2015 Spring Showcase

SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

www.pac-arts.org

www.PacArts.org

A WEEK-LONG PRESENTATION OF ASIAN CINEMA16 FILMS, 9 COUNTRIES

APRIL 16-25, 2015

5TH ANNUAL

PRINCESS JELLY

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Glancing backfield, it looks so obvious. To slip

the bracing clutches of gang life. To escape the

pummeling cycles of abuse and poverty. To provide

for the half-dozen siblings cheering you on to

become more than the family has ever been before.

But looking downfield at the distant goal line comes

the sting of expectation and the hard hits of life

itself. The numbers arent devastating: Polynesian

Americans are 28 times more likely to enter the

NFL than any other ethnic group. Which of course

makes the weight on ones shoulders that much

heavier to shake off.

Over the span of four years, documentarians Tony

Vainuku and Erika Cohn followed four Samoan

and Tongan American high schoolers with tough

shoulders and gridiron dreams. Talented Fihi

draws from faith and the example he can be to his

siblings. Brothers Leva and Vita live in the shadow

of a father whos both a local football legend and a

notorious OG. And sensation Harvey, the top recruit

in Utah, must decide where to land: professionally,

academically, and personally.

With the dogged faith of its title, IN FOOTBALL WE

TRUST explores the sacrifices made in the name

of family, as well as the motivating role of culture:

Polynesian traditions as well as street codes of

masculinity. Embedded throughout are interviews

with NFL icons like Troy Polamalu and Haloti Ngata

who testify to the opportunity and the heartache of

the American dream.

Opening night sponsored by:

JOIN US FOR A TAILGATE PARTY

BEFORE THE FILM

Ticket Options with Tailgate:

$22 General, $19 Member (includes food & drink)

Film Only: $15 General, $12 Film Only (members)

Vouchers not accepted

OPENING NIGHT PRESENTATION

IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST

Thurs, April 16, 6:30pm 7:15pm & 8:30pm,

UltraStar Mission Valley

Director: Tony Vainuku, Erika Cohn

USA | 89 mins

Directors Scheduled to Attend

4

,

13

SUSTAINING SPONSOR

PUBLIC SUPPORT

OPENING NIGHT

SUPPORTING

CINEMA LITTLE SAIGON

MEDIA

OFFICIAL AIRLINES

OFFICIAL PRINTER

IN KIND

SPECIAL THANKS: Derryl Acosta, Joe Austin, Jonny Benavidez, Marisa Bermumen, Caitlin

Brewer, Steve Eldred, Marti Emerald, Dominic Gerace, Richard Go, Rodney & Lois Lanthorne,

George McGregor, Michael Heu, Tim Moon, Leo Morales, Alexander Nguyen, Frank Robinson,

Michael Tu, Mark Tran, Miranda Ko & Jared Cui

GENEROUSLY PRINTED BY

SPONSORS WE COULDNT DO IT WITHOUT YOU

13

Pantone 137 Pantone 446

McGregor & Associates, Inc. Logomark2-color: Orange PMS 137 and Grey PMS 446Contact: Chris Josh 619-398-2828

Office of Councilmember

Marti Emerald


Scott Sherman

FREE FOR MEMBERS! Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street, Fool for Love) plays a

pensive pawnbroker whos not easily impressed, let alone by the grannies trying to hawk

fake gold in his shop. That is, until he encounters a beautiful young regular whos even more

soft-spoken than he is. And so, with the cautious pragmatism of his profession, he strikes up

a relationship. The two dont say much, but both seem to have something to hide: his guilt-

ridden past, her own ideas of self-worth. Adapted from one of Dostoevskys best works,

GENTLE is a subtly unnerving exploration of a marriage haunted by a society that treats

women as commodities and that wavers, often eerily, between the pressures of religious

and financial value.

FILMS

GENTLE

Mon, April 20, 6:30pm, UltraStar Mission Valley

Director: Le-Van Kiet

Vietnam, USA | 101 mins

On the disputed island of Shikotan, war between Japan and the USSR didnt end after WWII.

