Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival begins!

Just got back from the opening night of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The featured flick was the Los Angeles premiere of Linsanity, a real crowd-pleaser of an underdog story that we’re all familiar with, but for a guy like me who doesn’t get out much the highlight was seeing friends. Clockwise from top right are Eric from GR, Working Man/Perfect Time/SGV skateboarding homie John Lee,  Patrick from NFS, and Eugenia Yuan, who appears in the movie Chink on Saturday night. Also saw my pal Kristina Wong decked out in a bridal gown and met Judy Lei from the Asian American International Film Festival, who is going to bring the Animal Style skate program that I put together to New York City this summer. More on that later. First comes Los Angeles…

Have I ever mentioned that my friend Anderson Le (Visual Communications’ Artistic Director) recruited me to be on the programming committee this year? Part of my duties include introducing films and filmmakers as well as conducting Q&As after screenings. These are the four that I’ll be handling, and it would be cool if you came by to check them out and say hi.

Saturday, May 4 (Director’s Guild of America on Sunset)

12:15 – A River Changes Course. Winner of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary.

2:45 – Stateless. Like a spelling bee movie on steroids, Duc Nguyen tells the story of Vietnamese War refugees who never made it to America, settled illegally in the Philippines, and are preparing to interview with U.S. State Department officials when the immigration department decides to open new cases.

7:15 – Abigail Harm. Director Lee Isaac Chung does a remarkable job of crafting a compact but open-ended fable that can be as deep as you want it to be. As sad as you want it to be. And as fantastic as you want it to be. But gorgeously and masterfully executed in any case.

Thursday, May 9 (CGV Cinemas in Koreatown)

7:00 - The Sound of Crickets at Night. Displacement from home, broken family, loss of identity, and eroding tradition are only some of the themes that are presented dreamily yet effectively in this modest and skillful film from the Marshall Islands.

Seeya then. Support independent film! Support film festivals!