Fleisher Art Memorial
719 Catharine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Director: Lynn Estomin 52 mins | Documentary | USA | English Living in the Story documents thirty-five years of art making by the distinguished photographic artist Patrick Ryoichi Nagatani, one of the most brilliant photographic artists of our era. In the late 1970s, he pioneered the Contemporary Constructed Photographic Movement in Los Angeles, developing a new visual vocabulary by constructing tableau photographs from sets, sculptures, models, and paintings. The film portrays an artist deeply concerned and well informed about world events who uses imagery, storytelling, and narrative fiction to raise awareness about modern anxieties with an emphasis on the threat of nuclear weapons technology. Nagatani has also explored healing techniques and states of consciousness in which the material world is transcended. Despite the serious content of his subject matter, his innovative images are compelling and entertaining. An engaging raconteur and teacher, Nagatani talks in the film about his projects, his unorthodox photographic techniques, and his subtle weaving together of fiction and fact. Scott Nagatani’s hauntingly beautiful music score provides the film’s soundtrack. Director Lynn Estomin expected in attendance.
Fleisher Art Memorial
719 Catharine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
East Coast Premiere Director: Christopher Makoto Yogi 75 mins | Drama | Hawaii | English August at Akiko’s is a mystical film that lives in the seams between dream, reality, and memory with a time-signature all its own. Armed with just his suitcase and a sax, cosmopolitan musician Alex Zhang Hungtai (Dirty Beaches, Last Lizard) returns home to the Big Island of Hawai‘i after being away for nearly a decade. Amidst possessed sax solos and brooding strolls, Alex stumbles upon a Buddhist bed & breakfast run by a woman named Akiko (Akiko Masuda). Hungtai’s wild sax and Akiko’s Buddhist bells form the base for a rich soundtrack surrounding the unexpected new friendship and wrapping around the audience like a sonic web.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Asian Arts Initiative | 62 mins In today’s society, technology increasingly impacts how we live our lives from simple things like ordering food and taxis to finding our dating partners. Perhaps those most impacted by the omnipresence of digital technology are the post-millennial youth. This block of four narrative and one doc short explore a variety of coming-of-age situations impacted by technology. Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. Share Director: Barna Szász, Ellie Wen | 13 mins | USA An 18-year-old Instagram influencer attempts to reconcile his identity online with his identity in real life. Soap & Shadows Director: Donna Mae Foronda | 8 mins | USA It’s early in San Francisco when Bethany and Craig wake up from a strange sound, but instead of getting annoyed, they imagine playful scenes using the sound. Bethany is enamored by the moment, thinking Craig may be “the one.” Clique Bait Director: Anna Mikami | 15 mins | Home Kong Set in the international school community of Hong Kong, a high school girl spreads a video sexualizing her childhood friend and classmate. Halo-Halo Director: Bernard Badion | 9 mins | Hong Kong A food video blogger has trouble meeting his deadline, pining for the person he saw on the subway that morning. Can a missed connection post solve his problem? Lions in Waiting Director: Jason Karman | 17 mins | Canada The newest member of a minor league hockey team experiences hazing by his new teammates as he struggles to fit in both on and off the ice.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
East Coast Premiere Director: Susann Wentzlaff & Jörg Junge 90 mins | Documentary | Tonga | German & English Being Bruno Banani tells the unique story of the first and only Tongan luger who managed to qualify in an amazingly short amount of time for the Sochi 2014: XXII Olympic Winter Games. Through his name, he also acted as the first “living brand,” using a completely new and disputed way to get around the strict IOC’s advertising regulations.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
East Coast Premiere Director: Jean Lee 75 mins | Drama, Comedy, Romance | USA | Spanish Pecado Original is an absurdist Spanish language rom com about Eva, a sexually frustrated housewife, her uptight husband, and a freewheeling artist who form an unlikely love triangle with unpredictable results. From “accidentally” purchasing an erotic painting, to fellating her uptight husband for the very first time, the story is largely told through Eva’s perspective as she confronts society’s rules on female propriety with the greatest irreverence. Writer/Director Jean Lee expected in attendance.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
East Coast Premiere Director: Sky Wang 90 mins | Drama, Horror, Action, Thriller | China | Chinese Mystery unfolds as a group of individuals are confronted by undead forces outside of an abandoned factory but then go about their business as usual the next day. An unexplained virus suddenly breaks out and turns people into blood-lusting beings, leaving the characters stranded in the penthouse suite of a hotel. As time passes, the group decides to make a run for survival. Through struggle, betrayal, and loss, the remaining individuals desperately make it out of the hotel alive and arrive at the factory where we first met them. But this is only a temporary haven, as they are tested once again by new circumstances. Who amongst them will survive?
