15th Annual Vancouver Asian Festival Program Guide by Gillian Lo

VAFF 2011 Welcome Last year as we were looking ahead to our 15th Anniversary, we really wanted to celebrate this important milestone and to tie it in with Vancouver’s 125th birthday celebration. After some brainstorming, we came up with the theme of Love Letters to Vancouver, a celebration of the city and its rich diversity. Early in the year, we commissioned local and Canadian artists and filmmakers like Quentin Lee, Joanna Wong and Anand Kanna to show us their love of the city through photos and videos. Then when the city exploded with the Canuck riot and everyone poured out their love for the city, we realized that all these messages were already captured in our Love Letters. Since this was our theme before all these messages were written on pieces of plywood, when our designer Gillian Lo proposed the plywood background for our program guide cover, it just seemed like a natural choice. We hope to remind everyone that there is a tremendous amount to love and celebrate about our diverse city. We thank those who continued their support though this fragile economic climate and welcome those who are new to the VAFF family, including River District Vancouver. We are an inclusive film festival and encourage all Vancouverites of every ethnic background to celebrate their own communities and come experience unique stories seldom seen elsewhere. The VAFF Executive team once again have pulled together a banner year, with a VAFF event almost every month since May. Their energy, commitment and creativity continues to amaze me and I am grateful for their donation of time and vision. I’m sure you will immensely enjoy the selection of films Peter and his team are presenting. See you at the festival! Barbara Lee, Founder and President, Vancouver Asian Film Festival Welcome to our largest Vancouver Asian Film Festival to date. With almost 60 films and over 60 diverse Asian filmmakers, actors, and special guests scheduled to attend this year’s festivities, this 15th edition of VAFF promises to be one of the best ever. I encourage you to look at every program in this Guide — they’re all terrific and many of films are premiering here. Anchored by Opening Night’s Almost Perfect starring Kelly Hu and Closing Night’s Surrogate Valentine with rising star Goh Nakamura, and the gripping Centrepiece feature Ashes, this Festival line-up provides one gem after another throughout the entire 4 day event.

Contents VAFF 2011 Welcome

Tickets & Passes

Mission Statement

Special Greetings

Programs Opening Night Presentation: Almost Perfect

Unlike No Other

Friday Night Feature: Big in Bollywood

Mighty Asian Shorts

Canadian Asian Stories

Life in Transit

Chicks on Flicks – Women in Hollywood: Then & Now

Centrepiece Presentation: Ashes

From the Other Side of the Pacific: Fullmetal Alchemist

Vancity Shorts

ABC’s Of Life

Artist Spotlight: Desiree Lim

Closing Night Presentation: Surrogate Valentine

Come and celebrate as we focus this year’s Artist Spotlight on prolific Canadian director Desiree Lim and her latest feature, The House. And our provocative documentaries continue to compel us to look at ourselves and where we live. Making it Big In Bollywood and Resident Aliens surviving deportation back to Cambodia are two such excellent examples. And our annual crop of the best Asian Canadian and American shorts along with thoughtful panel discussions complete an exciting and entertaining Festival.

The National Film Board’s “Best Canadian Short” Award

Filmmakers’ Bios

Print Source

VAFF 15 Years Ago…

And let’s not forget the parties! There couldn’t be a film festival without one — every night. Please join us. It’s a great place to network and make new friends.

VAFF 15 Retrospective Series

Speed Date a Film Expert!

Love Letters to Vancouver

Mind Your BID-ness is Back!!!

The Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon (MAMM) 2011

Acknowledgements

Thank You Volunteers!

Sponsorship Info

Special thanks goes to the VAFF executive team and all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication in helping make this festival another huge success. And much appreciation to our sponsors, funders, partners and members for their continued support — especially to our new facilities host, Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas, for such a smooth transition to our 15th year, and hopefully, beyond. Please tell your friends. Buy a VIP Pass — see every film and attend every party. Or pick up a 5 PACK or 10 PACK and bring a friend or two to share the experience. For some of these films, this may be the only opportunity that they will screen in Vancouver. It’s a wonderful collection of films and they deserve a great audience such as ours. Have a great time. Thank you! Peter Leung, Festival Director © All Rights Reserved. VAFF 2011. Cover design & Illustrations, Layout: Gillian Lo

www.vaff.org // 1

Tickets & Passes Single Ticket Prices Opening Night, Centrepiece or Closing Night Screening Evenings (screenings after 6pm) Matinees Students/Seniors 65+

CENTREPIECE NIGHT FILM + RECEPTION* $15 $10 $8 $7*

*with valid ID — excludes Opening Night and Closing Night films screenings.

VAFF VIP Pass Valid for all film screenings including Opening Night, Centrepiece Night, Closing Night screenings plus all Special Events. Membership fee included. Only 200 VIP passes available to the public! Receive the VAFF VIP treatment! Receive complimentary priority access to all film screenings and special events at the festival. Rub shoulders with filmmakers, actors, and other industry guests. Earlybird (Oct 3 – 19) Before Festival (Oct 20 – Nov 2) During Festival

$75 $88 $150

VAFF 5 PACK Valid for screenings or Special Events, excluding the Opening Night Film and Opening Night Gala. All of the screenings or Special Events must be specified when first redeeming this package. Use the 5 PACK and bring a friend to a screening and a party. Earlybird (Oct 3 – 19) Before Festival (Oct 20 – Nov 2)

$25 $35

VAFF 10 Pack Valid for screenings or Special Events, excluding the Opening Night Film and Opening Night Gala. All of the screenings or Special Events must be specified when first redeeming this package. The VAFF 10 PACK is ideal for sharing with friends. Earlybird (Oct 3 – 19) Before Festival (Oct 20 – Nov 2)

$39 $59

OPENING NIGHT FILM + GALA RECEPTION Kick off the 2011 Vancouver Asian Film Festival with the Canadian Premiere of Bertha Bay-Sa Pan’s hilarious comedy Almost Perfect. Mix and mingle with visiting filmmakers, celebrities, writers and local personalities. Admission to the Gala Reception is included for those with VIP, Filmmaker, Media, and Corporate Sponsorship Passes. Cash Bar. Thursday Nov 3, 2011 Film Screening 7:30 PM Gala 9:30PM – 1:00 AM Kentizen Fusion Lounge International Village, 2nd Floor, 88 W. Pender Street Vancouver Film Screening + Reception, Before Festival Film Screening + Reception, During Festival Reception only (at Door)

// www.vaff.org

$30 $40 $20

Discover award-winning film Ashes, directed and starring Ajay Naidu, about heart-wrenching struggles with family obligation, mental illness and greed. Afterwards, join us at The Greedy Pig, a restaurant with an emphasis on local artisan products, within a century old room that evokes the city’s history. Admission to the Reception is included for those with VIP, Filmmaker, Media and Corporate Sponsorship Passes. General Public $5 at Door. Cash Bar. Saturday Nov 5, 2011 Film Screening 7 PM Reception 9:30 PM – 1:00 AM The Greedy Pig, 307 West Cordova Street Vancouver Film Screening Reception only (at Door)

$15 $5

FILMMAKERS’ LUNCHEON (Closed Event) The National Film Board of Canada will announce VAFF’s Best Canadian Short at this private luncheon for filmmakers, industry, media and special VAFF guests. Sunday Nov 6, 2011 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden 578 Carrall Street Vancouver IT’S A WRAP! WRAP PARTY* Wrap this year’s VAFF with the star of the Closing Night film Surrogate Valentine, Goh Nakamura. Unwind with the VAFF Execs and Volunteers as we celebrate the close of the 15th Annual VAFF. Admission is included for those with VIP, Filmmaker, Media, and Corporate Sponsorship Passes. General Public $5 at Door. Cash Bar. Sunday Nov 6, 2011 9:30 PM – Midnight Wild Rice, 117 West Pender Street Vancouver Wild Rice began as a simple thought from Andrew Wong. His wish was to create a socially conscious restaurant serving local cuisine with influences from his Chinese heritage. As a proud member of both Ocean Wise and Green Table, Wild Rice stands for good stewardship of land and sea.

Party only (at Door)

*Must be 19 or over to attend. ID may be requested. VAFF Membership fee ($2) not included in any ticket or pass prices. VAFF Membership fee ($2) not included in the Single Ticket, 5 Pack or 10 Pack purchase.

Mission Statement The Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society (VAFF) is a not-forprofit organization that provides a forum for independent North American Asian filmmakers to showcase their work to both Asian and non-Asian audiences. The aim of VAFF is to foster an understanding and appreciation of today’s independent North American Asian filmmakers, while providing a springboard to larger film festivals. The society endeavours to represent the often ignored North American Asians caught between two cultures. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society will provide a cultural bridge between the Asian and non-Asian communities as well as the Asian communities themselves.

VAFF Membership As many of the films have not been previously classified by Consumer Protection BC, under BC law, only Members of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society (VAFF) can attend the Film Festival and members must be 18 years or older. The membership is non-transferable and the fee must be paid before admittance to any program. Please carry the membership card with you at all times during the festival. Membership cards must be shown along with program tickets to enter any screening.

RUSH TICKETS FOR SOLD OUT SCREENINGS In the event of a sold out program, a limited number of rush tickets may become available immediately before the show. A separate line for each sold out program will be formed outside the venue box office approximately one hour before show time. As tickets become available, they will be sold to individuals in line order while supplies last.

Theatre & Parking Info All VAFF screenings take place at Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas, 3rd Floor, 88 West Pender Street, Vancouver from Nov 3 – 6. The theatre is half a block away from Skytrain’s Stadium Station and numerous bus routes. See translink.ca or a full list of bus routes. The International Village provides free underground parking if you are attending a screening. Keep ticket stubs for proof.

To receive VAFF’s Annual Membership, complete the VAFF membership form and pay the $2 membership fee after which you will be provided a membership card. The VAFF Membership form is available at www.vaff.org and will also be available at the theatre.

How to Buy Tickets & Passes The 2011 VAFF Online Box Office will open on October 3, 2011 for VAFF VIP passes, 5 Pack and 10 Pack purchases. All other tickets will be available on VAFF’s Online Box office starting October 20, 2011. Student and Senior discount tickets are only available at the theatre, as valid ID is required.

All venues are located in the City of Vancouver.

Ticket sales at the theatre will be available Oct 20, 2011 and are CASH only.

1. Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas 3rd floor, 88 West Pender Street ,Vancouver

REFUNDS & EXCHANGES & LOST VIP PASSES

2. Kentizen Fusion Lounge International Village, 2nd Floor, 88 West Pender Street, Vancouver

No refunds or exchanges on general admission tickets, 5 Packs, 10 Packs, and special event tickets except in the case of program cancellation. Please keep your ticket stub. No refunds or exchanges on VIP Passes. Lost VIP Passes will be charged $30 for replacement and original VIP Passes will be canceled.

3. The Greedy Pig 307 West Cordova Street, Vancouver 4. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver

VAFF VIP / INDUSTRY / MEDIA PASSES

5. Wild Rice 117 West Pender Street, Vancouver

A VIP, Industry or Media pass holder MUST arrive 30 minutes before the start of the program to guarantee a seat. Pass holders arriving less than 30 minutes before the start of a program, or if the program is sold out, will be placed in the rush ticket line along with other regular audience members in the order of each person’s arrival. As well, please give yourself ample time to park and sign up for membership. Possession of a pass does not guarantee seating.

6. Terracotta Modern Chinese Restaurant & Lounge 52 Alexander Street, Vancouver

Contact Info Vancouver Asian Film Festival 455 Prior Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 2G3 Fax 604.251.6828 Email info@vaff.org

www.vaff.org // 3

Special Greetings I am pleased to extend my warmest greetings to everyone taking part in the 15th annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF), organized by the Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society. Since its inauguration in 1996, VAFF has become a popular annual event for industry experts and film fans alike. This year’s festival promises to be equally memorable. Over the course of the four days, audiences will have the opportunity to view a fascinating and broad mix of films by emerging and established Asian Canadian and Asian American artists — a selection that is sure to leave them both enlightened and entertained. Filmmakers, on the other hand, will benefit greatly from the many opportunities to network with their peers in the industry. I would like to commend the Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society for their efforts to promote cross‐ cultural understanding and respect through the medium of film. With so many talented individuals displaying their work, this year’s festival will no doubt be, once again, a resounding success. Please accept my best wishes for most enjoyable experience.

The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA, M.P

Congratulations to the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) for showcasing the fine talent of Asian Canadian film directors, producers and writers. This year marks VAFF’s 15th anniversary. The organization can be proud of building a great tradition representative of the artistic diversity and creative energy of arts and culture in British Columbia. VAFF brings together people from different cultural backgrounds united by a love of film. The four-day festival generates many positive results. Asian Canadian filmmakers showcase their talent. Downtown Vancouver’s cultural scene benefits from a surge of economic and artistic energy. Movie-goers experience great film from a unique perspective. It’s all good. I commend the Vancouver Asian Film Festival for their achievement. I’m confident this year’s event will prove an outstanding success. Thank you, VAFF — and all the best in future.

The Honourable Ida Chong, FCGA Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development

Our Government knows how important arts and culture are to our identity, our society, and our economy. The arts, including film, can provide us with insight and understanding into other cultures and ways of life. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival gives Canadians the opportunity to take part in the life of their community and discover works from Canada and beyond. By presenting a wide range of films that combine creativity and innovation, the Festival uses the medium of cinema to celebrate Asian culture in North America and to give independent filmmakers an opportunity to show their work and gain exposure. On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Government of Canada, I would like to congratulate everyone who has helped make this year’s Vancouver Asian Film Festival a success.

The Honourable James Moore Member of Parliament

// www.vaff.org

Special Greetings As Premier of the Province of British Columbia, I am very pleased to welcome everyone to the 2011 Vancouver Asian Film Festival. This is a wonderful 4-day opportunity for filmmakers to share their pride in Asian cinema with the general public and each other at the Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood. I commend everyone involved in putting the program together. British Columbia is so enriched with a vast array of multicultural events and this Film Festival will inspire and impress the many people who will come to experience and enjoy this special exposure to Asian film projects. Thank you to the filmmakers for sharing their work with us. Thank you to the audiences for coming out to enjoy the richness of Asian storytelling through film right here in Vancouver, British Columbia. Sincerely,

Christy Clark PREMIER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

On behalf of my colleagues on City Council, I want to extend our best wishes to the 2011 Vancouver Asian Film Festival as you celebrate your 15th Anniversary. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival is a perfect platform for independent Asian Canadian and Asian American writers, producers and directors to share their unique and creative film talents with us. As Mayor, I am proud of our thriving arts community and I am pleased to congratulate the Vancouver Asian Film Festival for contributing to that designation with this festival. This program also provides educational and inspirational opportunities to aspiring filmmakers through various partnerships with educational institutions and industry organizations. I want to thank the organizers, volunteers and filmmakers who make this festival a success. We hope the festival is a huge success. Yours truly,

Gregor Robertson MAYOR OF VANCOUVER

The 15th edition of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) is a unique forum for independent North American Asian filmmakers to showcase their work to both Asian and non-Asian audiences. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is dedicated to reflecting the diverse face of Canada. We work with filmmakers from culturally diverse communities at our Pacific and Yukon Centre here in Vancouver, as well as production centres across Canada. As part of this commitment, we’re partnering this year in Canadian Asian Stories, a VAFF program that will feature oral and visual histories by emerging Asian Canadian directors. We’ll also be presenting the 2011 Best Canadian Short Award. After the festival, I invite you to check out some of the award-winning productions available online, free of charge, at NFB.ca and our acclaimed family of apps. Have a wonderful festival!