But the ongoing clash doesnt keep 10-year-old Junpei and his young Russian neighbor

Tanya from becoming fast friends. While the older generation plots to claim the island for

their respective nations, Tanya, Junpei, and his younger brother Kanta scout the island

for their own emotional peace, cradled in young love, music, and the imagination. Often

compared to Studio Ghiblis Grave of the Fireflies, GIOVANNIS ISLAND captures the way

kids cope with homes displaced and family removed, but with a gentle sprinkling of magic.

The clean, elegant animation has a matter-of-fact realism, but its the pangs of familial and

romantic love that illuminate this forgotten history on the edge of the world.

GIOVANNIS ISLAND

Sat, April 18, 1:00pm, UltraStar Mission Valley

Director: Mizuho Nishikubo

Japan | 102 mins

9

Based on the collective memories of refugees who experienced the fall of Saigon and its

aftermath, JOURNEY FROM THE FALL follows the 20-year story of a family separated: a

wife, son, and mother sent off on a boat, and a husband left behind to survive a Communist

re-education camp. A rare epic of Asian American cinema, Ham Trans film bridges Vietnam

and the United States with a sweeping sense of history and culture, and more impressively,

with the bottled emotions of a generation displaced.


JOURNEY FROM THE FALL

Sun, April 19, 6:55pm, UltraStar Mission Valley

Sat, April 25, 6:30pm, Hoover High School

Auditorium

Director: Ham Tran

USA | 135 mins | 2006

Director Scheduled to Attend

In this powerful personal documentary, director Doan Hoang turns the camera on her

family and the memories its suppressed for decades: that Doans parents left Doans half-

sister behind in Vietnam, and that the family has cut ties with brothers who fought for the

Communists. OH, SAIGON follows the family as they visit Vietnam for the first time in 20

years and as two generations confront the resentments that have cleaved several ends of a

family after war.

Preceded by: POMEGRANATE

Dir: Ham Tran

USA | 14 min | 2001

Fading memories of a grandfather and a childhood on the other side of the ocean.

OH, SAIGON


Fri, April 24, 6:30pm, Hoover High School

Auditorium

Director: Doan Hoang

USA, Vietnam | 57 mins | 2007

8

Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang, and Michael Landers

are ordinary teenagers except for the fact

that they are among the highest-ranked

table tennis players in the nation. Their

parents too are everyday Bay Area Chinese

immigrants or middle class New Yorkers

except that they have the unique challenge

of seeing their children to the cusp of

world championship. Together, the families

devise workout regiments and nurture

an environment for athletic and personal

growth.

In a sport thats better associated with the

rec room than the Olympic stage, table

tennis affords little glamour, but as captured

in Mina T. Son and Sara Newens inspiring

documentary, requires a physical and mental

precision as strenuous as any athletes. But

beyond the sweat is the story of three young

people magnificently juggling success and

school, self and competition, friendship and

mentorship. What makes TOP SPIN such a

smash to watch is how seamlessly it moves

from suburban high school to world-class

training facility: the very path navigated

by Ariel, Lily, and Michael season after

season, carrying their Olympic dreams with

the charisma and confidence of teenagers

discovering who they can still be.

CLOSING NIGHT PRESENTATION

TOP SPIN

Thurs, April 23, 6:30pm,


Director: Mina T. Son, Sara Newens

USA | 80 mins


5

There are movie bandits, and then there are Tsui Hark bandits. The former make for grand

political espionage, as they do in this post-war tale. The latter are devious, flamboyant

rabble-rousers, baddies named Hawk and have the nose to match. With Tsui at the cockpit,

THE TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN 3D flies headfirst into glorious b-film territory, where

adaptations of the classics come by way of CGI tigers fighting CGI horses, and set-pieces

skiing down hills and hanging off planes. Good guys wear bad masks to infiltrate places

called Tiger Mountain, and heroes fling themselves through fiery snow because they dont

just need to win, they demand immortality. The political maneuvering is intricate and death-

defying, as is Tsuis action direction, so brimming with virtuosity it demands two endings.

