Wild China DVD release

BBC's Wild China DVD is releasing right before the Beijing Olympics. Think Planet Earth meets China.

China is a vast country with an astonishingly diverse landscape and the world's largest population. An exotic fusion of natural history and adventure "Wild China" is a series of journeys through four startlingly different landscapes each based around the travels of a real historical character. With splendor scale and romance Wild China lifts the veil on the world's most enigmatic and magnificent country delving into its vibrant habitats to reveal a land of unbelievable natural complexity. Journey across China from the glittering peaks of the Himalayas to the barren steppe the sub-Arctic to the tropical islands through deserts both searingly hot and mind-numbingly cold and see in pioneering images a dazzling array of mysterious beautiful wild and rare creatures. Through unprecedented access, this six-part series reveals the little-known natural treasures and secret wildlife havens of China's wildest regions.

Buy Wild China DVD

Wild China DVD trailer

At Home with Architect David Ling

Architect David Ling lives in a Manhattan loft equipped with a waterfall, a bridge, and a bed cantilevered 10 feet over a moat. This is no home for the faint of heart. We didn't know there were places this big in New York City. Find out more about Architect David Ling.

At Home with Architect David Ling

Tokyology with Carrie Ann Inaba

TOKYOLOGY is a documentary exploring contemporary Japanese pop-culture. Vicariously experience the diverse and colorful attractions of the world's largest city, as Carrie Ann Inaba (Dancing with the Stars) guides you through the legendary crowds of Tokyo.

Have fun at the blasphemous Christon Cafe, sneak behind the scenes at a Japanese Rock TV show that pretends it's shot in Los Angeles, stroll around fashionable Harajuku, go clubbing with outrageously costumed goths, or end the night at a super-stylish hair salon that is open for business until eight in the morning.

But there's more to Tokyo than crazy nightlife and entertainment: from anime to architecture, political art to gaming, from shopping and style to the Cherry Blossom festival, the city has something for everyone, and its share of surprises, too!

Buy Tokyology DVD

Tokyology with Carrie Ann Inaba

72 Hour Film Shootout voting closes today

The 72 Hour Film Shootout Audience Award voting closes at 11:59pm EST, Friday, July 11. The awards are live this Sunday, July 13, at Asia Society, New York City. The ceremony begins at 12:30pm. Find out who will be in The Top 10 Films, who will be the Best Of, who will win the Chinatown Award, who will claim the Audience Award, and who will be crowned Grand Prize Winner.

You can still vote here.
Watch some behind the scenes footage from Killer Headline

China Earthquake Relief for Pandas

As a result of the earthquake in China, Wolong Town, a major nature reserve, has been devastated and left pandas as well as people homeless. In an effort to help the already threatened panda population, DVD International is donating 50% of the revenue from sales of its “Ultimate Pandas” DVD to the Wolong Nature Reserve, where the DVD was filmed.

“Ultimate Pandas” was shot on location in China over a four-year period by Gerry Ellis, an eminent photojournalist and founder of the nonprofit, GLOBIO. No one has ever had such long-term access to the Wolong pandas, and Ellis’ up-close-and-personal shooting style makes the footage doubly unique.

“Ultimate Pandas” DVD bundled with an adorable 10’ plush panda is $29.95 with 50% of all sales being donated to the Wolong Nature Reserve. It is available to purchase online at www.ultimatepandas.com.

Watch the Ultimate Pandas trailer

Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol

Super Girl is the rough Chinese equivalent of American Idol but a billion times larger and more intense. Its season finale drew in over 420 million viewers, making it not only the most-watched TV program in the history of ever, but one with an audience larger than the populations of the US and Great Britain combined.

In this series, Yang Lei leads on a little tour of her country as we try to wrap our minds around the insanity that is 21st century China...

This is an interesting documentary. You can see the complete series below.

Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 1 of 8


Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 2 of 8


Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 3 of 8


Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 4 of 8


Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 5 of 8


Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 6 of 8


Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 7 of 8


Watch Shanghai Super Girl - China's American Idol Part 8 of 8

Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story

Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story premieres on PBS on Thursday, June 19th at 10pm (check local listings for times in your area). Here's the synopsis for Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story:

JAPAN, 1977. A dark, lonely road leads to the windswept shores. This is the remarkable story of a 13-year-old Japanese girl abducted on her way home from school by North Korean spies. For 20 years, her parents had no idea what had happened to her or if she was even alive. Then, one day the whole world learned the shocking truth.

An extraordinary tale of mystery, intrigue and most of all, love. The film is told through the eyes of the girl's mother and father who have been searching for their daughter for nearly 30 years. The film begins with the day Megumi vanishes, traces the astonishing course this personal tragedy takes, as it becomes a battle between two nations, rising to a shocking climax.

A human story about a strange, painful journey, full of bizarre twists as an ordinary banker and his housewife are caught up in a life they could never have imagined. Ultimately, ABDUCTION is a moving, emotional testament to the unbreakable bonds of love.

Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story trailer

Young & Restless in China

PBS' FRONTLINE presents Young & Restless in China. In Young & Restless in China, airing Tuesday, June 17, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), FRONTLINE presents intimate portraits of nine young Chinese over the course of four years, examining the reality of their lives as they navigate their way through a country that is changing daily. They are westernized, savvy about today’s interconnected world, ambitious – and often torn between their culture and their aspirations. Set to an original soundtrack of Chinese rock and hip-hop music, this provocative film presents an in-depth look at what it means to be young and Chinese today. FRONTLINE follows these Chinese lives as they struggle to find their paths in the nation's booming economy and confront the opportunities and challenges of modernity. As China prepares for its global "coming out" party at the Olympics, they highlight themes of capitalism, nationalism, identity and globalization that are creating the new China.

Watch at clip of Young & Restless in China

Exorcism In India

National Geographic has in a interesting video about exorcism In India.

Down a dim corridor...in a tiny, locked room...out of bounds to all but a tormented few, is the cave of spirits...a home for the dead and last hope for the possessed.

Watch National Geographic's Exorcism In India

Anna May Wong profiled on TCM

As part of the Race & Hollywood: Asian Images in Film, Anna May Wong is profiled tonite on TCM. They will be showing a documentary about her life - Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times and Legend. If you don't know, Anna May Wong is the first female Chinese-American movie star and the first Asian American to be an international star. She accomplished this while the Chinese Exclusion Act was still going one. Even people in China knew her as a major Hollywood celebrity.

Here's a synopsis of the documentary

With disarming sensuality and commanding presence, Anna May Wong defined the role of the “Dragon Lady.” Narrated by Nancy Kwan, Anna May Wong ~Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times, and Legend is a story about a Chinese American woman who endured many hardships and heartaches to become an international film star. From humble beginnings in a Chinese laundry, she went on to star in pictures such as Technicolorʼs Toll of the Sea (1922), E.A. Dupontʼs Piccadilly (1929) and Josef von Sternbergʼs Shanghai Express (1932) with Marlene Dietrich. Never one to rest on her laurels, Anna would utilize her fame to aid her country and the country of her ancestors during times of war. Her body of work establishes her as a true pioneer of early cinema.

Along with the documentary, the following films will be shown as well: The Toll of the Sea (1922), Old San Francisco (1927), Piccadilly (1929), Daughter of the Dragon (1931), Shanghai Express (1932). Interestingly enough, the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival spotlighted Anna May Wong back in 2004.
Watch the promo for Anna May Wong

8th Annual Slant Film Festival in Houston

This weekend only experience the 8th Annual Slant Film Festival. For the 8th year, Aurora Picture Show presents Slant, an eclectic showcase of the best in emerging Asian American cinema. The festival runs for 3 days this year. Catch all the action at:

Aurora Picture Show
800 Aurora Street
Houston, TX

Opening Night Films - Shorts - May 30 @ 8pm
What do missed connections, using bananas as weapons, and a little girl´s persistence in selling cookies have in common? Nothing, until we brought them together for Slant! This program of experimental and narrative films weaves together the humorous and the poetic. Some films tackle stereotypes, while others travel through memory and longing.

Getting to Nobu - May 31 @ 8pm
Join Slant veteran and our favorite TV personality, Nobu Adilman, for a special show-and-tell screening of his short films and television shows. Nobu is the co-producer of Food Network Canada's Food Jammers and Invention Nation. His career has included writing for network television (Emily of New Moon, Cold Squad), acting (Trailer Park Boys, Parsley Days), hosting CBC’s Smart Ask! for two years, guest hosting CBC’s late night program, ZeD, and pop culture reporting on CBC Newsworld’s Play.

Documentary Showcase - June 1 @ 8pm
In this program of documentaries, family members hold on to each other and their memories even when outside forces try to tear them apart.

Here's what you can expect from Slant 8. Watch the teaser for Slant Volume 1 DVD - Asian American Short Films

Hollywood Chinese is coming to LA and NYC

Los Angeles and New York City close out APA Heritage month with Hollywood Chinese . This is a great movie covering the history and struggles of Chinese actors and actresses in Hollywood. Not only do you learn a lot from the film, but you also hear first hand from successful Chinese and Chinese American entertainers.

NYC, you've got another shot at seeing Hollywood Chinese. We told you about it the first time around. Hollywood Chinese in NYC. Now you've got a second chance. Look for the movie to screen at the ImaginAsian Theater.

LA, you get to see director Aurthur Dong in person. He will be at two screeenings. Laemmle’s Music Hall in Los Angeles/Beverly Hills on May 30 @ 7:40pm screening. Laemmle One Colorado in Pasadena on May 31 @ 7:40pm screening.

Watch a clip of director Justin Lin in the film Hollywood Chinese.

