push us to be better… thank you.

riceballs

the waltz

Dir. Shingo Usami | Australia | 2016 | 11 mins: A recently widowed Kenji does his best to remind his young son of their cultural heritage, making clumsilycrafted Japanese riceballs for him to take for lunch. As time passes, the riceballs strengthen their bond, reminding us that while it’s difficult to live between two cultures, our roots can bring us courage in times of sadness.

Dir. Trevor Zhou | USA | 2015 | 11 mins: A take on the importance of family and the immigration experience, this short film follows a middle-aged mother, attempting to reclaim her life and marriage. When she takes up dance lessons, she discovers how the “onetwo-three” rhythm that’s required on the dance floor translates to her relationships.

alice ‘ s mirror

the urn

Dir. Benoit Lelievre | France | 2015 | 18 mins: Ai Li is a transnational Chinese adoptee living in Paris, France. With just an address and a name scribbled onto the back of an old photograph, she flies to Shanghai in search of her birth mother. Her journey demonstrates that you don’t have to know where you came from to know who you are.

fata morgana Dir. Amelie Wen | China, USA | 2016 | 20 mins: Inspired by true events, this film paints an honest, intimate portrait of two grief-stricken Chinese parents as they organize the funeral rites for their only child. Up against cultural differences and unresolved tension from the past, the couple struggles to process their loss.

midnight dance

Dir. Kristopher Lencowski | USA | 2015 | 9 mins: Through the use of physical comedy and Chaplin-esque storytelling, this film features a daughter preparing to spread her dead mother’s ashes. After keeping the ashes for 35 days, as is custom in Japan, the young woman hilariously reminds us of that loss can be as funny as it is heartbreaking, and that letting go is never easy.

harry on the clouds

Dir. Aya Shiroi | Japan | 2015 | 4 mins: A baby sheep, on his road to heaven, tries to visit his mourning mother before he crosses over for good. In this bittersweet animation, Director Aya Shiroi beautifully illustrates the heartbreak of parting with loved ones.

Post Screening Q&A:

Dir. Mian Mian Lu | Taiwan | 2015 | 26 mins: Shingo Usami, Director, RICEBALLS Trevor Zhou, Director, THE WALTZ After being fired from her job, Qin-Qin, a young beer Ruth Coughlin, Actor/Producer, THE URN girl, wanders the fishing harbor drunk in search for some Masayuki Kusaka, Producer, HARRY ON THE CLOUDS meaning. As the night continues, she hopes to find fish soup, her deceased father’s specialty. She encounters a chef, his sleepy daughter, and an upbeat restaurant owner. community partners: Also-Known-As, Inc. (AKA), Coalition for Asian American Children & Families (CACF)

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WE ARE SHORTS PROGRAM BEAUTIFUL Friday, July 22 | 7:00 PM | Village East Cinema Cinema can reveal the beauty and grace of people through their stories, aspirations, and vulnerabilities.

This program features several such revelations, from working class dreams in rural China to cross-dressing rebellion in urban Tokyo. By engaging with this visual collection, you’ll gain further insight into the complexities of the human condition — we did.

fairy tales

behind the schoolbag

Dir. Rongfei Guo | China | 2016 | 30 mins: A working class girl from rural China wants to be the next Coco Chanel and in bringing these dreams to fruition, she becomes an overnight Internet celebrity. However her newfound stardom comes at a price.

Dir. Chun Yu Ho | Hong Kong | 2015 | 10 mins: In this animated short, a Hong Kong youth, weighed down by a miserable childhood, navigates the pressures of the city to find his inner salvation.

mumbai mornings

Dir. Milton Liu | USA | 2016 | 33 mins: Navigating in between cultures, the soulful Korean singer-songwriter-guitarist Bobby Choy discusses his emotionally moving music and performs some of it too, lending insight into his life journey and what’s next for him.

Dir. Veena Rao | USA | 2016 | 7 mins: A humble, but driven, Indian jewelry polisherturned-ultramarathoner shows us how the world has opened to him as he runs through the city he calls home.

speechless in japan Dir. Weronika Mliczewska | Poland | 2016 | 26 mins: A deaf and speech-impaired cross-dressing outcast in Tokyo bears the burden of social judgment with extraordinary grace, inducing people to finally listen to his/her story, shattering societal expectations in the process.

i hate big phony

Post Screening Q&A: Veena Rao, Director/Producer, MUMBAI MORNINGS Weronika Mliczewska, Director, SPEECHLESS IN JAPAN Milton Liu, Director, I HATE BIG PHONY

community partners: Asian Columbia Alumni Association (ACAA), Ma-Yi Theater Company

68 SHORT FILMS: WE ARE BEAUTIFUL

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HAPPINESS + Q&A WITH KARA WAI AND CARLOS CHAN Tuesday, July 19 | 7:00 PM | Asia Society After his mother’s death, Chan Kai-yuk feels so alone that he leaves Guangzhou for Hong Kong to look up the father who abandoned him and his mom. But Yuk’s hopes are dashed on finding his dad has a new family and considers him a burden.

Alone and homeless, Yuk is taken in by Auntie Fen, a middle-aged recluse who leads a solitary existence. At first, their different habits and personalities lead to numerous squabbles, intensified by Yuk’s self-centeredness and Fen’s odd temperament.