FILMS

THE TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN 3D



Director: Tsui Hark

China, Hong Kong | 143 mins

Will you come in the reception with me? asks a pregnant Sedigheh to the taxi driver that

just took her to the hospital. Its an innocent question, but in a country where unwed women

cant attain prenatal care, it is a last-ditch plea for help. And so the taxi driver, who already

has a wife at home, is hailed to serve as a surrogate husband. The hours that follow are a

gripping ethical thriller about the words a man can and cant say in front of a hospital staff of

women who have seen scenarios like this before. With a striking stylistic economy, director

Reza Mirkarimi masterfully portrays the wavering tension between fear and compassion

that erupts when we are hailed to empathize with every character in the film.

TODAY


Tues, April 21, 6:25pm, UltraStar Mission Valley

Director: Reza Mirkarimi

Iran | 87 mins

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KEY 17KEY 3 KEY 4 KEY 5 KEY 6 KEY 7 KEY 8 KEY 9 KEY 10 KEY 11 KEY 12 KEY 13 KEY 14 KEY 15 KEY 16 KEY 18 KEY 19 KEY 20

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KEY 210.5 1 2 3 4 5 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 0.5 1 2 3 4 5KOMORI Part No.T30LS428

Spring Showcase Booklet 2015 (Size: 12" x 8.5 = 16 pages folded)

Page 1: COVER FRONT Image 5th ANNUAL SPRING SHOWCASE APRIL 1625, 2014 A weeklong presentation of Asian cinema 16 Films, 9 Countries (PacArts Logo) www.pacarts.org Page 2: COVER INSIDE About PacArts MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Caption: Executive Director Lee Ann Kim and actor George Takei at the 2014 Spring

On behalf of Pacific Arts Movement, it is our pleasure to present our 5th Annual Spring Showcase, a week-long presentation of dynamic films from around the world.

From Polynesian warriors on the football field, teenage parenthood, and the search for the perfect shoes to a suspenseful ride in the back of an Iranian taxi cab, this years slate of films is brilliantly curated by our Artistic Director Brian Hu, and it includes Cinema Little Saigon - a tribute to the 40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.

In addition to our Spring Showcase, we invite you to join us year-round for other programs including our annual Asian culinary celebration - Chew the Scene on October 1, and the San Diego Asian Film Festival, which celebrates its 16th season this year, November 5-14.

We believe that film has the power to entertain, inspire, and build a compassionate society. Join us, and be part of our Movement.

LEE ANN KIM

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Schedule & Tickets..................................................3

Films .......................................................................4-12

Cinema Little Saigon ........................................ 6-8

Sponsors ................................................................... 13

Membership ............................................................. 15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3

Monday

APRIL

20Tuesday

APRIL

21Wednesday

APRIL

22

Thursday

APRIL

23

Thursday

APRIL

16Friday

APRIL

17Saturday

APRIL

18

Sunday

APRIL

19

Friday

APRIL

24

Saturday

APRIL

25

ULTRASTAR HAZARD CENTER 7510 HAZARD CENTER DRIVE APRIL 16-23

HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL 4474 EL CAJON BLVD APRIL 24-25

TICKET INFORMATION ALL-ACCESS PASS

4:40PM6:30PM8:45PM

6:30PM7:15PM8:30PM

6:20PM8:35PM

1:00PM3:10PM5:20PM7:50PM

1:00PM

3:25PM4:55PM6:55PM

6:30PM 4:00PM

6:30PM

4:30PM6:25PM8:15PM

6:25PM8:55PM

In Football We Trust (USA) p4In Football We Trust (USA) p4In Football We Trust (USA) p4

Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (USA) p7All That Glitters: 2 Short Docs p7Oh, Saigon (Vietnam, USA) p8Journey from the Fall (USA) p8

Oh, Saigon (Vietnam, USA) p8 Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (USA) p7Journey from the Fall (USA) p8

Today (Iran) p12Gentle (Vietnam, USA) p9The Taking of Tiger Mountain (China, HK) p12

Mariquina (Philippines) p10Princess Jellyfish (Japan) p11

Giovannis Island (Japan) p9Margarita, With a Straw (India) p10My Brilliant Life (South Korea) p11The Taking of Tiger Mountain (China, HK) p12

Margarita, With a Straw (India) p10Today (Iran) p12Princess Jellyfish (Japan) p11

My Brilliant Life (South Korea) p11Mystery Kung Fu Theater

Top Spin (USA) p5TBA

SCHEDULE & TICKET INFORMATION

Opening Night Film & Tailgate PartyIncludes screening and a Tailgate Meal with BeverageVouchers not accepted opening night. The All-Access Pass

is the best way to enjoy all the films at the San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase!

