AWARDS NOMINEES

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is proud to announce this year’s Awards Nominees!

2010 AWARDS FINALISTS: FEATURE DOCUMENTARY FILM

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival’s juried awards for feature-length documentary film and video will be presented at the Festival Closing Night on Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 4:30pm before the Closing Night Program at the Aratani/Japan America Theater in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. This year’s group of both veteran and novice directors present documentary pieces that seek to provide a platform for representation for significant, yet unheard of, people, places, and things; through their attempts at capturing the distinctive realities of their subjects, these artists share a knack for memorable storytelling as well as sophisticated artistic and technical ability. The directors of the juried awards nominees in the feature-length documentary category are:

BEN WANG and MIKE CHENG • Directors, AOKI

AOKI chronicles the life of Richard Aoki (1938-2009), a third-generation Japanese American who became one of the founding members of the Black Panther Party.

Ben Wang and Mike Cheng directed, produced, filmed and edited AOKI as first-time filmmakers. Ben and Mike met Richard Aoki in 2002 while they were attending UC Davis. Their initial interview with Richard ended up sparking a friendship with Richard that would progress over the next seven years until his recent passing. As Richard became a social justice activist mentor to Ben and Mike, they felt compelled to capture his history and experiences in a documentary despite having no previous filmmaking experience. Ben lives in Oakland and Mike lives in Berkeley, and both are currently active members of the Asian Prisoners Support Committee.

MIAO WANG • Director, BEIJING TAXI

BEIJING TAXI vividly portrays modern-day China through a humanistic lens, documenting a profound transformation in an era of Olympic transitions. The intimate lives of three Beijing residents connect a morphing cityscape and a lyrical journey through fragments of a society riding a bumpy road to modernization.

Miao Wang is a filmmaker based in New York, currently splitting her time between NY and Beijing. She received her B.A. with honors in economics at the University of Chicago and an M.F.A. in design and film from the Parsons School of Design. Her first documentary film, YELLOW OX MOUNTAIN, screened at over 20 film festivals and institutions worldwide and received a Best Short Film Award. As an editor, Wang has edited a feature-length PBS documentary and programs for National Geographic. She has also edited numerous video projects collaborating with renowned artists such as Steven Hall, Malcolm McLaren, and Miru Kim. BEIJING TAXI is Wang’s first feature-length film.

DEANN BORSHAY LIEM • Director, IN THE MATTER OF CHA JUNG HEE

Acclaimed filmmaker and Korean adoptee Deann Borshay Liem returns to her native Korea to find her “double”, the mysterious girl whose place she took in America.

Deann Borshay Liem has over twenty years experience working in development, production and distribution of independent documentaries. She is Producer/Director/Writer for the Emmy Award-nominated documentary, FIRST PERSON PLURAL (Sundance, 2000), Executive Producer for Spencer Nakasako’s KELLY LOVES TONY (PBS, 1998) and AKA DON BONUS (PBS, 1996, Emmy Award), and Co-Producer for SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES (PBS, 2009). She was the former director of the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) where she supervised the development, distribution and broadcast of new films for public television and worked with Congress to support minority representation in public media. A Sundance Institute Fellow and a recipient of a Rockefeller Film/Video Fellowship, Liem is currently executive director of Katahdin Productions, a non-profit documentary production company based in Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

LIXIN FAN • Director, LAST TRAIN HOME

LAST TRAIN HOME foregrounds the fractured lives of a single migrant family caught up in the desperate annual migration of migrant factory workers as they attempt to return home by train for the Chinese New Year.

Lixin Fan is a documentary filmmaker who was born in China and grew up as his country was rapidly modernizing. Experiencing first-hand the inequality caused by China’s rapid economic expansion, Fan was inspired to become a documentary filmmaker with a focus on social issues. He has worked as associated producer for Yung Chang’s UP THE YANGTZE and editor of TO LIVE IS BETTER THAN TO DIE, which was featured in the Sundance Film Festival. Fan’s debut feature documentary LAST TRAIN HOME won Best Feature Documentary at the 2009 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and the 2009 Cinémathèque Québécoise film award. Fan is currently based in Montreal, Canada and works for EyeSteelFilm.

