The San Diego Asian Film Festival has announced its eighth season, taking place at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinema at Hazard Center, October 11 -18, 2007. As San Diego’s largest Pan Asian cultural event, an estimated 15,000 attendees will experience over 130 short and feature films from over 12 different countries including the U.S., Canada, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. This year marks the festival’s most competitive year for feature length films, boasting a record 25 Asian American feature film selections – nearly double from last year. The complete program schedule is available online at www.sdaff.org.
The festival opens on Thursday, October 11 with the theatrical premiere of Justin Lin’s Sundance feature, Finishing the Game, a comedy about casting the new Bruce Lee to finish Game of Death. Director Lin, and most of his principal cast (Sung Kang, MC Hammer, Roger Fan, Dustin Nguyen) is expected to be in attendance.
Bookending the festival on closing night, Thursday October 18, is the West Coast premiere of “West 32nd,” a gangster drama set in New York’s Korea Town. An official selection at the 2007 Tribecca Film Festival, “West 32nd” stars John Cho, Grace Park and Jane Kim.
The festival’s Spotlight film stars Meryl Streep and Aidan Quinn in Dark Matter, a powerful, stunning thriller based on the true story of Liu Xing, a foreign exchange student from China who turned to violence in the face of academic ruin. Other features include cult director Park Chan-wook’s “I’m a Cyborg But That’s OK,” the Thai horror hit “The Victim,” the Japanese show-stopper “Hula Girls,” the art-house favorite “After This Our Exile,” and the hilarious and audience-pleasing documentary “Air Guitar Nation.” Seven short film programs include the popular all-animation program and “Reel Voices,” a short documentary showcase of local high school students.
The festival will honor actor George Takei (“Star Trek,” “Heroes”) with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 50 years in Hollywood. Other actors scheduled to attend include Dustin Nguyen (“21 Jump Street,” “V.I.P,” “The Rebel”), Grace Park (“Battlestar Galactica”), John Cho (“Harold and Kumar,” “West 32nd”), James Kyson Lee (“Heroes”), Sung Kang (“Better Luck Tomorrow,” “The Motel”), Roger Fan (“Better Luck Tomorrow,” “Annapolis”), Aaron Yoo (“Disturbia”), and Yul Kwon (winner of “Survivor”). Patrons can also participate in panels, parties, and meet more than 100 filmmakers, actors, and industry guests.
The full schedule of films is available at the San Diego Asian Film Festival website>>>
