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2013 Asian Film Festival of Dallas

2013 Asian Film Festival of Dallas

Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) celebrates its 12th year of bringing our ever-growing audience films that often cannot be seen on the big screen outside of their countries of origin. For one week each summer (July 11-18, 2013) at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas, TX, festival-goers and filmmakers escape the Texas heat with a variety of feature films and shorts, from all genres around the globe.

Highlights include:
Opening Night Film RUROUNI KENSHIN
Centerpiece Film DRUG WAR
Closing Night Film LIBRARY WARS

Other films of note include Seeking Asian Female and Graceland.

Get more details and ticket information here.

2013 Asian Film Festival of Dallas

Far East Movement concert at Macy’s : May 2013

Far East Movement concert at Macy's : May 2013
In honor of contributions made by Asian-Pacific Americans, Macy’s celebrates Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month this May at select Macy’s locations nationwide. Macy’s will host the platinum-selling Far East Movement for a series of performances and appearances in six markets across the country geared toward highlighting and celebrating the unique influence of Asian-Pacific Americans on American culture and pop music. (also check out Far East Movement in the HTC One commercial)

Far East Movement, the phenomenon that exploded on the American music scene and broke barriers is coming to Macy’s! The group is the face of Macy’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration. They’ll be dropping by stores across the country to give a live performance and chat about how their culture has influenced their musical style. Come meet them at your local Macy’s! Don’t miss the excitment! they’ll be celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month all month long at a Macy’s near you. Come be a part of the movement and experience Far East Movement in their very own Macy’s listening party where they’ll perform their latest music!

Store Name & City Date & Time Floor RSVP Information
Metro Center
Washington, DC
May 9 @ 5:30pm Lower Level http://apahmmetrocenter.eventbrite.com
Union Square
San Francisco, CA
May 11 @ 2pm Impulse on the 3rd Floor N/A
First Colony Mall
Houston, TX
May 19 @ 2pm Level 1 http://apahmTX.eventbrite.com
South Coast Plaza
Costa Mesa, CA
May 22 @ 6pm Level 2 http://apahmOC.eventbrite.com
Herald Square
New York, NY
May 23 @ 6pm Level 4 http://apahmnyc.eventbrite.com
State Street
Chicago, IL
May 30 @ 12pm Level 2 N/A

Turn Up the Love by Far East Movement

More about Far East Movement
Raised in Downtown Los Angeles, Cherrytree recording group Far East Movement (Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif, and DJ Virman) embody the pulse of contemporary LA. They paid their dues at local clubs, expanding their fan base until they became city-wide stars in the wake of their first LA chart-topping pop hit, “Girls on the Dance Floor.” They made history on their debut album Free Wired when 2010’s multi-platinum selling single “Like a G6” became the first #1 Billboard Hot 100 song ever achieved by an Asian-American group. And followed with another Billboard Top 10 smash “Rocketeer.” Their sophomore album Dirty Bass features the international smash “Live My Life,” an anthemic all-night dance party featuring Justin Bieber, that reached Top 20 on Billboard and #2 on iTunes almost instantly. Their latest Dirty Bass single “Turn Up The Love” hit Top 10 in 10 countries and achieved over 50 million views on VEVO/YouTube.

2012 Asian Film Festival of Dallas

2012 Asian Film Festival of Dallas

The Asian Film Festival of Dallas celebrates its 11th year from Thursday, July 12 through Thursday, July 19, 2012 at the Landmark’s Magnolia Theatre in the West Village in Dallas, Texas. The festival begins with the Texas Premiere of Opening Night Film ACE ATTORNEY, from fabled director Takashi Miike. Adapted from the popular videogame series, the film pits an untested lawyer against his most powerful adversaries while trying to solve a decades-old murder. The Southwest Premiere of Centerpiece Film SAYA-ZAMURAI (SCABBARD SAMURAI) comes from the unique mind and talent of Director Hitoshi Matsumoto (BIG MAN JAPAN, SYMBOL) mixes offbeat humor with touching drama. This period tale follows a disgraced samurai who faces death in 30-days unless he can make the grieving son of a clan leader laugh. Matsumoto’s antics are given a delicate treatment as his character dreams up wildly imaginative ways to cheer the young lord. As the days pass, the local citizens soon rally behind him. Another Southwest Premiere, the Closing Night Film is the much anticipated South Korean science-fiction anthology DOOMSDAY BOOK, co-directed by Kim Ji-woon (I SAW THE DEVIL) and Yim Pil-sung (HANSEL AND GRETEL, ANTARCTIC JOURNAL). The film has three distinctly different chapters, including: a zombie apocalypse brought about by a single piece of trash; a meditation on being and existence thanks to a robot that has a surprising case of enlightenment; and the end of the world, due largely to a young girl’s internet activity. One of the most soughtafter Asian films this year, DOOMSDAY BOOK promises to surprise and even charm you as it shows the Mayans how things really work.

This year’s non-competition highlights include several of the AFFD’s exclusive North American Premieres: Derek Yee’s THE GREAT MAGICIAN, a period mystery that pits warlords, revolutionaries and a shady businessman against a visiting magician with a secret. The Simon Yam/Nick Cheung thriller NIGHTFALL offers up a catand-mouse game between a seasoned detective and a paroled murderer. LET’S GO! combines gritty crime thriller with wild action and superhero worship makes what could be one of the coolest hybrids in AFFD history. And, the debut feature from Jiayi Du, ONE MILE ABOVE, is the heartwarming and inspiring (true) tale of a young man’s trek to the highest point in Tibet on a bicycle.

