Chris Tashima Stars in Lil Tokyo Reporter, Set to Screen at Film Festivals in Eugene, Or., Sacramento, and LA

Lil Tokyo Reporter, starring Academy award winner Chris Tashima (Visas and Virtue, Day of Independence, Model Minority), Keiko Agena (“Gilmore Girls”) and Eijiro Ozaki (Letters From Iwo Jima), is screening at the 8th Annual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon Bijou Arts Cinemas, 492 E 13th Ave., Eugene, OR, on Saturday, April 27th at 5pm; the 9th Annual Sacramento International Film Festival at the Delta King Hotel, 1000 Front St., Sacramento, CA, on Sunday, April 28th at 2:30pm; and the 29th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival CGV Cinemas, Theatre 2, 621 S. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, May 12th at 3pm.

Chris Tashima as Sei Fujii in Lil Tokyo Reporter. Photo courtesy of Lil Tokyo Reporter

Tashima portrays the title character in Lil Tokyo Reporter, a narrative short film based on the true life struggles of Sei Fujii, immigrant pioneer, leader, and publisher.

Jeffrey Gee Chin directed Lil Tokyo Reporter, with a screenplay written by Guinevere Turner (American Psycho), based on the research of executive producer Fumiko Carole Fujita and the Little Tokyo Historical Society.

Chris Tashima as Sei Fujii in Lil Tokyo Reporter. Photo courtesy of Lil Tokyo Reporter

Filmed in downtown Los Angeles, Lil Tokyo Reporter is a narrative short film inspired by the life and major community contributions of historic newspaper publisher, Sei Fujii. The story takes place in 1935 Little Tokyo, where Fujii confronts the corruption that threatens the livelihood of his community.

“The purpose of this film is to help open minds to the early historical contributions of Asian American pioneers,” said the film’s director, Jeffrey Gee Chin.

Although Sei Fujii was one of the most pinnacle civil rights leaders in the early 20th century, Lil Tokyo Reporter highlights his journey away from his political contributions, and delves into his interpersonal journey to defend and promote his deteriorating community during the Great Depression.

Chin and Executive Producer Fumiko Carole Fujita have created this moving tribute to the remarkable life achievements of Sei Fujii who came from Japan in 1903 and graduated from USC Law School in 1911, but could not become a lawyer because he was not allowed to become a citizen. He teamed with classmate and civil rights attorney J. Marion Wright to assist the Japanese community on racially discriminatory legal problems and issues for over 40 years. In 1931, Fujii began publishing The Kashu Mainichi (California Daily News), a Japanese/English bilingual newspaper, founded to inform, unite and celebrate the Japanese American community.

8th Annual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon
The 8th Annual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, held at Bijou Arts Cinemas, 492 E 13th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401. Lil Tokyo Reporter’s film festival premiere will be on Sat, April 27, 5pm. www.disorientfilm.org

9th Annual The Sacramento International Film Festival
The 9th Annual Sacramento International Film Festival at the Delta King Hotel in Old Sacramento, 1000 Front St., Sacramento, CA 95814, will have a double feature of Chris Tashima, who will be on hand to represent Lil Tokyo Reporter, which screens on Sunday, April 28, 2:30pm; and followed by Lily Mariye’s multiple award-winning Model Minority. www.sacramentofilmfestival.com

Lily Mariye’s Model Minority (photo courtesy of Nice Girl Films)

The film stars Nichole Bloom as Kayla, an underprivileged Japanese American girl with a drug addict mom (Jessica Tuck) and an alcoholic dad (Tashima), who endangers her promising future as an artist when she becomes involved with a drug dealer (Delon De Metz). Laura Innes, Helen Slater, Takayo Fisher, Courtney Mun and Marc Anthony Samuel are also featured, along with music by three-time Grammy nominee, saxophonist Boney James.

29th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
The 29th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival at the Directors Guild of America, CGV Cinemas, and The Art Theatre of Long Beach. The film festival, produced by Visual Communications, the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, continues to be the largest festival of its kind in Southern California and is the premier showcase for the best and brightest of Asian American and Asian international cinema. Lil Tokyo Reporter screening is on Sun, May 12, 3pm, CGV Cinemas, Theatre 2, 621 S. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90005; includes Q&A session with actors and filmmakers. www.asianfilmfestla.org/2013/

Lil Tokyo Reporter was produced by Mayon Denton and Michael Iinuma in association with Visual Communications and the Little Tokyo Historical Society. The team was also sponsored by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and the Terasaki Foundation.

Chris Tashima (Photo by Lia Chang)

About Chris Tashima:
Academy award winning director and actor Chris Tashima can currently be seen in Jeffrey Gee Chin’s narrative short Lil Tokyo Reporter as Sei Fujii, an immigrant pioneer, leader and publisher and in Lily Mariye’s impressive debut feature Model Minority, in which he gives a rich multi-layered performance as the Sansei alcoholic father.

He has appeared in several noted independent features including Rea Tajiri’s Strawberry Fields, starring Suzy Nakamura, and Sherwood X. Hu’s Lani Loa -The Passage (from executive producers Francis Ford Coppola and Wayne Wang), as well as Hu’s ensemble drama, On the Roof.

Tashima received an Academy Award® for the dramatic short film, Visas and Virtue, which he directed, co-wrote and starred as Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sugihara. For television, he directed, co-wrote and acted in the PBS Special, Day of Independence, receiving an EMMY® nomination. Visas and Virtue and Day of Independence is available on DVD and can be found here.

Directorial stage credits include world premiere’s of Dan Kwong’s Be Like Water at EWP, and Nihonmachi: The Place to Be, a musical tribute to the history of Japantowns, produced by the Grateful Crane Ensemble.

Below are excerpts of a chat I had with Chris, last year in New York at the Asian American International Film Festival.

Chris gives the 411 on Jeffrey Gee Chin’s Lil Tokyo Reporter
Jeffrey Gee Chin directed Lil Tokyo Reporter, with a screenplay written by Guinevere Turner (American Psycho), based on the research of executive producer Fumiko Carole Fujita and the Little Tokyo Historical Society. In addition to Tashima, Lil Tokyo Reporter stars Eijiro Ozaki, Ikuma Ando, Keiko Agena, and Sewell Whitney.

Chris Tashima as Sei Fujii in Lil Tokyo Reporter. Photo courtesy of Lil Tokyo Reporter

Chris: Lil Tokyo Reporter is a wonderful narrative short film that I’m really excited to be a part of. It’s right now in post-production. We filmed it over a week last year. Now it’s getting the score and visual effects.

It’s about a real life Issei pioneer named Sei Fujii. He was very active in the Japanese American community in the 20’s and 30’s, all the way up to the 50’s. I knew nothing of him, in fact, I had not heard of him until the filmmaker Jeffrey Gee Chin, came to me and said, ‘I’m making this film that I want you to be in.’ It’s amazing how many stories we don’t know about. But a person of this significance.

