Early Entry Deadline: April 11 ($25)
Final Entry Deadline: June 13 ($35)
Festival: October 19-16, 2008

All entries must be submitted online.

*Withoutabox members receive a $5 discount on entry fees.

Mark your calendar for the 9th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival, October 9-16, 2008.

The San Diego Asian Film Festival wraps its eighth year at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinema at Hazard Center which ended last week. During San Diego's largest Pan Asian cultural event, a record 15,000 attendees experienced over 150 short and feature films from over 15 different countries.

"The festival has reached a new level in terms of size, scope, programs, and number of films," said Lee Ann Kim, Executive Director and Founder of the film festival. "This demonstrates that the festival is affecting people, not only in San Diego, but in the Southern California region."

James Kyson Lee and George Takei arriving at the gala awards. Photo by Daniel K. Lew

Winners of the competitive portion of the festival were announced during the star-studded annual Awards Gala on October 13 at the Doubletree Hotel in front of a sold out crowd of 550 special guests. The filmmakers were presented with awards by several Asian American celebrities such as James Kyson Lee, Joy Bisco, Dustin Nguyen and Roger Fan. Acting legend George Takei was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Of his festival experience, Takei described the festival as "a rich and enriching contribution to the cultural landscape of San Diego. I know it will continue to grow and attract increasing numbers of film aficionados to this beautiful city by the sea."

New York-based filmmaker Linda Hattendorf took the Grand Jury Award, with her debut film CATS OF MIRIKITANI which documents homeless New York street artist Jimmy Mirikitani, a Japanese internment survivor. Best Narrative Feature went to Los Angeles-based filmmaker Stephane Gauger for OWL AND THE SPARROW and the Best Documentary Feature Award was given to Lisette Flanary for NA KAMALEI: MEN OF HULA. In the short film categories, Shyam Balse's MONSOON took Best Short Narrative; Carolyn Goossen's MOOKEY'S STORY, Gaelle Denis's CITY PARADISE for Best Short Animation; and Patricio Ginelsa's CHAMPION won for Best Music Video.

Hammer and Terry Matsuoka at the opening night party. Photo by Jose Bucud

This year's record-breaking attendance lead to several sold out programs and panels, including Opening Film Finishing the Game, Closing Night film West 32nd, the romantic comedy Shanghai Kiss, the controversial documentary Nanking, and a one-on-one panel with award-recipient George Takei. Other festival highlights include MC Hammer, filmmaker Justin Lin and the Finishing the Game cast celebrating at the Airport Lounge Opening Night Party; the first-ever live coverage of the festival on TVU internet broadcasting where festival events were seen all over the world; "youth day," a free afternoon film program for high school students; and an at-capacity audience at the festival's live music event Blowfish featuring music videos, performances by TIMZ, The Upstarts, Far*East Movement, as well as a farewell jam by former Air Guitar Champion C-Diddy.

Lastly, well-deserved recognition came in the form of a special showcase of documentaries by eight San Diego high-school students, in SDAFF's third annual Reel Voices Project. This internship provided local teens the opportunity to create their own short documentary films that were presented to a standing-room only crowd during the film festival. Each student also earned a $500 scholarship as part of the program.

"With the success of this year's programs and events" said Associate Festival Director George Lin, "We will continue to develop innovative programming that will provide a unique film festival experience.

Now you can watch the WEST 32ND trailer in high quality Stage6 DixV format. WEST 32ND is the festival's closing night film and is showing on Thursday, October 18 at 7 PM. Actor John Cho and director Michael Kang will be attending.

Interviewed by Lee Ann Kim, SDAFF Executive Director

Former SDAFF winner, director Michael Kang, returns to San Diego for closing night with his crossover thriller film, WEST 32nd, exposing the dark side of New York’s Korea Town.

Lee Ann Kim: Congrats on the incredible success of your second feature! It’s such a departure from THE MOTEL (awarded Best Dramatic Narrative Feature, SDAFF ‘05). What made you decide to focus your next feature on New York’s Koreatown?

Michael Kang: Having grown up in New England in a mostly non-Asian setting, moving to New York was a huge change for me. At the heart of that, I was always fascinated by my relationship to the Korean enclave of Flushing and the strip of Korean businesses on 32nd Street. The story of West 32nd was a way for me to explore the connections between 1.5 and 2nd generation Korean Americans.

LAK: So how much truth is there in your film? Is K-Town’s underworld as thrilling and scandalous as you make it out to be?