General Admission

FREE Screenings

General

Member

Group 10+

Film Only

Film Only (member)

$22

$19

$19/ticket

$15

$12

PriceGeneral

Member

$100

$65

General

Member

Student/Senior/Military

Group 10+

$12

$9

$9

$9/ticket

Cinema Little Saigon - April 24-25 (Hoover High)

GENTLE - April 20th (free for members)

Tickets are avaible now at

pacarts.orgAnd at UltraStar Mission Valley box office starting April 11 CONTACT US: 619-400-591 [email protected]

6:30PM8:30PM

Bollywood standout Kalki Koechlin (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, SDAFF 13) breaks through

in a big way as star of the loveable indie MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW. Swerving away

from the arduous trappings of the disability tragedy, MARGARITA is about jumping into life

headfirst, from the music scene of Delhi to the hot-blooded streets of New York. Along the

way, Laila (Koechlin) makes friends with the disabled and the able-bodied, falls in love with

men and women, and charms with her smile and her comic proclivity for storming through

expectations of what life with cerebral palsy ought to be. Skillfully directed by Shonali Bose

as a jubilant tale of self-discovery, MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW is a cocktail shaker full of

passion and cheer.

FILMS

MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW



Director: Shonali Bose

India | 100 mins

In the city of Marikina, Romeo Guevarra is remembered as a master shoemaker. To his

daughter Imelda though, his memory is tainted, now a fog of faded glory following her testy

adolescence and the steely determination of three women out to find happiness in spite of

him. After Romeos death, Imelda revisits her relationship with her father and pays tribute to

him the best she can: through shoes, the only way the members of the Guevarra family ever

seemed able to express themselves. Milo Soguecos MARIQUINA is a loving tribute to that

process of reconciliation, as well as a nostalgic tribute to craft the sort made by hands and

shaped by the heart. For a family and nation hardened by its missteps, MARIQUINA offers a

lyrical reprieve, a gift wrapped in a shoebox and a pop song for the journey ahead.

MARIQUINA

Fri, April 17, 6:20pm, UltraStar Mission Valley

Director: Milo Sogueco

Philippines | 116 mins

10

Since arriving in the United States as children, Vietnamese siblings Mai and Dwayne were

raised by a black couple, and twenty years later, have found happiness in love and family.

But when Mai locates their long-lost mother in Vietnam, the multi-racial family gets thrown

into disarray with comic results. The Vietnamese refugee story gets a humorous spin by

way of the 90s culture-clash family comedy courtesy of actor-director-writer Chi Muoi Lo

in this seminal Vietnamese American film.


CATFISH IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE



Auditorium

Director: Chi Muoi Lo

USA | 119 mins | 1999

Two short documentaries explore the uncanny ways Vietnamese see themselves in America

and vice-versa.

COVER GIRL: A GIFT FROM GOD

Director: Nguyen Tan Hoang

USA | 17 mins | 2000

Meet Dalena, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed American who flawlessly sings Vietnamese

standards and becomes an international sensation.

#NAILEDIT: VIETNAMESE & THE NAIL INDUSTRY

Director: Adele Pham

USA | 30 mins | 2015

With Hollywood on one side and the African American community on the other, Vietnamese

women corner the market on nail art.

