Eem Byung-hak and Kim Naun of Goonam performs at the SF Music Matters Asia showcase at Broadway Studios in San Francisco on March 8 (photo credit: Karen Datangel).
Many indie musicians have already gathered at the world-famous SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, but before heading to the Lone Star State, some of these artists and a few others took their show to the City by the Bay for two nights of unforgettable music mayhem. From sentimental soul and slinky blues to pulsating electronic beats and fist-pumping dance-rock, the East met the West in a duo of shows, delivering something special for every music lover.
As a special preview to the newly branded CAAMFest (Formerly the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival), the inaugural San Francisco Music Matters Asia showcase brought together some of the hottest musical acts from Korea, China, and Taiwan at Broadway Studios on March 7 and 8. This Bay Area stop served as an extension of Music Matters, Asia’s yearly premier music event in Singapore. Partnered with local music promoters from the bands’ countries (DFSB Collective of Korea, Maybe Mars of China, and The Wall of Taiwan), SF Music Matters Asia was not only a rare opportunity for fans to see so many critically-acclaimed Asian artists together, but opened doors for these artists to share their music with a wider international audience.
We’re giving away tickets to Music Matters Asia in San Francisco for March 7-8! To enter:
To enter:
1. Like Audrey on FB & follow us Twitter
2. Leave a comment on this post with your name and Twitter handle!
About:
As a special preview for CAAMFest (formerly the San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival), Asia’s premier music industry event, Music Matters, has teamed up with an alliance of Asia’s leading indie music promoters (China : Maybe Mars / Korea : DFSB Kollective / Taiwan : The Wall) and Singapore’s Viki.com to proudly present the launch of San Francisco Music Matters Asia (March 7th-8th, 2013).
A brand new extension of the highly successful Music Matters Live festival in Singapore (http://AllThatMatters.Asia/LIVE), the two-day San Francisco showcase will spotlight Asia’s top indie music artists. According to Music Matters Founder and CEO Jasper Donat, “Asia is smoking hot for talent at the moment and we’re delighted to have some biggest and best live bands from the region sharing the same stage for the first time ever in America.”
Tthe inaugural showcase headliners include the following critically acclaimed, SXSW music acts from China, Korea, and Taiwan:
CHINA
Carsick Cars (2009 China MIDI Awards : Album of the Year – Nominee)
The Gar (2012 China MIDI Awards : Song of the Year – Winner)
White+ (2012 China Douban Awards: Electronic Music Album of the Year – Winner)
KOREA
3rd Line Butterfly (2013 Korean Music Awards : Musician of the Year – Nominee)
Galaxy Express (2011 Korean Music Awards : Musician of the Year – Winner)
Goonam (2012 Korean Music Awards : Modern Rock Album of the Year – Nominee)
Lowdown 30 (2013 Korean Music Awards : Album of the Year – Nominee)
No Brain (2007 Korean Music Awards : Band of the Year)
TAIWAN
The Chairman (2011 Taiwan Golden Melody Awards : Band of the Year – Nominee)
The 10th Annual Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience in Park City was held on January 22nd, 2013. The event is a reception which recognizes and celebrates all the Asian Pacific filmmakers with works in this year’s Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals.
Continue reading to see a list of all the celebrated filmmakers. Continue Reading »
The A3 Foundation (Asian American Artists Foundation) is one that provides resources to Asian American artists in an effort to aid their success in the Entertainment Industry. The project was founded in 2012 by three Facebook veterans Philip Fung, Julia Lam and Franklyn Chien. Upon realizing that they didn’t grow up with many Asian role models in the media, they decided to put their efforts into fostering the talents of young Asian Americans. Their Fellows program grants $10,000-$20,000 in funding and provides mentorship from established artists.
Now, the A3 foundation has partnered with the Sundance Institute to create an A3 Sundance Fellowship which sponsors a fellow in their Director or Screenwriting Lab Programs. A3 Sundance Fellows have to be passionate about telling stories centered around the Asian-American experience in the media. The Fellowship was announced on January 21st, 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival. This is truly a step for the Asian American community as its the very first Asian American fellowship established at Sundance.
For more information, click here
We’re officially nine days away from one of LA best’s gems: the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF)! Presenting over 188 films (46 feature and 142 short films) made by Asian Pacific American and Asian international directors from over 20 countries, the 2012 edition of Southern California’s largest Asian film festival is already shaping up to be one of the best just yet.
