The San Diego Asian Film Foundation is partnering with Sharp Health Plan and the American Cancer Society to make a difference in the fight against cancer during our 10th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival.

The issue is timely not only because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, but this is our first film festival without our dear friend and program director, George Lin, who passed away last year from a rare form of cancer called pheochromocytoma. We have several members of our staff and board who have also survived the disease or whose loved ones are dealing with cancer.

Everyone's life has been touched by cancer. In the U.S., cancer accounts for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths, and cancer has been the number one killer of Asian American women since 1980. This year, there will be an estimated 150,000 new cancer cases in California alone.

We have a selection of cancer-related films that include:

• 100
• Be Sure to Share
• In Love We Trust

Also, all ticket sales to the film Before We Close, will be donated to the George C. Lin Memorial Fund, which benefits cancer research.

Join our live origami project by folding a paper crane in our lobby. Our goal is to string together 1,000 cranes and donate them to a local cancer patient. This project is inspired by the true story of Sadako, a Japanese girl, who developed leukemia from the radiation in Hiroshima. According to tradition, making 1,000 paper cranes would allow her one wish, which was to live.