HELIE LEE • Director, MACHO LIKE ME

Certain that men lived a much easier life full of benefits and privileges, Helie Lee set out to live as a man to experience the benefits she believed men receive from society, culture, tradition, religion, and nature.

Helie Lee was born in Seoul, Korea on August 29, 1964. Ms. Lee’s family immigrated first to Montreal, Canada when she was four, then to California one year later. She graduated from UCLA in 1986 with a degree in Political Science. While researching her first book, she worked on shows such as IN LIVING COLOR, SAVED BY THE BELL, and THE MARTIN LAWRENCE SHOW. Lee is the author of the national bestseller memoirs, “Still Life With Rice” and “In The Absence of Sun”. Lee embraces her responsibility as an ambassador of Korean history through telling stories that serve as a floodlight on the closed world of North Korea.

BETTY M. PARK • Director, MAMACHAS DEL RING

Decked out in their traditional petticoats and bowler hats, Bolivian women wrestlers throw down in the ring and show us what it really means to fight like a girl.

Betty M. Park is a Korean American filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York, and makes her debut as a feature film director with MAMACHAS DEL RING. She recently wrapped up development and production of a new television series for MTV as co-executive producer, and has worked as an editor for various networks including MTV, Bravo, TLC, and Court TV. Her work as an editor also includes the documentary THE INNOCENCE PROJECT, which screened at the 2003 Hamptons International Film Festival. Betty was born and raised in New York, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a double major in English and Philosophy.

LISETTE MARIE FLANARY • Director, ONE VOICE

ONE VOICE follows student song leaders of the Kamehameha Schools as they experience the trials and tribulations of competition in the annual Kamehameha Schools Song Contest, a one-of-a-kind presentation of Hawaiiain language, song and dance.

Lisette Marie Flanary As a filmmaker and a hula dancer, Lisette Marie Flanary creates documentary films about the hula dance that celebrate a renaissance of Hawaiian culture. She is the writer, producer and director of Lehua Films and her first documentary, AMERICAN ALOHA: Hula Beyond Hawai’i received a CINE Golden Eagle Award when it aired on the P.O.V. series on PBS in 2003. Her last film, Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula, screened in numerous film festivals and was awarded the Hawai’i Filmmaker Award at HIFF 2006, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, and the Emerging Director Award at the New York Asian American International Film Festival. The film was broadcast on the 2007-2008 Independent Lens series on PBS in May 2008 and was the winner of the Audience Award for the series. A graduate of NYU’s film school, Lisette lives and teaches weekly hula classes in New York City.

ANNE MISAWA • Director, STATE OF ALOHA

STATE OF ALOHA offers diverse viewpoints of the Aloha State’s social psyche that seeks to clarify its direction 50 years after statehood.

Anne Misawa received her BA in English at the University of Hawaii, and studied filmmaking at USC with an emphasis on directing and cinematography. Her work as director include WAKING MELE (1998) and EDEN’S CURVE (2002). Her work as cinematographer include: SALT, by Bradley-Rust Gray; LIV, by Edoardo Ponti; BLUES FOR RED, by Jennifer Haskin-O’Reggio; LETTER TO MY MOTHER, by Debbi Reynolds; KINGS, by Niva Dorell; and TREELESS MOUNTAIN, by So Yong Kim. Anne also has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from New York University and studied at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Naropa Institute. Anne is currently a member of the production faculty at the University of Hawaii, Academy of Creative Media.

S. LEO CHIANG • Director, A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES

A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES is an intimate portrait of the Vietnamese American community of East New Orleans, LA, and of the community’s indomitable spirit to both rebuild and locate a vibrant political voice in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

S. Leo Chiang is an award-winning filmmaker of both documentary and narrative films. His previous short films, MATCH POINT and REUNITED, were screened at festivals across the country. Chiang is also an experienced editor and cinematographer of non-fiction projects. His work as a cinematographer has been broadcast nationally on HBO, Discovery, Travel Channel, Learning Channel, AMC, and others. Chiang holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara and received his M.F.A. in film production from the University of Southern California.