This year, Audrey Magazine is proud to be one of the festival’s Media Sponsors and Co-Presenters of Michael Kang’s Knots!
Ravi Kapoor’s The 5
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is back, this time celebrating its 10th anniversary, April 10-15, at Arclight Hollywood cinemas. IFFLA showcases the best in Indian alternate cinema and focuses on cultivating a diverse international audience for Indian films.
Opening Night Film: CHITTAGONG
Opening night is the world premiere of Bedabrata Pain’s drama CHITTAGONG and stars award-winning actor Manoj Bajpayee (PINJAR). The film is set against the backdrop of 1930’s British-occupied Chittagong on the brink of a youth led revolution, and tells the story of 14-year-old Jhunka who comes of age as he is faced with the ultimate questions of sacrifice, love, and the quest for true freedom.
Closing night’s festivities will begin with the screening of director Prashant Bhargava’s richly woven award-winning drama PATANG. PATANG tells the story of Delhi businessman Jayesh and his daughter as they journey back to his childhood home in Ahmedabad for a family reunion during India’s largest kite festival. Under the kaleidoscope of colorful kite-filled skies, a Pandora’s box of family drama and past conflict is exposed. PATANG has become a festival favorite playing to sold-out audiences worldwide and is making its Los Angeles premiere at IFFLA.
Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s THE TEMPLE (DEEOL)
Among the eight feature films screening will be India’s 2011 official submission in the Oscar™ foreign language category, Salim Ahmed’s poetic drama ABU, SON OF ADAM (ADAMINTE MAKAN ABU). US premieres include Rajan Khosa’s critically acclaimed GATTU which won a special mention this year at the 62nd Berlinale for capturing the ironies, the complexities and the vitality of India, and Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s inspirational satire THE TEMPLE (DEOOL).
Documentaries include the world premiere of Ruchika Muchhala and Faiza Khan’s fascinating look into Indian society with THE GREAT INDIAN MARRIAGE BAZAAR and the US premiere of Raffaele Brunetti’s MOTHER INDIA which intertwines four distinct stories about India’s booming fertility industry.
Back by popular demand are two shorts programs consisting of 13 films, including the world premiere of Anirban Roy’s AUDACITY (AASHPORDHA).
10th Anniversary Retrospective: LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS
In honor of its 10th year, the festival is bringing back three of its past award winners as part of a 10th ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE. Throughout 2011 the festival asked the public to vote online for their favorite film from the past decade. The films that received the most votes and selected by the public to be screened in the retrospective are past Jury Award winners for Best Narrative Feature UDAAN (2011) and BLACK FRIDAY (2005) as well as Audience Choice Award winner for Best Feature LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS (2008).
Bollywood by Night: AGENT VINOD
Also returning is the crowd pleasing BOLLYWOOD BY NIGHT sidebar which includes the highly anticipated AGENT VINOD directed by Sriram Raghavan and starring Bollywood superstars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor and Abhinay Deo’s DELHI BELLY produced by acclaimed Indian actor/director/producer Aamir Khan.
Source: Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
TICKETS AND PASSES
The 10th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) runs April 10-15 at ArcLight Hollywood located at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd between Vine and Ivar. Festival and All Access passes may be purchased via the festival website.
ABOUT IFFLA
Now in its 10th year, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry business executives and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora. For more information: www.indianfilmfestival.org.
It’s that time of year again! The 30th Annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), the largest of its kind, celebrates the past, present, and future, honoring pioneers in Asian and Asian American media-making, but also new directions in digital and interactive media, sound and youth culture, culinary arts and gaming. Continue Reading »
Last year's Battle of the Pitches winner James Huang receiving critiques from the judges.
Do you have the best idea for a movie but don’t know what (or who) you have to do to get it made? Enter Battle of the Pitches. In its second year, the competition brings API talents straight to the boardroom where they are judged by high-level Hollywood execs and power players based on their one to two minute pitches for a screenplay idea. Sponsored by FOX Diversity and produced by MAPID (Mavericks of API Descent) and ID Film Fest 2010, Battle of the Pitches aims to promote up-and-coming artists and get them accustomed to the high stakes, pressurized nature of an actual pitch session with a producer or agent. Last year’s winner, James Huang, 33, demolished the competition with his script for the romantic comedy, All Your Fault. Here, he shares with Audrey what the experience was like.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, James.