As time goes on, Yuk learns Fen is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. The discovery unexpectedly serves as a catalyst for the young man’s growth as a caring friend. For the first time in her life, Fen feels truly blessed. But it is a situation rife with irony due to the nature of her disease and the accelerating elusiveness of feelings and memories.

Tickets: $20 – Screening only $120 – Screening + Reception (at 6pm) before the screening + Priority Seating Andy Lo (Lo Yiu-fai) studied in Hong Kong Screenwriter’s Guild in 1997 after he graduated from George Brown College. His works “Crazy n’The City” and “My Name Is Fame” were nominated for Best Screenplay at the 25th and 26th annual Hong Kong Films Awards. In 2013, Andy directed “Can’t stop the killing” and “Hardcore Comedy”. community partners: Asian American Arts Alliance , Coalition for Asian American Children & Families (CACF), Hong Kong Association of New York (HKANY), United East Athletics Association (UEAA)

70 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: HAPPINESS

NEW MEDIA PANEL Friday, July 22 | 7:00 PM Time Warner Center The New Media Panel at AAIFF will focus on how new media has changed the Asian American landscape over the past 10 years. It will include topics such as brand building, creating content using new technology, marketing on a business level, and how brands are using films as a way to elevate their products and sell to the general market. We’re interested in learning more on how Asian Americans have leveraged new media to transform their identity and brand over the past 10 years, and how receptive mainstream media is slowly adapting to this new wave of change.

BING CHEN is a digital media pioneer and entrepreneur, as a driving force behind the creation and evolution of the now multibillion dollar global digital creator ecosystem. Bing was YouTube’s Global Head of Creator Development & Management, where he co-founded and led several initiatives that engaged more than 300 million content creators worldwide including the global expansion and evolution of the YouTube Partner Program; marquee talent incubation program; more than a dozen product launches including YouTube’s modern guiding algorithm; investments in the community through VidCon, the DigiTour, and YouTube FanFest; and foundational creator support and communication systems. He began his tenure as the company’s first Creator Marketing Manager and remains a trusted confidant to hundreds of creative artists around the world. Today, Bing is a Co-Founder of Victorious, a new media passion platform that powers superfan communities for the world’s biggest creators; he also manages a new media studio that provides strategic consultation and production for the digital media space. Bing sits on the Board of Directors of numerous digital media, youth and Asian-affinity organizations and has been recognized as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 leaders and The Hollywood Reporter as a Next Generation Executive. He resides in Santa Monica, New York City, and San Francisco.

JEFFREY NG (aka “jeffstaple”) is an established graphic and fashion designer, curator, branding expert, footwear aficionado, and all-around creative visionary. He founded Staple Design, Inc. in 1997: now a well-known streetwear brand (@StaplePigeon), creative consulting agency (Staple Design) and retail store (@ReedSpace, which opened in 2002). Some clients include HBO, Levi’s, Sony, Microsoft, Nike, Burton Snowboards, LVMH, Uniqlo, Kid Robot, Kia and ESPN. Over the years, Jeff has taken Staple’s motto, “A Positive Social Contagion” to whole new levels, spreading his instinctual design know-how and fresh knowledge across all media platforms and worldwide.

JUDY LEI Born and raised in Chinatown and Brooklyn, Judy Lei is an actor and writer based in NYC. Currently, she serves as the Festival Director for the Asian American International Film Festival, for which she was involved in many capacities for the past seven years. Formerly, she was the Congressional Caseworker serving bilingual constituents for Nydia Velazquez in the Lower East Side Office. She also has worked with various Asian American organizations such as the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Kollaboration New York, and the East Coast Asian American Student Union. She graduated from Smith College in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Asian American Studies with High Honors. She studied acting at the Barrow Group Theatre with Seth Barrish and Lee Brock and Improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC. Her solo show, THE WORLD’S GREATEST – directed by MC Jin, will premiere this summer at The TBG Studio Theatre from August 19-22, 2016 in NYC.

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AAWMM TALK-BACK WITH FILMMAKER MABEL CHEUNG Saturday, July 23 | 12:00 PM Museum of Chinese in America AAIFF‘16 is proud to present a talk-back with Hong Kong filmmaker Mabel Cheung (Director of AAIFF ‘16 Centerpiece: A TALE OF THREE CITIES), moderated by AAWMM’s co-founder S. Casper Wong.

MABEL CHEUNG graduated from the University of Hong Kong, majoring in English Literature and Psychology. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Drama and Visual Arts from Bristol University, UK, and an M.F.A. Degree in Film Production from the New York University Graduate Film School.

Cheung has become an award-winning director since her debut feature, THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT (1985), which won her the Best Director Prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards and a Special Jury Award at the 30th Asia Pacific Film Festival. AN AUTUMN’S TALE (1987) signaled another high point of her career, winning four Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. THE SOONG SISTERS (1997) won three Taiwan Golden Horse Awards and six Hong Kong Film Awards. Other films she has made—CITY OF GLASS (1998), BEIJING ROCKS (2001), and TRACES OF DRAGON (2003)—have been selected by film festivals worldwide.

