HOME > FILMS
MAY 7 - 12:00 p.m. • Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre
THE QUEEN FROM VIRGINIA: The Jackie Bong Wright Story
(United States, 2005) Dir.: David Ngo
THE QUEEN FROM VIRGINIA profiles the journey of Jackie Bong Wright, former Vietnam War refugee, as she competes in the week-long Ms. Senior America national pageant. Spanning the course of one week, THE QUEEN FROM VIRGINIA takes a behind-the-scenes look at Jackie's experience as she competes in this unique pageant. From the first rehearsal to the final coronation, the film reveals the strength and spirit of a woman who has rebuilt her life in America after surviving personal tragedies suffered from the Vietnam War.
Video, 90 minutes, color, documentary
MAY 7 - 12:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 2
TO BE ANNOUNCED
MAY 7 - 1:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 3
FOREIGN SKY
(Japan/North Korea, 2005) Dir.: Soni Kum
Highly impressionistic and revealing in equal measures, FOREIGN SKY examines the strained relationships between North Koreans living in Japan and the policies of the Japanese government through the experiences of the filmmaker's family. A third-generation North Korean who grew up in a North Korean community in Japan, director Kum uses family history and unearthed memory to essay the hardships, both internal and external, that are visited upon a greatly misunderstood community of people.
Video, 75 minutes, color, documentary, in Japanese w/E.S.
MAY 7 - 2:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 1
ONLY THE BRAVE
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Lane Nishikawa
Performance artist and writer Lane Nishikawa's career-long preoccupation with the all-Japanese American 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team hits its apotheosis with this dramatized reimagining of the rescue of the Texas 36th Division, the "Lost Battalion," in 1944. The Nisei saved 211 out of the 275 Texans, but suffered more than 800 casualties of their own.
ONLY THE BRAVE is the first motion picture about the all-Japanese American 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team as seen through the eyes of the men who lived it. The story was based on the actual experiences of his three Nisei uncles who served in the 100th/442nd, as well as other veterans who shared their memories with him over the years. The film captures the personal tragedies and sacrifices of the soldiers-played by Jason Scott Lee, Mark Dacascos, Yuji Okumoto, Greg Watanabe and Ken Narasaki-during the final days of their rescue of the Texas "Lost Battalion" (represented by Jeff Fahey and Guy Ecker).
Video, 97 minutes, color, narrative
MAY 7 - 2:15 p.m. • Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre
BLUE CHA CHA
(Taiwan, 2005) Dir.: Cheng Wen-tang
A-Yu, a woman just released from prison, has an isolated ego. She successively encountered and fell in love with two different men-a charming businessman and a factory leader. However, the love faded so soon. A-Yu, with the injured soul, returns to her close-friend Ann. They were in the same jail. As the true sisterhood, Ann takes care of A-Yu and comforts her tormented soul with warmth and generosity. One day, a puppet show is performed on the seashore as a memorial ceremony to the sea God. An autistic fisherman with puppets in his hands makes the sealed soul A-Yu burst into a bright smile unseen for a long time....
35mm, 108 minutes, color, narrative, in Mandarin w/E.S.
MAY 7 - 2:15 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 2
There are times when your perfect little world gets rocked by the littlest things-a visiting grandmother, the brother you never knew you had, or maybe the romantic hook-up that proves a great, big delusion. So whaddya do, heh? This selection of smart, knowing works posits the notion that you can't just let things lie...you sometimes have to take action and make things right.
TRT: 107 minutes
contemplating annie
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Thyrale Thai
A young Chinese American woman is forced to take a closer look at herself when her grandmother, whom she has never met, is dropped on her doorsteps and interrupts her carefree life.
16mm, 22 minutes, color, narrative
SHOUT
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Lillian Wang
18-year-old Sadie lives an idyllic suburban life, but underneath this perfect veneer, her restlessness grows. Everything changes when her dying grandfather comes to live with her, and her best friend Henry announces he is going away for college. Faced with her impending loss, Sadie embarks on her first act of independence.
35mm, 18 minutes, color, narrative
JANIE
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Christine Shin
Janie has a perfect life as an only daughter in a loving family. Her life, however, gets completely shattered when Ben, her little brother she never knew existed, unexpectedly shows up to live with her family.