MK: There are lines blurred, but the heart of the film is based in facts. My co-writer Edmund Lee was a reporter at The Village Voice when I first met him, and he had been working for a year already on an expose on Korean criminal culture. The case involved in the film is also very common and actually had been inspired by a real murder of a room salon manager a friend who worked in the non-profit sector had told me about. Obviously, there is artistic license taken in the delivery of these events, but it is the essence of truth.

Continue reading the Q&A here.

Jane Kim at the Gala Awards. Photo by Jose Bucud

DAILY VIDEO REPORTS:

• The Down Low

PHOTOS:

• The Regala 3
• Daniel K. Lew
• Jose Bucud
• Michael Domingo

BLOGS:

• Craig Reid
• Leslie Truong

The San Diego Asian Film Festival is proud to end its eighth season with the West Coast premiere of WEST 32nd, a thriller, action film set in New York's Koreatown with an all-star cast including John Cho (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) and Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica). Cho portrays an attorney who takes on a pro bono murder case that leads him into the dark underworld of Koreatown. Cho and other actors from WEST 32nd are scheduled to attend, along with director Michael Kang and former San Diego actor, Chil Kong.

Anyone with a closing night film ticket or All-Festival Pass is invited to join us for hosted drinks and appetizers during the pre-closing night reception at the UltraStar Hazard Center lobby. The reception begins at 5:30 PM and the film starts at 7.

With millions of fans around the world, George Takei is arguably Asian America's most famous living icon. Best known for his distinctive voice and portrayal of Mr. Sulu (or Lt. Hikaru Sulu for you Trekkies) on the acclaimed television and film series Star Trek, George has more than 30 feature films and hundreds of television guest-starring roles to his credit.

Photo by Daniel K. Lew

Even today, George continues his remarkable career as a recurring character on the popular NBC show, Heroes, playing Kaito Nakamura, the father of time-traveler Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka). You can also catch him as a semi-regular on Howard Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show, where he has garnered praise from loyal Stern fans for his sense of humor, honesty, and his booming laugh.

George's notoriety has also given him the platform to share his experiences of spending most of his childhood in American internment camps during World War II. He is an outspoken community activist and a member of the Human Rights Campaign, having traveled the country to speak on civil rights for gay, lesbian, and transgender Americans.

For his five decades in Hollywood and his invaluable contributions to society, the San Diego Asian Film Foundation is honoring George Takei with a lifetime achievement award, and we will host THE TREK OF GEORGE TAKEI: AN INTIMATE DISCUSSION with him on his career, his life, and legacy.

This event will be broadcast live on the internet today from 1-2:30 PM. See it live on The Buzz.

Lisette Flanary, Shyam Balse, Patricio Ginelsa, George Takei, Linda Hattendorf,
Daffodil Altan, and Carolyn Goossen at the Gala Awards Dinner.
Photo by Daniel K. Lew

Congratulations to the following filmmakers awarded at the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival. Most of these award-winning films have multiple screenings, so you can still see them before this year's festival ends on Thursday, October 18.

Music Video
CHAMPION by NATIVE GUNS
Patricio Ginelsa, director

Animation
CITY PARADISE
Gaelle Denis, director

Short Documentary
MOOKEY'S STORY
Carolyn Goossen & Daffodil Altan, directors

Dramatic Narrative Short
MONSOON
Shyam Balse, director

Feature Documentary
NA KAMALEI: THE MEN OF HULA
Lisette Flanary, Director

Dramatic Narrative Feature
OWL AND THE SPARROW
Stephane Gauger, director

Grand Jury
CATS OF MIRIKITANI
Linda Hattendorf, director

SENTENCED HOME follows three Cambodian American men who after serving the full sentence for their crimes are deported back to a country that had tortured and murdered their families. David Grabias hopes his film "encourages people to reconsider the laws and lobby for change."

Meet director David Grabias at the screening of SENTENCED HOME on Sunday, Oct 14 at 12:15 PM. You can also see the documentary on Wednesday, Oct 17 at 5:15 PM.

Official festival blogger Craig Reid chats with director Justin Lin, gets serious with Air Guitar Nation star C. Diddy, and champions the virtues of well-made low budget films.

Read his blog here.

Tune into The Buzz for a live broadcast of our Gala Awards Dinner tonight at 8-9 PM. At the sold out, star-studded event we will be awarding filmmakers showing at the festival and honoring George Takei with a lifetime achievement award. Takei will be in attendance as we celebrate his 49 years (and counting) in Hollywood as a pioneering Asian American actor.

See it live on The Buzz.