2010 AWARDS FINALISTS: FEATURE NARRATIVE FILM

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is once again pleased to present juried awards for feature-length narrative film and video, to be presented before the Closing Night Program on Thursday, May 6, 2010, 4:30pm at the Aratani/Japan America Theater in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. This year’s complement of nominated directors are comprised of both veterans and newcomers to the Film Festival, united in their talent for engaging storytelling and sophisticated technical abilities, as well as their efforts to rework traditional forms of film distribution through new platforms such as online media and digital technologies. The directors of the juried awards nominees in the feature-length narrative category are:

ABRAHAM L. LIM • Director, GOD IS D_AD

Five youngsters travel from Kansas to Chicago in the mid-1980s, in a story that analyzes the forces that shaped the lives and perception of a generation whose identity finds refuge in embracing a culture of distractions.

Abraham L. Lim received his B.F.A./M.F.A. in film at NYU. His thesis film FLY swept the awards at the 1997 NYU First Run Film Festival and led him to Robert Altman, who signed on as executive producer for Lim’s first feature, ROADS AND BRIDGES. His scripts for HONG KONG HERO and ORIENTATION have participated in programs and film festivals around the world, including the Tribeca Film Festival and Pusan International Film Festival. Lim is currently a professor at Chung Ang University, where he shares with students his knowledge of the new tools of content creation, and his experiences shooting and editing GOD IS D_AD.

DANIEL PARK • Director, KTOWN COWBOYS

Johnny, a young Korean American from Richmond, VA, relocates to Los Angeles’ Koreatown, and is taken under the wings of his cousin Jason and a motley crew of partyhoppers dedicated to having a good time and taking no prisoners in doing so.

Daniel “Ddp” Park is on the run from the Illuminati. Shortly after graduating from Art Center College of Design, Dpd got involved with art projects and jobs that fused Internet technology, music, and fashion. This medley of work resulted in the websites evilmonito.com, futurerockstarsofamerica.com, iamkoream.com, video work with Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, Midi Mafia, branding and design for Geffen Records, Interscope, Def Jam, and numerous other affiliates. This movement of free communication proved so dangerous to the world elite that Dpd has been forced to go behind the scenes… He currently awaits to execute his master plan with Transparent Agency.

CHIL KONG • Director, THE MIKADO PROJECT

Following the departure of their leading male actor, an all-Asian American theatre troupe fight over the idea of putting on “The Mikado”, which to some in the company is the equivalent of reviving “Charlie Chan” or “Kung Fu”.

Chil Kong has been actively directing theatrical productions since he left Boston Conservatory. He has directed over 15 productions across the country and has held director positions at several theater companies, including Asia On Stage in Boston, the North West Asian American Theater Company in Seattle, and the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles. Kong has since branched into film direction, and his filmography includes the short film POLLEN and half hour multi camera sitcoms such as SCREENING PARTY, THE OH MALLEY’S, and JUST THE THREE OF US. He is currently in pre-production for another half hour multi-camera sitcom, THE CHARLES KIM SHOW, and the feature K-TOWN PI.

QUENTIN LEE • Director, THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH

A promiscuous woman  finds herself with an unplanned pregnancy and a need to figure out who the baby’s daddy is… NOW.

Quentin Lee was born in Hong Kong, immigrated to Montreal, Canada, and then went to study literature at Berkeley and Yale, and film production/directing at UCLA. He began filmmaking as an experimental video maker and his early shorts screened over 20 film festivals both domestically and internationally. He has also published a novel titled Dress Like a Boy, based on his last year of college at Berkeley. His first feature, SHOPPING FOR FANGS, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival as part of Perspective Canada in 1997. THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH is Quentin’s fourth feature film.

LEENA PENDHARKAR • Director, RASPBERRY MAGIC

A young girl believes she can mend her broken family by winning the science fair, and in the process discovers the complexities of growing up.