The reason he was discovered by the filmmaker, was because the Little Tokyo Historical Society did a story on the Japanese Hospital, which I believe was founded in 1929 for the local Japanese community to get medical needs fulfilled because of either language differences, cultural differences, dietary, all these needs that they weren’t getting from regular hospitals. Sei Fujii was part of the original founders of the Japanese Hospital. Pretty much everybody in Southern California has family that was there at some point. It’s in East L.A. which had a large Japanese American community. Sei Fujii founded the Kashu Mainichi, which was the bilingual California Japanese Daily News, now no longer around, but it was a fairly large publication in California, as a means of bringing the community together, helping them, keeping them informed. He also was the individual who sued the state of California in 1952, to overturn the Alien Land Law which prohibited the Issei, or Japanese immigrants who could not become citizens, from owning land. And he won. And that opened the door to eventually winning citizenship for Japanese immigrants. There’s all these things that he did in between. To learn all of this, and to learn that there was this one man who had done so much and that I had never heard of him, was again, a great need to tell the story.

Although Sei Fujii was one of the most pinnacle civil rights leaders in the early 20th century, Lil Tokyo Reporter highlights his journey away from his political contributions, and delves into his interpersonal journey to defend and promote his deteriorating community during the Great Depression. Fujii vowed to protect his people, defending them in legal cases with Attorney Wright. During the Great Depression, the community united at their first annual pageant parade while Fujii promoted their accomplishments through his new radio program and newspaper.

Chris: So Jeffrey came to me. I had met him several times at different film festivals. He said, ‘Well I have this story that I wrote and I want you to be in it. I immediately said yes. I’ve been consulting with him a lot. It’s his first large narrative work. It’s very ambitious. It’s going to be about half an hour. It’s a period piece, set in 1935 in Little Tokyo, so to recreate that era. To tell a very good dramatic story even though it has got all of this history in it, you still want to do a good story. It’s basically about Fujii in the mid 30’s as a newspaper editor, confronting those challenges about, ‘Do you write about negative things about your own community. If you think in the long run it will help. But if it makes your community look bad or makes individuals look bad. In fact, somebody tried to assassinate Sei Fujii. He was discovered lying in the street with a gun shot wound and was sent to a Japanese hospital. Of course, he didn’t die. But that’s how controversial he was. These kind of things happened back in the 30’s.

Director Jeffrey Gee Chin with his cast on the set of Lil Tokyo Reporter. Photo by Reece Carter

In the narrative that we’re telling, he discovers a gambling den in Little Tokyo and how it is sort of swindling the farmers that are coming to town to drink and gamble. Taking their money, a little bit of extortion, the dark seeder side of Little Tokyo that people didn’t talk about. We met a lot of Nisei, that knew Issei, like their dads who used to go to this gambling joints. And none of them would talk about it. That’s what the film is about.

About The Little Tokyo Historical Society
The Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) focuses on researching and discovering the historical resources, stories, and connections of sites, buildings, and events related to Little Tokyo as an ethnic heritage neighborhood. LTHS is committed to documenting and verifying history of locales, sites, and buildings, as well as preserving and sharing the history and personal stories of Little Tokyo and its residents.

LTHS was formed in 2006 by members of the Little Tokyo community to commemorate the Nikkei history and heritage through various means such as: archival collections, photos, exhibits, lectures and workshops, and gallery. Although other organizations documenting Japanese American history exist, LTHS narrows its focus by concentrating on the history of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, rather than the larger scope of Japanese Americans nationwide.

LTHS operates as a volunteer organization, comprised of members from the Little Tokyo community including nonprofit employees, business owners, and residents.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
World Premiere Screening of Lil Tokyo Reporter Starring Chris Tashima at Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, September 14-16, 2012
Video: Academy Award Winner Chris Tashima Talks About His Roles in Lily Mariye’s Model Minority and Lil Tokyo Reporter
Meet Lil Tokyo Reporter’s Star Chris Tashima and Director Jeffrey Gee Chin at the Little Tokyo Historical Society’s Booth at the 72nd Annual LA Nisei Week Japanese Festival on August 18, 2012
Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, Jayshree Janu Kharpade’s Fire in Our Hearts, Eliaichi Kimaro’s A Lot Like You, Vincent Sandoval’s Señorita, and Liang Cheng’s My Spiritual Medicine among AAIFF’12 Award Winners
AAIFF’12: Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, starring Jessica Tuck, Nichole Bloom, Chris Tashima, Helen Slater, Laura Innes and Takayo Fisher, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012
35th Asian American International Film Festival Line-up in New York
Two-Time Grammy Nominated Hiroshima Kicks off 2013 Spring Tour at The Laguna Playhouse, with Special Guest Taiko Master Kenny Endo on April 15, 2013
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2013 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Lia Chang Video: Academy Award Winner Chris Tashima Talks About His Roles in Lily Mariye’s Model Minority and Lil Tokyo Reporter

Academy award winning director and actor Chris Tashima can currently be seen in three very different films – in Jeffrey Gee Chin’s narrative short Lil Tokyo Reporter as Sei Fujii, an immigrant pioneer, leader and publisher; in Lily Mariye’s impressive debut feature Model Minority, in which he gives a rich multi-layered performance as the Sansei alcoholic father; and in Eric Byler’s Americanese as the romantic lead opposite Joan Chen, which won a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Cast at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Chris Tashima and Joan Chen in Eric Byler’s Americanese. (Courtesy of Eric Byler)

He has appeared in several noted independent features including Rea Tajiri’s Strawberry Fields, starring Suzy Nakamura, and Sherwood X. Hu’s Lani Loa -The Passage (from executive producers Francis Ford Coppola and Wayne Wang), as well as Hu’s ensemble drama, On the Roof.

Tashima received an Academy Award® for the dramatic short film, Visas and Virtue, which he directed, co-wrote and starred as Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sugihara. For television, he directed, co-wrote and acted in the PBS Special, Day of Independence, receiving an EMMY® nomination. Visas and Virtue and Day of Independence is available on DVD and can be found here.

Directorial stage credits include world premiere’s of Dan Kwong’s Be Like Water at EWP, and Nihonmachi: The Place to Be, a musical tribute to the history of Japantowns, produced by the Grateful Crane Ensemble.

The Los Angeles based Tashima was in New York in August to promote Lily Mariye’s Model Minority at the Asian American International Film Festival.

Lily Mariye’s Model Minority (photo courtesy of Nice Girl Films)

The film stars Nichole Bloom as Kayla, an underprivileged Japanese American girl with a drug addict mom (Jessica Tuck) and an alcoholic dad (Tashima), who endangers her promising future as an artist when she becomes involved with a drug dealer (Delon De Metz). Laura Innes, Helen Slater, Takayo Fisher, Courtney Mun and Marc Anthony Samuel are also featured, along with music by three-time Grammy nominee, saxophonist Boney James.

Delon De Metz, Nichole Bloom, Lily Mariye and Chris Tashima at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival screening of Model Minority, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 4, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Model Minority has been resonating with film festival audiences across the country and racking up awards, including Special Jury Outstanding Director, Breakthrough Performance by a New Actor for Nichole Bloom, and Outstanding Cinematography at its World Premiere at the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival; the Best Nevada Film Golden Ace Award at the Las Vegas Film Festival; and the Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature at the Asian American International Film Festival.