Tom Perlmutter Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada

www.vaff.org // 5

day 1 program 1

Opening Night Presentation: Almost Perfect Love. Commitment. Family. VAFF is proud to kick off the 15th edition of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival with awardwinning writer/director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan’s Almost Perfect. In just her second feature film, Pan has proven to be one of the most unique and exciting voices in the business — a storyteller who dissects the traditions and delicate intricacies of Asian families with universal characters we can all relate to. Starring Kelly Hu and Edison Chen (in a rare English speaking role), Almost Perfect portrays the hardships of a woman who, despite her attempts at love and romance, is constantly trapped by the expectations of her (mostly) Asian family. This one is not to be missed.

Almost Perfect Canadian Premiere Director and Cast in Attendance Director/Writer Producers

Bertha Bay-Sa Pan Derrick Tseng, Riva Marker

USA 2011. Narrative. Colour, HDCAM. 106 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards Official Selection — San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011, Hawaii Int’l Film Festival 2011, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2011 When you need a ride from the airport, you call Vanessa (Kelly Hu). When your boyfriend leaves, you call Vanessa. When you need someone to take over the family business, you call Vanessa — and she’ll never, ever say no. At 34, she’s still her family’s go-to girl, with a threadbare excuse of a life of her own. Suddenly, she runs into an old friend, the almost perfect guy who just might be perfect for her. But, as sparks fly, her family starts to go up in flames. Her high-maintenance fashion designer sister is on the brink; her surf bum brother has gone AWOL; and her over-analyzing, over-intellectual mother has barred her father from their home, sending him into his own mid-life crisis. They all need Vanessa, all the time, to fix all the problems. Trapped, Vanessa must find her way back to love. In the process, she discovers that the only person she really has to save is herself. ♥ In attendance: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan received her MFA from the Columbia University Graduate Film School while working as an International Sales Executive in film distribution. Pan's feature film directorial debut Face premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and received the Critics Award at CineVegas Film Festival, and the Grand Jury Award at Urbanworld Film Festival. Pan was nominated for the prestigious Open Palm at the Gotham Awards, and received the Premio Speciale Prize at the International Women's Film Festival in Torino. In attendance: Edison Chen Born in Vancouver to parents of Chinese and Portuguese descent, Edison Chen is a Hong Kong actor and singer who has also appeared in films in North America and Japan. Aside from acting and singing, Chen is also a record producer, fashion designer, founder of the clothing company, CLOT Inc., and CEO of the multimedia company, Clot Media Division. Chen’s film credits include Infernal Affairs I, II, and III, Initial D, The Grudge, Dog Bite Dog, and The Dark Knight.

Preceded by

love letter to vancouver Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series. Director: Joanna Wong Canada 2011. Doc. Digital. Colour. 3 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty A sian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening Businessman and social activist Milton Wong looks back on how a grassroots Dragon Boat festival transformed racial relations in Vancouver in the 1980s. ♥

unlaced World Premiere Director/Writer: Megan Turnbull Producer: Michael Fukushima Canada 2010. Animation. Colour. HDCAM. 2 min. Musical Score Without Dialogue A myopic woman walks, then boogies, through a wintr y urban landscape, her world view altered suddenly by a beat from within herself, transporting her to a rich and lush place full of green foliage. Animated in stereoscopic stopmotion entirely out of paper sculpture and pure invention. ♥

www.vaff.org // 11

day 2 program 2

Unlike No Other In this program of shorts, we have a mix of short documentaries and daring narratives that are unlike no other. In A Drummer’s Passion, we meet a 70-year-old Korean drumming sensation who is rediscovered on YouTube, but not to be outdone by Grandpa’s Wet Dream, that finds a 75-year-old man embarking on a career in Japanese porn after retirement. We’ve got two coming out stories with musical numbers: You Can’t Curry Love brings us a love story with a dash of Bollywood, and in The Queen we meet Bobby who fantasizes about his own special Prom. Also out of the box, we have A Moth in Spring, which takes us to China where a young Canadian filmmaker attempts to make a film, only to be shut down by the ministry of culture, which gives her a deeper understanding of her parents’ struggles for freedom in China 20 years ago.

* This program is free for students with valid student ID. $2 VAFF membership is still required.

go canucks go Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series.

Directors in Attendance Directors Adam Chan, Peter Planta Canada 2011. Music Video. Digital Colour. 3 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening. A music video by Tyrone Pak and Sean Chiu that demonstrates a city’s love for their hockey team through the 2011 playoff run. ♥

A drummer’s passion

The Queen

World Premiere Director in Attendance

Director/Writer Producers

Director/Writer Mingu Kim Producers Mingu Kim, Susan Lee-Pierce

USA 2009. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 8 min. English and Korean with English subtitles

Canada 2010. Documentary. Digibeta. Colour/B&W. 21 min. English and Korean with English subtitles

Previous Screenings/Awards Jury Award for Best Short Film (tie) — Philadelphia QFest 2011; Best of Fest — Palm Springs Int’l Short Fest, Telluride Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Seattle Film Festival, Rhode Island Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival; Nomination — Iris Prize (UK Film Council)

Kwon Soon Keun, the worldwide YouTube sensation, showcased his passion once again by putting on a concert to celebrate his 50th year of professional drumming. Once a celebrity back in Korea, as a member of renowned rock band, ADD-4, he later immigrated to Canada, and struggled living as a Korean-Canadian. But he never gave up playing, and now, he’s back in the spotlight at age 70. ♥

// www.vaff.org

Christina Choe Christina Choe, Gerry Kim

Bobby, a Korean-American teenage outcast, is working at his parents’ dry cleaners on prom weekend. When the prom queen and her boyfriend stop by with their dress and tuxedo, Bobby creates his own night to remember. ♥

day 2 program 2

Unlike No Other

you can’t curry love Director in Attendance Director/Writer/Producer Reid Waterer Writers Reid Waterer, Rakshak Sahni, Rajan Velu USA/India/UK 2009. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 23 min. English

Previous Screenings/Awards Special Jury Prize — FargoMoorhead LGBT Film Festival; Best Short — San Diego ‘FilmOut’ LGBT Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Houston; Asian Hot Shots Berlin Film & Arts Festival; Asian Queer Film Festival Tokyo; San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival A handsome South Asian from London visits India, falls for a local guy, meets a transgendered “hijra”, and discovers a country he only thought he knew. ♥

Grandpa’s wet dream

a moth in spring

Vancouver Premiere

Director/Producer/Writer/Videographer/Editor Chihiro Amemiya

Director/Writer/Camera/Editor Yu Gu Producer Jenny Chen

Japan/USA 2010. Documentary. HDCAM. Colour. 16 min. Japanese with English subtitles Previous Screenings/Awards Sundance Film Festival 2011 Tokuda, a 75-year-old Japanese man, has been acting in adult videos for 15 years without telling his family. Competing with his senses of morality, shame, and guilt is his aspiration to mark his life as a unique existence. ♥

USA/Canada/China 2010. Documentary. HDCAM. Colour. 26 min. English and Mandarin with English subtitles Previous Screenings/Awards Hot Docs Int’l Documentary Festival 2010; AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs 2010; Rhode Island Int’l Film Festival 2010; Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film 2010; Philadelphia Asian-American Film Festival 2010; San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011; Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2011 Director Yu Gu returned to China in 2009 intending to shoot a script based on her childhood memories of her father’s struggle for artistic freedom. When she and her family are forced to leave the country by China’s Ministry of Culture, Yu discovers that the desire for freedom of speech is a force that unites three generations of her family, spanning China and North America. ♥

www.vaff.org // 13

// www.vaff.org

day 2 program 3

Friday Night Feature: Big In Bollywood Stereotypes are battled within and without. Big In Bollywood takes us on the ultimate joy ride, as an American-Indian actor is suddenly thrust into the exciting but mostly foreign culture of his homeland, experiencing it as a new rising Bollywood star. Growing up in California did not prepare him for the culture readjustment he faces in India, re-learning his language and being instantly recognized on the streets. Post-Racial perfectly dramatizes the writer’s struggle as his own Asian stereotypes rise up during the writing process and how he reacts to them.

Big in bollywood Vancouver Premiere Director in Attendance Directors Producers

Kenny Meehan, Bill Bowles Tyler MacNiven, Matt McCroskey

USA 2011. Documentary. HDCAM. Colour. 69 min. English and Hindi with English subtitles Previous Screenings/Awards Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary — Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles American-born Omi Vaidya, a struggling actor in L.A., miraculously lands a dream role in the Bollywood film 3 Idiots. Curious about the world of Bollywood, four of Omi’s buddies armed with cameras fly to Mumbai to document his big premiere. Within a week of release, 3 Idiots skyrockets to box office success, becoming the most successful Indian film in history and transforming Omi into an overnight megastar. But being a national sensation in India is not all glitz and glamour. Aside from the language barrier, Omi struggles with the pressure of this newly acquired fame and continues his career momentum while trying to maintain a healthy domestic life back in Los Angeles. Set against the backdrop of Mumbai, Big In Bollywood is about what it is to be successful in show business, seen through the eyes of Omi’s best friends, who witness his career transformation firsthand. ♥

Preceded by

sixzerofour Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series. Director in Attendance Director: Tin Pak Lau Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 3 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening When people think Vancouver, they think trees, ocean, Whistler, totem poles and a multicultural community. We embrace all cultures but culture is not defined by ethnicity and religion. Here is an alternate perspective on Vancouver and how I experience it. — Tin Pak Lau ♥

Post-Racial Canadian Premiere Director/Writer/Editor: Tim Tsai

Community Sponsors:

Producers: Evan Ho, Drew Saplin USA 2010. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 13 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: Jay Sanders Film Festival; Jump Cut Film Festival Fact and fiction collide when a screenwriter embarks on a quest to eliminate all racial stereotypes from his movie. ♥

www.vaff.org // 15

day 2 program 4

Mighty Asian Shorts Shorts have been the backbone of VAFF since the festival began 15 years ago and they continue to be both an art form in and of themselves and a ‘calling card’ to bigger and better projects. 7 years ago, VAFF decided to lend a hand in creating new works by hosting MAMM, the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon, in which filmmakers compete for prizes by completing a film in a limited amount of time. Over 60 shorts later, we are proud to present the best crop of films yet. In this program you’ll see the top three from this year’s MAMM, along with films from established and newbie filmmakers from our neighbour to the South. There’s something for everyone with heartbreaking family drama in Withholding and Triangle. Horror and suspense echo through a husband’s difficult decision in D-volution and in Andy we are left with very unsettling questions. Taking a turn toward the self-reflective and lighthearted is a satire on our identity issues with Asian American Jesus. Even though all were inspired by Vancouver related creative elements, our MAMM films also varied in genre and subject matter with Paper Girl, an action comedy about a local newspaper girl who decides to help a neighbour without realizing his nefarious intentions and crippling addiction problem; Candlelight, a suspense thriller about discovering exactly what’s hiding in the darkness; and our grand prize winner, The Anti-versary, a drama about an elderly gentleman who celebrates past memories - before it’s too late. This program is preceded by Today Has Been Weird, a commissioned film by VAFF veteran filmmaker Quentin Lee.

TODAY HAS BEEN WEIRD

D-VOLUTION

Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series.

Canadian Premiere

Director in Attendance

Director/Writer/Editor Walter Boholst

Director/Writer Quentin Lee

Producers Walter Boholst, John Flores

Producers Yogi Omar, Quentin Lee

USA 2011. Narrative. Digibeta. Colour. 6 min. English

Canada 2011. Narrative. Digital. Colour. 6 min. English and Japanese with English subtitles

When a man’s wife is infected by a mutating virus, he races against time to get her the antidote. Her infection is full blown and it’s just a matter of time before she mutates and turns on him. That’s when things go horribly wrong and he must face the most difficult decision of his life. ♥

Inspired by a true story, Today Has Been Weird chronicles an unexpected day of a vlogger. ♥ Previous Screenings/Awards VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening

Previous Screenings/Awards Interpretations Film Contest; Motor City Nightmares Film Festival; Sunscreen Film Festival

WITHHOLDING

ANDY

Canadian Premiere

Director in Attendance

Director/Writer/Editor Andrew Ahn

Director/Writer Joyce Wu

Producers Andrew Ahn, Eliza Hittman

Producer Ashley Prewitt USA 2011. Narrative. Digibeta. Colour. 11 min. English and Mandarin with English subtitles A lonely stage manager, who yearns to be an actress, finds out her rebellious younger brother has done the unimaginable right after her father has suffered a heart attack. She must then decide whether or not to make the ultimate sacrifice and keep the terrible news to herself. ♥ Previous Screenings/Awards San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011

// www.vaff.org

USA 2010. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 7 min. English and Korean with English subtitles After church, Charles and Joyce take their sixyear-old son Andy to a shopping mall for a relaxing afternoon. Bored and hungry, Andy can’t sit still and roams about the mall. After Charles spots his son interacting with a stranger, he snaps and forces the family to leave immediately. ♥ Previous Screenings/Awards Official Selection — Slamdance Film Festival 2011, Boston Asian American Film Festival 2010, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2011, San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011, Disorient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon 2011

ASIAN AMERICAN JESUS Canadian Premiere Director/Producer Yasmine Gomez Writer Samantha Chanse USA 2010. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 11 min. English Meet Truth Is Real, self-professed ‘mad scientist of the spoken word,’ and the subject of college freshman Suzette Law’s final project for her Ethnic Studies class, ‘Performing the Diaspora: Asian Americans and the Arts.’ Suzette grudgingly pursues her task by interviewing various experts on Truth Is Real’s work. She gradually arrives at a new understanding about post-racial art, excuses for bad poetry, and the truth about dying on stage. ♥

day 2 program 4

Mighty Asian Shorts

Previous Screenings/Awards Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival; DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon

TRIANGLE

PAPER GIRL Canadian Premiere

Directors in Attendance

Director/Writer/ Producer Janice Ahn

Directors Brian Cheung, Carlos McCallister

USA 2010. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 13 min. English and Korean with English subtitles Chelsea waits for her turn to play the triangle at the very end of a long symphony. Her whole life’s private moments, baited breath, and yearning, culminate in a moment…A visual tone poem bridging the narrative and lyrical, Triangle is writer/director Janice Ahn’s meditation on women and waiting. ♥ Previous Screenings/Awards Directors Guild of America Jury Award — 16th Annual DGA Student Film Awards; First Run Festival Achievement in Experimental Form; San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival; Korean American Film Festival New York; Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival; Stanford Alumni Film Festival

CANDLELIGHT

Producer Wilson Lau Canada 2011. Narrative. Digital. Colour. 8 min. English The local newspaper girl decides to help a neighbour out, without realizing his nefarious intentions and crippling addiction problem. ♥ Previous Screenings/Awards 3 rd Place Winner — Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011

THE ANTI-VERSARY Director, Producer & Cast in Attendance

Directors Osric Chau, Stanley Tsang

Director/Writer/Editor Aaron Au

Producers Mark Rathgeber, Osric Chau, Owen Chau, Stanley Tsang

Producer Kevin Li Canada 2011. Narrative. Digital. Colour. 7 min. English and Cantonese with English subtitles

Writer Chris Tom Canada 2011. Narrative. Digital. Colour. 8 min English

elderly

man

Who knows what’s hiding in the darkness. ♥

celebrates past memories before it’s too late. ♥

Previous Screenings/Awards 2nd Place Winner — Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011

Previous Screenings/Awards 1st Place Winner — Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011

www.vaff.org // 17

day 3 program 5

Canadian Asian Stories “Much of what these students saw around them growing up in Vancouver as Asian- Canadians hasn’t been documented,” says UBC professor Henry Yu. This showcase of shorts by emerging filmmakers from UBC examines life as Asians in Canada from fresh new perspectives — those of both Canadian-born and immigrant students. What developed from this is the continuing effort and desire of students to tell their stories and build upon the history of Asian-Canadians. Together with From C to C: Chinese Canadian Stories of Migration, the films in this program aim to document the Asian-Canadian experience and learn about our history through oral storytelling. A panel discussion with UBC Professor Henry Yu, and filmmakers Jordan Paterson and Karin Lee follows the screening and examines issues raised in these films, as well as the important role of oral storytelling in the preservation of our histories.