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Asian Arts Initiative | 46 mins A serial dater-turned-killer, ghost children, and spiritually possessed painting are just a few of the topics in this year’s five-film Horror Genre Shorts program. Not for the faint of heart. Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. What’s That in the Ground? Director: Wally Chung | 2 mins | USA When you want one thing, sometimes you get the complete opposite or something worse. Heartseeker Director: Brett Kodama | 20 mins | USA After making a connection on a popular dating app, a single woman with a passion for cooking brings her date home for dinner. Chances are he won’t like what’s on the menu. Sanzu no Kawa: The River of Three Crossings Director: Cyrus Yoshi Tabar | 7 mins | USA After a shooting at school takes his sister’s life, a young Japanese American boy is trapped between his memories, grief, and the new reality he faces at home. Painted Skin Director: Hanrui Wang | 4 mins | China A young artist huddles down in an old, abandoned temple for the night. To pass the time he paints a beautiful woman, which is surprisingly lifelike. Hana Director: Mai Nakanishi | 13 mins | Japan, South Korea A college student named Sujin starts her job as a part-time babysitter for a single working mother who needs someone to look after her 4-year-old daughter Hana. Sujin is hired on the spot, but soon after she is left alone with Hana, strange things start to happen.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Asian Arts Initiative | 72 mins Told through visual poetry and narrative, and infused with stunning color and sound, these shorts recognize the trials and triumphs of family, explore the environmental traumas inflicted upon Oceania, and share the pride and resilience of these communities throughout history to the present. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the following organizations for their assistance with curating this program: the ‘Ohina Short Film Showcase, Pacific Islanders in Communications, and the Wairoa Mãori Film Festival. Director/Cinematographer/Editor Jes X. Snow will be in attendance with Co-Producer Adriel Luis and other members of the crew. PRAISE SONG FOR OCEANIA Director: Justyn Ah Chong | 5 mins | Hawai’i Praise Song for Oceania is a short film-poem about the ecology, history, politics, and cultures of the Ocean. The poem was written by award-winning Chamorro author Craig Santos Perez, and the video was created by Hawaiian filmmaker Justyn Ah Chong. LET THE MOUNTAIN SPEAK (Hawai’ian) Director: Vilsoni Hereniko | 5 mins | Hawai’i A visual poem that pays tribute to Maunakea, a mountain on the island of Hawai’i, and makes an artistic intervention in the controversy surrounding Maunakea. TAMA Director: Jared Flitcroft and Jack O’Donnell | 9 mins | New Zealand Ever seen the haka in silence? Tama is about a young indigenous Deaf boy who tries to perform the traditional Mãori war dance, the Haka, silently, and is the result of a unique collaboration between Deaf and hearing filmmakers. KALEWA Director: Mitchel Viernes | 17 mins | Hawai’i In the future, a Hawaiian astronaut makes the next great leap for his planet, his family, and himself. Tonight is his last chance. I MATAI Director: Kyle Perron and Nico Serneo | 10 mins | Guam A fallen warrior is honored by his family in an experimental take of the Ancient Chamoru Death Ceremony told through the prayers of a man grieving over the death of his brother. ANOINTED Director: Dan Lin | 6 mins | Marshall Islands A poet from the Marshall Islands explores the legacy of U.S. nuclear bomb testing in her country through the stories of people who are still living with the effects of radioactive fallout and displacement. RISE: FROM ONE ISLAND TO ANOTHER Director: Dan Lin | 6 mins | Marshall Islands and Greenland Two indigenous poets—one from the Marshall Islands and another from Greenland—meet at the source of our rising seas to share a moment of solidarity.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
12-5pm | Asian Arts Initiative Lead Artists: Aizhanneya Carter and Claris Park Welcome to the Department of Judgement Zoning. We invite you to navigate the bizarrely familiar world of The Department of Judgement Zoning where identity rules and bureaucracy is not as mundane as it seems… Efficiency is valued at the DJZ, so please make sure to have your documents ready before you meet a member of our highly trained team of Judges. We are happy to serve you! The DJZ is an interactive theatre piece exploring identity, solidarity, and collective liberation. The DJZ was developed through the Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists/Asian Arts Initiative 2018 Mini Residency Project and the Naked Angels/The New School Issue’s Project Lab 2017. Claris Park is a Philadelphia based actor and theater maker and is thrilled to be remounting the DJZ along with her co-creator, Aizhaneya Carter, director Cat Ramirez, and numerous other wonderful collaborators! Recent credits include Monster in the Hall (Inis Nua), Close Your Legs, Honey (Philadelphia Fringe, 2018), A New Kind of Whole (Director, Philadelphia Fringe, 2018), and Much Ado About Nothing (Delaware Shakespeare). Upcoming credits include Bob, A Life In Five Acts (Azuka Theatre) and Among the Dead (Theatre Exile). They are a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