When Model Minority screens at the D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival on October 7, 2012, Mariye will be presented with the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award. You can also see the film at the Ojai Film Festival, October 25-28, 2012, the Vancouver Asian Festival, on Friday, November 2 at 7 pm at the Tinseltown Cineplex Odeon Theatres in Vancouver. http://www.modelminoritymovie.com/

Because Chris was so generous with his time, below are excerpts from the first in a series of my interview with him that I will post.

Chris: I was looking for an opportunity to come back to the Asian American International Film Festival which I’ve had two shorts play in. The first, I wasn’t able to attend way back in 1997 for Visas and Virtue and then I did come back in 2003 for Day of Independence. That played on Long Island, so I wasn’t able to come to Manhattan. So as soon as I had another film here, I was sure to come.

Chris Tashima (Photo by Lia Chang)

Lia: What is your history with Lily Mariye?
Chris: I first met her, she was doing (Velina Hasu Houston’s) Tea at a small theater in Los Angeles and I was pretty blown away by her performance. The whole ensemble was pretty great. A year later, she was cast in a show that I was designing, set designing for East West Players- Into the Woods. She’s a Quintuple threat. She started as a dancer in transition to acting – TV, film, now directing. I’ve know her for now over 20 years. Saw her short film The Shangri-la Cafe, which she did at AFI. Over the years, we’ve seen each other so much. She did a reading of a play that I directed. She played Yuri Kochiyama. I’ve always just loved her work and loved the idea that she was wanting to be a director, because we need more minority directors and more women directing.

She called me or emailed me about 4 or 5 years ago saying, ‘I’m working on my feature. I want to pick your brain about production issues.’ She mentioned that she had me in mind for the role of the father. I didn’t necessarily think I got another role.

A Model Minority team: Three-time Grammy nominee, saxophonist Boney James shows off his wife’s Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature for Model Minority, at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 5, 2012. Mariye, wrote, directed and shares producing credits with James, whose music is featured on the soundtrack. Photo by Lia Chang

I was happy to meet with her. I didn’t really have much to offer. She had all of her ducks in a row. She was really smart and knew what she was doing. The script was very dark, very bold. It was almost too edgy when I first read it. I didn’t critique the script. Later on, she sent me another version she’d been working on and it really improved quite a bit. I still didn’t necessarily think it was going to get produced. Then I heard through East West Players that she was casting the 2 young daughters, 2 Hapa teens, and it was going to be filming next month (the beginning of 2011). So I put something on Facebook about it. She emailed me apologetically and said, ‘I meant to tell you that I got my money and we’re shooting next month.’ She still wanted me to be the father. She was waiting to confirm because she wanted to firm up the whole cast.

Eric Byler’s Americanese lead to being cast in Model Minority

Chris: It was actually some clips that Eric Byler put up of Americanese. When that film was made, I was hoping it would open a lot more doors because it was the first lead role in a feature film. It was a great showcase for me. Of course, that requires that it gets released or people see it. Luckily, Eric put up clips and people have see those clips. There was a particular clip that Lily said clinched it for her.

Breaking down the character of the Sansei alcoholic father
Chris: To have it be a friend’s piece and a great role. It had so much depth and things that I could relate to in different ways. It was a great character in the story. It’s nice to be in the last shot of the film. It’s interesting because I’m not a father, I’m not an alcoholic. But I could relate to those things because of family or other people I’ve know especially the battle with alcoholism. Everybody has their demons that they fight.

A big part of the character is that he is Sansei. Dealing with a mother who was in camp- a Nisei. I’ve had a lot of discussions about what it means to be Sansei for our generation, that so many of us haven’t talked about it. I’m fortunate because I’ve done theater, done shows about camp, write movies, do research, talk to people. For artists, that has been explored. For the majority of Japanese Americans, it’s something that really was not talked about. Also for Nisei, they would not talk about it. My parents would talk about it. I think because they were a little bit younger, they didn’t harbor as much anger. I know for so many people, either their parents passed and they never got to ask those questions, or they did ask, and they refused to talk. The idea that Lily has a role that explores -how does that affect the next generation – those things just made it a rewarding experience.

Chris gives the 411 on Jeffrey Gee Chin’s Lil Tokyo Reporter
Jeffrey Gee Chin directed Lil Tokyo Reporter, with a screenplay written by Guinevere Turner (American Psycho), based on the research of executive producer Fumiko Carole Fujita and the Little Tokyo Historical Society. In addition to Tashima, Lil Tokyo Reporter stars Eijiro Ozaki, Ikuma Ando, Keiko Agena, and Sewell Whitney.

Chris Tashima as Sei Fujii in Lil Tokyo Reporter. Photo courtesy of Lil Tokyo Reporter

Chris: Lil Tokyo Reporter is a wonderful narrative short film that I’m really excited to be a part of. It’s right now in post-production. We filmed it over a week last year. Now it’s getting the score and visual effects.

It’s about a real life Issei pioneer named Sei Fujii. He was very active in the Japanese American community in the 20’s and 30’s, all the way up to the 50’s. I knew nothing of him, in fact, I had not heard of him until the filmmaker Jeffrey Gee Chin, came to me and said, ‘I’m making this film that I want you to be in.’ It’s amazing how many stories we don’t know about. But a person of this significance.

The reason he was discovered by the filmmaker, was because the Little Tokyo Historical Society did a story on the Japanese Hospital, which I believe was founded in 1929 for the local Japanese community to get medical needs fulfilled because of either language differences, cultural differences, dietary, all these needs that they weren’t getting from regular hospitals. Sei Fujii was part of the original founders of the Japanese Hospital. Pretty much everybody in Southern California has family that was there at some point. It’s in East L.A. which had a large Japanese American community. Sei Fujii founded the Kashu Mainichi, which was the bilingual California Japanese Daily News, now no longer around, but it was a fairly large publication in California, as a means of bringing the community together, helping them, keeping them informed. He also was the individual who sued the state of California in 1952, to overturn the Alien Land Law which prohibited the Issei, or Japanese immigrants who could not become citizens, from owning land. And he won. And that opened the door to eventually winning citizenship for Japanese immigrants. There’s all these things that he did in between. To learn all of this, and to learn that there was this one man who had done so much and that I had never heard of him, was again, a great need to tell the story.

Although Sei Fujii was one of the most pinnacle civil rights leaders in the early 20th century, Lil Tokyo Reporter highlights his journey away from his political contributions, and delves into his interpersonal journey to defend and promote his deteriorating community during the Great Depression. Fujii vowed to protect his people, defending them in legal cases with Attorney Wright. During the Great Depression, the community united at their first annual pageant parade while Fujii promoted their accomplishments through his new radio program and newspaper.

