Visual Communications - Los Angeles Asian American Media Arts Center


OMG!!! 0mg of MSG!

Visual Communications
Annual Summer Interns Screening
Monday, August 18, 7:30 p.m.

David Henry Hwang Theatre, 120 Judge John Aiso Street
Los Angeles Little Tokyo, 90012    View Map >>

(Btwn. First and Temple Streets; parking in City Lot 7, adjacent to the theatre)

Download Press Release >>

Here we go again! The four fabulous and amazing interns at Visual Communications are excited to present OMG!!! 0mg of MSG, a program featuring a specially selected line-up of short films from this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, showcases the best of contemporary Asian American independent filmmakers.

Since you’re probably sitting on the edge of your seat, staring intently at the computer screen you might wonder why we picked such a creative title. We wanted to poke fun at the irony of good tasting food without the added aid of mono sodium glutamate. You would be surprised at how great this screening is going to be without any chemically enhanced ingredients! So come and join us for a spectacular night!

TICKETS: $10.00 Gen'l.; $8.00 Students, Seniors, Friends of Visual Communications members w/I.D.

Please RSVP by calling the event line at (213) 680-4462 x 58 or by emailing us at info@vconline.org


PROGRAM

LEGEND LEGEND
Dir: Mark Villegas

LEGEND highlights the DJ career of Isaiah Dacio (aka DJ Icy Ice), from his beginnings as a member of the legendary DJ crew through his recent notoriety as proprietor of his DJ business Stacks Records. Ice tells the story of a rich Filipino youth expression that continues to this day.

Running Time: 5 min

PK-GRANNY PK-GRANNY
Dir: Jo Meuris

While out on a stroll, a little old lady is mugged by a man on a bicycle. When she realizes that there is no one around to help her, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Will she ever retrieve her purse?

Running Time: 2 min

MANOJ MANOJ
Dir: Zia Mohajerjasbi

What happens when you’ll do whatever it takes for a laugh? Interviews with fans, fellow comedians, and a comedy club manager give us insight into the impact of Manoj’s use of stereotypical images of South Asians in his comedy.

Running Time: 13 min

FINDING LOVE FINDING LOVE
Dir: Jean Wong

The director, herself a grandmother in search of a new relationship, follow the "rules" in an effort to once again get hooked up. She finds what she’s looking for—men, all kinds of men—but in the process learns that what men want if different than what she thinks...

Running Time: 8 min

A CHINESE CLASS A CHINESE CLASS
Dir: Quentin Lee

Chronicling his experience taking a Mandarin class at LACC, Lee, explores his own motivations, as well as his classmates, for learning Chinese, and how learning a language together becomes a bonding experience between members of his class from different backgrounds.

Running Time: 16 min

LAUNDROMAT LAUNDROMAT
Dir: Edward Gunawan

Set in a neighborhood laundromat, this romantic dramedy follows a young gay couple who, after a chance encounter with an older man, realize that the little things mean nothing and everything when it comes to love.

Running Time: 12 min

UNDERPASS UNDERPASS
Dir: Rain Breaw

Saan, a Cambodian teenager is tormented by his memories of the Khmer Rouge, he copes with his anger by painting elaborate graffiti mural on a city underpass. When his mother takes in a young illegal Central American Immigrant, Sann learns to confront a situation to save his family’s livelihood.

Running Time: 15 min

SKATE FREE SKATE FREE
Dir: Tony Toka

A spoken word poetry piece that explores the thin line between the idea of being successful, having a job, and the American Dream versus saying getting high, tuning out, and being an artist.

Running Time: 3 min

YELLOW STICKY NOTES YELLOW STICKY NOTES
Dir: Jeff Chiba Stearns

Filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns decided to visually self-reflect on his filmmaking journey by animating on over 2300 yellow sticky notes just some of the major world events that he has ignored for the last nine years.

Running Time: 6 min

SECRET CHINESE SECRET SECRET CHINESE SECRET
Dir: Viet Nguyen

An office worker has a decision to make—office massages or acupuncture? And by the way, he’s trying to score a date with a co-worker he has the hots on for. It’s business as unusual at the office.

Running Time: 5 min

MANEATER MANEATER
Dir: Eric Koyanagi & Phil Nee

Two buddies summon their inner Hall and Oates and go cruisin’ for love in all the wrong places.

Running Time: 9 min

Visual Communications is funded in part by the Aratani Foundation, California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; The Diane Middleton Foundation; The Getty Foundation; The James Irvine Foundation; Los Angeles County Arts Commission; National Endowment for the Arts; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Walt Disney Studios/ABC Entertainment; VC Stakeholders and corporate and community supporters.