San Diego Asian Film Festival 2009

A free collection of films for the young at heart. Appropriate for anyone ages 8 and up. EGG ROBOT MOMO Director: Shinhee Kim | 7 min | Video | 2007 Momo - the offspring of a chicken robot and a human robot – goes on a search to find the mother who abandoned him. ALDOW Director: Winston Tao | 9 min | Video | 2009 There's only one thing standing between Lee and getting into Berkeley. Waldo. DEADLINE Director: Bang-yao Liu | 5 min | Video | 2009 Oh, the lengths students will go to procrastinate on homework! THE WHEEL Directors: Jonathan Miller, Patrick Shen | 12 min | Video | 2008 Set in the Old West: three criminals, two bounty hunters, one wheel. MONSTER COINS Director: Vince Vang| 9 min | 35mm | 2008 Two naughty kids discover a special coin at school that unleashes a monster from the vending machine. NEW AGING Director: Jason Wong | 6 min | Video | 2007 A New Age pamphlet peddler gets mugged by a homeless woman and follows her through Chinatown to retrieve his wallet. SPACE TIME DESTROYERS Directors: Chito Arellano, Roman Cortez | 11 min | Video | 2001 Three b-boys try to get their groove on until an evil space overlord gets infected by their universal beat.

Celebrate the diverse Asian experience, cultural identity, and connections to the past. PARALLEL ADELE Director: Adele Pham | 16 min | Video | 2008 Two half-Vietnamese filmmakers, both named Adele, discover their parallel journeys with other “hapas” who share the growing mixed-race experience. BE AWARE Director: Joe Kamimura | 4 min | Video | 2008 A man embarks upon a mysterious adventure that ends in self-reflection. MOTHER DAUGHTER Director: Ileana Chan | 15 min | Video | 2008 An unexpected inheritance leads a young Chinese American woman to uncover her mother’s past, leading to questions about her own life and relationships. I WANT TO BE A DESI 2 Director: Allan Tong | 6 min | Video | 2009 Being Desi—a South Asian immigrant or descendant—requires a bit more than bhangra and spicy curry. YELLOW BROTHERHOOD Director: Tadashi Nakamura | 18 min | Video | 2004 The inspiring story of the “Yellow Brotherhood,” an Asian American community group formed around a basketball team in the 1960s, and how the sons of YB are affected 30 years later. WELCOME TO MY LIFE Director: Elizabeth Ito | 5 min | Video | 2008 An animated story about a family of monsters struggling to be accepted in America. HALF KENNETH Director: Ken Ochiai | 22 min | Video | 2008 1945: after the death of their father, Ken and Jo escape Japanese American internment camp to find their Caucasian mother, but discover something neither of them could have anticipated.

How do you coax life out of thin air? Find out in this program dedicated entirely to the Magical Art of Animation. Deng Long Director: Yu-Heng Chiang | USA | 2 min. | Video | 2009 A Chinese man tries desperately to light an uncooperative lantern before daybreak. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya. Life On A Limb Director: David Chai | USA | 6 min. | Video | 2008 Irreconcilable enemies, a tree and a lumberjack, are stuck in a waiting room together. Inevitably, conflict ensues. Will they end up burying the hatchet, or will they end up burying the hatchet? Medium: Traditional 2D; software: Adobe Production Studio Unbelievable Four Director: Sukwon Shin & In Pyo Hong | USA | 4 min. | Video | 2009 An infamous team of superhero politicians takes preemptive action against hundreds of approaching Evil Spaceships but their plan backfires. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya. Deadline Director: Bang-Yao Liu | USA | 2 min. | Video | 2009 While rushing to meet a deadline, a student’s wall literally comes alive in the form of thousands of Post-It notes. Medium: live-action stopmotion. The Enlightened Monk Director: Emily Tse | USA | 2 min. | Video | 2009 A monk attempts to defeat a monster that attacks his town through his quick thinking. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya. Shuttle T-42 Director: Joon Hyung Kim | USA | 3 min. | Video | 2009 Shuttle T-42 crash lands on an unknown planet leaving young Jay and his mother stranded and helpless. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya, Renderman Emotions Director: Kun-I Chang | USA | 2 min. | Video | 2009 Emotions is an animation excerpt from the documentary "Masizakhe” that explores the collective identity of South African activists through their ideologies and diverse initiatives. Medium: live-action & motion graphics; software: AfterEffects Subconscious Director: Jason Chen | USA | 4 min. | Video | 2008 A newborn butterfly emerges from the darkest depths of sadness to begin a new life. Medium: live-action stopmotion Self Portrait Director: Will Kim | USA | 3 min. | Video | 2009 ‘Self Portrait’ is an animated film about an artist’s inspirations and tools that allow him to create a self-portrait of himself. This film deals with the filmmaker’s agony, inner struggles, and unity. Medium: mixed media 2D; software: Photoshop, AfterEffects The Soliloquist Director: Kuang Pei Ma | USA | 6 min. | Video | 2008 A modern fable about the complications of loneliness, fantasy and illusions. Medium: 2D + 3D; software: Photoshop, AfterEffects The Veiled Commodity Director: Dickson Chow & Vinh Chung | USA | 6 min. | Video | 2009 A film that employs various design and animation techniques to retell the history of slavery and the problems of its present day counterpart – human trafficking and the victimization of people around the world. Medium: CGI 3D; software: AfterEffects, 3ds Max Fear Of Change Director: Kun-I Chang | USA | 2 min. | Video | 2009 (see Emotions above) Confine(s) Director: Makoto Yabuki | JAPAN | 3 min. | Video | 2007 A surreal mindtrip into the microscopic world of organic polygons. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya Keep Right Director: Sun-woo Yang | USA | 8 min. | Video | 2008 Sunoki, a paranoiac has an adventure of a lifetime in the surreal world of a Korean subway station. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya VIOLA:The Traveling Rooms of a Little Giant Director: Shih-Ting Hung | USA | 9 min. | Video | 2008 On a stumble on slippery moss at the 4 o’clock bus stop, little giant Viola steps outside of her own world to reach out for an adventure. She is going to search for the true meaning of Loneliness. Medium: mixed-media & live-action; software: AfterEffects Kudan Director: Taku Kimura | USA | 9 min. | Video | 2008 An uncommunicative man is transformed into a cow-bodied monster and learns a simple lesson about father & son love. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya Monster Coins Director: Vance Yang | TAIWAN | 9 min. | 35mm | 2008 One night at school, two naughty kids discover a monster coin that when inserted, makes a monster appear from within a magical vending machine. He grants them a wish that they will never forget. Medium: CGI 3D; software: Maya, Renderman Articles Of War Director: Daniel Kanemoto | USA | 12 min. | 35mm | 2008 A young American pilot fighting in 1944 writes what may be the final letter of his life, bearing his soul to the man who inspired him to enlist… his father, a stoic veteran of World War I. Medium: 2D+3D; software: AfterEffects Co-presented by: Platt College