ALL THAT GLITTERS:

TWO SHORT DOCUMENTARIES

Sun, April 19, 3:25pm,


7

On this years 40th anniversary of the Fall of

Saigon, there will be flag ceremonies, tributes

to heroes living and fallen, and flashbacks to

the critical events of April 30, 1975. But these

events must also remind us of the narratives

that often go silent, namely those of refugees

who are now Vietnamese Americans,

participants in civic culture and neighbors

in areas like City Heights. Their narratives

draw attention to the lived and ongoing

experience of displacement, narratives that

represent Vietnamese Americans as lively,

desiring, and imaginative, and not simply as

collateral damage or as confirmations of the

American dream.

So this year, Pacific Arts Movement highlights

those stories with Cinema Little Saigon,

a film retrospective that celebrates the

cinematic achievements of Vietnamese

American filmmakers, in particular those

whose films complicate the usual narrative

of refugee rescue and the great success of

a model minority. Since the 1990s, these

filmmakers have traced their own family and

community histories, and projected bold

visions of the future. They refract memory

and experience through a number of creative

modes and genres: cross-cultural comedy,

historical epic, intimate drama, first-person

documentary, experimental video.

This retrospective draws attention not only to

the classics of Vietnamese American cinema,

but to the neighborhoods that have inspired

these works, places like City Heights, where

part of the retrospective will be set. Hence

Cinema Little Saigon: like Chinatown as

much a frame of mind as it is a geographic

designation, as much a well of cinematic

creativity and aspiration as it is a megaplex

or a community auditorium. Whatever the

anniversary, this cinema measures its vitality

through the communities its bridged, the

audiences its awakened, and the artists it

continues to inspire.


6

Young lovers Dae-su and Mira didnt expect to have a baby at 17, and they certainly didnt

expect one like Ahreum, born with a rare affliction for rapid aging. 16 years later, husband

and wife, played with spunk by superstars Gang Dong-won and Song Hye-kyo, are still

frolicking and potty-mouthed, but theyre grounded by a precocious son much wiser than

they. Not surprisingly, Ahreum doesnt have many friends of any age group, but with his

parents hes bonded by the reality that they all have had to grow up too fast. With MY

BRILLIANT LIFE, director E J-yong delivers his warmest, most glowing film to date which

happens also to be a most unusual meditation on the experience of time and family. At its

core a light comedy and youth romance, MY BRILLIANT LIFE dwells not on misfortune but

on the rare opportunity to see that each others lives are miracles.

FILMS

MY BRILLIANT LIFE


Wed, April 22, 6:25pm, UltraStar Mission Valley

Director: E J-yong

South Korea | 117 mins

Five female otakus are too sheepish and antisocial to leave their geek haven Amamizukan,

let alone talk to boys. Luckily, when Tsukimi is forced to step into the outside world, her

accidental encounter is with the leggy beauty Kuranosuke, who wears beautiful dresses

and seductive OH NO Kuranosuke is a man!! What will Tsukimis otaku sisters think?

Amamizukan will crumble! But when their true threat comes in the form of evil politicians

set on demolishing Amamizukan in the name of development, the otakus realize they

must band together with Kuranosuke and make their voice heard. PRINCESS JELLYFISH is

a pop culture parade glittered with rainbow candy, where democracy is a fashion show and

gender is as gelatinous as jellyfish.

PRINCESS JELLYFISH



Director: Taisuke Kawamura

Japan | 126 mins

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www.pac-arts.org

www.PacArts.org

A WEEK-LONG PRESENTATION OF ASIAN CINEMA16 FILMS, 9 COUNTRIES

APRIL 16-25, 2015

5TH ANNUAL

PRINCESS JELLY

FISH, PG. 11

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the American dream.



BEFORE THE FILM










USA | 89 mins


4

,

13

SUSTAINING SPONSOR

PUBLIC SUPPORT

OPENING NIGHT

SUPPORTING


MEDIA

OFFICIAL AIRLINES

OFFICIAL PRINTER

IN KIND







13

Pantone 137 Pantone 446

McGregor & Associates, Inc. Logomark2-color: Orange PMS 137 and Grey PMS 446Contact: Chris Josh 619-398-2828


Marti Emerald


Scott Sherman










FILMS

GENTLE













GIOVANNIS ISLAND



Japan | 102 mins

9











Auditorium

Director: Ham Tran

USA | 135 mins | 2006







family after war.


