LA Asian Pacific Film Festival 2019

35th Annual Asian Pacific Film Festival
MAY 2-10, 2019 - Little Tokyo - L.A. Live - West Hollywood

This year’s Festival kicks off with the World Premiere of YELLOW ROSE, written and directed  by first time feature female filmmaker Diane Paragas. The film stars Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada, Tony Award winning actress and Grammy nominee Lea Salonga, country music star Dale Watson, Liam Booth, Gustavo Gomez (“The Walking Dead”), Libby Villari (“Boyhood”), and Princess Punzalan (“Mula Sa Puso”), and features original songs written by Watson, Paragas, Noblezada and cast.

YELLOW ROSE tells the story of a headstrong Filipino girl, from a small Texas town, fighting to pursue her country music dreams while facing the threat of deportation.

YELLOW ROSE

The Festival Centerpiece Presentations features two outstanding films: GO BACK TO CHINA and MS. PURPLE from two rising Asian Pacific American filmmaking voices.  GO BACK TO CHINA, directed and written by EMILY TING, is Ting’s second feature film which recently had its World Premiere at SXSW.  Justin Chon returns to LAAPFF after his award-winning film GOOK screened in 2017, with his latest directorial and co-written feature, MS. PURPLE.  The film gathered critical and audience accolades at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it world premiered.

GO BACK TO CHINA -  A semi-autobiographical film following spoiled rich girl Sasha Li (Anna Akana), who after blowing through most of her trust fund, is forced by her father (Richard Ng) to go back to China and work for the family toy business. What begins simply as a way to regain financial support soon develops into a life altering journey of self discovery, as Sasha discovers her passion for toy designing and learns to reconnect with her estranged family.  A bittersweet portrait of a fractured family, the film also offers an honest look at the human cost of things that are made in China.

MS. PURPLE

MS. PURPLE - Partially taking place in the dark karaoke rooms of Los Angeles’s Koreatown stripmalls, Kasie (Tiffany Chu) works as a doumi girl - a young hostess paid to cater to rich businessmen’s capricious whims. As she struggles to hide her sorrow through soju and MDMA-fueled nights, her mind is focused on one thing: earning enough tips to continue providing for her bedridden father. When her father’s caretaker unexpectedly quits, Kasie seeks help from her estranged brother, and the siblings are forced to reconnect and reconcile the suppressed trauma that led to their separation.

Both CENTERPIECE FILMS will be presented on Saturday, May 4th at the Aratani Theatre at the JACCC in Little Tokyo - Downtown Los Angeles with filmmakers and cast in attendance. 

EMPTY BY DESIGN

The Festival’s Closing Night film features the World Premiere of EMPTY BY DESIGN, written and directed by Andrea A. Walter. For the first time in the history of the Festival, LAAPFF will open and close with feature films written and directed by Asian Pacific American female filmmakers and as world premieres.

EMPTY BY DESIGN tells the story of Samantha (Rhian Ramos), who moves back home to Manila from the US after a loss in her family, and Eric (Osric Chau) who also travels back for a job.  Both ex-patriates find themselves struggling with their new identities.  Despite the disconnection to their culture, they find a sense of place by confiding in each other and eventually discover what they have long been looking for. The film also stars Chris Pang (CRAZY RICH ASIANS), Dante Basco (HOOK ), Desmond Chiam (NOW APOCALYPSE), Yoshi Sudarso (POWER RANGERS: NINJA STEEL), and Madeleine Humphries (THE STEPDAUGHTERS). The film is produced by Chau, Pang, and Basco.

LAAPFF kicks off the celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 200 films (shorts and features)  from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international artists. In addition, this year’s selections marks a milestone with 24 female directors - both documentary and narrative feature films. For over three and a half decades, the Festival has presented close to 4,000 films by Asian Pacific American and Asian international talent. This year,  the Festival will also feature over a dozen films from local Southern California filmmakers.

