2013 Film Festival 

Thursday, October 24

2014 | 94 mins | Action/Drama
Directed by Wai-kung Lau, Andrew Lo

Opening Night - 
· 20th Anniversary Screening ·

Friday, October 25

| 78 mins |

Shorts I 

Friday, October 25, 7:00PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

A heartwarming collection of short films by fresh and up-and-coming filmmakers, carefully arranged to provoke reflection on family, personal identity, and tragic circumstance.

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Featuring: 
| SHAYA | JIN | 
| RAINY DAY FOR EARTHWORMS (dir. Gary Mei in attendance) | 
| MEI (dir. Margaret To in attendance) | 
| KIMCHI FRIED DUMPLINGS |
| KNOTS OF MY SHOES | TULE LAKE |

Sake-Bomb
(New England Premiere)

Friday, October 25, 9:15PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

A ʻʻSake-Bombʼʼ is a cocktail created by dropping a shot of sake into a pint of beer. It’s also a comedic road movie about a sarcastic Asian American and his Japanese cousin. Sebastian is a bitter, self-deprecating wannabe Internet star from Los Angeles. He has recently been dumped by his girlfriend and on the look-out for someone new. When his cousin Naoto, a naive sake maker from Japan, shows up to find his own ex-girlfriend, Sebastian takes him to north California to find her. They are a clash of cultures waiting to happen. Someone has to break first. Together they meet a colorful group of characters as they come to grips with who they are and the true nature of the girlfriends they are pursuing.

Watch the Trailer >>

Saturday, October 26

FREE Community Screening
Community Stories

Saturday, October 26, 1:30PM
Josiah Quincy School, Chinatown
885 Washington Street, Boston

Featuring: 
KNOTS OF MY SHOES (dir. Mary Ouk)
FINDING THE FIERCE GAYSIAN WITHIN (dir. Hung An Nguyen)
RAISING EMMA (dir. Jeffrey Lin)
MY PROMISE (dir. Ally Yee)
UNLOCKING MEMORIES (dir. Thary Lim)
2013 | 95 mins | Drama
Directed by Keo Woolford

The Haumāna
(New England Premiere)

Saturday, October 26, 2:00PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

When the charismatic host of a cheesy tourist show in Waikiki accepts the challenge of leading a group of high school boys through the demanding discipline required for a traditional hula festival, he becomes as much a student as a teacher when he reconnects with the culture of Hawai`i he previously abandoned.

Watch the Trailer >>
Director Woolford

Keo recently directed the short film Lunchtime which is an official selection at major film festivals around the world, including Frame line in San Francisco, and Outfest in Los Angeles, It was nominated for and won several awards including the PhredLove Hawaii`i Filmmakers Award at Hawaii Rainbow Film Festival and Special Jury Award at Sicilia Queer Film Festival.
2011 | 58 mins | Documentary
Directed by Yuriko Gamo Romer
Director Gamo's Bio

Director/Producer,Yuriko Gamo Romer’s film MRS JUDO: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful has traveled to over fifteen film festivals internationally and was awarded the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary in March 2013 at the Festival of Sport Film in Moscow

Community Screening
Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful 
(New England Premiere)

Saturday, October 26, 3:30PM
Josiah Quincy School, Chinatown
885 Washington Street, Boston

Director Yuriko Gamo Romer in attendance

Once in a long while, the life destiny of one woman lines up to make a radical shift for women around the world. In the summer of 2011, Keiko Fukuda broke through a glass ceiling for women when she was awarded the pinnacle of judo, the 10th degree (black belt). Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful is the story of Keiko Fukuda, whose life commitment was to spread judo around the globe. The film offers a thematic exploration of profound shifts in Japanese society and the altered status of women on both sides of the Pacific, with a visual style that honors Fukuda’s motto, which is also the film’s subtitle. 

Watch the Trailer >>
| 95 mins |

Paper: Shorts II

Saturday, October 26, 4:00PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

Filmmakers in attendance

This lively film program presents a collection of evocative shorts on love and perseverance. 

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Featuring:
| EXCESS BAGGAGE | HEALTHY |
| SWEETLY BROKEN | DAWN | UNMENTIONABLES |
| BOLLYWOOD INVASION | LIL TOKYO REPORTER |
2013 | 79 mins | Drama
Directed by Nadine Truong
Director Truong Bio

Nadine Truong is a filmmaker, director, writer and photographer. She received her MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory.Her directorial credits include Chopsticks (which premiered at the 2007 Vietnamese International Film Festival), The Muse (a dramatic short produced under the Visual Communications "Armed with a Camera" Fellowship for Emerging Media Artists) which also screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Someone I Used To Know
(New England Premiere)

Saturday, October 26, 6:45PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

Director Nadine Truong & Actor Brian Yang in attendance

Someone I Used to Know is a charming, entertaining, and rather nuanced story about the strained relationship between three high school friends, now in their 30s, whose lives have turned out to be nothing like they had imagined. As they lose their way, they rediscover their friendship.

This drama begins with high stakes, when life hangs in the balance, with a fateful event that ultimately pulls Charlie, Luke, and D.J. back together. Soon, their reunion crashes them into the paths of three entertaining strangers. And as the dark and knowing night goes, so go their guards and expectations.
2013 | 100 mins | Thriller
Directed by DJ Holloway & Sun W. Kim
Director Kim Bio

Sun W. Kim is an award winning writer-director and the founder of a non-profit media advocacy group called Talent 1 Media, which brings social awareness through the art of filmmaking. Sun has been producing, writing, and directing films for the last decade and is based in Los Angeles

Centerpiece Film - Innocent Blood
(New England Premiere)

Saturday, October 26, 9:00PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

Actress Alexandra Chun in attendance

James Park, a retired undercover detective, faces his worst nightmare when his young son Cody is kidnapped by a mysterious criminal connected to his dark past. As James begins to unravel the criminal's game of vengeance, he and his wife are forced to reconcile his past transgressions and keep their faith as they fight to bring their son home safely. 