Chris: So Jeffrey came to me. I had met him several times at different film festivals. He said, ‘Well I have this story that I wrote and I want you to be in it. I immediately said yes. I’ve been consulting with him a lot. It’s his first large narrative work. It’s very ambitious. It’s going to be about half an hour. It’s a period piece, set in 1935 in Little Tokyo, so to recreate that era. To tell a very good dramatic story even though it has got all of this history in it, you still want to do a good story. It’s basically about Fujii in the mid 30’s as a newspaper editor, confronting those challenges about, ‘Do you write about negative things about your own community. If you think in the long run it will help. But if it makes your community look bad or makes individuals look bad. In fact, somebody tried to assassinate Sei Fujii. He was discovered lying in the street with a gun shot wound and was sent to a Japanese hospital. Of course, he didn’t die. But that’s how controversial he was. These kind of things happened back in the 30’s.

Director Jeffrey Gee Chin with his cast on the set of Lil Tokyo Reporter. Photo by Reece Carter

In the narrative that we’re telling, he discovers a gambling den in Little Tokyo and how it is sort of swindling the farmers that are coming to town to drink and gamble. Taking their money, a little bit of extortion, the dark seeder side of Little Tokyo that people didn’t talk about. We met a lot of Nisei, that knew Issei, like their dads who used to go to this gambling joints. And none of them would talk about it. That’s what the film is about.

Jeffrey Gee Chin’s Lil Tokyo Reporter will have its world premiere screening at Laemmle Playhouse 7, 673 East Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, from September 14-16, 2012. Click here for tickets. See Lil Tokyo Reporter on Friday, Sept. 14 at 11:45am & 12:30pm, Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 15-16 at 11:00am & 12:30pm, at the Laemmle’s Playhouse 7.

Meet Lil Tokyo Reporter star Chris Tashima, director Jeffrey Gee Chin along with cast, crew and creative team members at the screenings.
Click here to learn more about the film and here to donate to the fundraising campaign.

About The Little Tokyo Historical Society
The Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) focuses on researching and discovering the historical resources, stories, and connections of sites, buildings, and events related to Little Tokyo as an ethnic heritage neighborhood. LTHS is committed to documenting and verifying history of locales, sites, and buildings, as well as preserving and sharing the history and personal stories of Little Tokyo and its residents.

LTHS was formed in 2006 by members of the Little Tokyo community to commemorate the Nikkei history and heritage through various means such as: archival collections, photos, exhibits, lectures and workshops, and gallery. Although other organizations documenting Japanese American history exist, LTHS narrows its focus by concentrating on the history of Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, rather than the larger scope of Japanese Americans nationwide.

LTHS operates as a volunteer organization, comprised of members from the Little Tokyo community including nonprofit employees, business owners, and residents.

Keeping JA History Newsworthy in ‘Lil Tokyo Reporter’

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Meet Lil Tokyo Reporter’s Star Chris Tashima and Director Jeffrey Gee Chin at the Little Tokyo Historical Society’s Booth at the 72nd Annual LA Nisei Week Japanese Festival on August 18, 2012
Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, Jayshree Janu Kharpade’s Fire in Our Hearts, Eliaichi Kimaro’s A Lot Like You, Vincent Sandoval’s Señorita, and Liang Cheng’s My Spiritual Medicine among AAIFF’12 Award Winners
AAIFF’12: Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, starring Jessica Tuck, Nichole Bloom, Chris Tashima, Helen Slater, Laura Innes and Takayo Fisher, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012
Photos: 4 Wedding Planners’ Illeana Douglas, Kimberly-Rose Wolter and Michael Kang at Screen Actors Guild Foundation Conversations Series in NY
Greg Watanabe, Julyana Soelistyo and Jennifer Lim Lead the Cast of Signature Theatre’s Production of David Henry Hwang’s Golden Child, October 23-December 2, 2012
10 minutes with Sullivan & Son’s Jodi Long, Award Winning Actor and Filmmaker
Multimedia: Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s Conversations with Derek Ting, Linus Roache and Michael Park of $upercapitalist
David Henry Hwang to Receive the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at the 5th Annual Steinberg Playwright “Mimi” Awards on October 29, 2012
George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban star in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe, September 7 – October 21, 2012
Three Year Swim Club, Encounter, TEA, Christmas in Hanoi and Chess set for East West Players 47th Anniversary Season
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, Jayshree Janu Kharpade’s Fire in Our Hearts, Eliaichi Kimaro’s A Lot Like You, Vincent Sandoval’s Señorita, and Liang Cheng’s My Spiritual Medicine among AAIFF’12 Award Winners

The Asian American International Film Festival handed out the 2012 Awards for feature and short films before the sold-out closing night screening of Michael Kang’s Knots, written by and starring Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Illeana Douglas, Sung Kang, Mia Riverton, Janel Parrish and Cathy Foy, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 5, 2012. The awards ceremony was emceed by spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai.

Knots director Michael Kang and writer and star Kimberly-Rose Wolter at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival Closing night screening of Knots, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinema in New York on August 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

This year, the Asian American International Film Festival, presented by Asian Cinevision (ACV), featured 50 New York premieres-narrative and documentary features, and shorts-of all genres from The Philippines, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, UK, Canada and across the Asian Diaspora.

Presenter Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, a spoken word artist, presents the AAIFF Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature to Lily Mariye for Model Minority at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Audience Choice Awards:

Lily Mariye’s Model Minority (photo courtesy of Nice Girl Films)

The Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature was presented to Lily Mariye, an actor, screenwriter and director, whose impressive debut feature MODEL MINORITY, follows the story of L.A. teenagers trying to navigate the treacherous world of peer pressure, drug dealers, juvenile hall and dysfunctional families.

Delon De Metz, Nichole Bloom, Lily Mariye and Chris Tashima at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival screening of Model Minority, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 4, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

The film stars Nichole Bloom as Kayla, an underprivileged Japanese American girl with a drug addict mom (Jessica Tuck) and an alcoholic dad (Chris Tashima), who endangers her promising future as an artist when she becomes involved with a drug dealer (Delon De Metz). Laura Innes, Helen Slater, Takayo Fisher, Courtney Mun and Marc Anthony Samuel are also featured, along with music by three-time Grammy nominee, saxophonist Boney James.

A Model Minority team: Three-time Grammy nominee, saxophonist Boney James shows off his wife’s Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature for Model Minority, at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 5, 2012. Mariye, wrote, directed and shares producing credits with James, whose music is featured on the soundtrack. Photo by Lia Chang

The film recently garnered three awards at its World Premiere at the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival: Special Jury Outstanding Director, Breakthrough Performance by a New Actor for Nichole Bloom, and Outstanding Cinematography.AAIFF’12: Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, starring Jessica Tuck, Nichole Bloom, Chris Tashima, Helen Slater, Laura Innes and Takayo Fisher, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas

Fire in Our Hearts director Jayshree Janu Kharpade

The One to Watch Award was presented to director Jayshree Janu Kharpade for her short film FIRE IN OUR HEARTS. Eligible films were screened in the shorts program FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH, written and directed by talented youths between the ages of 15 and 20. FIRE IN OUR HEARTS is an autobiographical film written and directed by a 15-year-old schoolgirl, Jayshree Janu Kharpade, who was born to an indigenous family (aka tribals) that have been disenfranchised at the very bottom of India’s poverty ladder. With a strong courage to learn and conviction to give back to others, Jayshree documents her family and village, as well as the tenacious efforts of the tribal union for the equal rights to education, thanks to which she is able to attend a school for tribal girls.