East Coast Premiere Director: Steven de Castro 120 mins | Documentary | Philippines | English Revolution Selfie expands the horizons of documentary storytelling while broadening our understanding about the lesser-known fronts in the global “War on Terror.” Filmmaker Steven De Castro paints a portrait of the 48-year-old Maoist guerilla army in the Philippine hinterlands. But rather than simply presenting interviews and images in a traditional journalistic manner, this film weaves fantasy elements and web-based camera techniques into the documentary form to disrupt our matrix of widely held beliefs that underpin the discussion of terrorism, poverty, and the motivations of the warriors who fight in a peasant revolution. Director Steven de Castro expected in attendance for post-film Q&A.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Get Tickets Things are changing on the Tibetan Plateau. With diminishing grasslands, falling livestock prices, smaller families, and a rise in the number of children going to school, the nomads are finding it increasingly hard to continue their traditional way of life. Many are leaving the grasslands, struggling at this time of transition to keep their culture alive while also embracing the modern world. On any given day, you will find nomads herding their yaks and sheep and monks reciting their mantras. You will also find them playing one of their favorite sports—basketball. Next to traditional horseback riding, basketball has become a way for young men to work off their aggression and channel their energy. And when a proper coach arrives from the United States, slam-dunk becomes their new mantra. A new tournament has been announced, the first in their region. Can they put together a team that’s good enough to take part? Might they even be able to win?
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Curators: Sara Zia Ebrahimi & Lila Yomtoob Asian Arts Initiative | 64 mins Having a hyphenated identity is more than just being between worlds and fixed identities. It includes the active process of forging a new cultural space—a cultural remix. It is often the work of the first generation after a significant migration to begin establishing the cultural products and institutions to capture that remix. This program of short films is part of that work; an attempt to amplify the voices of diasporic Iranian filmmakers. Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. A Reluctant Bride Director: Shideh Faramand | 6 mins | Australia A single Persian woman, still unmarried at 28, must endure disapproval and meddling from married friends and relatives at her younger sister’s engagement party. America 1979 Director: Lila Yomtoob | 14 mins | USA It’s 1979, and the Iran Hostage Crisis is in full force. When an Iranian American girl is teased at school for her ethnicity, her family must come to terms with how world politics is affecting their lives. Eddeaa Director: Abjeez | 2 mins | Sweden Music video from Swedish Iranian female pop duo Abjeez about the downside of some traditional Iranian values, juxtaposing traditional imagery with modern sounds and words. Ice Skates Director: Sara Zia Ebrahimi and Lindsey Martin | 6 mins | USA Based on a true story, the film tells a story from the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1980 from the perspective of Haleh, an eight year old who just wants to enjoy her ice skates. Magic Shoes Director: Sahand Nikoukar |10 minutes | USA Nine-year-old Iranian immigrant Kamron can’t seem to fit into the culture of early 90s Los Angeles, forcing him to wonder, is it the shoes?
East Coast Premiere Director: Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu 70 mins | Documentary | Tonga | English Leitis in Waiting is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga Leitis, an intrepid group of native transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and intolerance in their South Pacific Kingdom. The film follows Joey, a devout Catholic of noble descent, as she organizes an exuberant beauty pageant presided over by a princess, provides shelter and training for a young contestant rejected by her family, and spars with American-financed evangelicals threatening to resurrect colonial-era laws that criminalize the Leitis’ lives. With unexpected humor and extraordinary access to the Kingdom’s royals and religious leaders, Joey’s emotional journey reveals what it means to be different in a society ruled by tradition, and what it takes to be accepted without forsaking culture and tradition. Leitis in Waiting is an inside story, created by a Polynesian transgender woman who once competed and won the crown in Joey’s beauty pageant.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
US premiere Director: Kenichi Omori 91 mins | Documentary | Japan | Japanese As part of the celebrations to commemorate the 450th anniversary of Mihara Castle’s construction, the youth from the Yassa Daruman neighborhood have undertaken a glorious project: to spread the popularity of Yassa Daruman, Mihara City’s official mascot, around the country. Inspired by this example of youthful exuberance, the ordinary citizens of Mihara City join the struggle, and a wonderful adventure commences.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Director: Henry Koster 133 min | Musical, Comedy, Romance | USA | English In this adaptation of the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, Chinese immigrant Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) is betrothed to nightclub boss Sammy Fong (Jack Soo), but he wants to marry showgirl Linda Low (Nancy Kwan). To get out of the arrangement, Sammy pawns her off to wealthy Master Wang (Benson Fong) as a fiancée for his son, Wang Ta (Victor Sen Yung). Mei Li falls in love with Wang, but he wants to pursue Linda, who takes advantage of his affections to test Sammy’s love.