35mm, 18 minutes, color, narrative
WHO LOVES THE SUN
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Chen-Hsi Wong
When three young kids run riot one hot summer's day in East Los Angeles, they spin brutally out of control, forcing them to question the nature of their friendship and actions.
35m, 14 minutes, color, narrative
SNAPDRAGON
(United States/South Korea, 2005) Dir.: Sun Tae Hwang
A young Korean living illegally in America meets and falls in love with a Caucasian woman in an abusive marriage. He becomes caught up in a web of deception that pushes him to take drastic measures to try to save them both.
35mm, 25 minutes, color, narrative
THE GLASS BEADS
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Angeles Woo
When a small boy is badly injured in an accident, his father finds the needed emergency medical care in a most unlikely location...
35mm, 10, color, narrative
MAY 7 - 3:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theatre 3
REPEAT of Program 5
TRT: 74 minutes
MAY 7 - 5:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theatre 3
The first half of this Malaysian compilation consists of noteworthy entries to a recent short-film contest on the controversial subject of the tudung (the headscarf worn by Muslim women). Although not compulsory to be worn (unlike in Iran or Afghanistan) its usage has increased with greater Islamic consciousness. These five shorts, ranging from the witty to the earnest, offer different takes on how religious, gender and social identities are read into the tudung. The last four shorts have nothing to do with the tudung at all, but are highlights from the burgeoning indie scene, which like any indie scene is heavy on sex and violence. Curated by Amir Muhammad.
TRT: 80 minutes
FREE HAIR
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: Azmad
Who wears the tudung and why? The answers are not as clear-cut as many would think.
Video, 9 minutes, color, documentary, in Malay and English w/E.S.
THE LITTLE TUDUNG
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: Tan Gaik Lan
Follow little Aina on her eventful day as she wears the tudung for the first time.
Video, 11 minutes, color, narrative, in Malay w/E.S.
TUDUNG HATI BUAH SAJI (Sweetheart)
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: Yee Hwa
A romantic musical in the style of old Malay cinema.
Video, 3 minutes, color, narrative, in Malay w/E.S.
TUDUNG
(Malaysia, 2005) Dirs: Liew Seng Tat, Zan Azlee
What is the purpose of the tudung? Is it to keep things clean and fresh?
Video, 3 minutes, color, documentary, in Malay w/E.S.
TUESDAY BE MY FRIEND
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: Chong Chan Fui
Chinese girls are usually not Muslim and thus not expected to wear the tudung. But this short opens up a new scenario.
Video, 9 minutes, color, narrative, in Mandarin w/E.S.
SOMETIMES LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: James Lee
The laundry girl and the motorcycle girl have been friends since childhood. But recently their relationship has changed.
Video, 12 minutes, color, narrative, in Mandarin w/E.S.
WICKED
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: Aaron Chung
Does TV cause violence?
Video, 3 minutes, color, narrative, no dialogue
IT'S POSSIBLE YOUR HEART CANNOT BE BROKEN
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: Woo Ming Jin
A black comedy about the disintegration of a love affair.
Video, 15 minutes, color, narrative, in Mandarin w/E.S.
MAJIDEE
(Malaysia, 2005) Dir.: Azharr Rudin
A one-take wonder as we follow two men in a conversation that's not as innocent as it first seems.
Video, 15 minutes, color, narrative, in Malay w/E.S.
MAY 7 - 5:00 p.m. • Leammle's Sunset 5 Theatre
KIEU (Kieu)
(United States/Philippines, 2006) Dir.: vu t. thu h•
KIEU transforms Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu), a classic Vietnamese epic poem, into a visually stunning, modern-day feature length film about self-revelation and renewal. The first film of its kind, KIEU portrays the experience of massage parlor workers in San Francisco's Tenderloin District who balance faith in the face of contradictions daily. As the story rapidly unfolds within a twenty-four hour period, so does Kieu. On this day, her life is on the brink of change; a letter from home, visits from a kindred spirit, and unexpected turn of events flow into a collision of past, present and future. One by one, fragments of her fate merge. Like Truyen Kieu, KIEU is an honest telling of women's survival, perseverance, and compassion against incredible odds.
Video, 75 minutes, color, narrative, in Vietnamese w/E.S.