Jane Kim on her path to becoming an actor: "I think deep down in my heart, I knew this was my path. However, my rational and sensible side pushed me towards becoming an international lawyer. I was on the debate team in high school and was very academic. However, I kept dipping my feet into the entertainment business as I got sponsored to do pageants and actually won. I was Miss Preteen Atlanta and Miss Georgia Teen USA and even ended up competing in Miss Korea."

Continue reading the interview here.

Meet Jane in person at the screening of TIE A YELLOW RIBBON on Sunday, Oct 14 at 2:45 PM.

This year, the festival will feature more youth-produced work than ever before with the world premiere of 8 documentaries created through our REEL VOICES PROJECT, a year-long documentary production internship for local high school students. Since 2005, the San Diego Asian Film Foundation has produced 21 short documentaries, teaching youth how to empower themselves through the media arts. Many of these student works have been selected to screen at film festivals across the nation.

REEL VOICES premieres October 14 at 11:30 AM at a FREE public screening. All 8 student filmmakers will be in attendance, with stories that include:

• A MODERN WITCH HUNT: THE DALE AKIKI STORY, directed by Adam Lee. Adam is the son of the San Diego public defender who worked to win Akiki his freedom. "A San Diego church volunteer made national headlines when he was accused of child molestation and ritual satanic abuse."
  
  
• NANAY, directed by Roland Lazarte. This moving documentary chronicles the filmmaker’s family as they gather together to reflect after the matriarch of the family falls ill. "A young man witnesses the power of love and family when old age finally catches up with his 91 year-old grandmother."

Director Chen Shi-Zheng's DARK MATTER plunges the expansive and progressive world of academia into darkened corners - the film is loosely based on the true story of Gang Lu, a brilliant young physicist from China whose talents met a tragic end at an American university in 1991.

Click here to continue reading Charles Nguyen's article on our spotlight film, DARK MATTER.

See DARK MATTER on Saturday, Oct 13 at 5:10 PM.

The selection of festival pictures keeps growing on The Buzz. Take a look at the festival galleries of these fine photographers:

• The Regala 3
• Daniel K. Lew
• Jose Bucud
• Michael Domingo

posted at 8:05pm

Not only are we having fun in the theaters, we've also got FREE programs running the entire festival in the theater lobby. While waiting for your next film program, sit back, relax and:

a) Treat your eyes and ears to the latest tunes in the MVP: MUSIC VIDEO PROGRAM and a variety of short films, entertaining segments, and festival film trailers on our flat-screen televisions.

b) Rock out to live acoustic performances by some of Southern California's most talented musicians at BLOWFISH: UNPLUGGED on Saturday afternoon in the lobby from 1:30-6:00. Here's an exclusive video preview of BLOWFISH: UNPLUGGED brought to you by the Down Low crew.

c) See SEXY BEIJING, the latest from filmmaker/journalist Sufei and her adventures and escapades in modern Beijing.

Congratulations to Leslie Truong, a San Diego State University senior, who won our Film Review Competition for her essay on AMERICAN PASTIME, a touching drama about how Japanese Americans coped with life in a World War II internment camp through baseball.

You can read her winning review online and in the October 11 Night&Day section of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Leslie is also blogging about the festival and you can read it here.

Tune into the The Buzz today between 6 and 7 PM for live interviews with directors and actors at the festival.

Festival photographers, the Regala 3, were busy snapping away on opening night. See their pictures from the FINISHING THE GAME Q&A, post-film reception, and the opening night party at Airport Lounge. Celebrities include FINISHING THE GAME director Justin Lin, MC Hammer, Dustin Nguyen, Roger Fan, and Sung Kang.

Additional opening night coverage is available on The Buzz.

Check out these DivX Stage6 DVD-quality trailers for WEST 32ND, FINISHING THE GAME, THE REBEL, and DARK MATTER.

Daily video reports from the Down Low take you behind the scenes. In the first installment, the SDAFF's own Lee Ann Kim and Michael Chen give a sneak peek of some of the festival's films and festivities. Watch it here.

Come kick off SDAFF 2007 with our second annual music and video showcase. A dynamic convergence of Asian American talent, Blowfish is an exploration of the intersection of beats, rhymes and film, through live performance and projected videos. Don't miss this party, a deadly but delicious mix of Los Angeles party-rocking with San Diego flavor.

SPECIAL!
$7 Discounted Guest List: please RSVP to blowfish@sdaff.org by noon, 10/12.