The Audience Choice Award for Documentary Feature was presented to A LOT LIKE YOU, directed by Eliaichi Kimaro. Tender, intellectual, and reflective, director/writer Eliaichi Kimaro explores her intricate identity as a Tanzanian-Korean mixed-race, first-generation American in her award-winning documentary. A LOT LIKE YOU lodges a personal lens to the perception of postcolonial and immigrant histories, confidently and sincerely bringing out the conversation between the individual, family and culture.

Señorita

The Emerging Director Award for Narrative Feature was awarded to director Vincent Sandoval for his film SEÑORITA. Sandoval is also the co-screenwriter, co-producer, and leading actor in the film. Wanting to quit sex work in Manila and start a new life, Sofia, a transgender woman, reinvents herself as Donna in the small town of Talisay to look after her friend’s son. But her past soon catches up with her when she gets involved in the complex politics of a local election, and her two lives cannot be kept apart. Other films nominated for this award were MODEL MINORITY (dir. Lily Mariye), PEARLS OF THE FAR EAST (dir. Cuong Ngo), SHANGHAI CALLING (dir. Daniel Hsia) and VIETTE (dir. Mye Hoang).

The jurors for The Emerging Director Award for Narrative Feature award included film critic John Anderson, executive director of Film Society of Lincoln Center Rose Kuo and award winning Art Director Wing Lee.

My Spiritual Medicine

The Excellence in Short Filmmaking Award was awarded to MY SPIRITUAL MEDICINE, directed by Liang Cheng. Actor Takahiro Morooka accepted the award on behalf of director Liang Cheng. Two white-collar clerks set up a private radio program in bustling Shanghai. An Otaku lady lives in isolation. As the random fates of individuals are linked and changed by the radio wave, love, in all possible forms, burgeons. Other films nominated for this award were HOW TO EAT YOUR APPLE (dir. Erick Oh), ONCE (dir. Jie Chen), SHANGHAI LOVE MARKET (dir. Craig Rosenthal) and THE LAST MARBLE (dir. Manjari Makijany).

AAIFF’12 awards presenter Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai and actor Takahiro Morooka, who accepted the award for My Spirtual Medicine on behalf of director Liang Cheng. Photo by Lia Chang

The jurors for The Excellence in Short Filmmaking Award included award-winning filmmaker Buboo Jakobsson, actor Ken Leung and film distributor Cindi Rowell.

The screening of Knots was followed by a luau-themed afterparty at DUO Lounge.

Check back for my exclusive interviews with Model Minority actor Chris Tashima, an academy award-winning filmmaker for Visas and Virtues, and Jodi Long, who is currently appearing on “Sullivan and Son” with Steve Byrne.

Jodi Long, a filmmaker and actor, who is currently appearing on Sullivan and Son with Steve Byrne, at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 4, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Lia Chang and Chris Tashima at DUO Lounge in New York on August 5, 2012. Photo by June Jee

In addition, I will be posting a slideshow of my 35th Asian American International Film Festival coverage of Lily Mariye’s Model Minority; Richard Wong’s and H.P. Mendoza’s Yes, We’re Open; Michael Kang’s Knots; and Simon Yin’s $upercapitalist, written, produced and starring Derek Ting, Linus Roache, Michael Park, Kenneth Tsang, Richard Ng and Kathy Uyen, which kicks off its theatrical release at Village East Cinema in New York on August 10, 2012.

Supercapitalist producer Joyce Yung, Jane Ann Valentine, Knots writer and star Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Knots director Michael Kang, Pun Bandhu, Derek Ting, writer, producer and star of Supercapitalist at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival screening of Knots, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

$UPERCAPITALIST starring Derek Ting, Linus Roache, Michael Park, Kenneth Tsang, Richard Ng and Kathy Uyen is the AAIFF’12 Centerpiece Presentation on July 28, 2012; opens in U.S.Theaters in August

Kerry McCrohan, Richard Wong, H. P. Mendoza and Theresa Navarro after the screening of Yes, We’re Open at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 4, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Sponsors
The 35th Asian American International Film Festival is made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for The Arts, by the New York State Council on The Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Special Support is provided by Macy’s, Wells Fargo, AARP, Woo Creative, Art Works, NYCulture, AMP Viacom, and the many friends of ACV.

John Woo, Executive Director of Asian Cinevision, June Jee, Knots writer and star Kimberly-Rose Wolter, director Michael Kang and actor Yoko Honjo; Beth Rosenthal Finkel, MSW Senior Manager, AARP, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, David Kim, Vice President for Multicultural Markets and Engagement, AARP, and Model Minority actor Chris Tashima, at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival closing night screening of Knots at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 5, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

“AARP is proud to sponsor the Asian American American International Film Festival because it is important for us to increase the awareness, relevance and engagement of the 50+ and their families in the Asian Communities,” shared David Kim, Vice President for Multicultural Markets and Engagement, AARP. “One of the ways we do this is to have a presence in the Asian American community to let people know that we want to support through our outreach efforts, the Asian American communities on a consistent and long term basis.”

J.P. Chan, writer/director of the recently wrapped A Picture of You, is flanked by his castmembers Jodi Long, who can currently be seen on Sullivan and Son, and Jo Mei, at the 35th Asian American International Film Festival, at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 4, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

Johnny Loves Dolores filmmaker Clarissa De Los Reyes, Andrew Eisenman, Bing Magtoto and Steven Payne at the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas in New York on August 4, 2012. Photo by Lia Chang

The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is produced by Asian CineVision (ACV), a nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, promotion and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video. AAIFF is the nation’s longest-running festival of its kind and a leading showcase for the best in independent Asian and Asian American film and video.
About Asian CineVision & AAIFF
For more information on the 35th Annual Asian American International Film Festival, please visit http://www.asiancinevision.org/aaiff/.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
10 minutes with Sullivan & Son’s Jodi Long, Award Winning Actor and Filmmaker
Asian American Civil Rights Groups Angered by Acquittal and Lenient Sentence in Military Hazing Case of Pvt. Danny Chen
AAIFF’12: Richard Wong & H.P. Mendoza’s Yes, We’re Open, starring Lynn Chen, Parry Shen, Sheetal Sheth, & Kerry McCrohan, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012
AAIFF’12: Knots, written by and starring Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Illeana Douglas, Sung Kang, Mia Riverton, Janel Parrish and Cathy Foy, and directed by Michael Kang, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 5, 2012
AAIFF’12: Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, starring Jessica Tuck, Nichole Bloom, Chris Tashima, Helen Slater, Laura Innes and Takayo Fisher, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012
Daniel Hsia’s Shanghai Calling, Simon Yin’s Supercapitalist & Michael Kang’s Knots to Screen at 35th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) in New York, which runs July 25 – August 5, 2012
35th Asian American International Film Festival Line-up in New York
Janet Yang to receive 2012 Asian American Media Award at AAIFF’12 Opening Night Presentation of Shanghai Calling on July 25, 2012
Click here for more articles on Film.
George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban star in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe, September 7 – October 21, 2012
Catch Grammy-winning Drummer Will Calhoun in August at The Iridium, Jazzmobile Summerfest 2012, The Blue Note, Hudson Valley Jazz Festival, and WimBash
Three Year Swim Club, Encounter, TEA, Christmas in Hanoi and Chess set for East West Players 47th Anniversary Season
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Rick Shiomi helms Mu Performing Arts’ Asian American Cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, July 17-August 5, 2012
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos: BD Wong, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tom Viola at “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (3pm) with Andre Bishop, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Richard Thomas, Jay O. Sanders, and more
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (8pm) with Oskar Eustis, Patti LuPone, Lisa Emery, Ann Harada, Paolo Montalban, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Henry Stram, Richard Thomas, John Weidman and more
Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season
Photos: In Rehearsal with BD Wong at Dixon Place for Live Concert Recording of Herringbone
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