Dir: Ham Tran

USA | 14 min | 2001


OH, SAIGON



Auditorium



8












growth.



















TOP SPIN




USA | 80 mins


5










FILMS




Director: Tsui Hark










TODAY




Iran | 87 mins

12

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M+Y C+Y C+M75 75 75 75





www.pac-arts.org

www.PacArts.org

A WEEK-LONG PRESENTATION OF ASIAN CINEMA

16 FILMS, 9 COUNTRIES

APRIL 16-25, 2015

5

TH

ANNUAL

PRINCESS JELLY

FISH, P

G. 11

NO

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OR

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US

POST

AGE

PAID

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IT #

2029






























the American dream.



BEFORE THE FILM










USA | 89 mins


4

,

13

SUSTAINING SPONSOR

PUBLIC SUPPORT

OPENING NIGHT

SUPPORTING


MEDIA

OFFICIAL AIRLINES

OFFICIAL PRINTER

IN KIND







13

Pantone 137Pantone 446

McGregor & Associates, Inc. Logomark

2-color: Orange PMS 137 and Grey PMS 446

Contact: Chris Josh 619-398-2828


Marti Emerald


Scott Sherman










FILMS

GENTLE













GIOVANNIS ISLAND



Japan | 102 mins

9











Auditorium

Director: Ham Tran

USA | 135 mins | 2006







family after war.


Dir: Ham Tran

USA | 14 min | 2001


OH, SAIGON



Auditorium



8












growth.



















TOP SPIN




USA | 80 mins


5










FILMS




Director: Tsui Hark










TODAY




Iran | 87 mins

12

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KOMORIPart No.T30LS428

Spring Showcase Booklet 2015

(Size: 12" x 8.5 = 16 pages folded)

Page 1: COVER FRONT

Image

5th ANNUAL SPRING SHOWCASE

APRIL 1625, 2014

A weeklong presentation of Asian cinema

16 Films, 9 Countries

(PacArts Logo)

www.pacarts.org

Page 2: COVER INSIDE About PacArts


Caption: Executive Director Lee Ann Kim and actor George Takei at the 2014 Spring

On behalf of Pacific Arts Movement, it is our pleasure to present our 5th Annual Spring

Showcase, a week-long presentation of dynamic films from around the world.

From Polynesian warriors on the football field, teenage parenthood, and the search for

the perfect shoes to a suspenseful ride in the back of an Iranian taxi cab, this years slate

of films is brilliantly curated by our Artistic Director Brian Hu, and it includes Cinema

Little Saigon - a tribute to the 40th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.

In addition to our Spring Showcase, we invite you to join us year-round for other programs

including our annual Asian culinary celebration - Chew the Scene on October 1, and the

San Diego Asian Film Festival, which celebrates its 16th season this year, November 5-14.

We believe that film has the power to entertain, inspire, and build a compassionate

society. Join us, and be part of our Movement.

LEE ANN KIM

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR


Schedule & Tickets..................................................3

Films .......................................................................4-12

Cinema Little Saigon ........................................6-8

Sponsors ...................................................................13

Membership .............................................................15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3

