Ann Kaneko
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“A Flicker in Eternity” | Tuesday May 7 | 7pm | CGV Cinemas 3| LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I had returned from a year in Peru on a Fulbright, working on a documentary, and was screening my musical, 100% Human Hair, at festivals including LAAPFF.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“My screening of my documentary, AGAINST THE GRAIN: An Artist’s Survival Guide to Peru, screened to a packed house. It was a fantastic gathering of friends and supporters.”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“My film tells about the Japanese American camp experience from a different POV–a first person perspective of a teenage boy caught in the middle, just like Anne Frank.”
Check out more answers from LAAPFF filmmakers and actors here.
Diana Ling
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“The Shopgirl” | Monday May 6 | 9:30pm | CGV Cinemas 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I was 13 years old and in seventh grade, drawing my own characters and dreaming of making my own animated film.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“I’ve never been to LAAPFF! ”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“If you like Asian American pop culture, vinyl toys and anime, this is the film for you! ”
Check out more answers from LAAPFF filmmakers and actors here.
Jeff Liu
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“Yellow Face” | Sunday May 5 | 5pm | Directors Guild of America 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I worked on a short that played in the festival that year. I remember how cool it was to be part of something that got to play at the DGA. That here was a little corner of the world that was just for us.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“Sitting at a table with a number of folks, including Linda Mabalot, everyone exhausted but exhilarated. Listening to stories about the beginnings of VC. Thinking: it takes special leaders like these… ”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“Our film is a comedic mash-up of theatre, film, and YouTube, featuring the work of possibly our best dramatist, David Henry Hwang.”
Check out more answers from LAAPFF filmmakers and actors here.
Jon Maxwell
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“Keni” | Sunday May 5 | 7pm | Directors Guild of America 1 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I arrived in LA in August of 2003. I was sleeping on a friend’s couch.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“I met or bonded with a lot of my friends in LA at LAAPFF.”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“Because Keni Styles is a character in the Asian community with a very unique story that needs to be told.”
Check out more answers from LAAPFF filmmakers and actors here.
Zhi Li
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“If You’re Serious” | Sunday May 5 | 12:30pm | CGV Cinemas 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“As an university student,I studied in Beijing.And at the end of that year,I had my first job in a TV Producing company.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“Sorry, It is my first time to attend LAAPFF”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“I think many people whose lives are full of terrible things have ever thought of suicide.The story is about the internet suicide group in China.Why they wanna die?Why they wanna die together?”
Check out more answers from LAAPFF filmmakers and actors here.
Richard Fung
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“Dal Puri Diaspora” | Sunday May 5 | 12pm | Directors Guild of America 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I was starting my job as a prof.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“Linda Mabalot”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“It’s about South Asian diaspora in the Caribbean as told through food. When else are you going to see that?”
Already a success in NYC and LA, Oscar-nominated director Mira Nair’s latest film THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST will be released in several other major U.S. cities this Friday, May 3, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Washington D.C., Dallas, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, and Seattle.
Nair sat down to give a behind-the-scenes look at her latest film:
Q: Can you tell us about how The Reluctant Fundamentalist portrays Pakistan, America, and the connection between them?
A: The joy of this film is that it reveals Pakistan in a way that one never sees it in the newspapers; with its extraordinary refinement, the searing poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, its heartstopping Sufi music and ancient culture that is confident in fashion, painting and performance. This world is fluidly juxtaposed with the energy of New York, the ruthlessness of corporate America and through our hero Changez’s love for the elegant, artistic Erica, a portrait of Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by Changez’s own family back in Lahore. Over the last few years, we have seen many films about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but always told from the American point of view. In our story, the encounter between the characters of Changez and Bobby mirrors the mutual suspicion with which America and Pakistan (or the Muslim world) look at one another. We learn that as a result of America’s war on terror, Changez experiences a seismic shift in his own attitude, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.
Over the last two weeks, the photos of the Miss Korea 2013 contestants had gone viral around the web, causing a stir with debates over plastic surgery and standards of beauty (“One Dream, One Face”), among some issues. However, more photos emerged on the web – and this time, the revealed photos of the contestants sans makeup. Of course, disappointment ensued from Korean netizens, with commentary ranging from polite to downright insulting. Upon closer glance, when you compare the before and after photos side-by-side, it seems like the after photos are result of photoshop and not a result of plastic surgery (although it could all be arguable).
Plastic surgery or not, I feel that the Miss Korea 2013 campaign still promotes a problematic standard of beauty: that there is only one standard for us to follow. Check the photos below the cut. What do you think, Audrey readers?
West Liang
Actor/Writer/Producer
“Someone I Used to Know” | Friday, May 3 | 9:30pm | Directors Guild of America 1 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“Ten years ago, I had just relocated to Los Angeles — from S.F. Bay Area — and was getting my feet wet with local/regional theatre, starting to formulate an interest in writing/creating my own work, and learning about the anatomy of heartbreaks.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“Every year, I have enjoyed watching ambitious, daring endeavors from friends and fellow voices in my community, and it is always exciting and inspiring.”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“Ours is unique because it was written, produced, and directed by Asian Americans, and features Asian American talents in its leading roles, yet the story and characters are simply and completely an American story — even a Los Angeles story — about friendship. It is an entertaining, fun, honest story, and born of a lot of love and passion, and very little money. But it demonstrates that it is possible to tell our own stories, even if our stage is intimate.”
Haitao Guo
LAAPFF Filmmaker
“Lao Tang” | Saturday May 4 | 2:45pm | Directors Guild of America 2 | LAAPFF Page
What were you doing ten years ago (2003)?
“I was doing some bench work in a biology lab for a living after I graduated with a biochemistry major.”
What is your favorite memory of LAAPFF?
“It is my first time to attend the LAAPFF. I am very excited. I believe I will have a lot of wonderful memories over there.”
Tell us why we should watch your film in this year’s film festival.
“It is a film about an illegal Chinese immigrant made by a biologist. You will see a man’s life in one day but it reflects a country’s change in years.”