MAY 7 - 5:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 2
THE RETURN OF OUR ELDER HURAO (Matta Saina-Ta Hurao)
(United States, 2006) Dir.: Alex C. Munoz
HURAO is about a powerful Chamorro Chief HURAO who returns to modern day Guam (Guahan), only to mourns the breakdown of traditional Chamorro society. Funded by Pacific Islanders in Communications.
Video, 1 minute, color, narrative
RIGODON
(Philippines/United States, 2005) Dirs.: Sari Lluch Dalena, Keith Sicat
RIGODON follows the spiritual journeys of three Filipino immigrants in New York City whose lives interwine in the age of racial profiling and government crackdowns. Amado, the fighter, too old to continue boxing in his native land, comes to the US to battle the harsh conditions every migrant faces to the US to battle the harsh conditions every migrant faces as he dreams of the family he left behind. Salome, the dreaming war-bride, has been wed to her American husband for ten years, but visions haunt her as she pursues her American dream. And Dante, the rebel-poet, has been helping his fellow immigrants for over a decade. But who will help him in his hour of need? Their stories unfold in poetic cinematic language as the film mediates on the beauty and the horror that is the "American Dream."
Video, 80 minutes, color, narrative, in English and Tagalog w/E.S.
MAY 7 - 7:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 1
VIVA CHINATOWNLAND!
(United States, 2006) Dir.: Eric Koyanagi
A pair of mismatched antagonists provoke each other into a never-ending duel to the death in Los Angeles Chinatown. From the director of past VC FILMFEST selections A FOLD OF CRANES (1994) and HUNDRED PERCENT (1998).
Video, 5 minutes, color, narrative
ASIAN STORIES (BOOK 3)
(United States, 2006) Dir.: Ron Oda, Kris Chin
Jim, the cheapest Chinese American dude in LA, has recently been left by his fiance, Katherine two weeks before their wedding on Valentine's Day. In order to ease his pain, he asks his long-time best friend and ex-con, Alex, to kill him. Alex reluctantly agrees to give Jim his wish, but he doesn't think its a good idea to do the job down in LA. So Jim and Alex begin their journey with a trip up to Jim's Aunt's cabin in the mountains, under the strict condition that all business is to be taken care of before Valentine's Day.
Video (Originated on 16mm), 98 minutes, color, narrative
MAY 7 - 7:00 p.m. • Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre
Are you a boy or a girl? Does desire spring from love or envy? What is the line between tenderness and violence? Between sex and death? Between silence and a lie? These are a few of the questions tendered by this program of lyrical, quirky, funny and beautifully realized queer shorts.
TRT: 70 minutes
A HORSE, A FILIPINO, TWO WOMEN, A SOLDIER AND TWO OFFICERS
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Nguyen Tan Hoang
Manipulating found footage from John Huston's 1967 REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE, this video meditates on queer visibility in the cinema and gay discourse on barebacking.
Video, 8 minutes, color, narrative
CLINCH
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Lynne Chan
An embrace blurs the line between fighting and love, between male and female.
Video, 1 minute, color, narrative
LONG DISTANCE (Ju Li)
(United States/Taiwan, 2005) Dir.: Shi-Ling Hsieh
An Asian woman is away from home for a secret relationship. Long distance calls from her mother evokes ambivalent feelings inside of her.
Video, 8 minutes, color, narrative
DEXTERITY
(United States, 2006) Dir.: Lala Endara
A short documentary about Dex, a self-described transgender "nerd.".
Video, 5 minutes, color, documentary
SCHOOLBOY ART
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Erica Cho
A gender bending encounter between an aspiring art student and his teacher.
Video, 12 minutes, color, narrative
HAPPY HAMPTONS HOLIDAY CAMP FOR TROUBLED COUPLES
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Greg Pak
Is a weekend at the beach the cure for this married couple's relationship problems? A hilarious romp by the director of Festival 2002 favorite ROBOT STORIES.
Video, 7 minutes, color, narrative
STILL
(Indonesia/United States, 2005) Dir.: Lucky Kuswandi
Chronicling a young man's coming-of-age experience running away from home, STILL traces the physical and emotional landscapes the troubled soul treads in his journey towards self-discovery, acceptance and connection with his father.
Video, 15 minutes, color, narrative
A CRIMSON MARK
(South Korea, 2005) Dir.: Hyun-jin Park
A beautiful tale of forbidden love set in Korea's Chosun Dynasty. An affair between two employees in the court of a boy king is complicated by internal fighting and the difference between their ranks.