Cheung has also produced many popular films, including PAINTED FACES (1998), NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON’T (1992), and THE MOON WARRIRORS (1993). In 2005 she directed Song of Light and Shadows, a stage musical in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Chinese cinema, which was awarded the Gold Prize for Best Performance in China. In 2010 she produced the film Echoes of the Rainbow, which won the Crystal Bear Award at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, Generation Section, as well as four Hong Kong film awards. Her latest directorial effort, A TALE OF THREE CITIES, was nominated for six Hong Kong Film Awards in 2016.

CASPER WONG is a New York based writer, director and producer of both narrative and documentary films. Prior to receiving her MFA in Film Directing from NYU, Tisch School of Arts, she was Senior Attorney for IBM, specialized in international intercultural property and antitrust law. Casper also holds a J.D. from New York Law School and B.S. in Bio-medical Engineering from Columbia University. Her award winning narrative short film, SHIRTS & SKINS, had been screened international and was licensed to the independent Film Channel for national broadcast from 2004 to 2007. THE LULU SESSIONS marks her feature documentary debut.

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN MEDIA MAKERS (AAWMM) is a working group founded by a few filmmakers in the spring of 2012.

What started out as a monthly brunch for networking and support to tell our stories in media has expanded into an ongoing conversation to address the issues of underrepresentation and underemployment of our community in mainstream media, and to find ways to empower ourselves as content creators.

Co-presented by: Hong Kong Economic & Trade Offices Asian American Women Media Makers

THE 2016 72- HOUR SHOOTOUT WOLRD PREMIERE Saturday, July 23 | 1:00 PM | Village East Cinema Come out and see the world premiere of the top ten most incredible films of the 2016 72-Hour Shootout!

Presented by The Asian American Film Lab, 72 Hour Shootout is an annual, high profile filmmaking competition aiming to ensure that stories and voices that are too often silenced in mainstream media are heard, not just as whispers, but as shouts to the world.

72 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: AAWMM TALK BACK & 72-HOUR SHOOTOUT

FULL SPECTRUM FEATURES PRESENTS: “HIDDEN HISTORIES AND THE POWER NARRATIVE OF FILM: TELLING THE STORY OF JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION AND BEYOND” SHORTS PROGRAM Saturday, July 23 | 1:30 PM | Village East Cinema The troubling story of Japanese American incarceration during World War II is an important but often glossed-over part of U.S. history. These four shorts commemorate and explore this complicated history, to be followed by a post-screening discussion. These films are unique in their creative use of narrative techniques, bringing viewers into the emotional core of each first-person account.

TADAIMA (Dir. Robin Takao D’Oench | USA | 2015 | 15 mins): Following the conclusion of the war and the closing of the camps, a family returns to their former house during the summer of 1945. They find the house ransacked and in disrepair. While rebuilding their lives, they discover a “takarabako,” a chest of memorable items that were left behind before evacuation. The film honors the legacy of Paul Takagi, a 92-year-old former internee, World War II veteran, and the director’s grandfather.

YAMASHITA (Dir. Hayley Foster | USA | 2013 | 11 mins): A young Japanese American girl struggles to discover her identity, heritage, and the lost connection to her past in the context of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. THE ORANGE STORY (Dir. Erika Street | USA | 2016 | 13 mins): On “evacuation day,” Koji waits in line at the local bus depot, along with hundreds of men, women, and children of Japanese descent. Armed soldiers herd people forward for processing, tagging, and boarding. Before Koji boards the bus, he tries to buy oranges from a little girl nearby. Koji offers her money only to discover that she charges two different prices: one for “Americans” and one for “Japs.”

SONG FOR MANZANAR (Dir. Kazuko Golden | USA | 2015 | 18 mins): Based on a work-in-progress novel by Yoshimi Golden, and drawing from a true story, the film depicts the relationship between the protagonist at Manzanar and her younger sister in Hiroshima. Their resilient bond is shown in snapshots of their childhood, their discussions as young women, and their dogged efforts to correspond while the eldest is imprisoned during World War II. Post Screening Panel: Jason Matsumoto, Executive Producer, THE ORANGE STORY Erika Street, Director/Co-Writer, THE ORANGE STORY Kazuko Golden, Executive Producer, Producer, Co-Director, A SONG FOR MANZANAR Yosh Golden, Executive Producer, Writer, Author of Adapted Material, Publicist, A SONG FOR MANZANAR Robin Takao D’Oench, Director, TADAIMA Claire Brooks, Producer, TADAIMA

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: HIDDEN STORIES AND THE POWER NARRATIVE OF FILM 73

HBO’s ‘THE NIGHT OF’ SCREENING + Q&A Saturday, July 23 | 6:00 PM Village East Cinema From creator Steven Zaillian and Richard Price, THE NIGHT OF is an eight part limited series that delves into the intricate story of a fictitious murder case in New York City.

The series follows the police investigation and legal proceedings, all while examining the criminal justice system and the purgatory of Rikers Island, where the accused, Nasir Khan (RIZ AHMED) a Pakistani-American, awaits his trial.

THE NIGHT OF stars John Tuturro and Riz Ahmed. It is executive produced by Zaillian, Price, Jane Tranter, James Gandolfini, and Peter Moffat; co-executive produced by Garrett Basch, Nancy Sanders and Mark Armstrong. This series is based on BBC’s CRIMINAL JUSTICE by Peter Moffat. It is filmed entirely in New York. *This is a free event. Please note that an RSVP does not guarantee admission.