DAD’S PLAYGROUND: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDY MORI World Premiere Director in Attendance Director/Producer Leanne Riding Canada 2006. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 5 min. English A poignant film made by student Leanne Riding, this short film follows Andy as he flips through a family photo album, re-telling the touching story of his father’s internment during the war years at Lemon Creek in the Kootenays of British Columbia. ♥

WHO IS RICHMOND? World Premiere Directors in Attendance Directors/Producers Jessica Huang, Aaron Kim, Robert Li, Wendy Phung, Sharon Tang, Inez Tao, Lee Xu Canada 2010. Doc. Digital. Colour. 7 min. English Who Is Richmond deals with the evolution of Richmond, from a predominately Caucasian farming community to its status today as one of the largest and most visible Chinese-Canadian communities in BC. Richmond residents from various backgrounds and ages comment on how things have changed, past and present issues, and Richmond’s future. ♥ This program is copresented with National Film Board of Canada.

FINDING A HYBRID HUSBAND World Premiere Director in Attendance Director/Producer Jennifer Yip Canada 2009. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 4 min. English Twenty-one and unmarried. A n A sianified C anadian born Chinese. Where will Jennifer find her perfect (hybrid) husband? Will Tony, potential fiancé #27, be the one? Finding a Hybrid Husband is a tongue-in-cheek interview that explores place, family, and identity of one Chinese Canadian in Vancouver. ♥

THE SEARCH FOR KOREATOWN: PINPOINTING SELF IDENTITY AMIDST A MOVING CULTURE World Premiere Directors in Attendance Directors/Producers Andrea Bang, Peter Im, Valentine Ostaszewski, Daniel Wood Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 8 min. English and Korean with English subtitles The Search For Koreatown investigates the ‘Canadian experience’ of three Korean-Canadians and one Korean student. Each have differing backgrounds, and bring unique and interesting views on Korean identity within Canada. ♥

LILLIAN DYCK: NOT JUST CHINESE World Premiere Director Alejandro Yoshizawa Producer Chinese Canadian Stories Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 13 min. English

Program also made possible with the generous support of Iven Tse Law Corporation.

// www.vaff.org

Canadian senator Lillian Dyck talks to Chinese Canadian Stories about her family, her upbringing, and being of mixed Chinese and Native Canadian descent. ♥

WONTON SOUP FOR THE SOUL World Premiere Directors Alejandro Yoshizawa, Elena Kusaka Producer Chinese Canadian Stories Canada 2010. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 4 min. English

day 3 program 5



Take a peek into the selfless volunteerism of the wonton wrappers at Hôpital Chinois de Montréal (Montreal Chinese Hospital). Wonton Soup for the Soul shows how food, warmth, and a genuine wish to help the community get wrapped up in these little morsels. ♥

Canadian Asian Stories

FROM C TO C: CHINESE CANADIAN STORIES OF MIGRATION Director in Attendance

CHINESE CANADIAN STORIES TRAILER

Director/Writer/Editor Jordan Paterson Producers Jordan Paterson, Ivana Filpovic World Premiere Director Alejandro Yoshizawa Producer Chinese Canadian Stories Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 3 min. English

Chinese Canadian Stories — Uncommon Histories from a Common Past is a collaborative project between the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and various campus and community-wide partners. This project will reshape the way we understand Canada, and reclaim the forgotten histories of peoples who have long been ignored in Canadian history. ♥

Canada 2010. Documentary. HDCAM. Colour/B&W. 46 min. English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taishanese, Kaipingese with English subtitles Previous Screenings/Awards Best Short Form Documentary — 2011 Leo Awards Filmed on location in BC and throughout China’s Guangdong province, From C to C is a moving, cinematic tapestry of Chinese Canadian stories of migration. These stories outline the injustices faced by Chinese migrants during the last century, and the little known effects of migration on the families and communities of migrants in China and Canada. The film contrasts these histories with the views and experiences of contemporary Chinese Canadian youth, leading us to reflect on the meaning of exclusion for those who experienced it, and for those who did not. By calling attention to the diverse and transnational nature of contemporary Chinese Canadian identities, the film promotes an inclusive vision of Canada that values members of all communities as global — rather than solely national — citizens. ♥

Canadian Asian Stories Panel: Panelists Moderator: Kathy Leung, VAFF Programmer Henry Yu Since joining UBC in 2003, Prof. Henry Yu has been involved in the collaborative effort at UBC and within off-campus communities across B.C. to recover the lost and ignored histories of trans-Pacific migrants to Canada. He is Director of the Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies at UBC, and Project Lead for the Chinese Canadian Stories project involving UBC, SFU, and a wide spectrum of academic and community collaborators. Prof. Yu is currently working on a trio of book projects that aim to provide new perspectives on global and migration history.

Jordan Paterson is a Vancouver-based writer, musician, and filmmaker whose documentaries often focus on stories of migration and the social dynamics of communities within the power structures of race and class. Amongst his accolades, Jordan is a recipient of the SFU president’s recognition award for outstanding achievement in the arts. In 2006, he was selected to participate in the NFB-Praxis Art of the Documentary workshop with Allan King and Thomas Reidelsheimer. Jordan is one of the founders of JLP Productions, a production company devoted to documentary and ethnographic film.

Karin Lee is a Gemini Award-winning filmmaker who has been making films and videos for the last 25 years. Her works have been shown in exhibitions and film and video festivals around the world, including London, Taipei, Leipzig, Los Angeles and New York. Lee’s work, both fiction and documentaries, have aired on “CBC, CTV, Vision, Canal Vie, WTN, Knowledge Network and VTV. Lee’s documentary Made in China — The Story of Adopted Chinese Children in Canada was awarded a Gemini and Best Feature Documentary at the San Diego Asian American Film Festival.

www.vaff.org // 19

day 3 program 6

Life in Transit Whether you’re leaving home or coming home, life in transit can be a very stressful and unsettling time. In Resident Aliens, refugees are deported back to Cambodia, forced to make a life in a country they barely know. In Huan Dao, A-Zhi returns to Taiwan and struggles to reconnect with his brother and deal with family issues. In Canopy Crossings, market vendors have grown so tired of the daily interruptions to business by a passing train that all they want to do is leave. Life in Transit — are you coming or going?

RESIDENT ALIENS Canadian Premiere Director in Attendance Director/Producer/Writer Ross Tuttle USA 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 52 min. English & Khmer with English subtitles

This program is co-presented with DOXA. D OX A i s We s te r n C a n a d a’s l a r g e s t documentary film festival. DOX A presents outstanding and challenging films audiences can’t see anywhere else.

Previous Screenings/Awards San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011 Resident Aliens is a powerful documentary that follows KK, China and Looney — all former gang members, excons and Cambodian refugees — whose families survived a genocide that wiped out nearly a fifth of the country’s population. They grew up in the United States but were deported along with hundreds of others — after felony convictions — to a country they hardly knew. With few skills, little money and no family to fall back on, they face new obstacles as they follow different paths towards reconciliation and redemption. While China and Looney erect emotional walls to keep the world at bay, KK, through breakdancing, takes on the challenge of helping kids in even more desperate circumstances than himself. ♥

DEAR MOM AND DAD

HUAN DAO

Preceded by

CANOPY CROSSINGS

Canadian Premiere

Canadian Premiere Director/Writer/Editor: Gary Yong

Director in Attendance

Director & Producer in Attendance

Director/Camera/Story: Tammy Tsang

Director/Writer/Editor: Norbert Shieh

Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series.

Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 2 min. English

Producers: Norbert Shieh, Jacqueline W. Liu, Lin Qiu

Previous Screenings/Awards: VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening

Taiwan/USA 2010. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 20 min. Taiwanese and Mandarin with English subtitles

Dear Mom and Dad follows the narration of a girl who has moved to Vancouver and is writing a letter back home to her parents. It sports a few comedic lines here and there, but mainly focuses on how the girl sees Vancouver with new eyes. ♥

Previous Screenings/Awards: Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2011 A-Zhi returns home to Taiwan for the first time in many years just as his younger brother, A-Yong, is leaving with friends for “huan dao,” or a round-theisland scooter trip. As the brothers reconnect, an old neighbour asks about their family home, which has been falling into disrepair. This looming issue forces the brothers to confront each other about their past, responsibilities to their ancestors, and the realities they face. ♥

Producer: Vitsanurak Satsanapitak Thailand/USA 2010. Narrative. Digibeta. Colour. 19 min. Thai with English subtitles Previous Screenings/Awards: Glasgow Film Festival; Tampere Film Festival; International Short Film Festival Oberhausen Penappa wants only to return to Bangkok. Arthid wants to leave his fruit stall behind and become an actor. But change is hard to come by in their market, where the vendors have grown accustomed to their unusual routine – eight times a day, they must abruptly halt business and pull in the market’s low canopy to give way to the passing train. ♥

www.vaff.org // 21

day 3 program 7

Chicks on Flicks – Women in Hollywood: Then & Now Women have undoubtedly made advances in equality from the early 20th century to the current day, so do we still need to address the divide between genders in Hollywood? One simple pop culture test can help decide. Named The Bechedel Test, it asks three questions about films: one, does it have at least two women in it who have names; two, who talk to each other; and three, about something besides a man. Scouring the current blockbuster hits, one is hard pressed to find a film that passes this test. Do independent films fare any better, particularly for Asian American and Canadian actresses? In Slaying the Dragon Reloaded: Asian Women in Hollywood and Beyond, Elaine Kim examines both the stereotypes still found in Hollywood and how Asian American cinema and new media seek to broaden, diversify and challenge common notions of Asian American women. In Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words, Yunah Kim takes us back to 1933 when Anna May Wong was fighting for the role of her life after being regulated to portraying the painted doll or scheming dragon lady alongside Hollywood stars such as Marlene Dietrich. Elaine Kim will be in attendance alongside local Asian Canadian directors and actresses to partake in a relevant and lively discussion about where Asian American and Canadian women stand now in media, and how to move forward.

Slaying the dragon RELOADED: ASIAN WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD AND BEYOND Canadian Premiere Director in Attendance Director/Writer Elaine H. Kim Producers Elaine H. Kim, Asian Women United of California USA 2010. Documentary. Digibeta. Colour. 30 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011; Int’l Women’s Film Festival in Seoul 2011 Slaying the Dragon Reloaded: Asian Women in Hollywood and Beyond explores representations of Asians and Asian Americans in American media, and examines what has changed, what has been recycled and what we can hope for in the future. Designed primarily but not exclusively for college classroom use, the first half of the documentary examines Hollywood images of Asian women from 1984 to the present, and explores how commercial visual media in the U.S. reflect or ignore the dramatic social and demographic changes of the past quarter of a century. The second half showcases the exciting ways Asian American cinema and new media such as YouTube seek to broaden, diversify and challenge common notions of Asian women. ♥

This program is co-presented with Women In Film and TV (WIFTV). WIFTV is an internationally affiliated non-profit society committed to advancing and celebrating women in screen-based media. We are the Vancouver chapter of Women In Film & Television International (WIFTI), which counts more than 10,000 members world-wide.

// www.vaff.org

Chicks on Flicks Panel: Panelists Moderator: Grace Chin, VAFF MAMM Producer Elaine H. Kim is a professor and Head of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She lectures on Asian American cinema as well as teaches classes in literature. She was Associate Producer on Slaying the Dragon: Asian Women in U.S. Television and Film, a documentary made for Asian Women United of California. Kim has also written, edited, and co-edited ten books and has received Rockefeller and Fulbright fellowships.

Desiree Lim is a true cultural hybrid. A 2nd generation Chinese born in Malaysia, she grew up there and in Japan before settling in Vancouver. Desiree started her television career as director and associate producer for news and documentaries at TV Asahi in Tokyo. Her debut Japanese TV feature Sugar Sweet and Canadian TV drama Floored By Love opened to sold-out audiences at major LGBT film festivals around the world. Desiree was a director participant of the Women In Director’s Chair Workshop and National Screen Institute’s Features First. Desiree is also our Artist’s Spotlight this year and her film, The House will be screening Nov. 6 at 5pm. Olivia Cheng As an actress, former ET Canada correspondent, producer, and published writer, Olivia Cheng is a storyteller of many mediums. She is currently developing two projects with Kristin Kreuk’s production company and is guest starring on Flashpoint (CTV, CBS). For more information, please visit www.oliviacheng.com or follow her @ThatOliviaCheng on Twitter.

day 3 program 7

Chicks on Flicks — Women in Hollywood: Then & Now

ANNA MAY WONG: IN HER OWN WORDS Canadian Premiere Director Producer

Yunah Hong William Smock

USA/South Korea 2010. Documentary. Digibeta. Colour/B&W. 58 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011 Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American movie star. She started out in silent films when she was 17, and went on to make dozens of films in Hollywood, London and Berlin, co-starring with Marlene Dietrich, Anthony Quinn and Douglas Fairbanks. She was glamorous, talented and cosmopolitan. Yet she spent most of her career typecast either as a painted doll or a scheming dragon lady. Filmmaker Yunah Hong paints a vivid portrait of a Hollywood original, narrated in Wong’s own words by actress Doan Ly. Generous excerpts from Wong’s films, archival photographs and interviews enhance this richly detailed picture of a woman and her times. ♥

www.vaff.org // 23

day 3 program 8

Centrepiece Presentation: Ashes What do you do when your world is falling apart and you are faced with difficult choices that affect those you love? In Ashes, two brothers live in a tough New York neighbourhood and feel that their lives are going nowhere. One brother, Kartik (Farah Tahir), is battling demons of dark depression that he can’t seem to get away from, and the other brother, Ashes (Ajay Naidu), is making choices that lead him on a dangerous path towards hardcore crime. Ashes is caught between familial duties and a losing battle to maintain a sense of morals as a drug dealer. Ashes’s environment begins to close in on him as he watches helplessly while his brother fights and suffers in anguish. The film has standout performances by some of Hollywood’s best indie talents, including Ajay Naidu, Faran Tahir, Piper Perabo, Heather Burns, and Samrat Chakrabati, to name a few. And in Raju, an illegal immigrant in search of a work visa struggles with the morals of his job and a girl.