My name is James Huang. I am primarily an actor and I have also written, produced and directed for film and television over the last 12 years between New York and Los Angeles. My script entitled, “ALL YOUR FAULT” is a romantic comedy that won last year’s Battle of the Pitches at the first ever ‘BREAKING THE BOW’ festival. My script was also a finalist at two other festivals this year, including the Beverly Hills Film Festival and the IndieProducer screenwriting competition.
Can you share with us a little about your experience for last year’s competition?
I don’t remember much of any of it since it was all up and over within a single night for me. My lovely friend, Kelvin Han Yee called me randomly that afternoon and informed me about the Battle of the Pitches a few hours before the event was to take place in Santa Monica. He asked if I had any projects in the works, as I often do, and he encouraged me to pitch my script to the live festival competition. I didn’t feel prepared to do anything of the sort, and so I graciously declined participating. But then Kelvin insulted my masculinity, artistic integrity, and genitalia (in that order) — to which I accepted his challenge and showed up to the Breaking the Bow festival. I didn’t know what any of it was, but I think I saw it advertised on Kelvin’s never ending Facebook tweets earlier that week. I also had to make it clear to Kelvin that all my parts were in perfectly fine working order, size, and of the male gender.
How did you pitch your screenplay?
In terms of pitching it, I just threw it out there in sixty seconds in a similar way that I would in trying to tell a really interesting story or even a joke at a bar — It’s dark, noisy, people’s attention spans are limited and they’ve heard it all before. You have sixty seconds to make an impression or go home alone again — ready, set, GO.
How did you prepare for the pitch?
I guess my preparation was just in the writing process itself. I didn’t prepare anything specific for the actual pitch competition since I didn’t have any time to. I had just recently finished the second draft of my script with my writing partner, Anna Musso. Not only did we have to discuss the material at length in the writing process, but we had been sharing it with a few people to check out and give me feedback and notes. When any writer does this, they naturally talk to others about the story and characters to friends, actors, and other writers. So I was already beginning to get familiar with talking about the key points of my script. I guess being concise and quick about it was all that the pitch competition really required. I also knew that I had to convey the tone of my piece with my presentation, so I had a bit of bitter attitude about it on stage — like a chip on my shoulder, which is what the central character of the story has. The character is on the brink of a melt down from having just been dumped, so I think at one point, I yelled angrily as I was explaining the story on stage. They got a laugh out of that, so I guess it was worked. I also like yelling on stage, no matter what I’m talking about.
What opportunities did winning the competition give you?
Being able to say that my screenplay won a festival contest and that the script was then read and considered by FOX 2000 and FOX Searchlight is always a nice thing to accompany a script when you’re looking for indie producers and investors. But the truth is, I’m still searching to get this film made. Hey, do you know anyone interested in giving me about a quarter million to make a film? I won this pitch competition and got to meet with FOX Searchlight and FOX 2000. They loved it. Absolutely loved it. And I love Kelvin Han Yee.
To enter, send your info to battle@mapid.us. Entry fee is $15
If you missed out on last week’s screenings of Asian/AA films at Tribeca, you’re still in luck. Several films are playing throughout the rest of this week until the festival’s close on May 2. Here’s part two of what to watch.
Dream Home, April 27, Feature Narrative
Josie Ho stars as "Cheung," a woman obsessed with buying her dream house. Fortissimo Films.
Slasher film about real estate? Yup. Audrey It Girl Josie Ho stars as an upwardly mobile professional in Hong Kong dead set on buying the house of her dreams, even if that means driving would-be buyers away with a few well-placed murders. Continue Reading »
When the only choices at the box office are a hot tub that takes you back to the ‘80s and a Greek tragedy (poor Beebo!) on CGI steroids, thank god for film festivals. The urban film festival for the masses that is Tribeca kicks off today, and while you may wonder, what the heck does Tribeca have to do with an AA pub like ours? Tribeca is host to several Asian and Asian American films, not to mention the festival’s director of programming has been David Kwok, who’s been in that role since the festival was founded in 2002.
Tribeca kicks off today. Asian American/Asian films screen starting tomorrow.