Come at least 30 minutes before the show to wait on rush line. co-sponsors: Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund community partners: Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund (AALDEF), South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY), South Asian Youth Action (SAYA), The Innocence Project

MAYOR’S OFFICE PRESENTS: MASTER OF NONE PANEL Saturday, July 23 | 6:00 PM |Village East Cinema Asian Americans made great strides in television and media during 2015. Leading this wave was the game-changing Golden Globe-nominated Netflix series “Master of None,” which critics and viewers alike have been binge-watching and thirsting for more. AAIFF is thrilled to host series co-creator Alan Yang and cast member Kelvin Yu as they share details on the show’s inspiration and production as well as their own experiences in an industry full of both opportunity and obstacle. *This is a free event. Please note that an RSVP does not guarantee admission. Come at least 30 minutes before the show to wait on rush line.

74 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: HBO’S THE NIGHT OF & MASTER OF NONE PANEL

STORMING THE WRITERS’ ROOM PANEL Monday, July 25 | 6:00 PM | Writers Guild of America Over the years, Asian Pacific Americans are slowly making progress and getting their foot in the door inside the writers’ room in both television and film. How are they changing the Asian American identity and media landscape through storytelling?

What are some of the challenges they face in traditional media (major film/TV networks) versus new media structure models (Netflix/VOD)?

SUSAN KIM is a TV writer, playwright, and author. In children’s TV, she has worked as story editor/head writer and writer for nearly four-dozen series, both animated and live-action. Shows include Nickelodeon’s upcoming “Welcome to the Wayne,” “Astroblast,” “Cyberchase,” “Wonder Pets!,” “Arthur,” “Reading Rainbow,” “Jungle Junction,” “Handy Manny,” “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” “Mystery Files of Shelby Woo,” “The Octonauts, Oswald the Octopus,” “Courage the Cowardly Dog,” “Gullah Gullah Island,” “Speed Racer,” and others. Susan lives in New York City and teaches television and dramatic writing at NYU and in the MFA program at Goddard College.

KENNETH LIN‘S plays Warrior Class (TCG Edgerton New Play Prize), Fallow (Barrymore Nomination: Outstanding New Play, Brown Martin Philadelphia Award), Intelligence-Slave, Po Boy Tango, (TCG Edgerton New Play Prize), said Saïd (Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition Winner, L. Arnold Weissberger Award, Princess Grace Award), Life On Paper, Agency* and Genius In Love have been seen at theaters throughout the country, including the Second Stage Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre, Northlight Theatre Company, Alley Theatre, People’s Light and Theatre Company, South Coast Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Marin Theater Company and East West Players.

He is the creator of a new limited series, “American Way,” for USA Networks and is a staff writer on Netflix’s “House of Cards.”

JUDY LEI Born and raised in Chinatown and Brooklyn, Judy Lei is an actor and writer based in NYC. Currently, she serves as the Festival Director for the Asian American International Film Festival, for which she was involved in many capacities for the past seven years. Formerly, she was the Congressional Caseworker serving bilingual constituents for Nydia Velazquez in the Lower East Side Office. She also has worked with various Asian American organizations such as the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Kollaboration New York, and the East Coast Asian American Student Union. She graduated from Smith College in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Asian American Studies with High Honors. She studied acting at the Barrow Group Theatre with Seth Barrish and Lee Brock and Improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC. Her solo show, THE WORLD’S GREATEST – directed by MC Jin, will premiere this summer at The TBG Studio Theatre from August 19-22, 2016 in NYC.

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WORK IN PROGRESS FILM: DANA DANA (PEARL PEARL) Tuesday, July 26 | 4:00 PM | Asian American/Asian Research Institute – CUNY Each year, AAIFF selects one work-in-progress from the submissions for a dynamic workshop. This year we’ve chosen DANA DANA (PEARL PEARL.) The workshop will be moderated by filmmaker Steven De Castro.

DANA DANA (PEARL PEARL) (Dir. Mutana Mohmed | Iraq | 2016 | 60 mins.): After receiving death threats, Mohamed – a young and talented Iraqi musician – has to flee his country to save his life. With the help of a friend he travels through Europe, going from country to country until he reaches Britain, where he hopes to find asylum. His life depends on. gaining refugee status.

While awaiting the Home Office’s decision, Mohamed is struck by the reality of his new life. Playing music is replaced by never ending dish washing in London’s restaurants.

Already depressed, Mohamed finds out that he has lost the love of his life to an arranged marriage.

Constant calls for help from his friends in Iraq, and fears for his family’s safety back home push him to the edge of suicide. Unable to slit his own throat, he decides to jump in the River Thames.

76 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: DANA DANA (PEARL PEARL)

Poised at the river’s edge, Mohamed hears the poignant, soulful music of a busker, and he reconsiders.

Realizing this fellow musician has rescued him; Mohamed picks up his guitar and begins to busk himself. Impressed by the performance and melodies of the young Iraqi musician, a radio producer stops by and offers Mohamed an invitation to play his music on a popular Radio program. The encounter brings Mohamed back to hope.