Asian Arts Initiative | 81 mins This program of six narrative shorts explores a variety of perspectives on queer-ness, coming out, and embracing one’s identity both overseas and amongst the Asian immigrant generation in the US. Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. Hoài (Ongoing/Memory) Director: Quyen Nguyen Le | 11 mins | USA A young Vietnamese American queer woman and her father cohabitate after her recent breakup, exploring themes of heartbreak from romantic relationships, to families, to nations. Salamagan Director: Elisa Oh | 12 mins | USA Ana fears that coming out to her Filipino Catholic mother would break her heart. But when her mother needs help cleaning a hoarder house, Ana enlists her secret girlfriend for the job. Straighten Out Director: Yung-Chieh Chang | 14 mins | Taiwan Sheng wakes up in a clinic with no memory of how he got there. When he discovers the truth, he faces a difficult choice: following his family’s religious beliefs or embrace his true identity. Rani Director: Hammad Rizvi | 14 mins | Pakistan A Pakistani transgender woman sets out to take care of an abandoned child. Hudson Director: Shae Xu | 10 mins | USA A young divorcee mother tries to find the right moment to tell her teenage son that the woman she lives with is actually her girlfriend. Uninvited Director: Seung Yeob Lee | 20 mins | South Korea When a closeted gay man’s mother comes for a sudden visit, he quickly hides evidence of his live-in boyfriend.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Director: Prakash Angdembe 105 mins | Documentary | Bhutan, India, Nepal | Nepali Desh Khojdai Janda’s film documents the more than 120,000 forgotten Nepali-speaking Bhutanese citizens from Bhutan who spent two decades in refugee camps (some of whom are still living there) in Jhapa and Morang, Nepal. Their years of repatriation struggle to their homeland continues with the character Karbari Kaka. Producer Pralhad Gurung is expected in attendance for a post film Q&A.
East Coast Premiere Director: Kulap Vilaysack 106 mins | Documentary | Laos | English, Lao In her directorial debut, actor/writer/podcaster Kulap Vilaysack explores her tangled family tree to find out who she is. When Vilaysack was 14, she took her father’s side in an argument and her mother replied, “Why are you defending him? He’s not your real dad.” Twenty years later, she’s finally ready to learn what that means. Origin Story is a feature-length, international quest with stops in Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Laos for Vilaysack to meet the biological father she never knew. On the road unforeseen revelations strike both hilarious or heartbreaking—but rarely in between. Origin Story is a deeply personal but universally relevant tale of immigration, conflict, identity, and personal responsibility. Interviewees in the film include extended family, husband Scott Aukerman, and close friends, like Sarah Silverman, Casey Wilson, June Diane Raphael, and Howard Kremer.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Director: Stephen Tringali 81 mins | Documentary | USA | English Get Tickets The image of the American hero is challenged in this heartfelt portrait of 9/11 Pentagon first-responder Isaac Ho’opi’i. A nationally recognized K9 Unit Officer, Isaac Ho’opi’i was responsible for saving numerous people from the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Countless articles were written about his heroism following 9/11, and he even ran the Olympic Torch on its way to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics. After the news cameras had been turned off and the lights dimmed, Isaac was left with the horrific images he had seen and the memory of those he was unable to save. Corridor Four is a feature-length documentary that illustrates Isaac’s story in the first-ever look at how the Pentagon handled mental health care in the aftermath of 9/11. Watch Trailer Officer Ho’opi’i is expected in attendance for a post film Q&A.
Asian Arts Initiative
1219 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Philadelphia Premiere Director: Dianne Fukami 60 mins | Documentary | USA | English Get Tickets A son of immigrants forced into a U.S. World War II concentration camp as a child, Norman Mineta became the first Asian American mayor of a major city (San Jose, California); enjoyed a distinguished 20-year career in Congress; was the first Asian American Cabinet member; served under two U.S. Presidents, a Democrat and Republican. Mineta never forgot his roots or the shame and humiliation he and his family felt during WWII and led the way for an apology from the U.S. government and redress for Japanese Americans. On September 11, 2001, his leadership as U.S. Secretary of Transportation would ensure that what happened to Japanese Americans during WWII did not happen to any other group based on ethnicity or religion. Secretary Mineta is expected in attendance for a post-film Q&A with director Dianne Fukami. Closing Reception 8:30-11:00pm | Asian Arts Initiative