Ashes Vancouver Premiere Director, Producer & Cast in Attendance Director Producer Writers

Ajay Naidu Nina Spensley Heather Burns, Ajay Naidu, Sidney Feldman

Preceded by

My Vancouver Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series. Director in Attendance

USA 2010. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 77 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards Best Actor — London Asian Film Festival 2011, Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival 2010; Best of Festival — Queens World Film Festival 2011; FILMI Toronto South Asian Film Festival; Chicago South Asian Film Festival; India Int’l Film Festival of Tampa Bay; Tongues on Fire; Boston Int’l Film Festival; Silk Screen Film Festival How do we ignore the deterioration of a person or a neighbourhood that is right in front of our eyes? Ashes is a cautionary tale of mental illness, greed, and the definition of family both real and imagined. The story of two brothers living in the inner city, as one descends into the grips of manic-depressive schizoid disorder, the other, Ashes, absconds from his responsibility and tries to become a wealthy drug dealer. Fraught with contradiction, the story is a meditation on how easy it is to fall through the cracks of today’s health care system and how we ultimately find grace in the face of suicide. ♥ In attendance: Ajay Naidu grew up in Chicago where he worked extensively as an actor in both film and theatre from a very young age. He is a graduate of the American Repertory Theatre’s Institute for Advanced Theatre, training at Harvard University. He has acted in over 50 films and television projects. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 1996 for his performance in Rick Linklater’s film, Suburbia. Ashes marks his directorial debut. Also in attendance: Nina Spensley (Producer) and Heather Burns (Executive Producer, Actor)

Community Sponsors:

// www.vaff.org

Director/Writer/Producer: Anand Kanna Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 3 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening My Vancouver is Anand Kanna’s short Love Letter to Vancouver. Produced in celebration of Vancouver’s 125th anniversary, the short lists only a few of the reasons that make Vancouver Anand’s favourite city on the planet. ♥

RAJU Canadian Premiere Director in Attendance Director/Writer: Shiva Bajpai Producers: Samina Akbari, Anna Rose King USA 2011. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 12 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: Official Selection — ClermontFerrand Int’l Short Film Festival 2011, San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011, New York Int’l Indian Film Festival 2011 During the credit crisis of 20 08, Raju, an undocumented immigrant in New York City, works for a debt relief agency and must choose between his work visa and the girl he’s falling for. ♥

15th Annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival Thu Nov 3 7:00 PM (110 mins)

Opening Night Presentation: AlMOst Perfect Day 1 Program 1 (P. 11)

Love Letter to Vancouver ♥ Unlaced Almost Perfect (Feature) 

Gala reception at Kentizen Fusion Lounge

Fri Nov 4

Sat Nov 5

5:00 PM (97 min)

11:00 AM (119 min)

Unlike No Other

canadian Asian stories

Day 2 Program 2 (P. 12)

Day 3 Program 5 (P. 18)

Go Canucks Go ♥ A Drummer’s Passion The Queen You Can’t Curry Love Grandpa’s Wet Dream A Moth in Spring

Dad’s Playground Finding a Hybrid Husband Who is Richmond? The Search for Koreatown Lillian Dyck: Not Just Chinese Wonton Soup for the Soul Chinese Canadian Stories Trailer From C to C

7:15 PM (85 min)

friday Night feature: Big iN BOllywOOd



Day 2 Program 3 (P. 15)

SIXZEROFOUR ♥ Post-Racial Big In Bollywood (Feature)

1:30 PM (92 min)

life in transit Day 3 Program 6 (P. 21)

Dear Mom and Dad ♥ Huan Dao Canopy Crossings Resident Aliens (Feature)

9:15 PM (78 min) ♥

Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver Series

How to Buy tickets & Passes The 2011 VAFF Online Box Office will open on October 3, 2011 for VAFF VIP passes, 5 Pack and 10 Pack purchases. All other tickets will be available on VAFF’s Online Box office starting October 20, 2011. Student and Senior discount tickets are only available at the theatre, as valid ID is required. Ticket sales at the theatre will be available Oct 20, 2011 and are CASH only. For more information, see P. 2.

Mighty Asian shorts Day 2 Program 4 (P. 16)

Today Has Been Weird ♥ D-volution Withholding Andy Asian American Jesus Triangle Paper Girl (MAMM 3rd Place) Candlelight (MAMM 2nd Place) The Anti-versary (MAMM 1st Place)

Panel discussion to follow

4:00 PM (119 min)

chicks on flicks – women in Hollywood: then & Now Day 3 Program 7 (P. 22)

Slaying the Dragon Reloaded: Asian Women in Hollywood and Beyond Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words 

Panel discussion to follow

November 3 – 6, 2011 Sat Nov 5 7:00 PM (92 min)

centrepiece Presentation: AsHes Day 3 Program 8 (P. 24)

My Vancouver ♥ Raju Ashes (Feature) 

Gala reception at The Greedy Pig 9:15 PM (112 min)

from the Other side of the Pacific: fUllMetAl AlcHeMist Day 3 Program 9 (P. 25)

Arrival ♥ Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (Feature)

www.vaff.org

Sun Nov 6

1:00 PM (82 min)

Vancity shorts Day 4 Program 10 (P. 26)

YVR ♥ Sweet A Cake for Cherry Peter and the Space Between Henry’s Glasses Commitment Square Dance Story Liz Insert Credit Remnants

5:00 PM (114 min)

Artist spotlight: desiree lim Day 4 Program 12 (P. 29)

Beauty Heart Story ♥ The House (Feature) 

7:30 PM (89 min)

closing Night Presentation: sUrrOgAte VAleNtiNe Day 4 Program 13 (P. 31)

Divancity: The Documentary ♥ The Potential Wives of Norman Mao Surrogate Valentine (Feature)

3:00 PM (100 min)

ABc’s of life Day 4 Program 11 (P. 28)

Reflexion The Learning (Feature)

Q & A with artist



It’s a Wrap party at Wild Rice

All venues are located in the city of Vancouver. 1.

cineplex Odeon international Village cinemas 3rd floor, 88 West Pender Street, Vancouver

Kentizen fusion lounge International Village, 2nd Floor, 88 West Pender Street, Vancouver

the greedy Pig 307 West Cordova Street, Vancouver

dr. sun yat-sen classical chinese garden 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver

wild rice 117 West Pender Street, Vancouver

terracotta Modern chinese restaurant & lounge 52 Alexander Street, Vancouver

2 A selection of Commissioned & Submitted

LOVE LETTERS TO VANCOUVER

1. HAO cHeN

4. e-cliPse By jUNicHirO iwAse

This image captures past and present Vancouver. The modern transit wires and traffic lights string across the intersection while old Chinatown appears in the background. Vancouver is where the old and new meet and none more apparent than in presentday Chinatown. This neighborhood is being transformed afresh with new stores and patrons while keeping with its old traditions. When combined, it gives us a unique cultural identity that cannot be found anywhere else.

I love Vancouver for its people. Each of us come from different cultures, but we align ourselves when it comes to the love we feel for our city. This diversity makes Vancouver a unique place; boundaries are transcended and cultures share and blend into each other in a positive light. To best represent this idea, I have chosen a photo of an individual with three faces: the hidden face represents our origin, the masked face shows our collective identity as a people, and most important, the shadow, which follows us everywhere, reminds us to never forget from where we came.

2. cUltUrAl exPerieNced By ANN eVANs VANCOUVER is a place we call “Hollywood North”. This is where everything started for me in the film industry. I worked as key make-up artist on a movie that premiered in 2008, and I don’t think anyone can tell that this person is actually a white Caucasian male. 3. Keiji tAjiMA I love this city because it connects Japan to Canada. A hop, skip and jump away is a world of white. I have a lot of awesome experiences there.

5. ViViAN yU Dear Vancouver, I was born in hong kong, but I live in vancouver. hong kong is pretty, but you’re prettier and less humid. All of my favourite memories are connected to you. 125 years is a big deal. Some cities don’t even last that long. But you did. Happy birthday, Van City. Stay pretty. Love Vivian

day 3 program 9

From the Other Side of the Pacific: Fullmetal Alchemist There’s no better popcorn movie than a kick-butt Japanese anime. VAFF is excited to present the Canadian premiere of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, the second film in the popular Fullmetal Alchemist franchise. Based off the storyline of the second anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the film premiered at Otakon in Baltimore to a packed house earlier this year and has not been seen anywhere else in North America. Be the first in Canada to catch this latest installment. Even if you’re not a follower of the franchise, this is still one to check out.

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: THE SACRED STAR OF MILOS Canadian Premiere Director Writer

Kazuya Murata Yuichi Shinpo

Japan 2011. Animation. HDCAM. Colour. 110 min. Japanese with English subtitles Previous Screenings/Awards Otakon 2011 Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, a new feature-length adventure set in the world of an international anime sensation. A fugitive alchemist with mysterious abilities leads the Elric brothers to a distant valley of slums inhabited by the Milos, a proud people struggling against bureaucratic exploitation. Ed and Al quickly find themselves in the middle of a rising rebellion, as the exiled Milos lash out against their oppressors. At the heart of the conflict is Julia, a young alchemist befriended by Alphonse. She’ll stop at nothing to restore the Milos to their former glory — even if that means harnessing the awful power of the mythical Philosopher’s Stone. ♥

Preceded by

ARRIVAL Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series. Director in Attendance Director/Camera/Editor: Keiji Tajima Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 2 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening This short film is made from my experiences in Canada. I had longed to go to this place. The nature, culture, people…I put lots of the fun and interesting things that I experienced in Canada in this short film. ♥

www.vaff.org // 25

day 4 program 10

Vancity Shorts Happy Birthday Vancouver! 125 looks good on our fair city and just like that proverbial fine wine, she only gets better with age. Vancouver filmmakers, both veterans and newbies, continue to cultivate their talent, presenting us with a varied program combining notes of technical ability, quirky characters and heartfelt storylines, all the while adding their own originality. Commitment and Square Dance Story explore where the love of dance can lead. Henry’s Glasses and Liz remind us of how we looked at the world as children and Sweet addresses an often overlooked point of view. Lastly we are proud to present four of Vancouver’s up-and-coming animators with Insert Credit, Remnants, A Cake for Cherry, and Peter and the Space Between. Looking forward to another year wiser!

YVR

SWEET

Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series.

World Premiere

Directors in Attendance

Director/Writer/Producer Yota Konishi

Directors Janey Lew, Alex Richmond

Canada 2011. Narrative. Digital. Colour. 9 min. English

Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 3 min. English

Frank and Mitch are two homeless men. They have built a strong friendship through overcoming many hardships together. When Mitch realizes Frank’s earnest hope for getting back to society, he decides to sacrifice everything to help him out. Playing the bad guy, Mitch sets a plan to rob a candy shop, so that Frank can come to the rescue and become a hero. ♥

Previous Screenings/Awards People’s Choice — VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver; VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening This “love letter” uses the lens of YVR airport to refract ambivalent feelings of privilege, security, relief, comfort, adulation and belonging for my hometown. The airport, as a sterile institution, at once distances me from the feeling of home, while, at the same time, undoubtedly welcomes me and confirms my belonging to this city. ♥

PETER & THE SPACE BETWEEN Director in Attendance Director/Writer Sitji Chou

A CAKE FOR CHERRY Director in Attendance Director/Producer/Writer/ Animator Betty Kwong Canada 2011. Animation. Digital. Colour. 4 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards Emily Carr University Degree Exhibition and External Grad Show A little elf named Bendi runs into numerous obstacles as he tries to deliver a cake on time to his love interest, Cherry. ♥

Producer Nathalie De Los Santos Canada 2011. Animation. Digital. Colour. 4 min. English Previous Screenings/ Awards President’s Media Award for Animation; Emily Carr University Internal & External Shows A man tries to understand the futility of creating human connections when impeded by the microcosmic void between particles. ♥

Henry’s Glasses Director in Attendance Director/Writer Brendan Uegama Producers Nicole Leier, Brendan Uegama Canada 2010. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 20 min. English Previous Screenings/ Awards Vancouver Int’l Film Festival 2010; DisOrient Film Festival of Oregon In an internment camp in 1945, an eight-year-old boy has a mystical gift that makes the extraordinary happen. Even to the old and devastated Mr. Yamamoto, this gift may hold the power to make a skeptic believe. ♥

// www.vaff.org

Commitment Vancouver Premiere Director & Producers in Attendance Director/Writer Raahul Singh Producers Baljit Sangra, Raahul Singh Canada 2011. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 10 min. English

day 4 program 10

Previous Screenings/Awards Edmonton Int’l Film Festival 2011 Rahul, a passionate dancer, decides to give up on his dance career to marry Asha, the woman he loves. He then becomes a lawyer, accepting a position in Asha’s father’s law firm. Years later, he wakes up from a dream, realizing he is unhappy. ♥

SQUARE DANCE STORY Canadian Premiere Director in Attendance Director/Writer Jason Karman Producers Jason Karman, Jacqueline Liu, Victoria Angell Canada 2011. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 14 min. English The patience of an outsider is tested when a square dancer holds him in contempt for his romantic advances. ♥

INSERT CREDIT Director in Attendance Director/Writer/Producer David Nguyen Canada 2011. Animation. Digibeta. Colour. 7 min. English Previous Screenings/ Awards Emily Carr University Degree Exhibition Insert Credit is the story of the strained relationship the filmmaker had with his father, his father’s abrupt death, and a life of suppressing that experience ever since. Created as a form of catharsis, it combines the filmmaker’s odd sense of humor and love of video games with a topic that is deeply personal and painful to him. ♥

Vancity Shorts liz Director & Producer in Attendance Director/Writer Kathleen S. Jayme Producer Rachel Coe Canada 2011. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 9 min. English Previous Screenings/ Awards Audience Choice — POV Film Festiva When ten-year-old Kevin learns that his best friend, Liz, is moving away, he decides to run away with her so that they can be together. However, during the course of the night, Kevin slowly realizes that a life on the run is not what he wants for the girl he cares so much about. ♥

REMNANTS Director in Attendance Director/Producer/Writer Sarah OuYang Canada 2011. Animation. Digibeta. Colour. 2 min. Musical Score Without Dialogue Previous Screenings/ Awards Emily Carr University Degree Exhibition and External Grad Show In a dark, baroque-inspired mansion lined with extravagant and bizarre ornaments, a young girl succumbs to the allure of embellished ‘beauty’ and heedlessly reconstructs herself into a human doll. The film was made using traditional animation methods: each background and frame are hand drawn on paper, then scanned into the computer where it is coloured, textured, and composed digitally. ♥

www.vaff.org // 27

day 4 program 11

ABC’s Of Life Every year, over a million Filipinos leave their home country in search of better jobs abroad. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) support not just their families, but the nation’s economy, as well. In 2008, OFWs sent US$15.9 billion worth of remittances to the Philippines. But what is the real cost of this growing number of human exports? Filmmaker Ramona Diaz explores this question through her powerful documentary, The Learning, where four Filipino teachers are forced to learn valuable survival skills both in and out of the classroom. This film is preceded by Reflexion, an animated short film about self-discovery.

THE LEARNING Canadian Premiere

Preceded by

Director/Producer/Writer Ramona S. Diaz

reflexion

USA/Philippines 2011. Documentary. HDCAM. Colour. 98 min. English and Filipino with English subtitles

World Premiere

Previous Screenings/Awards San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival 2011

Producer: Michael Fukushima

When the US acquired the Philippines from Spain in 1898, American teachers were sent to the newly acquired territory to establish a public school system. The arrival of 523 young American teachers began the transformation of the Philippines into an English-speaking nation. A century later, the tides have turned. A shortage of teachers in the American public school systems has called for the need across the country to begin hiring foreign teachers. In search of highly qualified teachers, the Philippines emerged as a recruitment hub for the American education system, and its Englishspeaking population. The Learning chronicles an emotionally charged year in the lives of four Filipino women as they leave their homeland to teach in Baltimore’s inner-city schools. With their increased salaries, they hope to transform their families’ impoverished lives back home. But the women also bring idealistic visions of the teacher’s craft and of life in America, which soon collide with Baltimore’s tough realities. ♥

// www.vaff.org

Director/Writer: Greg Labute

Canada 2010. Animation. HDCAM. Colour. 2 min. Musical Score Without Dialogue Two prisoners are trapped in a void. Trying separately to escape, they discover each other and have to overcome their fear in order to connect and find a way out. Or do they really discover themselves? An austere nightmare world rendered with the SANDDE™ stereoscopic animation drawing tool and a dark, slightly perverse imagination. ♥

This program is co-presented with Migrante -BC. Migrante-BC is a community-based organization of Filipinos in B.C. working to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers wherever they are in the world.

day 4 program 12

Artist Spotlight: Desiree Lim The Vancouver Asian Film Festival is proud to spotlight one of Vancouver’s biggest talents in the filmmaking community, Desiree Lim. She is a prolific filmmaker with a unique sensibility that goes beyond standard genre structures. Her latest feature, The House, is an excellent example where a basic ghost story is layered with multiple dramatic tones. In the preceding short film, Beauty Heart Story, a VAFF-commissioned piece, a model, a musician, and a filmmaker aptly describe their special association with Vancouver.

the house Vancouver Premiere Director & Cast in Attendance Director/Producer/Writer Desiree Lim Canada 2011. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 109 min. English Jean Kaneko (Natalie Skye), swept away by the tsunami of the catastrophic financial meltdown, just quit her coveted job as an investment banker on Wall Street. After a soul-searching journey traveling around the world, she returns home to Vancouver, still floating in limbo. Instead of settling down, she camps out in an empty home owned by a friend’s rich family who never lived there. Jean moves in — vows to finish her travelogue about her journey. She’s finally found the perfect quiet time to focus on her writing — no commitment, no phone calls, no job, no friends — she’s her own boss. Or at least that’s what she thinks. To her surprise, she finds out that if she wanted to stay, she’d have to share the place with some former occupants who have turned into bad squatters — all of whom are not even supposed to be there, because they’re actually dead. As Jean reluctantly confronts these souls as tormented as herself, they inevitably end up in an entangled mass of secrets and lies. ♥ In attendance: Desiree Lim is a true cultural hybrid. A 2 nd generation Chinese born in Malaysia, she grew up there and in Japan before settling in Vancouver. Desiree started her television career as director and associate producer for news and documentaries at TV Asahi in Tokyo. Her debut Japanese TV feature Sugar Sweet and Canadian TV drama Floored By Love opened to sold-out audiences at major LGBT film festivals around the world. Desiree was a director participant of the Women In Director’s Chair Workshop and National Screen Institute’s Features First.