Featured Performers:

FAR*EAST MOVEMENT
Representing the Fresh Coast with their party-rocking new school sound.
www.fareastmovement.com

THE UPSTARTS
Breathing a refreshing sound back into the minds and souls"Classic Hip-Hop."
www.Myspace.com/TheUpStarts

TIMZ
American born rapper of Chaldean and Iraqi descent--gets right up in our faces, mixing explosive, Middle Eastern tinged beats with incendiary rhymes in an effort to shatter those ugly stereotypes.
www.Timzonline.com

Spinning Fresh Beats:
DJ Aesthetic
DJ VU DO

Featured Music Videos:
Ain't No Sunshine - Tatum Jones (Director: Tatum Jones)
Iraq - TIMZ (Director: Ron Najor)
Back Home - Blue Scholars (Director: Zia)
Champion - Native Guns (Director: Patricio Ginelsa)
Post 9/11 Blues - MC Riz (Director: Between the Eyes UK)
Make Ya Self - Far East Movement

AUBERGINE Night Club
Downtown San Diego
500 4th and Island
San Diego, CA 92101
619-232-8100
http://www.aubergineon4th.com

10pm (Doors open at 8pm)
21+ Only
$10 at the door
$7 w/ Festival ticket stub

Co-Presented By:
Onami

We have run out of tickets for AMERICAN PASTIME and ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE on Saturday, October 13. Rush line tickets may be available 15 minutes before the scheduled showtime. Please arrive early if you plan to get in the rush line outside of the theater.

Questions about festival tickets? Read our Ticket FAQ.

We are sold out of All-Festival Passes. You can still buy tickets online for individual film programs and panel discussions until Tuesday, October 9 at 12:01 AM PST. Starting October 10, you can buy tickets onsite at the UltraStar Hazard Center box office. Festival 4-Packs will also be available at the box office until they are sold out.

This year we're partnering with TVU Networks to bring you live coverage of the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival. From the festival web site you'll be able to tune into live video feeds of opening night red carpet entrances, our star-studded gala awards dinner, filmmaker interviews, and much more. More details to come.

Widely known for this crossover rap hits and baggy parachute pants, Hammer also was the angel investor who supplied emergency funding for Justin Lin's breakthrough film, "Better Luck Tomorrow." Look out for Hammer's cameo in Lin's latest feature, FINISHING THE GAME.

Director Chris Chan Lee on Asian America and film noir: "The unspoken exchange is a key ingredient in my mind to our Asian upbringing, and as a director I believe a modern Asian American noir drama was the perfect platform to explore this idea of internal or non-verbal communication."

Continue reading here.

Animator David Chai on embracing wackiness: "Ha, we are surrounded by whackiness… it's inescapable! I'm especially fortunate to teach in an animation program, where the craziness is even more concentrated."

Continue reading here.

We have run out of online tickets for FINISHING THE GAME and NANKING. Rush line tickets may be available 15 minutes before the scheduled showtime. Please arrive early if you plan to get in the rush line outside of the theater.

Questions about festival tickets? Read our Ticket FAQ.

Lisette Marie Flanary on showing the real Hawai'i: "A big part of the focus of my work is about breaking down stereotypes and stigmas about hula and Hawai'i so having this film reach a wide audience has been really rewarding."

Continue reading here.

Tickets are sold out for the Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday, October 13. This year we will present a lifetime achievement award to actor George Takei, honoring his 49 years in Hollywood.

If you would like to be put on the waiting list, please email sheila@sdaff.org.

Discounted tickets, All-Festival Passes and group discounts will be available until Tuesday, October 9, at 12:01 AM.

All-Festival Pass * All Festival passes are sold out $100 general public $50 members (Click here to become a member.) Make the most of your festival experience by purchasing an All-Festival Pass. This gives you front-of-line privilege to all film programs, panels, and free entrance to our opening night reception and Blowfish music event. It's convenient and a bargain! Only a limited number of passes will be made available, online only.

Festival 4-Pack $25 at the UltraStar box office Not sure what to watch? Don't want to commit to a particular program? Want to save money? Purchase our Festival 4-Pack online, which comes to only $6.25 per program! Good for films and panels, but cannot be used for our opening or closing night films ("Finishing the Game" and "West 32nd"). Festival 4-Packs will be available at the box office until they are sold out.

Juwan Chung talks about the ups and downs of making films. "Everything seemed to be almost perfect up until about a week before shooting - that’s when the universal law of film kicked in. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

Continue reading here.

Now you can browse the schedule and purchase tickets for individual films, short film programs, and panel discussions.