Watch the Trailer >>

Sunday, October 27

| 86 mins |
Dir. Ng Bio (So Are you Chinese? A Story from the Boston Busing Crisis )

Yvonne Ng is a native Bostonian. She's also a lover of storytelling - in all of its wonderful multimedia forms.

Dir. Tau Bio (Keye Luke)

Timothy Tau is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. His short story, "The Understudy" won Grand Prize in the Hyphen Magazine/Asian American Writer’s Workshop Short Story Contest and is published in the Winter 2011 issue of Hyphen Magazine (Issue No. 24, “The Survival Issue”). His short story “Land of Origin” also won Second Prize in the Playboy College Fiction Contest. He is currently developing both short stories into feature film projects.

Dir. Seligman Bio (Wild Wild West)

Director Todd Seligman has had an interesting career path from professional Extreme Sports Athlete, to Mandalay Entertainment, Glendale Studios and Adore Creative, to launching his own companies: Dardvl Entertainment, BTS Staging and Gilbert & Seligman Production Group.


Dir. Lai Bio (At your Convenience)

Raymond C. Lai graduated with his MFA in Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. While there, he focused on crafting tales of comedy with heart. This pursuit culminated in his thesis project, the award-winning live-action/animated sitcom pilot At Your Convenience, which he co-wrote, directed, executive produced and edited.

Dir. Peteja Bio (..Or Die)

John Petaja was raised in the high mountains of Helena, Montana. Upon discoveringMontanans are allowed to make films, he enrolled in film school, graduated, and moved to sunny Los Angeles to make films professionally.

Dir. Shim Bio (Color Theory)

Minhae Shim is an experimental filmmaker, interdisciplinary artist, and writer.She co-founded Roshi Productions with her partner, filmmaker Daniel Roth, in 2010. Shim and Roth are currently experimenting with performance, text and cinematographic theory.

Dir. Phang Bio (Advantageous)

Jennifer Phang is a San Francisco based filmmaker. Her award‐winning feature HALF‐LIFE premiered at 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was released by the Sundance Channel. Jennifer was then invited to the Sundance Screenwriting Labs to develop her next project, LOOK FOR WATER, a play adaptation.

Scissors: Shorts III

Sunday, October 27, 1:00PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

A fascinating showcase of seven short films exploring the human experience through the lens of identity, career, friendship, love, and family. 

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Featuring:
| SO ARE YOU CHINESE? (Dir. Yvonne Ng & Cynthia Yee in attendance) | KEYE LUKE (Dir. Timothy Tau in attendance) | 
 | WILD WILD WEST | AT YOUR CONVENIENCE |
| ...OR DIE | COLOR THEORY (Dir. Minhae Shim & Daniel Roth in attendance) | ADVANTAGEOUS |
2013 | 76 mins | Documentary
Directed by Janet Gardner
Director's Bio

Ms Gardner founded The Gardner Group, Inc. in 1990 to direct and produce documentaries that emphasize the human experience in the context of historic events. Credits include the NEH-funded Mechanic to Millionaire: The Peter Cooper Story (PBS) 2010; Precious Cargo produced in association with ITVS(PBS/ National Geographic Channels International, 2002); Siberian Dream, 2004;Dancing Through Death (PBS/ STARTV, 1999); and Emmy-nominated A World Beneath the War (PBS/ Discovery Channels International, 1997). Her documentaries have received national and international awards from the International Documentary Association,Society of Professional Journalists' Deadline Club, CINE, Casey Journalism Center, and Society of American Travel Writers.

Lost Child
(Boston Premiere)

Sunday, October 27, 3:00PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

Director Janet Gardner in attendance with co-producer Sopheap Theam, and subject feature, Sayon Soeun (New England locals)

This film shows how one Khmer Rouge child soldier confronts his childhood experiences during Cambodia’s darkest hour, what he witnessed, and struggled with as he came of age.

Sayon Soeun was abducted at the age of six, exploited by the Khmer Rouge, his family life and education stolen. His recovery and redemption from unimaginable evil entails his transition from an orphanage in a refugee camp to adoption by a loving American family. After more than 35 years, he recently made contact with brothers and a sister he assumed were dead. The documentary follows his journey to heal himself by forgiving the family that let him slip away and forgiving himself for his complicity as a Khmer Rouge child soldier.
2013 | 110 mins | Drama
Directed by Adam Wong
Director’s Profile

Adam WONG studied at Ying Wa College for his secondary school. While he was studying Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he traveled as an exchange student to the University of Iowa, USA, and made use of the course sand facilities there to start making short films. His shorts Fish (97), Ah Wai &Murphy (99) and Glowing (00) were awarded at IFBa. His features include When Beckham Met Owen (04, the Opening Film of the 1st Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and the winner of the Independent Spirits Award) and Magic Boy (07, nominated for the best new director of the Hong Kong Film Awards). In 2009, together with other 6 Asian directors, he released the collaborative film The Moon of which he directed the part Pinwheel.

Closing Night - The Way We Dance 
(East Coast Premiere)

Sunday, October 27, 5:00PM
Bright Family Screening Room, The Paramount Center
559 Washington Street, Boston

A young girl born with the soul of hip-hop joins a collegiate dance crew and discovers that dance and Tai Chi are more connected than it seems.

Special Guest Appearance with Director Adam Wong

Watch the Trailer >>
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2013 Film Festival Trailers & More
Boston Asian American Film Festival