AAIFF’12: Richard Wong & H.P. Mendoza’s Yes, We’re Open, starring Lynn Chen, Parry Shen, Sheetal Sheth, & Kerry McCrohan, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012

Richard Wong and writer H.P. Mendoza, the award-winning team that brought you the infectious, quirky coming-of-age tale Colma: The Musical, return to the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF’12) with their fourth collaboration, Yes, We’re Open, a raunchy sex comedy starring Lynn Chen (Saving Face), Parry Shen (Better Luck Tomorrow), Sheetal Sheth (Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World) and Kerry McCrohan, which screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, 260 W. 23rd St, in New York, on August 4, 2012 at 7pm. Click here for tickets.

Sheetal Sheth, Parry Shen, Lynn Chen and Kerry McCrohan in Richard Wong and H.P. Mendoza’s Yes, We’re Open

Set in the San Francisco Bay Area, Yes, We’re Open follows Luke (Parry Shen) and Sylvia (Lynn Chen) who think of themselves as a modern couple – always in the know and open to new experiences. Enter Elena (Sheetal Sheth) and Ronald (Kerry McCrohan)a provocative polyamorous couple that challenge Luke and Sylvia’s status in their circle of friends and with each other. With temptation right around the corner, Luke and Sylvia must figure out where they really stand on love, sex, and honesty. Yes, We’re Open takes an intimate look at the unconventional world of San Francisco relationships, where promiscuity and fidelity aren’t always mutually exclusive.

The film also features Tasi Alabastro, Dave Boyle (Surrogate Valentine), H.P. Mendoza (Fruit Fly: The Musical), and Theresa Navarro (Option 3).

Yes, We’re Open was directed by Richard Wong, written by H.P. Mendoza, and produced by Theresa Navarro and Richard Wong. The film premieres the work of first time director of photography Seng Chen and features the skills of Hong Kong Studio-reared production and costume designer Wing Shan “Irene” Chan. Yes, We’re Open was scored by Digital Crafts Night, including the catchy theme song, “All of Our Friends Are Getting Married,” written by H.P. Mendoza and performed by film stars Lynn Chen and Parry Shen.

Richard Wong, H.P. Mendoza, Kerry McCrohan, and Theresa Christine Navarro will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

Director Richard Wong (Photo by Lia Chang)

Richard Wong (Director) is a Spirit Award nominated director and cinematographer who has worked on independent films such as Wayne Wang’s Snow Flower and The Screet Fan, The Princess of Nebraska, Fruit Fly, and Colma: The Musical. Colma: The Musical was also Wong’s breakout full length motion picture directorial debut, and it earned him a nomination from the Gotham Awards for the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award, a nomination from the Spirit Awards for the Someone to Watch Award, and a special citation from San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

H.P. Mendoza

H. P. Mendoza is a Filipino American writer-director, and singer-songwriter based in San Francisco best known as the screenwriter and composer for the film Colma: The Musical, directed by Richard Wong. In 2006, he was listed as one of the Top 15 Creative Talents of 2006 by UCLA Asia Pacific Arts. His directorial debut, Fruit Fly, premiered on March 15, 2009 at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and is the winner of their Best Narrative Feature Audience Award. I Am a Ghost is his second feature film.

About Asian CineVision & AAIFF
The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is produced by Asian CineVision (ACV), a nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, promotion and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video. AAIFF is the nation’s longest-running festival of its kind and a leading showcase for the best in independent Asian and Asian American film and video.

For more information on the 35th Annual Asian American International Film Festival, please visit http://www.asiancinevision.org/aaiff/.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
AAIFF 09 Closing Night Awards and H.P. Mendoza’s Fruit Fly
Colma: The Musical Rocks
Richard Wong’s Colma: The Musical opens in SF and NYC
AAIFF’12: Knots, written by and starring Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Illeana Douglas, Sung Kang, Mia Riverton, Janel Parrish and Cathy Foy, and directed by Michael Kang, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 5, 2012
AAIFF’12: Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, starring Jessica Tuck, Nichole Bloom, Chris Tashima, Helen Slater, Laura Innes and Takayo Fisher, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 4, 2012
$UPERCAPITALIST starring Derek Ting, Linus Roache, Kenneth Tsang, Richard Ng and Kathy Uyen is the AAIFF’12 Centerpiece Presentation on July 28, 2012; opens in U.S.Theaters in August
Daniel Hsia’s Shanghai Calling, Simon Yin’s Supercapitalist & Michael Kang’s Knots to Screen at 35th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) in New York, which runs July 25 – August 5, 2012
35th Asian American International Film Festival Line-up in New York
Janet Yang to receive 2012 Asian American Media Award at AAIFF’12 Opening Night Presentation of Shanghai Calling on July 25, 2012
Click here for more articles on Film.
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Catch Grammy-winning Drummer Will Calhoun in August at The Iridium, Jazzmobile Summerfest 2012, The Blue Note, Hudson Valley Jazz Festival, and WimBash
Berkeley Rep Takes First Show to Asia- David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish starring Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, set for Hong Kong Arts Festival, March 1-6, 2013
West Coast Premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish at Berkeley Rep stars Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge, August 24-October 7, 2012
NYMF: Prison Dancer starring Jose Llana, Jeigh Madjus, Marc delaCruz, Catherine Ricafort, Moses Villarama, Cosmo Clemens, Enrico Rodriguez, Albert Guerzon, Andrew Eisenman and Nathan Ramos at Theatre at St. Clement’s, July 20-28, 2012
Three Year Swim Club, Encounter, TEA, Christmas in Hanoi and Chess set for East West Players 47th Anniversary Season
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Rick Shiomi helms Mu Performing Arts’ Asian American Cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, July 17-August 5, 2012
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Photos: BD Wong, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tom Viola at “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (3pm) with Andre Bishop, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Richard Thomas, Jay O. Sanders, and more
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (8pm) with Oskar Eustis, Patti LuPone, Lisa Emery, Ann Harada, Paolo Montalban, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Henry Stram, Richard Thomas, John Weidman and more
Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
Photos: In Rehearsal with BD Wong at Dixon Place for Live Concert Recording of Herringbone
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

35th Asian American International Film Festival Line-up in New York

The 35th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), presented by Asian CineVision (ACV), runs July 25 – August 5, 2012 with screenings at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, Asia Society and Museum, and The Museum of Chinese in America in New York.