Monday

APRIL

20

Tuesday

APRIL

21

Wednesday

APRIL

22

Thursday

APRIL

23

Thursday

APRIL

16

Friday

APRIL

17

Saturday

APRIL

18

Sunday

APRIL

19

Friday

APRIL

24

Saturday

APRIL

25

ULTRASTAR HAZARD CENTER 7510 HAZARD CENTER DRIVE APRIL 16-23

HOOVER HIGH SCHOOL 4474 EL CAJON BLVD APRIL 24-25

TICKET INFORMATIONALL-ACCESS PASS

4:40PM

6:30PM

8:45PM

6:30PM

7:15PM

8:30PM

6:20PM

8:35PM

1:00PM

3:10PM

5:20PM

7:50PM

1:00PM

3:25PM

4:55PM

6:55PM

6:30PM4:00PM

6:30PM

4:30PM

6:25PM

8:15PM

6:25PM

8:55PM

In Football We Trust (USA) p4



Catfish in Black Bean Sauce

(USA) p7

All That Glitters: 2 Short Docs p7

Oh, Saigon (Vietnam, USA) p8

Journey from the Fall (USA) p8

Oh, Saigon (Vietnam, USA) p8Catfish in Black Bean Sauce

(USA) p7

Journey from the Fall (USA) p8

Today (Iran) p12

Gentle (Vietnam, USA) p9

The Taking of Tiger Mountain

(China, HK) p12

Mariquina (Philippines) p10

Princess Jellyfish (Japan) p11

Giovannis Island (Japan) p9

Margarita, With a Straw (India) p10

My Brilliant Life (South Korea) p11

The Taking of Tiger Mountain

(China, HK) p12

Margarita, With a Straw (India) p10

Today (Iran) p12

Princess Jellyfish (Japan) p11

My Brilliant Life (South Korea) p11

Mystery Kung Fu Theater

Top Spin (USA) p5

TBA

SCHEDULE & TICKET INFORMATION

Opening Night Film & Tailgate Party

Includes screening and a Tailgate Meal with Beverage

Vouchers not accepted opening night.

The All-Access Pass

is the best way to

enjoy all the films

at the San Diego

Asian Film Festival

Spring Showcase!

General Admission

FREE Screenings

General

Member

Group 10+

Film Only

Film Only (member)

$22

$19

$19/ticket

$15

$12

Price

General

Member

$100

$65

General

Member

Student/Senior/Military

Group 10+

$12

$9

$9

$9/ticket

Cinema Little Saigon - April 24-25 (Hoover High)

GENTLE - April 20th (free for members)

Tickets are avaible now at

pacarts.org

And at UltraStar Mission Valley box office starting April 11

CONTACT US: 619-400-591 [email protected]

6:30PM

8:30PM

Bollywood standout Kalki Koechlin (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, SDAFF 13) breaks through

in a big way as star of the loveable indie MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW. Swerving away

from the arduous trappings of the disability tragedy, MARGARITA is about jumping into life

headfirst, from the music scene of Delhi to the hot-blooded streets of New York. Along the

way, Laila (Koechlin) makes friends with the disabled and the able-bodied, falls in love with

men and women, and charms with her smile and her comic proclivity for storming through

expectations of what life with cerebral palsy ought to be. Skillfully directed by Shonali Bose

as a jubilant tale of self-discovery, MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW is a cocktail shaker full of

passion and cheer.

FILMS

MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW



Director: Shonali Bose

India | 100 mins

In the city of Marikina, Romeo Guevarra is remembered as a master shoemaker. To his

daughter Imelda though, his memory is tainted, now a fog of faded glory following her testy

adolescence and the steely determination of three women out to find happiness in spite of

him. After Romeos death, Imelda revisits her relationship with her father and pays tribute to

him the best she can: through shoes, the only way the members of the Guevarra family ever

seemed able to express themselves. Milo Soguecos MARIQUINA is a loving tribute to that

process of reconciliation, as well as a nostalgic tribute to craft the sort made by hands and

shaped by the heart. For a family and nation hardened by its missteps, MARIQUINA offers a

lyrical reprieve, a gift wrapped in a shoebox and a pop song for the journey ahead.

MARIQUINA


Director: Milo Sogueco

Philippines | 116 mins

10

Since arriving in the United States as children, Vietnamese siblings Mai and Dwayne were

raised by a black couple, and twenty years later, have found happiness in love and family.

But when Mai locates their long-lost mother in Vietnam, the multi-racial family gets thrown

into disarray with comic results. The Vietnamese refugee story gets a humorous spin by

way of the 90s culture-clash family comedy courtesy of actor-director-writer Chi Muoi Lo

in this seminal Vietnamese American film.


CATFISH IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE



Auditorium

Director: Chi Muoi Lo

USA | 119 mins | 1999

Two short documentaries explore the uncanny ways Vietnamese see themselves in America

and vice-versa.

