The audience has spoken, and so we’re pleased to announce that the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival’s Audience Awards for Favorite Feature-Length Narrative and Documentary Film go to: TWO SHADOWS by Greg Cahill (Narrative) and GIVE UP TOMORROW by Michael Collins (Documentary).

“We’re very pleased to recognize these two outstanding productions from among a very stellar selection of feature-length works this year,” said Festival Senior Programmer Abraham Ferrer. “More and more, the stories being presented at the Film Festival reflect a larger world-view and desire for engagement with audiences from all walks of life. TWO SHADOWS and GIVE UP TOMORROW both accomplish those objectives in dramatic ways, and succeeded in connecting with Festival audiences.”

In TWO SHADOWS, Long Beach hipster wannabe Sovanna receives a cryptic letter from Cambodia claiming that her long-lost brother and sister are still alive. Ditching her dead-end lifestyle and alcoholic father, Sovanna travels to her birthplace alone to seek out her two siblings who disappeared during the civil war 20 years earlier. Upon discovering a girl who may or may not be her real sister, Sovanna is ensnared into an increasingly dangerous situation, pitting her in a tug-of-war between her own personal safety, and her compassion for a stranger.

GIVE UP TOMORROW exposes a Kafkaesque extravaganza populated by flamboyantly corrupt public officials, cops on the take, and a frenzied legal and media circus. Director Michael Collins and Producer Marty Syjuco’s emotionally-charged documentary is also an intimate family drama focused on the near mythic struggle of two angry and sorrowful mothers who have dedicated more than a decade to executing or saving one young man, Paco Larrañaga.

For the latest Festival updates, follow the Film Festival on Facebook and Twitter; or visit the Festival website.

WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL follows the lives and families of four sulfur miners working in Kawah Ijen, an active volcano East Java, Indonesia. Before daybreak, five hundred miners collect and carry up to 200-pound loads of pure sulfur as they trek the rocky four-kilometer path up and down the crater, amidst billowing clouds of sulfur dioxide gases. Like generations before them, they carry the sulfur to the village at the base of the volcano and unload, repeating this arduous round-trip journey several times a day. The miners sell the sulfur to the government, used in sugar and rubber refinement, for a small fee equivalent to eight dollars a day, a pittance but still more than they would make working as farmers. Combined with a lack of education, the cycle of poverty is perpetuated, which prevents future generations from breaking away from the mine.

VALLEY OF SAINTS is set in and around Dal Lake, widely considered to be the crown jewel of the northwestern Indian region of Kashmir. The lake is a sprawling aquatic community where idyllic life is sometimes disrupted by political violence that occurs on shore. Gulzar, a young working class boatman, lives with his elderly uncle but harbors a strong desire to escape his current living situation with his best friend for the bright lights of the big city. However, his plans are temporarily thwarted by a military curfew. Forced to wait it out, Gulzar takes a job assisting Asifa, an attractive young scientist who is in Kashmir to collect water samples for an environmental study. When Asifa’s research reveals harmful pollutants in the water, Gulzar’s world-view is shaken as he realizes that his livelihood, as well as a community and entire way of life may soon disappear.

“We’re astounded that our awards juries received both WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL and VALLEY OF SAINTS so warmly,” said Film Festival Artistic Director Anderson Le. “Both films were key highlights of this year’s program line-up, and we’re tickled to have the opportunity to give audiences who might have missed either or both films a chance to screen them a second time.”

The encore screenings of WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL and VALLEY OF SAINTS caps a full weekend of encore screenings at the historic Art Theatre of Long Beach, site of the Festival’s Encore Weekend May 18-20. Also slated for encore screenings are Film Festival award winners GIVE UP TOMORROW and PARADISE BROKEN (May 18); and YES, WE’RE OPEN (May 19).