Leena Pendharkar started her filmmaking career in the world of documentaries, writing and directing several award winning films, including MY NARMADA TRAVELS, which won First Prize at the EarthVision film festival. Her other narrative shorts include THIS MOMENT and LESA TERRY AND THE WOMEN’S JAZZ ORCHESTRA, which won first prize/best short at the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee and will be seen as part of the Pan African Film Festival. Pendharkar holds a Master’s degree in documentary film production from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and teaches classes at Loyola Marymount University and Otis College of Art and Design. RASPBERRY MAGIC is her feature film debut.

RAUL JOCSON • Director, SF STORIES

Can an Asian man have an Asian fetish? Follow an Asian American man as he pursues the Asian woman of his dreams through a series of nine stories set in San Francisco.

In 2002, Raul Jocson was recognized as one of the top three Asian American screenwriters in the CAPE Foundation’s New Writers Awards. Since then, he has written several feature length screenplays for Filmantics, Digitrove Media, actor/producer James Hong, and others. Raul was born in San Francisco. SF STORIES is his feature directorial debut.

MICHAEL AKI • Director, STRANGERS

A solitary hitman unwittingly leaves a loose end hanging in the commission of his latest job: a winsome lass who he is obliged to protect against mobsters who want to see her dead.

Michael Aki first entered the public eye when he released his first feature film SUNSETS, which he starred in and co-directed with Giant Robot founder Erik Nakamura. The film premiered as part of the Class of 1997 at the SFIAAFF and is celebrated for its visual style and influence on the “new wave” of Asian American independent film. Since then, Aki has acted in various short films including THE PROFILE by Ray Arthur Wang, BREEZES by Justin Lin, and READY CRIMSON by Pryor Praczukowski. Aki starred in Eric Byler’s CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES (2002), which was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Aki continues to work on acting and directing projects through CineHous productions.

EYAD ZAHRA • Director, THE TAQWACORES

Yusef, a first generation Pakistani student living in Buffalo, NY with a group of Muslim punks, is introduced to Taqwacore, a hardcore Muslim punk rock scene, forcing him to challenge his faith and his ideologies.

Eyad Zahra graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors in 2004 from the Florida State University School of Motion Picture, Television, & the Recording Arts. His acclaimed short film, DISTANCE FROM THE SUN, garnered over 20 film festival invitations worldwide. Zahra worked briefly in Dubai, U.A.E., where he produced TV promotional segments for Showtime Arabia, and continued to produce for them when he returned to the United States, working on SALAAM MTV. In November 2007, Zahra’s feature screenplay SAMMY PARADISE was accepted into the 3^rd Annual RAWI Screenwriters Lab. Zahra continues to work as director and producer under Rumanni Filmworks.

2010 AWARDS FINALISTS: SHORT FILM

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is pleased to announce finalists for the 2010 Golden Reel Award for Short Films, to be presented at the Festival Closing Night on Thursday, May 6, 2010, 4:30 PM at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. The Award will be presented to an Asian Pacific American filmmaker whose work, presented in this year’s Festival, displays both a high degree of excellence and promise of continued creative activity. The Award, presented annually at the Festival, also serves to promote and perpetuate the creative endeavors of Asian Pacific American cinema artists. Let’s meet the directors of this year’s nominees for the Festival Golden Reel Award:

DEAN YAMADA • Director, BICYCLE

Quiet young Mamoru loses his job and, coincidentally, his beloved bicycle. As he learns to piece his life back together, he finds not only his vehicle but also his voice.

Dean Yamada teaches films and makes films. In regards to this particular project, Yamada writes, “I love teaching. My students keep me on my toes because I always have to stay two steps ahead of them. For this film, I brought a crew of thirteen American college students to Tokyo to experience a world unfamiliar to them. It was a beautiful experience, which I hope translates onto the screen.”

ALPHONSO “BORGY” TORRE III • Director, BONSAI

An obese, insecure security guard attempts to capture the attention of his neighbor, an ambitious laundry woman, in the hopes of making her fall in love with him.