All aboard for an insightful excursion to discover the far reaches of the Asian experience.

Irreverence sure to tickle your funny bone—if not also offend you.

In the big city, infidelity, gang violence, and other hazards lurk on mean streets. TEA AND REMEMBERANCE Director: Ron Yuan | 8 min | Video | 2009 A man and woman are both haunted by dreams that may be memories of a previous life. ONE NIGHT IN LA Director: Jon Maxwell | 4 min | Video | 2008 A stylish, dreamlike tale of a relationship gone wrong. UNLOCKED Director: Mio Adilman | 14 min | Video | 2009 A young man must deal with his anger when his bicycle is continually double-locked by strangers. THREE BULLETS Director: Ron Yuan | 8 min | Video 2009 A hit man (Michael Jai White from Black Dynamite) takes on overwhelming odds armed with just three bullets. THE LEGEND OF CHANG APANA Director: Michael Wurth | 6 min | Video | 2008 The real-life Hawaiian policeman, upon whose life the Charlie Chan movies were based, breaks up a gambling ring. EXCUSE MY GANGSTA WAYS Director: Corinne Manabat | 15 min | Video | 2008 The inspiring tale of Chinese American Davina Wan, a former gang member from New York City’s Lower East Side. FA$T MONEY Director: Jerry Chan | 14 min | Video | 2005 In this classic from SDAFF ‘06, Asian gang members pick on the wrong Chinese gift store owner. SEASONS BEATINGS Director: Fernando Huerto | 7 min | Video | 2008 Two friends get overly competitive over a board game. INTERPRETATION Director: Lin Oeding | 8 min | 35mm | 2008 A romantic couple encounters a trio of philosophical thugs.

A taste of the Chinese American experience both sweet and sour. WHEN SWALLOWS STOP SINGING Director: Gilbert Kwong | 17 min | Video | 2009 Yan, a Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong, has made Canada his home for ten years, leaving behind his parents and a promise. THE PIANO Director: Caicai Liu | 17 min | Video | 2008 “Love” is always a hard and complex topic between Chinese parents and kids. BEIJING HAZE Director: J.P. Chan | 9 min | Video | 2008 For a new Chinese immigrant, one dream ends as another begins. YANGLING’S ORANGES Director: Connie Yen | 19 min | Video | 2008 An immigrant Chinese woman finds herself at a crossroads, re-examining the integrity of her American Dream. HOUSE OF WONG Director: Nicholas Wong | 17 min | Video | 2008 FORTUNE COOKING Director: Jason Karman | 9 min | Video | 2009 Can a great review save a restaurant on the brink? STATE OF YO Director: Jason Karman | 8 min | Video | 2007 Harvey Lowe overcame many obstacles to win the first world’s yo-yo championship in 1932. NEW AGING Director: Jason Wong | 6 min | Video | 2007 Mugged by a homeless woman, a New Age pamphlet peddler follows her through Chinatown to retrieve his wallet. Co-presented by: San Diego Chinese Women's Association

More than one from the heart.