asian arts initiative

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.

Director: Stephen Tringali 81 mins | Documentary | USA | English 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. Officer Ho’opi’i is expected in attendance for a post film Q&A.

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.

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.