Also set for Encore Weekend are a Pacific Islander Showcase including the screenings of the award-winning THE ORATOR on May 18; PAPA MAU: THE WAYFINDER and THERE ONCE WAS AN ISLAND on Saturday, May 19; and SIONE’S 2: UNFINISHED BUSINESS on Sunday, May 20. The encore screening sof TWO SHADOWS on Saturday, May 19 and GOLDEN SLUMBERS on Sunday, May 20 comprise a focus on Cambodian films at the Festival.

Finally, the Film Festival will include a special presentation of Patrick Wang’s multi-award winning IN THE FAMILY on Saturday, May 19.

For the latest Festival updates, follow the Film Festival on Facebook and Twitter; or visit the Festival website.

May 17, 2012 – LOS ANGELES   The 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) produced by Visual Communications celebrated the closing night of its 28th edition on Thursday night with the U.S. premiere screening of the Taiwanese film JOYFUL REUNION and the announcement of this year’s jury prizes.

Director/writer Musa Syeed and producer Nicholas Bruckman were awarded the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature for their moving VALLEY OF SAINTS.  The Festival’s Outstanding Director Award also went to Musa Syeed for VALLEY OF SAINTS, with a Special Jury Mention to Lily Mariye for her film MODEL MINORITY.

Additional narrative film awards given out included: Outstanding Screenplay to writer H.P. Mendoza for the script for YES WE’RE OPEN; Outstanding Cinematography to John Matysiak for MODEL MINORITY; and Outstanding First Feature Award went to Daniel Hsia for SHANGHAI CALLING, his feature directorial debut.

Acting awards given out this year included: Dante Basco receiving Best Actor Award, for his performances in PARADISE BROKEN and HANG LOOSE; Best Newcomer Actor Awards going to Nichole Bloom of MODEL MINORITY and Kevin Wu of HANG LOOSE; and Best Ensemble Acting Award went to SUNSET STORIES, which featured performances by Sung Kang, Monique Curnen, Michelle Krusiec, Joshua Leonard and Sandy Martin.

In the documentary jury competition, WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL directed by Sasha Friedlander received the Grand Jury Award for Best Film. Debbie Lum was awarded the Outstanding Director Award for her film, SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE.  The award for Outstanding Cinematography was a tie and it went to Sasha Friedlander and Bao Nguyen for WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL and to Sun Shaoguang for CHINA HEAVYWEIGHT.

Filmmakers Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco received the Special Jury Award For Human Rights, for their film GIVE UP TOMORROW which chronicles the frenzied legal and media circus that surrounds the decade long campaign to execute or save one young man, Paco Larrañaga.

Short films this year were in abundance, with over 140 shorts being screened at the festival. The moving film NANI from Justin Tipping received the Festival Golden Reel Award, while Mitsuyo Miyazaki was honored with the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award for TSUYAKO.

Rounding out the event was the presentation of the C3: Project Market Award, a new program started at this year’s Film Festival recognizing new projects with a $5,000 prize for the best project pitch.

“Over the course of two days, the C3: Project Market filmmakers had over 140 meetings connecting them to financiers, producers, production companies, agents, managers and industry executives,” states Milton Liu, Director of Programs and Artists Services. “These wonderful voices evidence the depth, breadth and continued strength of Asian American storytellers, and we are so proud that they made the inaugural C3: Project Market an overwhelming success.”

The C3: Project Market Jury Award went to Liselle Mei and Derek Nguyen for their project SEEING RED. An honorable mention was awarded to Musa Syeed and Nicholas Bruckman for THE DOCTOR.

The 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival kicked off on May 10 with SHANGHAI CALLING, directed by Daniel Hsia and starring Daniel Henney. The Fest will conclude May 18 -20 with encore screenings of award winners along with special Pacific Islander and Cambodian programming in Long Beach, including: THE ORATOR directed by Tusi Tamasese; SIONE’S 2: UNFINISHED BUSINESS (aka Samoan Wedding 2) directed by Simon Bennett; and GOLDEN SLUMBERS directed by Davy Chou. For more info go to www.vconline.org/festival.

Audience Awards will be announced next week, after the final day of the Film Festival.