On the day of the program, Mohamed receives a call from the Home Office – he has to report immediately to finalize the decision about his refugee status. Mohamed is forced to choose between a meeting that may allow for him to stay in Britain, and the biggest break in his music career.

MUTANA MOHMED is a young Iraqi Filmmaker/Actor from Baghdad, Iraq . Post 2003 Iraq war, Mutana has started the film studies at the cinema department of Baghdad fine arts college. In 2004, Mutana was invited to travel to Czech Republic and intern on the set of Hollywood film productions at Barrandov Studios in Prague. He spent one week assisting film professionals in each department starting from production design, cinematography, props, production office and even appeared in films as an extra.

Subsequently, Mutana won a scholarship to leave Czech Republic and study filmmaking at a London Film School in England. In 2007, Mutana graduated successfully from Film School obtaining a filmmaking diploma. After graduation, Mutana was unable to return to his war torn country Iraq. He stayed in the UK as a refugee to continue his filmmaking career and carried on developing, writing, directing and producing his own art house short films (Just Thinking in a Loud Voice, Colors of Happiness), which shaped his artistic vision and original style of story telling.

Mutana has developed, written and directed Dana Dana (Pearl…Pearl) – his debut feature which features some of London’s most talent film artists and cast. In late 2015, Mutana founded his London based production company House of Art Movie Productions in London where he resides permanently. *This is a free event. Please note that an RSVP does not guarantee admission.

Come at least 30 minutes before the show to wait on rush line.

CUNY ASIAN FILM FESITVAL SHOWCASE Wednesday, July 27 | 5:00 PM | CUNY Graduate Center Since 2004, the CUNY Asian American Film Festival (AAFF) has recognized and awarded student filmmakers enrolled at the City University of New York, including City College, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Lehman College, College of Staten Island, and Queens College. The CUNY AAFF helps to promote the artistic visual talents and stimulate communication among CUNY students who are separated by the different campuses, and serve as a central location to display their creative works. This is event is pay as you wish.

CURRY ON A BUN (Zaynah Ahmed | Brooklyn College | 11:54 mins): A first generation Bengali-American who is torn between his dreams of being a comedian, and honoring his family’s culture and tradition.

THE GIFT OF LIFE (Girard Tecson | Hunter College | 5:37 mins): Prasha suffers from a rare disease that caused her to live with an oxygen tank forever. Being bound by tubes, only her family can bring positivity to her life.

AN ILL-FITTING COAT (Lingyun Zheng | Hunter College | 10:04 mins): A family memory affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with separations in their lives. Lao Taitai’s husband died in a foreign land, leaving her a coat with his property. She never remarries since. In the local folklore, a woman is imprisoned and her grievance becomes the clouds in the mountains. This film mixes non-fiction and fiction storytelling through visualizing ancient Chinese poetry and cultural symbols, and a voiceover transcending time and space to express the grief of parting.

AAISC’16 Screenplay Reading Friday July 29 | 7:00pm| Time Warner Building @ Columbus Circle Presented by Asian CineVision & SAG-AFTRA The 39th Asian American International Film Festival, with support from SAG-AFTRA, is pleased to present the annul screenplay reading, which features the winner script (TBD) of the 2016 Asian American International Screenplay Competition (AAISC’16).

The screenwriter of the AAISC’16 winner script will work with New York City-based director, casting director, and actors at the reading taking place at 7pm on July 29th at the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle, NYC.

78 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: CUNY ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL SHOWCASE

RAIN (John Flynn | Brooklyn College | 13:45 mins): A social worker visits the home of an autistic janitor to ask him questions about his job performance.

The conversation takes an unexpected turn when she discovers that he may have information about a missing autistic boy.

WINTER FROM ABOVE (Joseph Tudtud| Brooklyn College | 10:09 mins): Follows an aerial photographer who recently won the prestigious Sony World Photography Award competing against over 200,000 entries over 180 countries. His name is Filip Wolak is a Polish immigrant who believes the sky was the limit on the American Dream. He took to the skies to capture beautiful scenery of the city he loves.

TAI CHI AT SUNSET PARK (Hui Su | NYC College of Technology | 4:06 mins): On a typical Brooklyn morning, you’ll meet a man who’s carrying on the Chinese cultural tradition of teaching Tai Chi. GuoPing Li, who about nine years ago started practicing in Sunset Park, has by now amassed quite a following.

AAISC’16 SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FINALISTS: LESLIE LYSHKOV | the abolistionists JOY LIN | pieces of hope JAIMAL YOGIS | city of dragons

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BACK TO people are the sky Tuesday, July 26 | 7:00 PM Flushing Town Hall Dir. Dai Sil Kim-Gibson | USA | 2015 | 94 mins | English, Korean with English subtitles From a critically acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker, comes a journey about identity and humanity. PEOPLE ARE THE SKY follows Dai Sil KimGibson as she attempts to find a new home after the loss of her former home: her husband. She goes back to her birthplace in North Korea, only to realize that home isn’t always a physical place.

Born in North Korea, Dai Sil crossed the 38th parallel in 1945 during the war, growing up in Seoul until she came to the U.S. to study theology in 1962. She later married an Iowa farmboy-turned-historian.