Preceded by

BEAUTY HEART STORY Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series. Director in Attendance Director/Writer/Producer/Editor: Andrew Chung Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 5 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening Beauty Heart Story is a portrait of three artists that explore and reminisce about their time and experiences in Vancouver. Each artist represents one of three significant characteristics of the city, reflecting on and celebrating Vancouver’s beauty, heart, and story. ♥

This program is co-presented with Out on Screen. For 11 days each August, the Vancouver Queer Film Festival brings the very best in queer independent cinema from around the world to Vancouver.

www.vaff.org // 29

day 4 program 13

Closing Night Presentation: Surrogate Valentine Some may argue Surrogate Valentine perpetuates many stereotypes, like the lovelorn and reclusive Asian (the talented Goh Nakamura), who expresses all his emotions through music and can only break out of his shell with the help of an obnoxious imbecile and win over the gorgeous girl who got away (yes, Lynn Chen is gorgeous). However, he has to first overcome love’s obstacles and her asshole boyfriend, leading to a climactic chase down the streets of San Francisco to catch her before she again slips through his fingers. But frankly, we still think Surrogate Valentine is sweet, funny, and a damn good film. Enjoy.

SURROGATE VALENTINE Western Canadian Premiere Actor in Attendance Director Writers Producer

Dave Boyle Dave Boyle, Joel Clark, Goh Nakamura Duane Andersen

USA 2011. Narrative. Digibeta. B&W. 75 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards World Premiere — 2011 SXSW Film Festival; Closing Night — 2011 San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival In Dave Boyle’s sweetly beautiful romantic comedy, Surrogate Valentine, San Francisco musician & rising star Goh Nakamura’s (playing himself) life of solitude is disrupted when he is hired to teach TV actor Danny Turner (Chadd Stoops) how to play guitar for an upcoming film. Hellbent on accurately portraying Goh’s mellow vibe for his role, Danny meticulously studies his every move. Together, the two embark on a hilarious West Coast adventure involving live gigs, groupies, shotgun wielding record exes and an unexpected friendship. Along the way, Goh discovers that Danny may be the missing puzzle piece in his life-long chase for Rachel (Lynn Chen), the one that got away. ♥ This program is co-presented with Powell Street Festival. Powell Street Festival’s Society’s mission is to celebrate the arts and culture of Japanese Canadians and Asian Canadians.

Preceded by

DIVANCITY: THE DOCUMENTARY Part of VAFF’s Love Letters to Vancouver series. Director & Producers in Attendance Director/Photographer: Chad Band Producers: Michele Nitta, Suzi Nitta Petersen Canada 2011. Documentary. Digital. Colour. 5 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: VAFF Love Letters to Vancouver Presentation 2011; Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon 2011 Gala Screening Diversity. Vancouver. DiVanCity. ♥

THE POTENTIAL WIVES OF NORMAN MAO Canadian Premiere Director/Writer: Derek Nguyen Producers: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Shannon McCoy Cohn, Derek Nguyen USA 2011. Narrative. HDCAM. Colour. 9 min. English Previous Screenings/Awards: LA Asian Pacific Film Festival; Short Film Corner at Festival de Cannes Norman Mao is an overweight and socially-awkward man-child from Hong Kong, who at the age of 33 is still unwed. Desperate to get him married, his parents take him on an international junket across the globe to find him a worthy Chinese wife. ♥

www.vaff.org // 31

The National Film Board’s “Best Canadian Short” Award Each year, independent Canadian filmmakers of Asian heritage create stories that reflect both their personal vision and the depth and breadth of the Canadian experience. To encourage the efforts and to recognize their achievement in independent filmmaking, VAFF once again is pleased to continue this prize with our partner, The National Film Board. Past winners have continued on to further success in their filmmaking careers. An esteemed panel of judges reviewed the eligible films in October. The winner of the “Best Canadian Short” competition will be announced during VAFF’s Filmmakers’ Luncheon on Sunday, November 6 th at the beautiful Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden. The award presentation will be made by Selwyn Jacob, Producer at NFB. Best Canadian Short Judges Diana Leung Diana grew up in Burnaby and was born in Winnipeg, where her Chinese parents first settled and fell in love with Canada. Her work as an artist mentor, artist intern, story gatherer, researcher and filmmaker focuses on place-based stories and health in Vancouver. Her projects include Storyscapes Chinatown; the Arts, Health and Seniors project with Strathcona Community Centre; and Traces: Projecting Community Stories in Strathcona and the Downtown Eastside. Diana’s writing on urban issues has appeared in SubTerrain, WestCoastLine, and The Canadian Journal of Communication. Glen Schaefer, Movie Critic, The Province Glen writes about movies and talks to the people who make them for The Province newspaper. He also shows up every once in a while doing the same thing on various TV and radio outlets. His one movie role, as a walk-on zombie in the horror movie House of the Dead, was thankfully cut from the finished movie. Selwyn Jacob Selwyn joined the National Film Board in 1997. The Vancouver-based producer recently completed the new feature documentary, Mighty Jerome, about the record-setting sprinter Harry Jerome with director Charles Officer. His other recent productions include Dianne Whelan’s This Land, Baljit Sangra’s Warrior Boyz, and River of Life, directed by Werner Walcher. Prior to joining the NFB, Selwyn was an independent producer and director for more than 15 years. 2010 BEST CANADIAN SHORT WINNERS 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Honourable Mention

Serum 1831 — Anand Kanna Little Big Kid — Kathleen S. Jayme Sindoor — Mangla Bansal Sikat — Angelina Cantada

Photos by RonSombilonGallery.com & PacBluePrinting.com

// www.vaff.org

Filmmakers’ Bios BETTY KWONG A CAKE FOR CHERRY Ever since she was young, Betty wanted to become an artist. During her studies at university, she freelanced and illustrated for multiple projects, such as manga pages, to promote Vancouver Opera’s 2010 feature, La Traviata. Betty is a recent graduate of Emily Carr with a Bachelor of Media Arts along with her senior animated short, A Cake for Cherry.

KEIJI TAJIMA ARRIVAL Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1978, Keiji Tajima is an action sports filmmaker, editor, and photographer. Tajima is the creator of Heart Films, a movie about snowboarding (www.heartfilms. com). He has also filmed for Burton snowboards, Whiteout films, Absinthe Films, BILLABONG, Columbia, AIRBLASTER, YES., A7…

MINGU KIM A DRUMMER’S PASSION Mingu Kim’s first professional job was as a camera operator and editor for Arirang Korea TV in Toronto. After two years, Mingu applied his knowledge and experience to the world of filmmaking. Recently, Mingu finished his first short documentary, A Drummer’s Passion. He was also selected as a pitch finalist in So You Think You Can Pitch at the 2010 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.

YASMINE GOMEZ ASIAN AMERICAN JESUS Yasmine Gomez is a producer/director for Eveo, an interactive media company. She and her team, Subject to Change Productions, won Best Film in the 48 Hr Film Project San Francisco for their first film, Consumed, which Yasmine wrote and directed. She served as a board member for the Asian American arts nonprofit Kearny Street Workshop. Yasmine’s films have screened on local broadcast television, as well as film festivals nationwide, including Cinequest and the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

YU GU A MOTH IN SPRING Yu Gu is an award-winning filmmaker born in an art school in Chongqing, China. Yu’s filmmaking thrives on innovation, social awareness and imagination. Her films have traveled all over the world, and she has been awarded the coveted John Huston Award for Excellence in Directing at USC. Her documentary City on the Verge, about pioneering Vancouverites, participated in the United Nations World Urban Forum III. Her primary interest lies in weaving international stories that blend fact and fiction. BERTHA BAY-SA PAN ALMOST PERFECT Bertha Bay-Sa Pan received her MFA from the Columbia University Graduate Film School while working as an International Sales Executive in film distribution. Pan’s feature film directorial debut Face, premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and received the Critics Award at CineVegas Film Festival, and the Grand Jury Award at Urbanworld Film Festival. Pan was nominated for the prestigious Open Palm at the Gotham Awards, and received the Premio Speciale Prize at the International Women’s Film Festival in Torino. ANDREW AHN ANDY Andrew Ahn is an MFA candidate in Film Directing at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. His films have screened at numerous festivals across the country, including Slamdance and the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. He previously studied English and Biology at Brown University. YUNAH HONG ANNA MAY WONG: IN HER OWN WORDS Yunah Hong has made eight films — all of them focus, in one way or another, on Asian American women. Between the Lines: Asian American Women’s Poetry weaves together autobiographies and readings by 16 poets. Becoming an Actress in New York follows three Korean American actresses pursuing their big dreams in New York. Yunah has also made several experimental films, including Memory/all echo, based on the work of multimedia artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. AARON AU THE ANTI-VERSARY Aaron started writing and directing in 2008, with his first award winning short, The Tea Master. He is a partner at Titlecard Pictures where he produced the short, Suffer, which is being developed into a feature. His next piece, due in festivals in 2012, is a dramatic silent film titled, Her Story, which centers on human trafficking. Using this film, Aaron was able to option a novel on the same subject matter and is currently adapting it into a feature.

AJAY NAIDU ASHES Ajay Naidu grew up in Chicago, where he worked extensively as an actor in both film and theatre from a very young age. He is a graduate of the American Repertory Theatre’s Institute for Advanced Theatre, training at Harvard University. He has acted in over 50 films and television projects. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 1996 for his performance in Rick Linklater’s film, Suburbia. Ashes marks his directorial debut. ANDREW CHUNG BEAUTY HEART STORY Andrew is a Director and Screenwriter of film and television for Jaded Media, a collective of freelance artists. A Vancouver Film School graduate in screenwriting, Andrew was Screenwriter and Story Editor of numerous shorts, including Word, an official selection of the Philadelphia Asian American International Film Festival 2008 and Palm Beach International Film Festival 2008. He is a Senior Editor of Jaded Expressions Magazine, an arts and culture e-zine, and Writer and Editor of Jaded Publishing, a comic book web publisher. BILL BOWLES BIG IN BOLLYWOOD Bill Bowles is currently host and videographer for the National Geographic series, Mississippi: America’s River. He has made a name for himself over the past few years as a traveling video blogger, uploading short films from Madagascar to Minnesota. Before that, he worked as Assistant Director on a number of short films and music videos. He was also part of the Art Department for films, such as Memoirs of a Geisha and Bee Season. KENNY MEEHAN BIG IN BOLLYWOOD Kenny Meehan began making films at the age of 12. Prior to Big In Bollywood, he and Matt MacCroskey developed the film department at the Riekes Center for Human Enhancement in Menlo Park, CA, and later co-directed the documentary, Namaste Nepal. Kenny’s 2002 feature, Stalemate, won the Rising Star Award at the Hollywood Underground Festival and the Audience Choice Award at the Santa Cruz International Film Festival. STANLEY TSANG / OSRIC CHAU CANDLELIGHT Stanley and Osric got their start in the film industry as actors. They trained at different schools in Vancouver and crossed paths a few times at auditions and events before starting to collaborate in production when they both ended up in Beijing.

www.vaff.org // 33

GARY YONG CANOPY CROSSINGS Grounded in the physical experience of border-crossing, Yong’s work attempts to describe a fluid state of being outside and between borders, unprotected and unclaimed, yet also liberated. In 2010, he was selected for the Film Expo Asia in Bangkok, and made Canopy Crossings, portraying a slice of Thai culture and its people. Yong is completing an MFA in Film & Media Arts at Temple University, and is currently at work on his first feature. ALEJAN DRO YOSHIZ AWA CHIN ESE CANADIAN STORIES TRAILER / LILLIAN DYCK: NOT JUST CHINESE / WONTON SOUP FOR THE SOUL Originally from Vancouver, Alejandro Yoshizawa is a graduate student in the department of history at Concordia University, and a researcher/filmmaker for the Chinese Canadian Stories project. His past films/collaborations include From Issei to Sansei: The History of My Grandfather’s Life (screened at the 2008 Japanese Canadian Redress Conference), Vancouver’s Chinatown: Past, Present, and Future (screened at the 2009 Chinatown and Beyond Conference gala dinner) and A Storyteller’s Story (to be screened at Ethnographic Terminalia 2011).

MUR ATA K ASUYA FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: THE SACRED STAR OF MILOS Born in 1964 in Osaka, Japan, Murata Kasuya entered Studio Ghibli as an assistant producer and participated in the direction and storyboards of many works. Kasuya was a director on the popular TV series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (’06-’07) and an assistant director on its sequel, R2 (’08). He also participated in the storyboards and episode direction of the TV series Planetes (’03-’04), Eureka Seven (’05-’06), and OVA Mobile Suit Gundam UC (’10).

RAAHUL SINGH COMMITMENT This Actor/Director of South Asian decent was born in Fiji, and studied business before going to theatre school to study acting. You may have seen him in the Hollywood film, The Guru, or the festival award winning indie film, Bollydouble. His T V credits include Stargate SG1, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, Fringe, and V. Commitment is his first short film in which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted in.

PETER PLANTA GO CANUCKS GO Peter Planta is a Filipino-Chinese-Canadian born and raised in Vancouver. He speaks English and French and is a devoted fan and practitioner of martial arts. An avid moviegoer, his love for movies has grown into a love for making movies. Only having picked up the camera for the first time last year, he is nonetheless very passionate about movies and hopes his first year in the UBC Film Production program will be an outlet for his creativity.

WALTER BOHOLST D-VOLUTION Walter Boholst is a writer, director, producer, and President of Waltertainment, a production company in Burbank, CA. Walter’s film and video work has run the gamut of genres and styles. The fusion of his Hollywood story sense and rebellious artistry creates universal emotions in utterly unique and surprising ways. Walter is the founder and co-chairman of FilAm Creative, an organization dedicated to the advancement of Filipino Americans in entertainment and media.

CHIHIRO AMEMIYA GRANDPA’S WET DREAM Born and raised in Japan, Chihiro is a recent MFA graduate in Media Arts Production from The City College of New York. Chihiro participated in Tribeca All Access Program 2010 at Tribeca Film Institute, and was a Women’s International Leadership Program Fellow 2009-2010 at the International House of New York. Her short documentary, Lowrider, is a part of the permanent exhibition at the Chicago History Museum.

LEANNE RIDING DAD’S PLAYGROUND: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDY MORI Leanne Riding is a former student at the University of British Columbia.

BRENDAN UEGAMA HENRY’S GLASSES Brendan Uegama is a Director of Photography with an impressive list of projects that includes feature films, music videos, documentaries, and commercials. His success in the industry has earned him accolades including the Kick Start 2009 Award from the Directors Guild of Canada. Filmmaking is his art, his passion and his expression.