Video (Originated on 16mm), 14 minutes, color, narrative, in Korean w/E.S.
MAY 7 - 7:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 2
PURITY
(United States, 2005) Dir.: NaRhee Ahn
Nineteen year old Grace Kim is the standard of purity in her small town Korean church and the pride of her Reverend father. All of her life she has followed the rules, obeyed her family's wishes and upheld the expectations of her community. Until now. When Grace's mother dies in a tragic car accident, her world falls apart. She loses faith in God, her father and herself. Paralyzed by grief, Grace refuses to leave the house. She spends her days cooking and cleaning obsessively to distract her mind from her increasingly disturbing dreams that turn into nightmares. Her father, her best friend Naomi and her counselor Jonah, the Youth Minister try their best to cheer Grace up. But try as they might, they can't bring back their friend from the depression she has fallen into. Grace needs the one person that has suffered the kind of pain she's going through....
Video, 98 minutes, color, narrative
MAY 7 - 7:30 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theatre 3
MANGOSTEEN: HIV/AIDS in Malaysia
(United States/Malaysia, 2006) Dir.: Gregory Pacificar, Alzo Slade
MANGOSTEEN takes an intimate look at the culture, education and activists of Kuala Lumpur and their connection to the rise of HIV/AIDS in Malaysia.
Video, 15 minutes, color, documentary
THE LAST COMMUNIST (Lelaki Komunis Terakhir)
(Malaysia, 2006) Dir.: Amir Muhammad
Chin Peng (real name: Ong Boon Hua) was born in 1924 and is the last leader of the banned Communist Party of Malaya. The Communist Party of Malaya was set up in 1930 (in a ceremony attended by Ho Chi Minh) and its members were recruited from the working class (mainly ethnic Chinese) exploited by colonial British economic interests. The CPM played an active role in the anti-Japanese resistance movement during World War Two, and cooperated with the British. But once the Japanese surrendered, the communists wanted to take over the country for themselves. This is when they and the British became enemies once again. 1948-60 is the era known as the Emergency, the longest and bloodiest undeclared war in Commonwealth history. While still in his twenties, Chin Peng became the most wanted man in the British Empire.
Video, 90 minutes, color, documentary, in Malay and Mandarin w/E.S.
MAY 7 - 9:00 p.m. • Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre
It's a set up! Welcome to the underworld, inhabited by crooked cops, reluctant robbers, dirty double crossers and manga-crazy crime sprees. Buckle in, spin the barrel, and watch your back in these eight tales of fast times and high crimes. Are you in or are you out?
TRT: 123 minutes
FAST MONEY
(United States, 2006) Dir.: Jerry Chan
A young Chinatown drug dealer enlists the help of a violent gang buddy to commit his first home invasion robbery, but his pursuit of "fast money" yields unintended consequences that will forever change his life.
Video, 14 minutes, color, narrative
THE DUEL
(United States, 2006) Dir.: Tony Chiu
Two estranged brothers unknowingly must face one another in a deadly variation of Russian roulette. One is playing to get out of a gang while the other is playing to join one. Will either one live long enough to attempt a reconciliation?
Video, 13 minutes, color, narrative
KULTADO
(Philippines, 2005) Dir.: Lawrence Anthony V. Fajardo
Set in a chaotic provincial marketplace, Boy, a vegetable vendor, comes to terms with a gang of butchers. The gang daily torments all vendors asking for "protection money," bribes & lending scams. When the gang turns their sights on Boys' brother and father, he now prepares for the fight of his life. He realizes it's now time to fight back for their own survival-kill or be killed.
Video, 22 minutes, color, narrative
POLLEN
(United States, 2006) Dir.: Chil Kong
Peter loves Theresa. Theresa loves Peter. He thinks she's an actress. She thinks he's a writer. Howard and John know the truth.
Video, 13 minutes, color, narrative
MOONLIGHT
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Alice Chen
Three young women run an underground business selling little red boxes in the night. While buyers line up in dark alleys throughout the city, a homeless man discovers their secret.