She becomes inspired by the concept of DongHak, or eastern learning, a Korean philosophy that teaches God as Ha Nu Nim—he who resides in the sky—and believes that all people are equal to God. In practice, Dai Sil Kim interacts with the current people of the DPRK as a North Korean native, South Korean raised, and a Korean American naturalized

U.S. citizen. With the prevalent historical political divisions and tensions present between North and South Korea, as well as those between North Korea and the United States, PEOPLE ARE THE SKY challenges us to look past the “monster” dictatorship portrayed by the media and politicians.

The film documents North Koreans for who they are: people. And it’s that simple. As she approaches each North Korean, one human to another, honestly and sincerely, Dai-Sil rightfully reminds us that despite the geographical borders, home is where the heart is and you can find like-minded hearts everywhere, just like the sky.

With great pleasure, AAIFF‘16 presents PEOPLE ARE THE SKY to the Flushing community, created by one of the veterans and forerunners of Asian American filmmaking. Da-Sil Kim Gibson will be in attendance.

This event is free and will be first come, first served.

Dai Sil Kim-Gibson is an independent filmmaker/writer, known for championing the compelling but neglected issues of human rights. All of her films garnered many awards, including the Kodak Filmmaker Award, and were screened at numerous festivals worldwide, in addition to national broadcast on PBS and on the Sundance Channel in the United States. Formerly a professor of religion at Mount Holyoke College, she earned a Ph.D in religion from Boston University, and is an author of many scholarly articles.

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FLUSHING bright sun mansion Wednesday, July 27 | 7:00 PM Flushing Town Hall Dir. Haitao Guo | USA, China | 2015 | 78 mins | Chinese with English subtitles New York City Premiere In the 1960s, Yuling Fang began learning Peking Opera under the tutelage of grandmaster Yuan Jinkai, and ever since, opera has been ingrained in his soul. Even when barred from performing, banished to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, Fang continued with his rigorous training and unwavering, sunny outlook. At age 53, he was forced to flee to the U.S. and worked in various low-wage jobs.

Now, at 66, Fang has practiced opera two hours daily for over 50 years. Fang’s fading memories of his performance in Lincoln Center fuel him to pursue a seemingly impossible dream. Isolated from his family and his homeland, struggling to find a protégée, and trying to gain traction, Fang

wrestles with the idea of fulfilling his dreams and supporting himself financially. “Peking Opera is the quintessence of Chinese culture. It is a shame you have to do something else,” laments a worker at Fang’s former place of employment, a Flushing mattress store. Others call Fang “a fool with Peking Opera cancer.”

Despite the naysayers, a non-profit organization helps him stage the renowned Chinese opera entitled BRIGHT SUN MANSION which is the sequel to another famous opera. In memory of his master, Fang shoulders his massive responsibility with bone-deep grace and reminds us that the only thing more enduring than art is hope. This screening is free and attendance will be first come, first served.

Haitao Guo was born and raised in China. He is an independent award-winning filmmaker based in New York and a recipient of the Temple University Fellowship for Graduate Study. Several film festivals, including the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, selected his first feature length documentary. Guo’s subsequent short documentary and narrative also did the well in the independent festival circuit. Haitao Guo is a recipient of the Robert Flaherty Fellowship in 2012.

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MADE IN FLUSHING: TWN SENIOR MEDIA WORKSHOP Wednesday, July 27 | 7:00 PM | Flushing Town Hall This past spring, a group of elderly immigrants, originally from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, watched and analyzed films, learning how to use video cameras and how to edit. This media workshop was taught by Third World Newsreel at the SelfHelp Latimer Gardens Senior Center (about 2 blocks from Flushing Town Hall). These first-time filmmakers ranged in age from 65 to 83 years of age, and worked with film teacher Yung-Jen Yang, using camcorders, iPads, and editing on iMovie and Moviemaker.

This was made possible through the Su Casa program, supported by Public Funds from the New York City Council, in Partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Department of the Aging.

1. SelfHelp Latimer Gardens Center—Fun Activities 2. Coming from Two Islands—How Johanna & May Came to New York 3. Joseph’s Journey to the Center 4. If You Feel Young, You are Young 5. My Life Journey: Scholar Juehui Chu THE SENIOR FILMMAKERS Jue Hui Chu Joseph Liao Johanna Lin Susan So Jenny Zhan Nancy Ye May Yen ABOUT THIRD WORLD NEWSREEL Third World Newsreel is an alternative media center that nurtures and promotes media by and about people of color and social issue films through educational distribution, production and training. It leads production workshops throughout the year for emerging filmmakers. www.twn.org ABOUT THE FILM TEACHERS Yung-Jen Yang is a DP and filmmaker, whose most recent film was screened at CAAMFEST 2016, the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival this March, The Day Dreaming Bunny. He received his MFA from the City College of NY. ManSee Kong is also a DP and filmmaker, whose films include Here to Stay and the in-progress What Happened to Danny? on the tragic death of Private Danny Chen.

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big trouble in little china Thursday, July 28 | 7:00 PM Flushing Town Hall Preceding the screening of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, New York’s own, Eric G will hit the stage for a live performance. The Filipino American Pop/R&B artist, influenced by the likes of Michael Jackson, Eric G is a singer/songwriter and producer known for his catchy melodies and soul rock-infused beats.