TAMMY TSANG DEAR MOM AND DAD Tammy Tsang studied Costuming for Stage and Screen at Capilano University before transferring to the Motion Picture Production Program. She has worked with classmates on school films and summer music videos. She also produced and directed contest entries for the Virgin Radio Fake Film Festival and the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. CHAD BAND DIVANCITY: THE DOCUMENTARY Divancity: The Documentary is Chad Band’s third film as Director/Cinematographer. His previous short films have screened at Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Nihilist Film Festival (Los Angeles), DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, and DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon. He is currently in post-production for a documentary feature Stand Up and Fight. Chad is based in Vancouver and an Emily Carr University of Art + Design graduate in film and video. JENNIFER YIP FINDING A HYBRID HUSBAND Jennifer made Hybrid Husband for her history class in 2009, which was later featured on the front page of The Vancouver Sun (April 2011). Her past film/collaboration, Vancouver’s Chinatown: Past, Present, and Future, won the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia’s 2010 undergraduate Edgar Wickberg Prize. Jennifer is currently a researcher for the Chinese Canadian Stories project at UBC.

J O R DA N PAT E R S O N F R O M C TO C : C H I N ESE CANADIAN STORIES OF MIGRATION Jordan Paterson has over ten years experience as a documentary filmmaker with a strong interest in migration and the social dynamics of communities within the power structures of race and class. His documentaries have screened and broadcast internationally and at home on CBC and Bravo! Canada. In 2006, he was selected in a national competition to participate in the NFB-Praxis “Art of the Documentary” workshop with Allan King and Thomas Reidelsheimer.

// www.vaff.org

DESIREE LIM THE HOUSE Desiree Lim is a true cultural hybrid. A 2nd generation Chinese born in Malaysia, she grew up there and in Japan before settling in Vancouver. Desiree started her television career as director and associate producer for news and documentaries at TV Asahi in Tokyo. Her debut Japanese TV feature Sugar Sweet and Canadian TV drama Floored By Love opened to sold-out audiences at major LGBT film festivals around the world. Desiree was a director participant of the Women In Director’s Chair Workshop and National Screen Institute’s Features First. NORBERT SHIEH HUAN DAO A filmmaker/cinematographer based in LA, Norbert has shot over twenty short films as a DOP that have screened in venues internationally and in the US. His work spans from experimental films that focus on different ways of perception, to delicate observational narratives. His recent film, Washes (2010), premiered at the New York Film Festival and won a Jury’s Citation Selection at the Black Maria Film + Video Festival.

DAVID NGUYEN INSERT CREDIT Born and raised in California’s laid back Bay Area, David moved to Vancouver to study at Emily Carr. He has since fallen in love with the city and plans to settle down there. Despite having lived in Canada for years now, he still doesn’t understand the metric system and continues to say “soda” instead of “pop”. It is unknown if this is due to an inability to adapt, or a brazen example of American arrogance. RAMONA S. DIAZ THE LEARNING Ramona Diaz is a multiple award-winning filmmaker whose credits include the hour-long documentary, Spirits Rising, and full-length documentary, Imelda, about the former First Lady of the Philippines, which garnered the Excellence in Cinematography Award for documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Ramona’s films have screened internationally, in theatres and on the festival circuit, and been broadcast on public television in the US and Australia. Diaz is also a director/producer of television commercials. KATHLEEN JAYME LIZ Kathleen Jayme is a Canadian filmmaker. Her second short film, Little Big Kid, has screened at festivals in Montreal, Chicago, Philadelphia, Vancouver, and LA. She has worked with the Kickstart Program and interned at the National Film Board of Canada. Kathleen is a recent graduate of UBC’s Film Production Program and her main interest is in making documentary films. JOANNA WONG LOVE LETTER TO VANCOUVER Joanna Claire Wong is a principal at FlowCS, an awardwinning creative studio dedicated to sustainability in China. She is a 2011 – 2012 Action Canada Fellow and Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada Media Fellow. Joanna divides her time between Vancouver and Beijing and is currently producing a video series for the National Conversation on Asia project. ANAND KANNA MY VANCOUVER Vancouver native Anand Kanna’s career has evolved from producing corporate videos into the world of independent films. He has directed the short films, Breaking Free, Petty Crimes Unit, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. In 2008, Anand was selected to participate in the DGC’s Kick Start program, directing his calling-card film, Serum 1831. Anand continues to expand his repertoire by directing music videos as well as his latest documentary, The Vancouver Recipe, scheduled to air on CBC Vancouver in early August 2011. BRIAN CHEUNG PAPER GIRL Brian Cheung, a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia, is an avid filmmaker, aspiring director and cinematographer. He is interested in the art of using motion pictures to create entertaining films with visual impact. His short film, Paper Girl, placed third in the 2011 Vancouver Asian Film Festival’s Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon and The Social Network in 60 Seconds placed Top 20 in the 2011 Virgin Radio Fake Film Festival. Check out his work at www. briancheung.ca. CARLOS McCALLISTER PAPER GIRL Carlos McCallister started working with a camera in high school and fell in love with filmmaking. After a few years in university, he picked up the camera again to produce promo videos for the Chinese Varsity Club at UBC. This passion turned from casual projects to entering film contests and festivals. His short, Paper Girl, placed third in the 2011 VAFF Mighty Moviemaking Marathon and The Social Network in 60 Seconds placed Top 20 in the 2011 Virgin Radio Fake Film Festival.

SITJI CHOU PETER & THE SPACE BETWEEN From the age of 5, Sitji had wanted to work as an animator for Disney, inspired by his childhood fascination with a certain red-headed mermaid. Coupling his love for illustration with the narrative possibilities of animation, he aims to create beautifully constructed, thematically interesting films that both entertain and provoke. He is excited to fully embrace a career as an animation auteur; becoming a Disney animator will have to come later. TIM TSAI Post-Racial Tim Tsai is an award-winning 1.5 th generation Taiwanese American filmmaker whose documentary and narrative short films have screened at film festivals and broadcast on public access TV stations nationwide. He recently received his MFA in film production from the University of Texas at Austin, department of Radio-Television-Film. DEREK NGUYEN THE POTENTIAL WIVES OF NORMAN MAO Derek Nguyen is a screenwriter, producer, director, and playwright. His many achievements include a 2004 fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters Lab, a 2004 Screenwriting Fellow at the New York Foundation for the Arts, the 2006 Urban Artist Initiative/NYC fellowship, as well as numerous other theatre awards. His film, Seeing Red, co-written and directed by Liselle Mei and Joan Chen, was a part of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival’s All-Access Alumni Program, and the 2007 IFP Market’s No Borders Program. CHRISTINA CHOE THE QUEEN Christina Choe is a writer and director. She began her career as a documentary filmmaker and has screened her short documentary films, Turmeric Border Marks and United Nations of Hip Hop at numerous film festivals worldwide. Her first narrative short, The Queen, was selected as “Best of Fest” at Palm Springs International Short Fest, Telluride, Aspen ShortsFest, Seattle, Rhode Island, Los Angeles Film Festival and nominated for the Iris Prize (UK Film Council). SHIVA BAJPAI RAJU Shiva Bajpai’s childhood in middle class New Delhi has inspired him to tell stories about emerging India and its changing social fabric. Shiva holds a BA in Semiotics and a BFA in Drawing and Photography. His professional experience includes assisting production designer Mark Friedberg on The Darjeeling Limited, and his short film The Singhs was selected in the 2009 OSIAN-Cinefan Film Festival. Most recently he has helped the African Services Committee in New York to develop content videos for their website. GREG LABUTE REFLEXION Greg Labute has a BSc in Physics and Philosophy from the University of Toronto and a BFA in Film Animation from Concordia University. These two pursuits came together when he began writing computer software for animation and helped pioneer SANDDE, the novel 3D stereoscopic drawing software he employed in making his film. Labute has been sporadically producing paintings, drawings and animation for many years. Half of this work deals with the abyss of life, while the other half is aesthetically pleasing. SARAH OUYANG REMNANTS Sarah was born in Taipei and moved to Canada at the age of seven. Sarah had always been interested in illustration and design since a young age, but she was most interested in writing and storytelling. She chose to explore animation at Emily Carr University, hoping to practice and incorporate all these different mediums.

www.vaff.org // 35

ROSS TUTTLE RESIDENT ALIENS Ross Tuttle is a journalist and documentary producer based in Brooklyn, NY. He has worked in documentary television for over a decade, and his work on an array of social-issue, histor y, literar y and human -interest programming has appeared on network, cable and Public Television and at various film festivals in the US and Canada. He was also a producer and shooter on the critically acclaimed feature documentary, King of Kong. ANDREA BANG / PETER IM / VALENTINE OSTASZEWSKI / DANIEL WOOD THE SEARCH FOR KOREATOWN: PINPOINTING SELF IDENTITY AMIDST A MOVING CULTURE Andrea Bang, Peter Im, Valentine Ostaszewski, and Daniel Wood are students at the University of British Columbia. Their short film, The Search for Koreatown, was made for their History 485 class, taught by filmmaker Karin Lee. TIN PAK LAU SIXZEROFOUR Based in Vancouver, Lau Tin Pak is a Cantonese director, writer and producer. He is a filmmaker that strives for new ways of storytelling. He is recognized by his peers as a renowned auteur for his visually unique and highly stylized films. Common themes found in his films are nihilism, desire, and isolation. ELAINE H. KIM SLAYING THE DRAGON RELOADED: ASIAN WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD AND BEYOND Elaine H. Kim is a professor and Head of Asian American Studies at University of California, Berkeley. She lectures on Asian American cinema as well as classes in literature. She was Associate Producer on Slaying the Dragon: Asian Women in U.S. Television and Film, a documentary made for Asian Women United of California. Kim has also written, edited, and co-edited ten books and has received Rockefeller and Fulbright fellowships. JASON KARMAN SQUARE DANCE STORY Born in Indonesia, Jason Karman is an honors graduate from the Cinematography Program at Capilano University. His works have screened at LOGO TV, HBO on Demand, CBC, and many Asian & Queer Film Festivals across North America. His resume includes a Silver-Remi Award for Best Original Comedy Short at the 2005 Houston Worldfest for his first film, Stacey and Mary, and the National Portrait Winner at Montreal’s Cine-Asie National Portrait contest in 2009 for the documentary short, State of Yo. DAVE BOYLE SURROGATE VALENTINE Dave Boyle made his feature film debut in 2006 with the bilingual comedy, Big Dreams Little Tokyo. The film, about a wannabe-Japanese businessman and his sumo wrestler pal, won accolades for its deft portrayal of culture in an increasingly global world. Boyle’s second feature, White on Rice, opened the 2009 SFIA AFF, followed by a theatrical release across the country. The film subsequently premiered in Japan to critical acclaim. Boyle works as a film editor, and is co-founder of Tiger Industry Films with Michael Lerman. YOTA KONISHI SWEET Yota Konishi was born in Hangzhou, China, and moved to Tokyo at the age of nine. In 2002, he decided to study in Vancouver, and received his Diploma of Technology from BCIT, and Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University. In between, he also worked as a cameraman and editor, making videos for tourists and weddings. His major film works are Cherry Boy, What Have You Done To My Cat, Milk, Clockwork, Twist of Fate etc. QUENTIN LEE TODAY HAS BEEN WEIRD Quentin Lee is an accomplished filmmaker. He has directed Shopping for Fangs (1997), Drift (2000), Ethan Mao (2003), The People I’ve Slept With (2009), and White Frog (2012).

// www.vaff.org

JANICE AHN TRIANGLE Passionate about telling stories that probe beneath the surface, Janice Ahn elevates both the lyricism and grittiness of human experience. Ahn holds an English MA, English BA, and Art History minor from Stanford University, and a Film MFA from NYU Graduate Film Program. She was a recipient of the Tisch School of the Arts Scholarship and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scholarship. Ahn has produced and directed for Ogilvy, Cisco Systems, and the Museum of Art and Design, and her films have enjoyed inclusion in many film festivals. MEGAN TURNBULL UNLACED Since leaving her hometown of Winnipeg in 2009, Megan Turnbull has been busy creating peper worlds for her films, including her Evolucity and the NFB Hothouse 6 3D film Unlaced. Prior to her animation pursuits, Megan was employed as a landscape architect and she continues to work as a graphic and motion designer. In addition to these projects, Megan still makes time for more serious endeavours, like hula hooping and attempting to read minds. JESSICA HUANG / AARON KIM / ROBERT LI / WENDY PHUNG / SHARON TANG / INEZ TAO / LEE XU WHO IS RICHMOND? Jessica Huang, Aaron Kim, Robert Li, Wendy Phung, Sharon Tang, Inez Tao, and Lee Xu are students at the University of British Columbia. Their short film, Who Is Richmond?, was made for their History 485 class, taught by filmmaker Karin Lee. JOYCE WU WITHHOLDING Joyce Wu has acted in film and television, as well as numerous plays in theaters all over New York. She wrote, directed, and produced her first stage play at the age of 20, which premiered at the Oxford Playhouse’s Burton Taylor Studio in England. After seeing her New York debut, Backstage hailed her as “a promising young playwright.” She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Film Production from New York University’s prestigious Graduate Film program. ELENA KUSAKA WONTON SOUP FOR THE SOUL Elena Kusaka currently lives and works in Montreal as both a researcher and a coordinator. Her interests include social histories of Asian-Canadians, feminism, and international politics. REID WATERER YOU CAN’T CURRY LOVE Reid Waterer’s work is currently seen on T V and DVD in five countries. He has placed highly in several screenwriting contests, and is a multiple award-winning editor of ads for studio films like Mamma Mia! and The Hangover. Upon the release of his feature, The Deviants, a newspaper labeled Reid, whose shorts have played 100+ festivals on six continents, “a talent to watch.” JANEY LEW YVR Janey Lew currently resides in Vancouver. She teaches in the Department of English at Capilano University and is completing her Ph.D. in Comparative Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She is writing her dissertation on narratives of acknowledgment in North American Native and Asian and literature in Canada and the US. Her poems and creative non-fiction have appeared in Fugue, Ricepaper, and Uprooted Literary Magazine. ALEX RICHMOND YVR Alex Richmond is a Vancouver-based visual artist whose paintings have most recently appeared at Gallery Atsui during the Cultural Olympiad. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Emily Carr University and has worked with developmentally disabled adults in the Greater Vancouver area for over fifteen years.

