San Diego Asian Film Festival 2009

West Coast Premiere

After backpacking overseas for three years, Emmie (Alyssa Lobit) returns to her hometown of Los Angeles after receiving a mysterious letter from Ricky, a companion of her recently-deceased mother Sunny (Alexis Rhee). Sunny and Emmie had become estranged primarily due to Sunny's drug addiction, but Emmie decides that she needs to find Ricky in order to retrieve whatever it is that Sunny had left for her. Armed only with the knowledge that her mother's last residence was a seedy motel in the San Fernando Valley, Emmie must seek assistance from a varied cast of characters that her mother had befriended, including the mysterious Jeremiah (Johnny Whitworth). The search takes an unexpected turn when Emmie runs into her sister, Eve (Catherine Kresge), who had stayed at home to take care of their mother while Emmie was out seeking adventure. The reunion forces the sisters to revisit old wounds as they must reconcile in order to recover the missing package.

THE THINGS WE CARRY marks the feature film debut of the producing and writing/acting team of sisters Athena Lobit and Alyssa Lobit, whose screenplay for the film was inspired by real life experiences. The film is one of the first independent features shot with the cutting edge RED ONE video cameras, favored by filmmakers such as Steven Soderbergh and Peter Jackson, and veteran director Ian McCrudden, leverages this high technology to maximum effect by infusing THE THINGS WE CARRY with a beautiful sense of natural rhythm and visual flair. Boasting natural and moving performances from a talented cast, THE THINGS WE CARRY is a film for both fans of Asian American cinema and true American indie film. – Gene Huh

Alyssa Lobit, Athena Lobit, Alexis Rhee, and Catherine Kresge scheduled to attend Oct 18 screening

Co-presented by:
San Diego Arthouse Movies