A SPECIAL 30TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SCREENING: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA Dir. John Carpenter | USA | 1986 | 99 mins A beloved cult classic, Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) and restaurant owner Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) go to the airport to pick up Wang’s fiancée Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) at the airport who is arriving from China. When a street gang, the Lords of Death, tries to kidnap another Chinese girl at the airport, being met by her friend Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) Jack intervenes, and the gang members take Miao Yao instead.

The two men chase the Lords of Death back to Chinatown, where they find a funeral procession that quickly erupts into a street fight between two ancient Chinese societies. This is the first time the characters encounter the film’s primary adversary: the evil sorcerer Lo Pan (James Hong.) Jack and his team, Gracie included, meet up with Wang’s friend Eddie Li and magician Egg Shen, a local authority on the mysterious Lo Pan. Jack, learning of ancient knowledge and sorcery, devises a plan to infiltrate Lo Pan’s lair. In an effort to rescue Miao Yin, they are taken to see the sorcerer, now in the form of a crippling old man.

They learn that Lo Pan needs a green-eyed girl to break an ancient curse, and that he intends to marry Miao Yin. In doing so, he will break the curse and regain his human form. Afterwards, he must sacrifice her.

When Jack’s group tries to save Miao Yin, Lo Pan captures Gracie, noticing that she, too, has green eyes. A huge fight breaks out at the wedding, with Jack fueled by a potent potion that makes him feel invincible.

Having enjoyed a reappraisal since the film’s initial 1986 release, come watch Jack Burton and the gang in this fun, ridiculous, and entertaining flick.

This is a free event and attendance will be first come, first served.

A native New Yorker, John Carpenter is well known for his thrilling and exciting action-adventure films. He enrolled at USC, only to drop out soon after. He is also notable for having composed or co-composed most of the music in his films.

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CHINESE ART FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE: THE BEIJING OPERA (3D) Friday August 5 | 7:00PM | Crosby Street Hotel Dir. Teng Junjie | China | 2014 | 102mins | New York City Premiere The 39th Asian American International Film Festival is honored to partner with the Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Association to present premieres of four award-winning Chinese art films in New York City.

This ancient tale tells the story of a Chinese emperor’s rise and fall and his doomed love for a beautiful woman.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty about 2,200 years ago, the nations of Chu and Han wage a war over control of the entire country.

Xiang Yu, the “Overload of West Chu”, is conceited and stubborn; while his enemy Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, is wise and humble. At the battlefield, Xiang’s troops suffer several major defeats but even with his forces surrounded by the Han army, Xiang is determined to launch a counterattack. His lover Yu Ji and his generals try in vain to dissuade him from such a suicidal effort. When defeat becomes imminent. Yu Ji kills herself after a heartbreaking sword dance so that she will not hinder Xiang’s retreat. The Chu army is crushed in the last battle and although Xiang Yu has an opportunity to escape, he chooses to kill himself rather than live with the shame of having led countless soldiers to their demise.

YOUNG LOVE LOST Saturday August 6 | 2:30PM | Anthology Film Archives Dir. Xiang Guoqiang | China | 2015 | 120mins | New York City Premiere Adapted from a critically acclaimed contemporary Chinese novel, YOUNG LOVE LOST presents viewers the melancholy and beauty of Lu Xiaolu‘s misspent youth in a small town in Southern China.

In the 1990s, Xiaolu arrived at a chemicals factory as a fresh graduate from a technical school, lost and directionless. He learnt nothing more than turning screws as a fitter and changing light bulbs as an electrician. Outside of work, he spent his time playing computer games, getting into fights, pursuing women, and generally fooling around. He fell in love with Bailian, the factory doctor, but she abruptly left him for Shanghai for further education and a brighter future.

YOUNG LOVE LOST has been nominated for awards at Taibei Golden Horse Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, and Shanghai International Film Festival.

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FILM FESTIVAL RIVER Saturday August 6 | 5:00PM | Anthology Film Archives Dir. Sonthar Gya | China | 2015 | 94mins | New York City Premiere The complexity of family relations takes center stage in River. A little Tibetan girl is weaned by her mother who has become pregnant, causing the girl to think she is losing her parents’ love. Her fears go largely unnoticed. At the same time, her shepherd father’s resentment against her grandfather continues to simmer over what he perceives to be an unforgivable act. Tibet’s isolated landscape provides a stunning backdrop to the family’s slide into crisis, while the comically expressive face of the little keeps the mood tender.

Director YangchenLhamo was named Asian New Talent AwardBest Actress at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival for her performance in this film. River was selected for the Generation section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and won four nominations at the FIRST National Film Festival.

DEEP IN THE HEART Saturday August 6 | 7:00PM | Anthology Film Archives Dir. Xin Yukun | China | 2015 | 119mins | New York City Premiere A young man who struggles to get away from his father’s control accidentally kills the village thug in a fight and is forced to escape. At his departure, he discovers that his destiny is entwined with his domineering father’s.

A woman suffering domestic violence finds comfort in the arms of her ex-lover. They plot her husband’s murder, but when news of his death comes, her lover denies any involvement. Just as she sinks once again into despondency, another man appears and changes her life.