Video, 16 minutes, color, narrative
SAFE
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Ming Lo
Esperanza, a well-trained field agent hurrying to reach a safe house, struggles to recount the events that had led to a failed field operaton earlier that day. Suddenly, she hears knocking coming from the elevator. Gun in hand, Esperanza cautiously approaches the door. Listening, she hears a series of knocks, the signal that she and fellow field agent Siebel had agreed upon for entry. The sight of Siebel is welcomed, yet not all is what it seems....
Video, 12 minutes, color, narrative
GOOD BAD KARMA
(United States, 2005) Dir.: David Takemura
A desperate junkie and a dangerous femme fatale try to outsmart each other and both receive a karmic lesson.
Video, 15 minutes, color, narrative
BUNNY & CLYDO
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Rocky Jo
Bunny is always stylish, always pink, loves short skirts and long boots so she can pose and kick maximum butt at the same time. Clydo, a true graduate from the school of hard-knocks complete with a tattoo on his neck and a gun in his pants, is 100% bad boy. Together, they run rampant through the city streets as they cause notorious petty crimes, robbing stores of their popsicles and beloved manga comics. Their latest robbery, though, lands them smack in the middle of a police trap, as Nicholas Troy, loose-cannon rookie detective-of-the-year, suddenly surprises them...
Video, 18 minutes, color, narrative
MAY 7 - 9:00 p.m. • Directors Guild of America, Theater 2
What if one could just rekindle love with an old flame on the strength of a gift falafel sandwich and a lingering look? Or what if one could spend the most romantic evening with her true love, only to snap to the reality that she's just being paid for a night of sex? Love, it seems, is actually never what we ever hope it to be...
TRT: 96 minutes
GUY NIGHT OUT
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Tom Huang
A guy goes to a bar to meet a girl...but mostly in his head.
Video, 5 minutes, color, narrative
SAME TIME LAST YEAR
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Long Phan
Jilted by his love Chris searches for an explanation to why his girlfriend Michelle left him without either explanation or trace. Complicating this mystery is Chris' inability to recall any part of the last six months of his life. Soon after a seemingly fruitless excavation of the city of Los Angeles and every other physical location the two lovers had shared, Chris finds Michelle. What she reveals begins in him a long meditation on the dangerous relationship between memory and love.
Video, 16 minutes, color, narrative
THE PERFECT DATE
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Jonathan Lim
A young couple arrives home for a nightcap to a romantic evening. However, this party is not what it seems...
Video, 8 minutes, color, narrative
TONY HEARD A GUNSHOT
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Takahiko Katayama
Tony, a night club bouncer, gets off work and makes his way home where his wife, Jen, awaits his return. The night seems to be going just as usual until something goes horribly wrong: a gunshot rings out and hits Tony in the chest. On the verge of death, Tony foresees what he is truly going to miss-Jen and their baby yet to be born.
Video, 17 minutes, black & white, narrative
AUDREY KEIKO AZUMA
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Stann Nakazono
A young Japaness American woman goes through an extreme makeover.
Video, 8 minutes, color, narrative
THE HILL
(Canada, 2004) Dir.: Deborah Chow
A contemporary, revisionary fable about Jack and Jill and what really happened on the hill. Jill suspects that there may have been more to the fall than Jack claims, and determines to uncover the truth. Past and present become intertwined as they reconstruct the fall, and it soon becomes clear that Jack has his story, Jill has her story, and neither and both are true.
Video, 12 minutes, color, narrative
TUNNELS
(United States, 2005) Dir.: Jay Hubert
Kazu and Miho, a couple of Korean decent who faced discrimination growing up in Japan, save up their money and go to Hawaii for college, where Miho excels in painting and Kazu in soccer. Kazu used violence to deal with discrimination, but after getting hurt in several fights and seeing visions of himself traversing a tunnel, he promised Miho he'll stop fighting. Kazu's biggest problem now is figuring out how to pop the big question to Miho. But just when it looks like the fairy-tale ending is in sight, past discrimination returns to plague the couple.
Video, 21 minutes, color, narrative
CHICK PEAS
(Switzerland/United Kingdom, 2002) Dir.: Risa Madoerin
Adapted from actor London Kim's short story "What Does Your Soul Look Like?", CHICK PEAS observes the difficulties of Holden, a young man who has a hard time revealing his true feelings to an ex-girlfriend, all the while obsessing over whether he should get back with her in the first place.
Video, 17 minutes, black & white, narrative