COMPETITION FILMS

LAAPFF presents Grand Jury Awards for Outstanding Asian Pacific International Documentary and Narrative features.  This year’s competition is as follows:

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION - INTERNATIONAL

●FOR MY FATHER’S KINGDOM - Directed by Vea Mafile'o, Jeremiah Tauamiti (New Zealand)
●FOR SAMA - Directed by Waab Al-Kateab, Edward Watts (UK, USA, SYRIA)
●MERATA: HOW MUM DECOLONIZED THE SCREEN - Directed by Heperi Mita (New Zealand)
●LAST NIGHT I SAW YOU SMILING -Directed by Kavich Neang (Cambodia)
●OUR TIME MACHINE - Directed by S. Leo Chiang, Yang Sun (China)

NARRATIVE COMPETITION - INTERNATIONAL

●CITIES OF LAST THINGS -Directed by Wi Ding Ho (Taiwan, China, France)
●EERIE - Directed by Mikhail Red (Philippines, Singapore)
●HOUSE OF HUMMINGBIRD - Directed by Bora Kim (South Korea)
●LONG TIME NO SEA - Directed by Heather Tsui (Taiwan)
●SONG LANG - Directed by Leon Le (Vietnam)
●VAI - Directed by Becs Arahanga, Amberley Jo Aumua, Matasila Freshwater, Dianna Fuemana, Miria George, Ofa Guttenbeil, Marina McCartney, Nicole Whippy, Sharon Whippy (New Zealand)

Films from North America are eligible for the Grand Jury Awards for Outstanding Asian Pacific American documentary and narrative features. The competition jury will be announced later in April. These competition films are:

NARRATIVE COMPETITION - NORTH AMERICA

●ANJING (THE DOGS) - Directed by Dean Yamada
●COME AS YOU ARE - Directed by Richard Wong
●EMPTY BY DESIGN - Directed by Andrea A. Walter
●GO BACK TO CHINA -Directed by Emily Ting
●HAPPY CLEANERS - Directed by Julian Kim, Peter S. Lee
●IN A NEW YORK MINUTE - Directed by Ximan “Mandy” Li
●MS. PURPLE - Directed by Justin Chon
●NORMAL. - Directed by Mragendra Singh
●PLUS ONE - Directed by Jeff Chan, Andrew Rhymer
●YELLOW ROSE - Directed by Diane Paragas

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION - NORTH AMERICA

●A WOMAN’S WORK: THE NFL’S CHEERLEADER PROBLEM - Directed by Yu Gu
●EATING UP EASTER - Directed by Sergio M. Rapu
●JADDOLAND - Directed by Nadia Shihab
●JOURNEY TO IFUGAO - Directed by Nicanor Evangelista Jr.
●MOANANUIĀKEA: ONE OCEAN. ONE PEOPLE. ONE CANOE. - Directed by Na’alehu Anthony
●NO DATA PLAN - Directed by Miko Revereza
●ORIGIN STORY - Directed by Kulap Vilaysack
●SEADRIFT - Directed by Tim Tsai

SHORT FILMS/ACADEMY AWARD® QUALIFYING

LAAPFF is proud to be an Academy Award®-qualifying festival for the Short Film Awards.  Recipients of the Film Festival’s qualifying awards will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards^® without standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.  With over 60 eligible films, recipient(s) of LAAPFF’s Golden Reel Award for Narrative/Animated Short Film will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards®. Additionally, the Film Festival grants a Golden Reel Award for Excellence in Documentary Short Films.


SPECIAL PRESENTATION

OMENG SATANASIA (ABS-CBN Film Restoration) - The restored 1977 cult classic of Philippine Cinema starring the late "King of Comedy," Dolphy, in his award winning, multi-role performance.  A Faustian tale told with equal parts campy surreal fantasy, touching melodrama, and Dolphy's trademark comic mastery.  Directed with exuberant experimentation by then first time director Frank Gray Jr.

OMENG SATANASIA

A TRIBUTE TO ELIZABETH SUNG -  A collection of short films directed by and starring the late award winning actress/filmmaker/community supporter Elizabeth Sung.