2012 FESTIVAL SPONSORS 
PREMIERE: Directors Guild of America; CGV Theaters; PLATINUM: Coca-Cola; Comcast/NBC Universal; Wells Fargo; SILVER: Sony Pictures Entertainment; BRONZE: CBS Diversity; Screen Actors Guild; SAG Indie; STAR: Jenner & Block, Boeing, Union Bank, Motion Pictures Editors Guild; Writers Guild of America, west; Taipei Economic & Cultural Office of Los Angeles; Pacific Islanders in Communications; Ketel One; Shiftboard; Yes Style; BEER: Stella Artois; Asahi; MEDIA: LA 18 KSCI-TV; AngryAsianMan.com; MNET; Audrey Magazine; KoreAm; KPFK; Glocal; LA Weekly; GOVERNMENT SUPPORT: National Endowment for the Arts; Los Angeles County Arts Commission; Department of Cultural Affairs/City of Los Angeles; FOUNDATION SUPPORT: California Community Foundation; James Irvine Foundation

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival presented by Visual Communications is the Southland’s premier showcase for the best and brightest of Asian Pacific cinema. Since 1983, the Film Festival has presented over 3,400 films and videos by Asian international and Asian American artists, and additionally features seminars and panels, in-person guest appearances, and filmmaker awards. For more information, please visit: www.vconline.org/festival.

ABOUT VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
Visual Communications (VC), the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, was established in 1970. The organization has established a lengthy track record of pioneering achievements in producing, presenting, and preserving more honest and accurate representations of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in America. Visual Communications is also recognized as an incubator of emerging Asian Pacific American cinematic talent. The organization’s works have been exhibited in numerous venues and broadcast outlets around the world. The mission of Visual Communications is to promote intercultural understanding through the creation, presentation, preservation and support of media works by and about Asian Pacific Americans.

LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL 2012 AWARDS

NARRATIVE FEATURES AWARDS

Grand Jury Award – Best Feature-Length Narrative Film
VALLEY OF SAINTS
Director/Writer MUSA SYEED; Producer NICHOLAS BRUCKMAN

Outstanding Director
MUSA SYEED – VALLEY OF SAINTS

Special Jury Mention – Outstanding Director
LILY MARIYE – MODEL MINORITY

Outstanding Screenplay
H.P. MENDOZA – YES WE’RE OPEN

Outstanding Cinematography
JOHN MATYSIAK – MODEL MINORITY and TWO SHADOWS

Outstanding First Feature
SHANGHAI CALLING by DANIEL HSIA

ACTING AWARDS

Best Newcomer Actors
NICHOLE BLOOM – MODEL MINORITY
KEVIN WU – HANG LOOSE

Best Ensemble Acting Award
SUNSET STORIES – Sung Kang, Monique Curnen, Michelle Krusiec, Joshua Leonard and Sandy Martin

Best Actor
DANTE BASCO – PARADISE BROKEN and HANG LOOSE

DOCUMENTARY AWARDS

Grand Jury Award – Best Feature-Length Documentary Film
WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL
Director SASHA FRIEDLANDER; Producer: SASHA FRIEDLANDER, BAO NGUYEN, DAVID OSIT

Outstanding Director
DEBBIE LUM – SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE

Outstanding Cinematographer – tie
WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL – SASHA FRIEDLANDER and BAO NGUYEN
CHINA HEAVYWEIGHT – SUN SHAOGUANG

Special Jury Award for Human Rights
GIVE UP TOMORROW Director MICHAEL COLLINS; Producer MARTY SYJUCO

SHORTS AWARDS

Festival Golden Reel Award
NANI – JUSTIN TIPPING

Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award
TSUYAKO – MITSUYO MIYAZAKI

Honorable Mention
THIEF – JAY CHERN

C3: PROJECT MARKET

Jury Award
SEEING RED – Liselle Mei & Derek Nguyen

Honorable Mention
THE DOCTOR – Musa Syeed & Nicholas Bruckman