“On the event of our 35th year we honor our roots–showcasing the best and most recent achievements by Asian American film and video makers while looking to future by nurturing emerging talents and embracing transformative technologies” says ACV Executive Director John C. Woo. More than half of the Festival selection is made in the US or is a co-production. Many are first time directors, including actress turned director Lily Mariye’s Model Minority, telling the story of an underprivileged teenage girl surviving the treacherous world of peer pressure, drug dealers and dysfunctional families in L.A. There are also a number of returning filmmakers, including H.P. Mendoza’s horror film I am a Ghost, about a girl trapped in a repetitive routine in Victorian times. And Rich Wong’s raunchy new film Yes, We’re Open, a sharp-witted comedy about a modern couple testing their boundaries of love, sex and honesty. “We are extremely happy to see the number of Asian American filmmakers making quality work in a truly independent fashion which AAIFF continues to champion,” adds Martha Tien, AAIFF Program Director.

AAIFF is also proud to bring back LGBTQ Cinema Night, which will take place on Friday, July 27. “LGBTQ Cinema Night was a huge success last year, and we are very happy to collaborate with our community partners again,” says Sophia Giddens, Festival Director. AAIFF will screen narrative feature SEÑORITA (The Philippines) by New York-based director Vincent Sandoval, a story of a transgendered woman who tries to leave her past life as a sex worker but becomes embroiled in the politics of a local election.

AAIFF’12 Line-Up:
Feature Films
A LOT LIKE YOU – Dir. Eliaichi Kimaro | USA/Tanzania
Tender, intellectual, and reflective, director/writer Eliaichi Kimaro explores her intricate identity as a Tanzanian-Korean mixed-race, first-generation American in her award-winning documentary. A LOT LIKE YOU lodges a personal lens to the perception of postcolonial and immigrant histories, confidently and sincerely bringing out the conversation between the individual, family and culture.

I AM A GHOST – Dir. H.P. Mendoza | Starring Anna Ishida, Jeannie Barroga | USA
Emily (Anna Ishida) is stuck in a repetition of events, a cycle that slowly begins to unravel as she comes to discover where and what she truly is. Yet her most horrifying revelation will only come when she questions how she was brought to this state, and what she must do to escape.

INVOKING JUSTICE – Dir. Deepa Dhanraj | India
In Southern India, family disputes are settled by Jamaats, all-male bodies which apply Islamic Shari’ah law to cases without allowing women to be present, even to defend themselves. Recognizing this fundamental inequity, a group of women establish a women’s Jamaat to hold their male counterparts and local police accountable, aiming to reform a profoundly corrupt and discriminatory system.

KNOTS – Dir. Michael Kang | Starring Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Illeana Douglas, Sung Kang | USA
It’s an “UN-romantic comedy” that reveals how the most unbelieving kind can be nudged into believing. After Lily (Kimberly-Rose Wolter) throws up at her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, she returns home to Hawaii for family support. But equally chaotic at home is the family strife of her thrice-married mom and two half-sisters who run a family wedding planning business. An unexpected encounter with her ex-boyfriend Kai (Sung Kang) leaves Lily questioning her own convictions.

MODEL MINORITY – Dir. Lily Mariye | Starring Jessica Tuck, Helen Slater, Laura Innes | USA
L.A. teenagers must survive the treacherous world of peer pressure, drug dealers, juvenile hall and dysfunctional families. Kayla, an underprivileged Japanese American girl with a drug addict mom and an alcoholic dad, endangers her promising future as an artist when she becomes involved with a drug dealer.

MR. CAO GOES TO WASHINGTON – Dir. S. Leo Chiang | Starring Anh “Joseph” Cao | USA
In 2009, Ang “Joseph” Quang Cao was the first Republican elected as representative of his district since 1890, and he became the first Vietnamese American to enter Congress. Dubbed the “Accidental Congressman,” MR. CAO GOES TO WASHINGTON depicts Mr. Cao’s life of strong work ethic, idealism, and political naivety.

PEARLS OF THE FAR EAST – Dir. Cuong Ngo | Starring Phuong Quynh, Huy Hoang | Vietnam
Set in the beautiful backdrop of Vietnam’s landscape, seven vignettes tell the stories of six women and one man of different ages and at different stages of their lives. The seemingly unrelated stories are strung together by the women’s common struggle with love, desire, passion, and sexuality.

SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE – Dir. Debbie Lum | Starring Jianhua ‘Sandy’ Bolstad, Steven Bolstad | USA
Steven is a twice-divorced 60-year-old Caucasian man obsessed with marrying an Asian woman. After a long search he finds Sandy, a young Chinese woman who agrees to marry him. In this quirky documentary, the director’s own prejudices are challenged as the couple turn one another’s assumptions upside down.

SEÑORITA – Dir. Vincent Sandoval | Starring Vincent Sandoval, Publio Briones III | Philippines
Wanting to quit sex work in Manila and start a new life, Sofia (Vincent Sandoval), a transgender woman, reinvents herself as Donna in the small town of Talisay to look after her friend’s son. But her past soon catches up with her when she gets involved in the complex politics of a local election, and her two lives cannot be kept apart.

SHANGHAI CALLING – Dir. Daniel Hsia | Starring Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe | USA/China
SHANGHAI CALLING is a romantic comedy about modern-day American immigrants in an unfamiliar land. When an ambitious New York attorney, Sam (Daniel Henney), is sent to Shanghai on assignment, he immediately stumbles into a legal mess that could spell the end of his career. But with help from a beautiful relocation specialist, a well-connected foreign businessman, a clever but unassuming journalist, and a street-smart assistant, Sam might just save his job, discover romance, and learn to appreciate the many wonders Shanghai has to offer.

$UPERCAPITALIST – Dir. Simon Yin | Starring Derek Ting, Kenneth Tseng | USA/Hong Kong
A maverick New York hedge fund trader, Conner (Derek Ting), moves to Hong Kong and manages a mega-deal that swiftly escalates beyond his control. Caught between competing forces in a ruthless culture of profits. $UPERCAPITALIST inherits the legacy of financial classics such as WALL STREET, captivatingly intertwines contemporary and translocal issues in the financial drama, and reiterates the perpetual conflict between ambition, greed and humanity.

TOUCH – Dir. Minh Duc Nguyen | Starring Melinda Bennett, John Ruby | USA
A mechanic looking to save his faltering marriage strikes up an unlikely friendship with a Vietnamese-American manicurist, who not only cleans his greasy hands but also counsels him advice on his love life. But soon, the two find themselves drawn to each other, an attraction which becomes harder and harder to resist.

VIETTE – Dir. Mye Hoang | Starring Mye Hoang, Sean McBride | USA
An emotional and dramatic coming-of-age story of Viette (Mye Hoang), a Vietnamese-American teenager who dreams of breaking free from her oppressive household to pursue her personal desires and forbidden love. Balancing life on the edge of two opposite worlds, will Viette ever follow her heart, or will the consequences be too overwhelming?