New Year Baby

New Year Baby airs on PBS - Independent Lens starting today. Check your local listings

Born in a refugee camp on Cambodian New Year’s Day, Socheata Poeuv has always been called “the lucky one” by her family. Her parents survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, escaped to Thailand and moved the entire family to Texas. In the United States, Socheata’s mother and father never talked about what happened in Cambodia, focusing instead on giving the kids a “normal American life.”

On Christmas Day of 2002, Socheata’s parents gathered the family to reveal a secret they had kept for more than 25 years: that her older sisters were actually her cousins, and her brother was her half-brother, the child of her mother’s previous marriage. Reeling from this new information, Socheata wondered what other secrets her parents might have left behind in Cambodia.

In NEW YEAR BABY, Socheata embarks on an emotional journey with her parents to their homeland, retracing the family’s path and picking up lost pieces of her history along the way. But to get to the bottom of her family’s story, she must understand what happened to their former country as well.

Using animation to illustrate family memories and Cambodia’s history, NEW YEAR BABY intertwines the stories of Socheata’s parents with those of millions of others who suffered under the Khmer Rouge. In less than four years, more than 1.7 million Cambodians—about one-fourth of the population—died from starvation, disease or execution.

Taking her parents back to the concentration camp where they had once been held, Socheata pleads, prods and pries, trying to get them to answer questions they have dodged so many times before. How did they, a mismatched couple with little in common, come to marry? What happened to them in the Khmer Rouge labor camps? How did they survive the genocide when so many others died? And why had they never told the truth? NEW YEAR BABY discovers that long-held secrets hide not only painful memories, but also love forged under inhuman conditions.

Watch the trailer for "New Year Baby"

Planet B-boy breaks to the East

At Cannes, Elephant Eye Films sold "Planet B-Boy" to Mars Entertainment in Korea, Queen Films in Indonesia, Cineplex Films in Taiwan and Prime Pictures in the Middle East. That's larger global distribution for a great documentary. You can still catch the film in the US. Look for your location here.

Run DMZ will be shown around the world.

A Dream in Doubt

“A Dream in Doubt” is an immigrant story in a world in which patriotism has morphed into murder. When Rana Singh Sodhi’s brother is killed in America’s first post-9/11 revenge murder, he begins a journey to reclaim his American dream and fight the hate that continues to threaten his community. This intimate, hour-long documentary of one man’s odyssey from persecution in India to embracing America as his homeland proves that courage and hope have the power to overcome hate. "A Dream in Doubt" started airing this week, so check local PBS listings.

Watch the trailer for "A Dream in Doubt"

APA Month Day 23 - director Justin Lin

Chinese American director Justin Lin learned his trade form the UCLA Film School. The film that put him on the map was "Better Luck Tomorrow". This film made waves at The Sundance Film Festival when a member of the audience asked how Justin & co. could "make a film as so empty and amoral for Asian Americans and for Americans". Movie critic Roger Ebert stepped up and defended the film. In 2002, Justin made it on Variety Magazine's "Ten Directors to Watch". From independent films, he jumped into Hollywood films. His first studio picture was Annapolis, which was greeted with mixed reviews, but found an audience in DVDs. His next film was "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," which took in almost $160 million worldwide. This was an amazing feat considering this was a whole new cast from the original "The Fast and the Furious". Drifting became the "in" thing. Justin Lin went back to indie flix by directing the hilarious "Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee". Currently, Justin Lin is filming "The Fast and the Furious 4"

Watch this short documentary "BUILDING A JOURNEY: FROM BETTER LUCK TOMORROW TO FINISHING THE GAME" - Part 1 of 3:


Part 2 of 3:


Part 3 of 3:

Hollywood Chinese

Hollywood Chinese is a captivating revelation on a little-known chapter of cinema: the Chinese in American feature films. From the first Chinese American film produced in 1916 (Oakland filmmaker Marion Wong's THE CURSE OF QUON GWON) to Ang Lee's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN nine decades later, HOLLYWOOD CHINESE brings together a fascinating portrait of actors, directors, writers, and iconic images (including Ang Lee, Wayne Wang, Joan Chen, David Henry Hwang, Justin Lin, B.D. Wong, Nancy Kwan, Tsai Chin, Lisa Lu, James Hong, and Amy Tan) to show how the Chinese have been imagined in movies, and how filmmakers have and continue to navigate an industry that was often ignorant about race, but at times paradoxically receptive.

Watch the trailer for Hollywood Chinese:


Watch a clip of Joan Chen from Hollywood Chinese:


Hollywood Chinese is ending it's run in San Francisco today at the 4 Star Theatre. Catch this while you can. Next up for the film is New York. You can see the film at the Quad Cinema in NYC and at the Rochester/High Falls International Film Festival. Then off to Southern California May 30-June 5, 2008 at the Laemmle’s Music Hall in Los Angeles/Beverly Hills and Laemmle One Colorado in Pasadena.

If you like this film also, check out Slanted Screen.