Print Source A CAKE FOR CHERRY

CANDLELIGHT

Betty Kwong 976 Grover Avenue Coquitlam BC V3J 3E6 Canada T: (604) 937-3889 E: bkwong.animation@gmail.com

Nosh Film Group 7540 Lindsay Road Richmond BC V7C 3M6 Canada T: +86 150 1017 0257 E: stanleyation@gmail.com E: osricchau@gmail.com

A DRUMMER’S PASSION Acoustic Soul Productions Inc. | 307 – 18 Kenaston Gardens North York ON M2K 3C7 Canada T: (416) 835-2528 E: mingukim80@gmail.com A MOTH IN SPRING Yu Gu 100 S. Alameda Street #311 Los Angeles CA 90012 USA T: (323) 963-3555 E: yu.is.rain@gmail.com ALMOST PERFECT Eleven Arts, Inc. 2007 Sawtelle Blvd, Suite 7 Los Angeles CA 90025 USA T: (310) 445-0818 E: festival@elevenarts.net ANDY Andrew Ahn 330 N. Beachwood Drive Los Angeles CA 90004 USA T: (213) 268-0116 F: andrewahn@gmail.com ANNA MAY WONG: IN HER OWN WORDS Yunah Hong / Eastwind Productions 473 6th Avenue, #3 Brooklyn NY 11215 USA T: (718) 965-9545 THE ANTI-VERSARY Titlecard Pictures Inc. B301-750 Pacific Boulevard, Box 34 Vancouver BC V6B 5E7 Canada E: aaron@titlecardpictures.com ARRIVAL Keiji Tajima E: kj_t@mac.com ASHES Nina Spensley 300 S Reno Street #301 Los Angeles CA 90057 USA T: (917) 864-8400 E: nina.spensley@gmail.com ASIAN AMERICAN JESUS Floating Heads Productions 110 Christopher Street, Apt 51 New York NY 10014 USA T: (510) 290-1942 E: ygomez@gmail.com BEAUTY HEART STORY Andrew Chung E: andrew@millionstheseries. com BIG IN BOLLYWOOD Cinterra Pictures LLC 7504 Fountain Avenue West Hollywood CA 90046 USA T: (650) 235-5255 E: kendogg88@gmail.com

CANOPY CROSSINGS Gary Yong 11, Jln Rosmerah 4/4, Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru, Johor, 81100 Malaysia T: (+60) 016 7514490 E: reachme@garyyong.com CHINESE CANADIAN STORIES TRAILER Denise Fong Project Manager, UBC Chinese Canadian Stories E: denise.fong@ubc.ca COMMITMENT Rtiger Productions #714-1330 Burrard Street Vancouver BC V6Z 2B8 Canada E: (604) 722-6134 T: commitmentfilm@gmail.com D-VOLUTION Walter Boholst 313 E. Tujunga Avenue. Apt. K Burbank CA 91502 USA T: (818) 324-9314 E: info@waltertainment.com DAD’S PLAYGROUND: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDY MORI Denise Fong Project Manager, UBC Chinese Canadian Stories E: denise.fong@ubc.ca DEAR MOM AND DAD Tammy Tsang T: (778) 882-3625 E: tammytt@shaw.ca DiVanCity: THE DOCUMENTARY Zento Productions Inc. Vancouver BC Canada E: zentoproductions@gmail.com FINDING A HYBRID HUSBAND Denise Fong Project Manager, UBC Chinese Canadian Stories E: denise.fong@ubc.ca FROM C TO C: CHINESE CANADIAN STORIES OF MIGRATION Teaching and Learning Centre, Simon Fraser University EDB 7560, 8888 University Drive Burnaby BC V5A 1S6 Canada T: (778) 847-7806 E: jlpaters@sfu.ca FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: THE SACRED STAR OF MILOS FUNimation Entertainment 1200 Lakeside Parkway, Building 1 Flower Mound Texas 75028 USA

T: (972) 355-7300 E: jackie.smith@funimation.com GRANDPA’S WET DREAM Chihiro Amemiya 500 Riverside Drive #720 New York NY 10027 USA T: (646) 710-0498 E: c_a@btinternet.com HENRY’S GLASSES Brendan Uegama 1402 - 1755 Haro Street Vancouver BC V6G 1H2 Canada T: (604) 786.5637 E: brendan.uegama@gmail.com THE HOUSE Desiree Lim T: (604) 842-1783 HUAN DAO Norbert Shieh 19940 E. Country Hollow Drive Walnut CA 91789 USA T: (909) 720-2312 E: info@norbertshieh.com INSERT CREDIT 7671 Ulster Street Burnaby BC V5E 2G1 Canada T: (778) 387-9125 E: pens_and_coffee@hotmail. com THE LEARNING CineDiaz 1918 South Road Baltimore MD 21209 USA E: cinediaz@cinediaz.com LILLIAN DYCK: NOT JUST CHINESE Denise Fong Project Manager, UBC Chinese Canadian Stories E: denise.fong@ubc.ca

Post-Racial

SQUARE DANCE STORY

Tim Tsai 3815 Guadalupe Street #301 Austin TX 78751 USA T: (510) 847-8243 E: timtsai@gmail.com

Square Dance Story Production 9 – 1630 Burnaby Street Vancouver BC V6G 1X2 Canada T: (604) 329-9099 E: jason.karman@gmail.com

THE POTENTIAL WIVES OF NORMAN MAO Mangusta Productions 145 Ave. of the Americas, Suite 6E New York NY 10012 USA T: (212) 463-9503 E: derek@dereken.com THE QUEEN Eva Kolcze Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC) 245-401 Richmond Street W. Toronto ON M5V 3A8 Canada T: (416) 588-0725 E: eva@cfmdc.org RAJU Shiva Shankar Bajpai T: (917) 975-5684 E: shivabajpai@gmail.com REFLEXION Danielle Viau National Film Board of Canada 3155 Côte-de-Liesse St-Laurent QC H4N 2N4 Canada T: (514) 283-9806 E: d.viau@nfb.ca REMNANTS Moving Images Distribution 402 West Pender Street, Suite 606 Vancouver BC V6B 1T6 Canada T: (604) 684-3014 (Local) TF (NA): 1-800-684-3014 E: mailbox@movingimages.ca

LIZ

RESIDENT ALIENS

Rachel Coe T: (778) 846-1788 E: rache.coe@gmail.com

Ross Tuttle 20 Douglass Street Brooklyn NY 11231 USA T: (646) 319-4250 E: rosstuttle@gmail.com

LOVE LETTER TO VANCOUVER Flow Creative Studios (FlowCS) T: (604) 738-9937 (Canada) T: +86 15810708207 (China) E: holler@flowcs.com MY VANCOUVER Anand Kanna Silver Dolphin Films T: (604) 418-3000 E: anand.kanna@ silverdolphinfilms.com PAPER GIRL Brian Cheung T: (604) 657-7300 E: info@briancheung.com PETER & THE SPACE BETWEEN Sitji Chou 5355 Parker Street Burnaby, BC, V5B 1Z8 Canada T: (778) 385-2094 E: chou.sitji@gmail.com

THE SEARCH FOR KOREATOWN: PINPOINTING SELF IDENTITY AMIDST A MOVING CULTURE Denise Fong Project Manager, UBC Chinese Canadian Stories E: denise.fong@ubc.ca SIXZEROFOUR Tin Pak Lau (778) 322-1225 E: ndelau@hotmail.com SLAYING THE DRAGON RELOADED: ASIAN WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD AND BEYOND Asian Women United of California P.O. Box 10877 Oakland CA 94610-0877 USA T: (510) 703-7338 E: elizaychan@hotmail.com

SURROGATE VALENTINE Michael Lerman T: (484) 410-1040 E: Lerman.Michael@gmail.com SWEET Yota Konishi 791 W King Edward Avenue Vancouver BC V5Z 2C7 Canada T: (604) 709-4242 E: yotakonishi@gmail.com TODAY HAS BEEN WEIRD Margin Films 6093 Sunset Blvd., #201 Los Angeles CA 90028 USA E: mail@marginfilms.com TRIANGLE Textura Films 82 Lafayette Avenue #4A Brooklyn NY 11217 USA T: (917) 445-1599 E: texturafilms@gmail.com UNLACED Danielle Viau National Film Board of Canada 3155 Côte-de-Liesse St-Laurent, QC, H4N 2N4 Canada T: (514) 283-9806 E: d.viau@nfb.ca WHO IS RICHMOND? Denise Fong Project Manager, UBC Chinese Canadian Stories E: denise.fong@ubc.ca WITHHOLDING Joyce Wu 102 Saint Marks Place, #14 New York NY 10009 USA T: (917) 796.0401 E: joycew@gmail.com WONTON SOUP FOR THE SOUL Denise Fong Project Manager, UBC Chinese Canadian Stories E: denise.fong@ubc.ca YOU CAN’T CURRY LOVE Suncrest Productions 2222 N Beachwood Drive #204 Los Angeles CA 90068 USA T: (323) 309-1374 E: suncrest@mac.com YVR Janey Lew and Alex Richmond Lillybud Productions E: lillybudproductions@gmail.com

www.vaff.org // 37

barbara lee, founder & president, looks back

VAFF 15 Years Ago…

Looking back over the last 15 years, actually 16.5 years because it took about a year and a half of planning to debut the Vancouver Asian Film Festival in September of 1997, I realize that life doesn’t wait for things to happen. It takes vision, action and commitment to make something happen and over the years, there have been so many people who volunteered their energy and time to make VAFF possible every year, to whom I am deeply grateful to and for. One person I really need to thank is Deborah Rees-Lee, one of VAFF’s founding Directors that helped launch VAFF and is one of the main reasons VAFF made it through the early years. When I first decided to start VAFF, I was in my late twenties, coming out of a quarter life crisis wondering if I could somehow make a difference in the world, and if I could, what would I do? Starting a film festival to celebrate the arts, diversity, and to give opportunities to seldom seen filmmakers to show their works, may not really be making a big difference in the world, but many of the films VAFF has screened over the years have resonated deeply with audiences and I am proud that VAFF could give these films an opportunity to be seen. Change has been slow, but today I can say there is so much more diversity in mainstream film and television. Opportunities are increasing and we can see more and more realistic portrayals of Asians living in North America, rather than the stereotypes that were prevalent 15 years ago. Finally, as China, India and other Asian countries rise in global power, they see Canada and Vancouver as a desirable place to live and do business with. This is largely due to our understanding and appreciation for different cultures and I would like to think that festivals like VAFF that “Celebrate Diversity in Film” might have something to do with cultivating this welcoming attitude. Now to convince the corporate world of VAFF’s relevance………………

VAFF 15 Retrospective Series

VAFF is turning 15! As the oldest film festival of its kind in Canada, it has seen hundreds of films on the crosscultural influences of Canada’s diversity. To celebrate its entrance into adulthood, VAFF hit the rewind button this summer and took a look back at some of the films that have previously screened at the festival. Co-sponsored by the Vancouver Public Library, and with the generous support of Vancouver 125, the VAFF 15 Retrospective Series visited five VPL branches (Kensington, Mount Pleasant, Fraserview, Champlain Heights, and Central) to entertain audiences with the Asian-Canadian talent that has descended upon VAFF over the past 15 years. Once a month from June to October, viewers were reintroduced to some popular hits, as well as many forgotten gems that covered the wide spectrum of narrative, documentary, animation, and everything in between. The Series included a selection of “Identity Docs”, a showcase of our “Local Heroes: Jason Karman, Nilesh Patel, and Julia Kwan”, films about “Fitting In”, a collection of “All Asian Animations”, and an “Artist Spotlight” on Post-it Note aficionado, Jeff Chiba Stearns. Each screening was followed by a dialogue with the filmmakers, discussing their craft and also the films, their issues, and relevance to today’s evolving diversity. A special shout out goes to the following people for their help and support: • Sophie Middleton Community Relations Librarian, Central Library

• • • •

Yukiko Tosa Branch Head, Kensington branch Mark Koep Assistant Manager, Mount Pleasant branch Jan Fu Acting Branch Head, Fraserview branch Laura Safarian Acting Branch Head, Fraserview branch

• Kay Cahill Acting Branch Head, Fraserview branch • Inness Campbell Acting Manager, Champlain and Collingwood branches

• Trish Miller Manager, Champlain and Collingwood branches

• Will Pritchard Vancouver 125

www.vaff.org // 39

May 19, 2011

Speed Date a Film Expert! J-Lounge, 1216 Bute Street In preparation of our Love Letters to Vancouver project and our annual Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon, VAFF partnered with the Independent Film & Video Meetup Group to offer Speed Date a Film Expert! The evening started with an opportunity to speed date a film expert — director, writer, producer, make up artist, set designer, cinematographer, entertainment lawyer, etc. — and attendees were able to ask the experts everything they wanted in 3 minutes. This was followed by an opportunity to mix and mingle with other independent filmmakers and VAFF supporters. The evening was capped off with an amazing performance by Vancouver’s own Aching Heart Foundation. Thank you to our experts: • • • • • • • • •

Bob Comer VFX Steve Cosmic Producer Thomas Billingsley Director of Photography Deborah Gillam-Harry Talent Coach Julia Kwan Producer, Writer/Director Karen Lam Producer, Writer/Director Ian O’Brian Set Director Stephanie Michelle Scott Art Department Josh Rimer Independent Film & Video Meetup Group organizer

• IATSE 891

Sophisticated Stunning High Impact Professional Magic to Impress your Guests. Specializing in the Impossible...

r 40o d c h o w . c o m // www.vaff.org

Vancouver asian Film festival

Love Letters to Vancouver ♥ To VANCOUVER, with LOVE How do you love Vancouver? Let us count the ways! Vancouver is celebrating its 125th birthday, and Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) its 15th year, in 2011. VAFF is proud to have grown together with Vancouver’s changing community. Over the past 15 years, VAFF has shared with its audience hundreds of films featuring the impact of Canada’s cross-cultural diversity, including multiculturalism’s unique influence right here in Vancouver. Celebrate with us! In 2011, to celebrate both the city and Canada’s oldest Asian film festival in a milestone year, VAFF commissioned local Vancouver artists and citizens of the world — filmmakers, writers, painters, photographers, and audiences like you — to express how they feel about Vancouver. VAFF had the privilege to partner with Parklane Homes and River District Vancouver for its Love Letters to Vancouver project. On June 25, a special presentation of the commissioned and submitted films and photos was held at River District Centre’s beautiful and state-of-the-art facility. Some of the submitted photos can be found at the back of the pullout (middle page). Selected works have been programmed into VAFF15: ♥♥

Love Letters to Vancouver (P. 11)

♥♥

Go Canucks Go (P. 12)

♥♥

SIXZEROFOUR (P. 15)

♥♥

Today Has Been Weird (P. 16)

♥♥

Dear Mom and Dad (P. 21)

♥♥

My Vancouver (P. 24)

♥♥

Arrival (P. 25)

♥♥

YVR (P. 26)

♥♥

Beauty Heart Story (P. 29)

♥♥

Divancity: The Documentary (P. 31)

The exhibit moves to a permanent online home with VAFF after the festival closes. River District Vancouver To learn more about River District events, project milestones and real estate opportunities visit them online at www.riverdistrict. ca, sign up for their newsletter or find them on Facebook or Twitter. This newly developing area will include plazas, shops, restaurants, schools, daycares, promenades, services and the river.

Filmmakers Mina Shum and Joanna Wong

River District Centre The River District Centre, located at the foot of Kerr Street, is a multipurpose community space where people can view a large state-of-the-art project model or take part in regular activities and special events, such as yoga, movie nights and book club.

Photos by Mona Mok and Callan Tay

www.vaff.org // 41

VAFF says…

Mind Your BID-ness is Back!!!

On July 28 th, Mind Your BID-ness, a massively hot auction of people, goods, and services, took over the Biltmore Cabaret once again, in an unforgettable fundraiser for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. Building on last year’s success, this year featured even better items (and people!) to bid on and win. Emcee Pennylane Shen, VAFF Director of Community Outreach, hosted the raucous live auction portion of the evening with comedian Greg Kettner, where auction participants offering everything from graffiti lessons and hair cut/styling to tattooing sessions and even a 30 person BBQ party, courtesy of ReUp BBQ food truck! For those too shy to raise their live bidding paddles, a silent auction — which included teeth whitening, date packages in Victoria and Vancouver, and a sushi workshop for 12 — and tables of prizes that only required single raffle tickets for chances to win, allowed for premium participation regardless. DJ Cam Dales provided the soundtrack for this epic night. Special thank ou to our live auction participants: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Jenna and Chandler Herbut — Make It! The Handmade Revolution Rempel Rocquette — I.Daburn Salon Melissa Leach — I. Daburn Salon Nigel Lucas — PennyBlack Ink Tattoo and Art Aaron Wong — Elvis Tribute Artist Tom Nugent — Drummer Greg Kettner — Comedian Cam Dales — DJ, Ice Cream Social Angel Wanchi — Hennessey Dining Lounge Scott Sueme — Graffiti Artist Andrew Clark Eric Moffat Michael Kaisaris — Re-Up BBQ Food Truck Caitlin Ramage — Suki’s, SkinTherapist Jay Senetchko — Artist

// www.vaff.org

Mind Your BID-ness Thank you to our Prize Donors! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Accent Cruises Access Natural Healing Holistic Health Centre Ahmed Al-Daye, Massage Therapist BCDance.com Blanche MacDonald Butchart Gardens Capilano Suspension Bridge Cineplex Odeon Craving for a Game C Restaurant/Nu Restaurant/Raincity Grill Dan-D Pak Foods Ltd Dunlevy Restaurant Equipment — Harry Jung Eco Apparel — Mark Trotzuk Empire Landmark Hotel/Cloud 9 Featherlashes Beauty Lounge Flatter Me Belts The Grand Ballroom Gup Gups Ltd Hapa Izakaya, Hapa Umi Restaurants — Justin Ault Hotel Grand Pacific — Victoria Hurricane Grill

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

I.Daburn Il Terrazzo Restaurant — Victoria Intuit Financial Inc. Kerrisdale Cosmetic and General Dentistry — Dr. Amin Shivji Kix Tanning McLean Restaurant Moksha Yoga Vancouver Newlands Golf 02 West Personal Fitness Studio Paul Carr, Artist PennyBlack Tattoos Rod Chow — Magician Ron Suzuki — Sushi Expert Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel Safeway — Glen Evans Sequoia Restaurants — Teahouse Restaurant The Cookshop Vancouver Canadians — Minor League Baseball Wild Rice — Andrew Chung YYoga

…and special thanks to Ruth Skinner, Tarot Card reader, and Katelyn Crisp, Feathered Friends for their skills, time and energy at the event.