YES, WE’RE OPEN – Dir. Rich Wong | Starring Lynn Chen, Parry Shen | USA
Uncommonly sharp-witted and brilliantly acted, YES, WE’RE OPEN presents Luke and Sylvia, a couple who think of themselves as open and modern—until they meet Elena and Ronald. The polyamorous nonconformists take the couple into the unconventional world of San Francisco relationships that test their boundaries of love, sex and honesty.

Shorts Program: LOVE, INTERRUPTED
Can love really conquer all when all becomes more than you ever bargained for? Five stories, each expressing an LGBTQ perspective, show that love never completely surrenders, no matter the circumstances.

A HEART FELT – Dir. Jingyang Cheng | USA
DOL – Dir. Andrew Ahn | USA
FORTUNE COOKIE MAGIC TRICKS – Dir. Alex Chu | USA
MY SPIRITUAL MEDICINE – Dir. Liang Cheng | China
ONCE – Dir. Jie Chen | USA

Shorts Program: FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH
Written and directed by talented youths between the ages of 15 and 20, this program is filled with refreshing animation, documentaries and experimental shorts reflecting youth culture today. Fun and diverse, this compilation of shorts will win the heart of anyone who watches.

ADIOS – Dir. Akshay Akkineni | India
BIG CITY, SMALL TOWN – Dir. Stefanos Tai | USA
FIRE IN OUR HEARTS – Dir. Jayshree Janu Kharpade | India
GIFT – Dir. Pang Jia Wei | Malaysia
I AM AN ASIACAN – Dir. Jesus Olvera | USA
LOVE EARTH – Dir. Chien-chun Tseng, Yu-hsuan Tseng | Taiwan
LOVE LIFE, LIVE YOUR DREAM – Dir. Anthony Anglin Jr. | USA
SAY HI TO PENCIL! – Dir. Thanh Huynh, Phuong Ahn Pham | Vietnam
THE ASCENSION – Dir. Gershon Sng | China

Shorts Program: THIS AMERICAN LIFE
What does it mean to be Asian American and living in America? This program of short films narrates five distinctive stories, including the life of a Japanese American youth in an internment camp, a group of Pakistani American Muslims living in California, and undocumented North Korean refugees.

A FLICKER IN ETERNITY – Dir. Ann Kaneko, Sharon Yamato | USA
AN AMERICAN MOSQUE – Dir. David Washburn | USA
OUT OF THE SHADOWS – Dir. James Tarlton | USA
OUTSIDER AT HOME – Dir. Hyunmin Danny Lee | USA

TWO SECONDS AFTER LAUGHTER – Dir. David Rousseve | USA/Indonesia
Shorts Program: HOW TO…
There is no living without losing. As these eight films show, all types of change are inevitable in life; but when we are confronted with such severity, we must not only survive, but also take a lesson on how to live.

COMRADES – Dir. Paolo Bitanga | USA
HOW TO EAT YOUR APPLE – Dir. Erick Oh | USA
JIN – Dir. Il Cho | USA
MOTHER’S MILK – Dir. Andy DeJohn | USA/Vietnam
THE HOMECOMING QUEEN - Dir. Rammy Park | USA
THE LAST MARBLE – Dir. Manjari Makijany | India
THE TELEGRAM MAN – Dir. James Khehtie | Australia
WAKING UP – Dir. Yuta Okamura | USA

Shorts Program: IN THE NAME OF LOVE
The magic word of love elicits both the most noble and most obscene of behavior for conspirators or strangers, couples or families. These six stories depict all kinds of love, be it ardent and destructive, dorky and reticent, or thawing and unreconciling.

BLEACHED – Dir. Jess dela Merced | USA
JOHNNY LOVES DOLORES – Dir. Clarissa de los Reyes | USA/Philippines
LOVE, NY – Dir. Vincent Lin | USA
MODERN FAMILY – Dir. Kwang Bin Kim | South Korea
ODIUM – Dir. Neale Hemrajani | USA
SHANGHAI LOVE MARKET – Dir. Craig Rosenthal | China/Singapore

About Asian CineVision & AAIFF
The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is produced by Asian CineVision (ACV), a nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, promotion and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video. AAIFF is the nation’s longest-running festival of its kind and a leading showcase for the best in independent Asian and Asian American film and video.

For more information on the 35th Annual Asian American International Film Festival, please visit http://www.asiancinevision.org/aaiff/.

Other Articles by Lia Chang
Daniel Hsia’s Shanghai Calling, Simon Yin’s Supercapitalist & Michael Kang’s Knots to Screen at 35th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) in New York, which runs July 25 – August 5, 2012
Click here for more articles on Film.
NYMF: Prison Dancer starring Jose Llana, Jeigh Madjus, Marc delaCruz, Catherine Ricafort, Moses Villarama, Cosmo Clemens, Enrico Rodriguez, Albert Guerzon, Andrew Eisenman and Nathan Ramos at Theatre at St. Clement’s, July 20-28, 2012
Three Year Swim Club, Encounter, TEA, Christmas in Hanoi and Chess set for East West Players 47th Anniversary Season
Photos: All-Access Pass to Disney’s Aladdin at The Muny with Thom Sesma, Francis Jue, Robin De Jesus, John Tartaglia, Jason Graae, Curtis Holbrook, Eddie Korbich, Samantha Massell and Ken Page
Rick Shiomi helms Mu Performing Arts’ Asian American Cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, July 17-August 5, 2012
Dian Kobayashi, Emily Kuroda and Jeanne Sakata set for Daniel Akiyama’s A Cage of Fireflies at 2012 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab
Epic Theatre Presents Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths, starring Joel de la Fuente, May 20-21, 2012
Performing Arts Images from the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection on Display at the Library of Congress to Celebrate APA Heritage Month
Photos: Yellow Fever Playwright Rick Shiomi Explores New Territory with An All-Female Cast
Tony Award – winning Playwright Terrence McNally to be Honored at Westport Country Playhouse Annual Gala, September 24, 2012
Richard Thomas and Boyd Gaines to star in An Enemy of the People at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre during Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2012-2013 Season
Multimedia: Exclusive photos and video of Disney’s The Lion King Las Vegas -In the Makeup Chair with Thom Sesma
Photos: BD Wong, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tom Viola at “Passing It On: An Evening of Mentorship to Benefit Rosie’s Theater Kids”
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (3pm) with Andre Bishop, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Lim, Angela Lin, Philip Kan Gotanda, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Richard Thomas, Jay O. Sanders, and more
Photos: Highlights of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan (8pm) with Oskar Eustis, Patti LuPone, Lisa Emery, Ann Harada, Paolo Montalban, Thom Sesma, Sab Shimono, Henry Stram, Richard Thomas, John Weidman and more
Photos: In Rehearsal with Director Bartlett Sher and the cast of Shinsai: Theaters for Japan
David Henry Hwang Set as Signature Theatre’s Residency One Playwright for the 2012-2013 Season
Photos: In Rehearsal with BD Wong at Dixon Place for Live Concert Recording of Herringbone
Photos: David Henry Hwang, Oskar Eustis, BD Wong, Brian d’Arcy James, Francis Jue, Jennifer Lim and Leigh Silverman at WNYC’s The Greene Space
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Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.
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