Fleisher Art Memorial
719 Catharine St, Philadelphia
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.
Fleisher Art Memorial
719 Catharine St, Philadelphia
This program of seven shorts each deal with a major transition, literal or figurative, and each challenge conventional storytelling in their execution. Fleisher Art Memorial | 61 mins Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. Monster Me Director: Yeon Jin Lee | 13 mins | USA An ancient monster emerges from the “Old Faithful” geyser at Yellowstone, attacking an artist in residency there, and wreaking havoc in Jackson Hole. Metamorphosis Director: Sophia You | 3 mins | USA Strangers pass each other every day on the ferries leaving and entering San Francisco - some find romance, others remain unseen. Sea of Fog explores the distance between the dreams we’re sold about love and its daily reality. Naan & Balsamic Vinaigrette Director: Urvashi Pathania | 6 mins | USA A story about love, loss, and those ephemeral salad days. Unfair & Lovely Director: Anita Kalathara | 4 mins | USA Influenced by years of color shaming, a dark-skinned Indian American woman uses lightening creams and other methods to whiten her skin. #justB Kenson’s Story Director: Kenson Alik | 3 mins | USA A Marshall Islander named Kenson is diagnosed with Hepatitis B and moves to Hawaii in search of treatment. Now, Kenson and his wife educate the Pacific Islander community in Hawaii about the disease, challenging myths about it and doing all they can to promote testing and care. Water in the Cup Director: Ikuo Kato | 6 mins | Japan A human being is like water in a bottle. But if the bottle breaks, where does the water go? Heaven is My Country Director: Tristan Hsu | 27 mins | Japan A high school freshman named Jin moves into a new town, where gets reacquainted with his older cousins. They help him adjust, but as the year progresses, Jin encounters voices, specters, and other happenings. As he tries to find a sense of self amidst the unsettling histories of this Asian American community, something from his past is haunting him as well.
US Premiere Director: Yoshiaki Kasatani 61 mins | Documentary | Japan | Japanese Atelier Yamanami is a care facility for the disabled located in Koka, Shiga Prefecture in Japan. Currently, 88 users are registered as artists, all of whom possess a unique way of expressing themselves through various media and whose works are highly valued abroad. This documentary explores these artists’ “relationship between their mental states and their art.” Screens with Morgan 6 mins | USA Director: Eiko Fan, Aidan Un Morgan has very limited mobility. He can swing his feet a little, and he moves his middle finger to paint large paintings. He cannot speak but his eyes can direct the computer to tell what he wants to say a little. His paintings speak of his unique ability and intention to express himself. Director Eiko Fan expected in attendance with film subject Morgan.