The San Diego Asian Film Festival is excited to announce its eighth season, taking place at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinemas at Hazard Center, October 11-18, 2007. As San Diego's largest Pan Asian cultural event, an estimated 15,000 attendees will experience over 130 short and feature films from over 12 different countries including the U.S., Canada, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. This year marks the festival's most competitive year for feature length films, boasting a record 25 Asian American feature film selections - nearly double from last year.

Meryl Streep in DARK MATTER

The festival opens on Thursday, October 11 with the Justin Lin's Sundance feature, FINISHING THE GAME, a comedy about casting the new Bruce Lee to finish Game of Death. Director Lin, and most of his principal cast (Sung Kang, MC Hammer, Roger Fan, Dustin Nguyen) is expected to attend.

Bookending the festival on closing night, Thursday, October 18, is the West Coast premiere of WEST 32nd, a gangster drama set in New York's Korea Town. An official selection at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, WEST 32nd stars John Cho, Grace Park and Jane Kim.

Our spotlight film stars Meryl Streep and Aidan Quinn in DARK MATTER, a powerful, stunning thriller based on the true story of Liu Xing, a foreign exchange student from China who turned to violence in the face of academic ruin. Other features include cult director Park Chan-wook's I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OK, the Thai horror hit THE VICTIM, the Japanese show-stopper HULA GIRLS, the art-house favorite AFTER THIS OUR EXILE, and the hilarious and audience-pleasing documentary AIR GUITAR NATION. Seven short film programs include our popular all-animation program and REEL VOICES a short documentary showcase of local high school students.

AFTER THIS OUR EXILE

The festival will honor actor George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes) with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 50 years in Hollywood. Other actors scheduled to attend include Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street, V.I.P, The Rebel), Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica), John Cho ("Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," "West 32nd"), James Kyson Lee (Heroes), Sung Kang ("Better Luck Tomorrow," "The Motel"), Roger Fan ("Better Luck Tomorrow," "Annapolis"), Aaron Yoo ("Disturbia"), and Yul Kwon (winner of Survivor) Patrons can also participate in panels, parties, and meet more than 100 filmmakers, actors, and industry guests. Most of the VIPs will be available for interviews before or during the festival's Gala Awards Ceremony on Saturday, October 13 at the Doubletree Hotel in Mission Valley.

Discounted tickets ($5-10) will be available online starting in mid-September. Otherwise, the public can buy tickets at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinemas at Hazard Center box office during the days of the festival. Onsite prices range from $7-15. Group, student, and military discounts will be available.

Make the most of your festival experience by purchasing an All-Festival Pass ($100 general public/$50 members). This gives you front-of-line privilege to all film programs, panels, and free entrance to our opening night reception and Blowfish music event. It's convenient and a bargain! Only a limited number of passes will be made available, online only.

Not sure what to watch? Don't want to commit to a particular program? Want to save money? Purchase our Festival 4-Pack online ($25), which comes to only $6.25 per program! Good for films and panels, but cannot be used for our opening or closing night films ("Finishing the Game" and "West 32nd"). Limited supply.

The film schedule and descriptions will be online by September 5. At that time you will also be able to order All-Festival Passes ($100), Festival 4-Packs ($25), and opening/closing night tickets ($12).

We are seeking college and high school candidates for our annual Student Film Review Competition, in partnership with San Diego Union-Tribune and the Asian American Journalists Association. The winning review will be published in the San Diego Union-Tribune during the week of the 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival, October 11-18, 2007. The winning student will receive a $500 scholarship, an All-Festival Pass, and two complimentary seats at the SDAFF Gala Awards Dinner, Saturday October 13.

After months of recruiting films and sleepless nights for programmers, we are proud to announce the films that selected for our 8th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival! Check out what made the cut.

Justin Lin's Sundance film, FINISHING THE GAME, is confirmed for opening night on October 11. This is a one time only screening, so be sure to get your tickets early!

Grace Park in WEST 32nd

The West Coast premiere of Michael Kang's WEST 32ND, starring John Cho, Grace Park, and Jane Kim is confirmed for closing night, October 18.

The amazing actor, George Takei, will accept our Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday, October 13 at the Doubletree Hotel. The Festival will also present a one-on-one discussion with Mr. Takei on Sunday, October 14, at the theatre.

We are currently reviewing several hundred film submissions and should make our final selections by mid July. We hope to post the official film selection list by early August, so keep checking back. Also, we have added a fourth screen at the UltraStar to accomodate our growing audience this year. Which means we can provide more film programs over the 8 days!