Even as she was hard at work carving out a career on both the big and small screen, Elizabeth Sung (1954-2018) actively sought opportunities to transcend her one-dimensional persona as an actress, the better to become an all-encompassing artist and auteur. From her early work with future acting colleagues and an extended career on daytime network soap operas, a pivotal invitation to the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women set the stage for Elizabeth’s development into a multi-hyphenate artist: as actor, director; writer, producer, and even mentor. In this special tribute program, we recognize Elizabeth’s wide-ranging career and, in particular, her impact on generations of Asian Pacific American cinematic and performing talents who would follow her.

SPOTLIGHT ON TAIWAN

As part of an ongoing partnership with the Taiwan Academy of Los Angeles and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan, LAAPFF will once again screen films highlighting the best in Taiwanese cinema that display the country’s rich culture and history that have shaped the island nation into one of the most dynamic countries in the Asia-Pacific Rim. This year, LAAPFF is honored to present two feature films in the SPOTLIGHT ON TAIWAN section, both films winning prestigious Golden Horse Awards for their actors - first time feature director/ writer Heather Tsui’s LONG TIME NO SEA and CITIES OF LAST THINGS directed by Wi Ding Ho.

LONG TIME NO SEA - Ethnography and entertainment are neatly mixed in LONG TIME NO SEA, an uplifting drama set among the indigenous Tao community from Orchid Island in Taiwan. Based on life experiences of first-time feature writer-director Heather Tsui (also known as Tsui Yung-hui), this tale of a newbie teacher from the city who prepares students for a dance competition is sweet without ever getting sticky, and sends strong but never-didactic messages about the need to preserve traditional cultures and languages.

CITIES OF LAST THINGS - Spanning generations, CITIES OF LAST THINGS builds a searing portrait of societal and political change through the lens of an emotional drama. Reminiscent of the early work of Wong Kar-wai, it finds its heartbeat in the pulse-pounding rhythm of the underbelly of the unnamed city. Through his seamless blending of genres, from sci-fi to noir to romance, the Malaysian-born Ho commandingly employs cinematic language as a tool to discuss the root of our collective sadness, which is perhaps the very thing that makes us human. SPOTLIGHT ON TAIWAN films will be presented on Monday, May 6th at Regal L.A. LIVE.

VC 50: PING PONG PLAYA (RETRO) - SCREENING AND CONVERSATION WITH JESSICA YU

In a nearly three-decade career distinguished by an impressive portfolio of non-fiction features and shorts, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu has rarely attempted narrative films. No doubt, the thinking goes, her incisively-essayed portraits of real people living on the margins of society/community/reality have provided a wealth of stories that greatly mitigate the need for Jessica to ever have to extend into the narrative format. Yet, on those rare occasions that she has dipped her toes into narrative filmmaking, Yu has struck pure gold. PING PONG PLAYA (2007), a splashy feature produced in collaboration with Cherry Sky Films and co-written and starring Jimmy Tsai, allowed Yu to display a wry left-of-center sense of humor previously unknown to anyone outside of her circle of friends. Populated with an esteemed group of Asian Pacific American acting talents (Jim Lau, Roger Fan, Elizabeth Sung, Smith Cho) in a total send-up of San Gabriel Valley sports culture, PING PONG PLAYA both lampooned and honored the concept of family and community, and established director Yu's unique talents for narrative storytelling.  This screening will take place on Thursday, May 9th at 8PM at Regal L.A. LIVE.

The Festival is proud to be partnering with the following screening venues across Los Angeles and Southern California: 

●341 FSN: 341 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
●Aratani Theatre @ JACCC – Little Tokyo (DTLA): 244 S San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
●Aratani Central Hall at JANM (Japanese American National Museum): 100 N Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
●Tateuchi Democracy Forum @ National Center for the Preservation of Democracy: 111 N Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
●Downtown Independent – Downtown L.A. (DTLA): 251 S Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
●Pacific Design Center: 8687 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069
●Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center: 1000 W Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015

For program information please visit LAAPFF2019

EATING UP EASTER