Ahmed Al-Daye, certified Brandon Raynor Massage Specialist (BRMS), is a gradute of the Brandon Raynor Massage Therapy Institution on April 2009. He has since then worked for the first 6 months with the greatest success in both customer services and applying his treatments. He has booked over 150 session, which includes adding 60 new clients, in 6 months. That averages to approximately 2.5 sessions a day.

Photos by Gillian Lo

Ahmed, BRMS, is very knowledgeable in his application of the treatment and he has greate customer empathy skills; where, he modified his program based on both his customer’s feedback and their need. Every single customer’s body is different from the other and the art of a successful and great practioner is not just only recongizing those different, but to utilize them into bringing the best treatment possible with the greatest results. Ahmed brings that and much more to the table. He’ll ensure that the only things you have to lose with him are your tensions, knots, and headaches.

The Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon (MAMM) 2011 Six fiercely talented teams took the seventh annual Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon (MAMM7, August 6 – 18) challenge this year, in a close competition that produced a diverse crop of films — from a thriller to drama and black comedy, with themes ranging from recreational drugs to confronting personal demons and dealing with life-altering consequences. Participating teams declared a genre, incorporated their chosen creative element (this year, based on the theme of Vancouver 125) and attended an adjudicated pitch session at contest kickoff, before writing, shooting and editing their short film within 12 days. The MAMM7 adjudication panel of local film and television industry professionals were Angelina Cantada, Jim Thompson and Brendan Uegama. The first place winner, Team Little Ram, received a $1,000 cash prize courtesy of Gavin Hee, a 7-day, 1-ton truck production equipment rental package courtesy Pacific Backlot, and an interview on Shaw TV’s Urban Rush. The second place winner, Team Last Minute Production, received $500 courtesy River District Vancouver, and a $180-value film course courtesy Pull Focus. The third place winner, Team Epic Snail, received a $500 production equipment rental package courtesy Matrix. The top three films screen at VAFF the same year, and qualifying contest entries are aired as a programmed special presentation on SMC and Shaw TV the following year. New team incentives for MAMM7 included deep equipment rental discounts for contest participants to shoot their MAMM films, generously contributed by Pacific Backlot and Matrix, and free interior and exterior shooting locations courtesy of River District Vancouver.

(From left) Representatives from Pull Focus and River District Vancouver, Mana Mansour, MAMM7/LL2V REdux Screening host (Shaw Multicultural Channel Host) and MAMM7 Producer, Grace Chin.

The well-attended MAMM7 premiere screening and awards presentation at the Cineplex Odeon International Village was followed by a prize draw, with prizes courtesy Shaw Multicultural Channel and VAFF, and a gala afterparty at Terracotta Modern Chinese lounge in Gastown. Produced by the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF), MAMM7 gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of returning sponsors Shaw Multicultural Channel (SMC), Matrix Proshop and Cineplex Odeon International Village, and is happy to welcome new sponsors/ supporters Pacific Backlot, River District Vancouver, Pull Focus Film School, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Vancouver, Terracotta Modern Chinese and Gavin Hee. Films from previous years’ contests have been accepted for screening/airing throughout North America, including the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon; the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival; the Los Angeles United Film Festival; the Toronto International Film Festival; and Canada’s National Screen Institute Online Film Festival, as well as the New York-based Reel 13 online film contest and the Cineworks New Filmmakers showcase. A Word From Sponsor Gavin Hee I am proud to be funding MAMM this year! By sponsoring this event and others of its kind around the globe, I hope to build a community of like-minded artists. My aim is to produce stories featuring relationships inadequately recognized by historical media. I look forward to meeting you all. I want to learn how you will build your own world, so you do not have to be stuck in someone else’s.

// www.vaff.org

MAMM 2011 winners of MAMM7 2011 1st Place Team Little Ram, for The Anti-versary 2nd Place Team Last Minute Production, for Candlelight 3rd Place Team Epic Snail, for Paper Girl MAMM7 production team • • • •

Grace Chin Producer Lillian Lam Graphic Designer/Illustrator Peter Leung Executive Producer/Technical Advisor Barbara Lee Executive Producer

Thanks to MAMM 7 participants, friends and family; and screening audience

MAMM7 1st Place winners Team Little Ram with (from left) Mana Mansour, MAMM7/LL2V REdux Screening host (Shaw Multicultural Channel Host); MAMM7 Producer, Grace Chin; MAMM7 First Prize sponsor Gavin Hee.

Photos by Callan Tay

Team Last Minute Production cast and crew, MAMM7 2nd Place winners, with Mana Mansour, MAMM7/LL2V REdux Screening host (Shaw Multicultural Channel Host) and MAMM7 Producer, Grace Chin.

Photos by Felix Cheng

Team Epic Snail, MAMM7 3rd Place winners, with (from left) Mana Mansour, MAMM7/LL2V REdux Screening host (Shaw Multicultural Channel Host) and MAMM7 Producer Grace Chin.

www.vaff.org // 45

VAFF Executives

VAFF Board Of Directors

Acknowledgements

Andy Chu

Barbara Lee

Deborah Rees-Lee

Mei Nor Lee

Iven Tse

Peter

Arthur

Kathy

Baljit

Winnie

Grace

Pennylane

Callan

Paul

Nancy

Clement

Angelina

Felix

Mona

Lillian

Gillian

Barbara Lee, Founder & President Barbara is a writer, a filmmaker and has worked as a broadcast journalist. She received the regional and national Radio and Television News Directors’ Association (RTNDA) Award for Best Editorial (1998) and is the National Film Board Pacific Region’s REEL DIVERSITY 2004 winner. Her documentary In Between the Laughter was recently aired on PBS. Barbara founded VAFF in 1995 to promote realistic portrayals of Asians in film and television and to provide a venue for struggling Asian filmmakers to showcase their work.

Mona Mok, Programmer / Web Developer Mona Mok is a director with a background in sound design as a graduate from Vancouver Film School’s Sound Design program. Mona’s most recent project is a feature length comedy entitled Everything Louder Than Everything Else which premiered at the Whistler Film Festival in 2010. She was also co-director/ editor/producer for a feature length documentary about Vancouver indie rock band Ladyhawk’s recording session in an abandoned farmhouse in Kelowna entitled, Let Me Be Fictional.

Peter Leung, Festival Director This is Peter’s 7th year with VAFF and he continues to channel his inner-Asian-filmmaker as the co-founder of the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon. In past lives since university, Peter has produced films, owned a recording studio and directed theatre. He’s sat on various boards for new media and theatre and has worked in creative arts private education for the past 15 years. Peter is currently the director of operations and technology for Blanche Macdonald Centre.

Felix Cheng, Programmer/Print Traffic Coordinator Hong Kong baby turned Vancouverite. Fluent in gibberish. Learned English in front of TV. Now works in TV. Resume includes NFB and Global BC. Production Coordinator extraordinaire. Tiptoed into Emily Carr’s Film/Video program. Graduated with Bachelor of Media Arts. Dabbles in writing, photography, graphic design. Digs movies. Fulltime daydreamer. Once made eye contact with Jessica Alba (sparks didn’t fly). Future Nobel Prize winner. First-time VAFF programmer. Pleased to meet you.

Arthur Louie, Assistant Festival Director Arthur Louie doesn’t have many ties to the film community outside of VAFF, but for some reason he keeps helping out with the festival every year. As Assistant Festival Director, he works behind the scenes and tries to make things run as smoothly as possible. Kathy Leung, Senior Programmer As a writer, sometimes ‘slash’ director, Kathy’s films have screened at numerous festivals, receiving two Golden Sheaf nominations and a Leo award nomination. Her scripts were selected for Whistler International Film Festival’s Short Scripts Competition and twice for CityTV’s Cinecity Initiatives as well as produced for broadcast on CityTV. Last winter, Red Letters, an original musical she co-wrote was produced by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre and toured three cities in BC. Baljit Sangra, Senior Programmer A graduate of the UBC Film Program, Baljit has worked as a director-producer for a number of different programs, including the arts and entertainment series VIVA! for CityTV Vancouver and Omni TV (formerly Channel M) for several seasons. Her most recent documentary, Warrior Boyz, is a co-production with the National Film Board. It was produced in association with Canwest Media for Global ‘Currents’ and the Knowledge Network and aired in 2009. Warrior Boyz examines the long running gang scene in the Lower Mainland that has claimed over 100 Indo-Canadian youth. Warrior Boyz has premiered at several festivals throughout North America.

// www.vaff.org

Angelina Cantada, Programmer Angelina Cantada is a visual storyteller with almost 20 years experience in the art of imagemaking. She uses photography and filmmaking to tell stories that are thoughtful, inspiring, and always, personal. Angelina was one of 6 winners in Crazy8s 2010 where she wrote and directed Sikat, a poignant story about a Filipino nanny in Canada. Her local production company, Curly Tail Pictures, produces videos for non-profit organizations, particularly the LGBT community, disability groups and visible minorities. Lillian Lam, Art Director Returning as Art Director for VAFF 2011, Lillian Lam brings with her over 7 years of experience in print, interface and web design. As the co-founder of Together Production Design, she can meld art with technology like no other. A 10 minute website? No problem. See lillianlam.ca or lillian.com. Check out the rest of her work at tcpdesign.com. Gillian Lo, Senior Graphic Designer Gillian’s Myers-Briggs Type Indictor suggests that she is split right in the middle: that she has equal tendencies to both options in all pairs of preferences. Such personality allows Gillian to be a graphic designer and photographer who has a bachelor degree in engineering and 10 years of working experience in high-tech companies. (Talk about an artsy-geek!) Gillian’s passions include food, people and making things better. This is Gillian’s first year with the VAFF committee and she is stoked! www,gillianlo.com

Acknowledgements Paul Carr, Director of Social Media Paul Antony Carr is a visual artist interested in relationships between image and text — the types of relationships that just so happen to pop up both in film and on the internet fairly frequently. Winnie Tam, Direc tor of Marketing French fries, shiitake mushrooms, black-ink pens, the colour pink and films. These are a few of Winnie’s favourite things. Winnie feels blessed to live in Vancouver — a city that, like the festival, celebrates diversity and allows both sides of her identities to grow and thrive. She appreciates good translations in subtitles and loves all Johnny Depp movies. (Well, maybe not The Tourist.) Winnie has years of experience in marketing and event planning, and is happy to be on the VAFF team this year. Nancy Ho, Lead Social Media Writer Nancy is an eclectic and curious traveler of social conscience. She is @nansiepants, has a blog, is a lover of anything gourmet and an avid explorer of the best Vancouver has to offer. Her role allows her to explore the intersect between emergent trends and evolving culture. Fueled by lavender lattés and/or anything venti and never without her Blackberry in her hand, she is ready with updates of pingpong smashes, wushu mastering, and tear jerking moments from this year’s VAFF. Clement Woo, Newsletter Editor Passionate about all things media and technology-related, Clement’s interests include film, music, graphic design and photography, especially exploring the connection between these different mediums. Through his work and studies, he is experienced in writing, design and editing. Clement is once again looking forward to bringing his expertise to help VAFF further develop and expand its online presence.

Grace Chin, MAMM Producer / Filmmaker Liaison Grace Chin is a Vancouver, BC-based producer, writer and performer. Theatre production/performing credits include Twisting Fortunes, The Quickie and The C-Word at the PTC Studio. Recent independent film producing/ performing credits include the NFB-funded narrative short Commitment, on the festival circuit. She is VAFF filmmaker liaison and producer of its annual Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon filmmaking contest; a Playwrights’ Guild of Canada and Playwrights’ Theatre Centre member; board member of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre; and co-founder of scriptreading series, Scripting Aloud. Pennylane Shen, Director of Community Development Pennylane Shen is the co-founder and Art Director of Dazed and Confucius, a business dedicated to the development and consulting of non-profits and emerging artists. She holds a Master’s Degree in Visual Culture Theory from NYU. In the field of Cultural and Social Criticism, she has lectured at various forums in New York; London; Toronto; Chicago and Seoul. In Vancouver, Pennylane manages the figurative artists’ collective Phantoms in the Front Yard, teaches at Langara College and is an associate of the Elliott Louis Gallery. Callan Tay, Volunteer Coordinator Though a generally unthinking bureaucrat in his regular life, Callan’s mind buzzes with questions. Where are we going? What does this mean? How come the best films are often the least famous ones? So, Callan decided to set out to find some of these answers — by volunteering for the VAFF four years ago and then becoming part of the VAFF Executive this year. He still hasn’t found most of his answers but at least he’s thought of a lot more questions along the way.

Special thank you to: Bidness Coordinator — Yumi Numata Bidness Prize Team — Jennifer Lo, Kandi Lo and Ken Siu VAFF Trailer — Javier Badillo (videographer), Jason Karman (Editor)

Thank You Volunteers! The Vancouver Asian Film Festival is run entirely by volunteers. Without their generosity, friendliness, and hard work, the Festival would scarcely be able to continue. Volunteers do not just run the ticket booths, clean the cinemas, answer questions, and do the 101 other things that keep the screenings running smoothly; they also tell their friends and families about VAFF, infecting others with their enthusiasm and passion. So, it is through the efforts of our volunteers that the films screened at VAFF reach the audience that they so richly deserve. We are always looking for volunteers. If you would like to join our volunteer team, please provide us with your name and e-mail address to volunteer@vaff.org. We would like to thank the many volunteers who have already donated their time and effort to make VAFF’s 15th anniversary year so special, including: Eva Au, Yan Cheung, Gavin Hee, Gerald Joe, Hermie Lam, Mark Lee, Lucy Lu, Nelly Lu, Mark Oh, Jun-Ho Park, Mild Prapa-Apirat, Sunny Sharma, Chermaine Wu, Sebastian Yi, Lesley Chang, Shaina Buksh

www.vaff.org // 47

Get involved in vaff

Sponsorship Info JOIN VAFF’S CAST AND CREW! If you love the Arts and want to continue to see films from a distinctly Canadian Asian perspective, join VAFF’s Cast & Crew! The Vancouver Asian Film Festival is recognized as the oldest film festival of its kind in Canada and after 15 festivals, there is still much more that can be done to support emerging and established Canadian filmmakers of Asian heritage. Please help us with a donation to VAFF. All amounts are greatly and gratefully accepted.

Individual Donations Supporting Cast (up to $99) Special Recognition on Website and Program Guide Leading Star ($100 - $499) 2 VIP Passes – access to all programs and special events 2 Opening Night Gala Tickets 2 VAFF T-shirts Director Circle ($500 - $999) 2 VIP Passes – access to all programs and special events 2 Opening Night Gala Tickets 2 VAFF T-shirts 2 reserved seats for all screenings Invitation for 2 to Filmmakers’ Luncheon (This is a Closed Event to the Public)

Executive Producer ($1000+) 4 VIP Passes – access to all programs and special events 4 Opening Night Gala Tickets 4 VAFF T-shirts 4 reserved seats for all screenings Invitation for 4 to Filmmakers’ Luncheon (This is a Closed Event to the Public) Donations can be made online with Paypal at www.vaff.org/donate Corporate sponsorship details are also available at www.vaff.org