Amidst the primetime screenings, midnights, feature competition categories, short film blocks and a new student short program, the AFFD has not forgotten about the classics and brings a trio of Japanese masterpieces from Janus Films to the big screen. Celebrating their 50th anniversaries are both Akira Kurosawa’s SANJURO and Masaki Kobayashi’s HARA KIRI; but also the 1968 horror/fantasy KURONEKO, brought to the AFFD in a new 35mm print that stunningly highlights the film’s brilliant artistic achievement.

2012 Asian Film Festival of Dallas Trailer

2012 Asian Film Festival of Dallas Trailer #2

2012 Kollaboration Dallas

2012 Kollaboration Dallas

Kollaboration Dallas is gearing up for their 2012 event on Saturday, September 1, 2012 at the Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, Texas. The seven competitors in this year’s event include:

Dru B Shinin’
The Plinth
Peter P and Robbie G
Tanvi Mongia
Christina Lee
iCare
Stciks

Ticket prices are:
$25 for Regular Admission
$35 for VIP Admission (VIP ticket holders are invited to attend a special Meet and Greet in order to meet the performers and request autographs)

Dallas readers, tickets go on sale soon.

Kollaboration Dallas 2012 Promotional Video – The Fighter

Kollaboration Dallas 2012 Promotional Video – Rocket

2011 Slant Film Festival in Houston

2011 Slant Film Festival in Houston

Houston’s Asian American film festival, Slant: Bold Asian American Images, returns for the 11th year with an eclectic lineup that represent the best new works by Asian American filmmakers. From a mockumentary that follows a self-important spoken word artist to a sci-fi tale featuring a malfunctioning android, the five short films selected for Slant tell diverse stories. Slant Film Festival will screen for one night only on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 7:30PM at River Oaks Theatre, 2009 West Gray. Curator Melissa Hung and filmmaker Soham Mehta will be in attendance.

Works include Fatakra by New York-based, Houston-bred Soham Mehta, winner of a 2011 Student Academy Award. The film, about an immigrant family reuniting after years apart, screened earlier this year at South By Southwest (SXSW). Jaime Lo, small and shy, a charming animation by Toronto-based Lillian Chan, also tells a similar story about a family where one parent works abroad, but from a child’s point of view.

J.P. Chan’s Digital Antiquities and Tanuj Chopra’s PIA are both science fiction films set in the future, but their characters are searching for the past. The program closes with Asian American Jesus, directed by Yasmine Gomez and featuring performer Samantha Chanse as six different characters in a hilarious mockumentary exploring post-racial art and excuses for bad poetry.

SELECTED FILMS:

Jaime Lo, small and shy by Lillian Chan
Jaime Lo, a shy Chinese Canadian girl, observes the world around her through her drawings. When Jaime’s father is sent to Hong Kong for a year-long work assignment, Jaime must use her creativity to cope with his absence.

Fatakra by Soham Mehta
Naveen left India to chase his dreams in America. Three years and a recession later, his wife and son join him. Sparks fly as a family reunites.

PIA by Tanuj Chopra
In San Francisco, in the year 2063, much of human labor has been replaced with service androids called PIAs. One night, a mysterious and malfunctioning PIA appears at Syama Raval’s front door.

Digital Antiquities by J.P. Chan
In the year 2036, a woman in an antique electronics shop meets a desperate young man seeking to recover data from an old CD.

Asian American Jesus by Yasmine Gomez
In this mockumentary, performer Samantha Chanse plays six different characters including Truth is Real, a self-professed ‘mad scientist of the spoken word,’ and the subject of college freshman Suzette Law’s final project for her ethnic studies class.

For tickets and more info, go here.

Fatakra Trailer

More about the Slant Film Festival
Slant was established in 2001 by Melissa Hung, the founding editor of Hyphen, a magazine about Asian American culture. In presenting this festival, Aurora Picture Show participates in exploring the power of moving images in crafting identity and community.

Price Tag by Kollaboration Houston 2 cast x Problem Solvers

Price Tag by Kollaboration Houston 2 cast x Problem Solvers

Promoting the upcoming Kollaboration Houston 2, the competitors got together for a special video for the show to the song Price Tag by Jessie J. Don’t miss these nine wonderful and talented performers as they compete for the $1000 grand prize, and THEN a chance to compete online against other Kollaboration city winners for a chance to compete in Kollaboration LA! Here’s the list of competitors for Kollaboration Houston 2:

— Dette Buentipo —
— Duette —
— Joyce & Suneth —
— JR Kim —
— Judy Hong —
— The Rare Classic —
— Sean Liang —
— S.o.L —
— Vara —

They will also have featured performances from the most talented singers and dancers around:

Havikoro (World Renowned BBoy Crew)
Ira Perez (Kollaboration Houston 1 winner)
Joey Guila (P. Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Dim Sum Funny Ninjas)
Wyldstyl (2nd place World of Dance Dallas)

The special guest judges for the night will be:

DJ Ebonix (97.9 the Box, Booth Pimps)
Mary Lee (Weekend Meteorologist, KPRC Local 2)
Papa Jumba (The Amazing Race, Youtube, KevJumba’s Dad)

With the turnout they had last year, they’re gonna do it big – TEXAS big – AGAIN! Get tickets and more info here.

Price Tag by Kollaboration Houston 2 cast x Problem Solvers

Kollaboration Houston 2 lineup