Borge Torre took up Communication Arts at De La Salle University. He has self- produced, written, edited and directed all of his 6 six short films. Torre is currently working as a Technical Director for Revolver Studios under Film/Commercial Director Erik Matti, and as a freelance Film Editor.

NADINE TRUONG • Director, EGGBABY

Teen-aged Allison learns about love and life when she is assigned to care for an EGGBABY.

Nadine Truong, a German-born Vietnamese filmmaker worked at various production companies and additionally gained valuable experience in talent representation prior to her education at AFI. Truong’s directorial credits include CHOPSTICKS, THE MUSE, ONE NEVER KNOWS, MINE, and SUSHI. She was one of eight recipients of the “Armed with A Camera” grant under the Visual Communication for Asian Pacific fellowship program. One of only three female directors in the AFI program, she wrote and directed a second thesis film entitled SHADOW MAN. Nadine received her BA degree in Anthropology from UCLA in 2003.

JEFF SOUSA • Director, THE HIROSAKI PLAYERS

In the pressure-cooker of opening night, a Japanese playwright struggles with his aging, arrogant actor father for control of the play and their relationship.

Jeff Sousa grew up in the suburbs of Massachusetts before spending a year abroad in Spain in high school. After that he studied philosophy at the University of Chicago. He’s worked as a translator, interpreter, and elementary school teacher in rural Japan where his short “Souseki’s Third Dream” won Best Film at the Aomori Independent Film Festival 2005. Jeff now attends Film School at Columbia University, where he wrote the short script for CIGARETTE CANDY, winner of Best Live Action Student Film Under 15 Minutes at Palm Springs Shortfest 2009. Presently, Jeff works as a freelance director and screenwriter at the Brooklyn-based Japanese production company, TK Digital Corp.

NARGES ABYAR • Director, ONE DAY AFTER 10TH DAY

An old man fills his solitary life with a camel, but the camel falls victim to religious customs.

Narges Abyar was born in Tehran. She studied in Persian Literature and received her B.A. in this field. So far she has devoted most of her time to writing, which had led to the publication of ten story and fiction books for children, young adults and also the adults. She has made several shorts and a documentary.

JOEL MOFFETT • Director, POI DOGS

POI DOGS presents the story of two Hawaiian teenagers and their awkward attempts at expressing a budding romantic interest in each other.

Joel Moffett was raised on the island of Maui where he graduated high school from Seabury Hall. He holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from the American Film Institute and an M.F.A. in Theatre Directing from Humboldt State University. While in Los Angeles, Joel taught screenwriting and Directing at the American Film Institute for nine years. In addition, he consistently taught screen acting, production and directing classes for the Marion Knott Film School at Chapman University. Joel has worked as a screenwriter for Alibi Entertainment (London), Hervis Entertainment (Berlin) and Moving Movies (Los Angeles). Presently he serves as Assistant Professor in the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii.

TY SANGA • Director, STONES

STONES is a love story about the last native couple on the island, Na’iwi and Nihipali, and their struggle to accept newcomers to the island.

Ty Sanga was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. While taking an Ethnic Studies class, he was introduced to the power of film after watching documentaries of Asian American struggles that gave a voice to those that are normally voiceless. Since then he has been developing the skills necessary to produce quality films out of Hawai‘i. He has won the “Golden Honu: Best Hawaiian Short” two years in a row with films PLASTIC LEIS and FOLLOW THE LEADER. His first short film PASSIVE VOICE won the expert category at the Olelo: Youth Exchange. Sanga graduated from the University of Hawai‘i and recently completed an M.F.A. in Directing at Chapman University.

PRITHI GOWDA • Director, TELEVISNU

A surreal tale of a young Indian woman working who tries to fix her computer but ends up fixing her life.

Prithi Gowda grew up in the Detroit area and spent her summers in Bangalore, India. She is a freelance graphic designer based in New York City. Her strong visual sense and love for cinema led her to pursue an M.F.A. in film at NYU. While at NYU, she focused on writing and directing. She is currently writing her second feature about foreign medical graduates who immigrated to Detroit in the 1970s.