An upright and religious village chief is planning his retirement, but commits a deed that draws him into an abyss.

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LUNCH BRUNCH DINNER

17 E 31st St. New York, NY 10016 BOSSAM Slow-cooked Pork Belly

/ between 5th & Madison Ave. 212.779.9990 hernameishan@gmail.com

www.hernameishan.com FB / Insta @hernameishan

ORGA NIC JU IC ES A ND TEA S

A REFRESHING BL END OF P OWER AND BAL ANCE

PRINT SOURCE 1000 1 HANDS OF THE GURU Tobias Reeuwijk Reflex U.S.A. Ltd. 4-5 Knutsford Terrace, Unit 801 Knutsford Commercial Bldg, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong +852-5588-9718 tobie@reflex-usa.com

BRIGHT SUN MANSION

FRONT COVER

Haitao Guo 24 Frames Films Cnex Studio 2-604, Lidao Building, Xili, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China 975368183@qq.com

Nathan Faustyn Strand Releasing 6140 .Washington Blvd Culver City, CA 90232 310-836-7500 nathan@strandreleasing.com

A TALE OF THREE CITIES

CRUSH THE SKULL

HOLLOW

Celia Hao Huayi Brothers Media Corp.

Room 908, Tower A, Fenglian Plaza No. 18, Chaoyangmenwai Avenue Chaoyang District Beijing, BEJ 100020 +86-10-65805818 celiahaojie@gmail.com

Jimmy Tsai Cherry Sky Films 111 N. Jackson St. STE 210 Glendale, CA 91206 818-500-9285 jimmy@ cherryskyfilms.com

Anderson Le Old Photo Films 1425 W Moore Avenue Santa Ana, CA 92704 310-945-6585 ale808@gmail.com

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA

DANA DANA

IN THE ROOM

Mutana Al-Rubaye House of Art Movie Productions 71-75 Shelton Street, London, W2CH 9JQ, UK +(44) 7956591135 danadanateam2016@gmail. com

Wing Chung & Miriam Cheung Film Distribution Workshop (HK) Limited Unit 215, 2/F, InnoCentre, 72 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong +852-2768-8678

DAZE OF JUSTICE

JOLIN

Michael Siv 455 Joiner Parkway #40 Lincoln, CA 95648 415-846-2862 msiv0407@gmail.com

Danni Wang & Siyan Liu Banyan Film LLC 197 Madison Street A5 New York, NY 10002 347-866-9432 jolinfilm@gmail.com

Eddie Shieh Red Rope Productions 212-633-9605 Eddie.Shieh@redrope.com

BREATHIN: THE EDDIE ZHENG STORY Ben Wang P.O. Box 3192 Running Springs, CA 92382 510-292-0852 eddyzhengstory@gmail.com

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MELE MURALS

RIGHT FOOTED

TOTO

Tadashi Nakamura 11051 Westwood Blvd. Culver City, CA 90230 310-415-2416 tadillac1@gmail.com

Nick Spark Nick Spark Productions LLC 8911 Gibson Street Los Angeles, CA 90034 310-428-6139 nicktspark@gmail.com

John Paul “JP” Su Toto SCM Productions LLC 10865 Bluffside Dr. APT 210, Studio City, CA 91604 +19176795130 jpsu@me.com

PAINTED NAILS

SINGAPORE MINSTREL

TPE-TICS

Dianne Griffin & Erica Jordan DigAll Media 15 Seal Rock Drive San Francisco, CA 94121 415-999-6425 info@digallmedia.com

Xi Jie Ng Small Moon Projections 21 Springleaf Walk, Singapore 787873, Singapore +65 98637972 galaxyladybird@gmail.com

Jessica Lin Wan-Yu 10 F., No.95, Ln.11, Guangfu N.Rd, Taipei City, 10560, Taiwan 886-955-248-599 jadejessica@gmail.com

PEOPLE ARE THE SKY

SPA NIGHT

TYRUS

Dai Sil Kim-Gibson daisilkimgibson@gmail.com

Nathan Faustyn Strand Releasing 6140 .Washington Blvd Culver City, CA 90232 310-836-7500 nathan@strandreleasing.com

Pamela Tom New Moon Pictures 2357 Altman St, Los Angeles, CA 90031 323-620-1228 ptomfilm@yahoo.com

POLIS EVO

THE DOG

Muhammad “Faiz” Bin Musa Astro Shaw Sdn Bhd Unit 1, Level 5, Block C, Mines Waterfront Business Park, 43300, Seri Kambangan, Selangor, Malaysia +60179160941

Lam Can-Zao No.199 Guang Ming Nan Road, Panyu district, Guangzhou, China, 511400 +861801171792 Lam1895@163.com

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

muhammad-faiz_musa@astro.com.my

Ashique Mostafa Khona Talkies 200 E 66 Street, Unit D203 New York, NY 10065 (347) 656-0658 E: ashique. mostafa@yahoo.com

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ASIAN CINEVISION Asian CineVision (ACV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, exhibition, promotion, and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video. Since 1978, ACV has presented the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), the first and longest running festival in the U.S. to showcase the best independent Asian and Asian American cinema. Help us celebrate our 40th anniversary next year and become a member!

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