COVER GIRL: A GIFT FROM GOD

Director: Nguyen Tan Hoang

USA | 17 mins | 2000

Meet Dalena, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed American who flawlessly sings Vietnamese

standards and becomes an international sensation.

#NAILEDIT: VIETNAMESE & THE NAIL INDUSTRY

Director: Adele Pham

USA | 30 mins | 2015

With Hollywood on one side and the African American community on the other, Vietnamese

women corner the market on nail art.

ALL THAT GLITTERS:

TWO SHORT DOCUMENTARIES

Sun, April 19, 3:25pm,


7

On this years 40th anniversary of the Fall of

Saigon, there will be flag ceremonies, tributes

to heroes living and fallen, and flashbacks to

the critical events of April 30, 1975. But these

events must also remind us of the narratives

that often go silent, namely those of refugees

who are now Vietnamese Americans,

participants in civic culture and neighbors

in areas like City Heights. Their narratives

draw attention to the lived and ongoing

experience of displacement, narratives that

represent Vietnamese Americans as lively,

desiring, and imaginative, and not simply as

collateral damage or as confirmations of the

American dream.

So this year, Pacific Arts Movement highlights

those stories with Cinema Little Saigon,

a film retrospective that celebrates the

cinematic achievements of Vietnamese

American filmmakers, in particular those

whose films complicate the usual narrative

of refugee rescue and the great success of

a model minority. Since the 1990s, these

filmmakers have traced their own family and

community histories, and projected bold

visions of the future. They refract memory

and experience through a number of creative

modes and genres: cross-cultural comedy,

historical epic, intimate drama, first-person

documentary, experimental video.

This retrospective draws attention not only to

the classics of Vietnamese American cinema,

but to the neighborhoods that have inspired

these works, places like City Heights, where

part of the retrospective will be set. Hence

Cinema Little Saigon: like Chinatown as

much a frame of mind as it is a geographic

designation, as much a well of cinematic

creativity and aspiration as it is a megaplex

or a community auditorium. Whatever the

anniversary, this cinema measures its vitality

through the communities its bridged, the

audiences its awakened, and the artists it

continues to inspire.


6

Young lovers Dae-su and Mira didnt expect to have a baby at 17, and they certainly didnt

expect one like Ahreum, born with a rare affliction for rapid aging. 16 years later, husband

and wife, played with spunk by superstars Gang Dong-won and Song Hye-kyo, are still

frolicking and potty-mouthed, but theyre grounded by a precocious son much wiser than

they. Not surprisingly, Ahreum doesnt have many friends of any age group, but with his

parents hes bonded by the reality that they all have had to grow up too fast. With MY

BRILLIANT LIFE, director E J-yong delivers his warmest, most glowing film to date which

happens also to be a most unusual meditation on the experience of time and family. At its

core a light comedy and youth romance, MY BRILLIANT LIFE dwells not on misfortune but

on the rare opportunity to see that each others lives are miracles.

FILMS

MY BRILLIANT LIFE


Wed, April 22, 6:25pm, UltraStar Mission Valley

Director: E J-yong

South Korea | 117 mins

Five female otakus are too sheepish and antisocial to leave their geek haven Amamizukan,

let alone talk to boys. Luckily, when Tsukimi is forced to step into the outside world, her

accidental encounter is with the leggy beauty Kuranosuke, who wears beautiful dresses

and seductive OH NO Kuranosuke is a man!! What will Tsukimis otaku sisters think?

Amamizukan will crumble! But when their true threat comes in the form of evil politicians

set on demolishing Amamizukan in the name of development, the otakus realize they

must band together with Kuranosuke and make their voice heard. PRINCESS JELLYFISH is

a pop culture parade glittered with rainbow candy, where democracy is a fashion show and

gender is as gelatinous as jellyfish.

PRINCESS JELLYFISH



Director: Taisuke Kawamura

Japan | 126 mins

11

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www.pac-arts.org

www.PacArts.org

A WEEK-LONG PRESENTATION OF ASIAN CINEMA

16 FILMS, 9 COUNTRIES

APRIL 16-25, 2015

5

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PRINCESS JELLY

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Documents

2015 Spring Showcase