FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marie K Lee
346 9th St., 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.863.0814 ext. 114
marie@naatanet.org

FILMS FROM JAPAN, FILMS FROM JAPANESE AMERICANS!

More than 25 films by and about Japan and Japanese Americans are an integral part of the 20th annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival running March 7-14 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post Street and the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way in Berkeley; March 10 at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, in San Francisco; and March 16-17 at the Camera 3 Cinemas, Second and Carlos Street in San Jose. For more Festival information or tickets, please call 415-255-4299.

The Festival proudly presents the latest film from Japanese filmmaker Akihiko Shiota, HARMFUL INSECT, starring Aoi Miyazaki, Seiichi Tanabe, and Ryo. Similar to his 1999 hit SASAYAKI, Shiota offers a tale about adolescents - attracted to trouble - living in a world populated by ineffectual adults.

Also offered will be four new feature-length documentaries: Asian American Louise Lo's look at Japanese American artist Masami Terako, THE FLOATING WORLD: MASAMI TERAOKA AND HIS ART; Japanese filmmaker Minoru Matsui's examination of the horrors the Japanese military inflicted on China, JAPANESE DEVILS; Canadian Japanese helmer Linda Ohama's illuminating portrait of her centenarian grandmother, OBACHAN'S GARDEN; and Pamela Yates and Peter Kinoy's inquiry into the bustling public defenders office and Japanese American Jeff Adachi's termination as San Francisco's Chief Attorney, PRESUMED GUILTY.

Short films and videos from Japanese American filmmakers include Ann Kaneko's 100% HUMAN HAIR, in the "Drink My Pocari Sweat" short films program; Ann Misawa's WAKING MELE, in the "Through the Looking Glass" short films program; Tetsuya Hiroshima's KO-AN, Steve Yamane's NIGHT IN TUNISIA, and Stom Sogo's TAKE THIS TABLET, all in the "Take This Tablet" short films program; Ryo Hayashi's SALARYMAN and USELESS, Nobu Adilman's I PIE (A LOVE STORY) and IN SEARCH OF THE RISING SUN, all four in the "24-Hour Fitless" short films program; and Robert Nakamura's TOYO MIYATAKE: INFINITE SHADES OF GRAY.

In addition to offering the latest films from Japanese and Japanese American filmmakers, the Festival celebrates its two decades with a look back. SFIAAFF has served as a launching point for the feature debuts of many acclaimed Asian American filmmakers. Two programs of shorts present the rarely seen first films by today's established filmmakers. "Short Stories, Narrative Beginnings" includes Philip Kan Gotanda's THE KISS and Kayo Hatta's OTEMBA. "First Steps, Experimentally Speaking" has Jon Moritsugu's MOMMY MOMMY WHERE'S MY BRAIN?.

For moviegoers who enjoy music on the silver screen, the Festival gladly obliges with two documentaries, Duane Kibo's CRUISIN J-TOWN and Greg Chapnick and Sharon Wood's OUTSIDE IN SIGHT: THE MUSIC OF UNITED FRONT; both screening in the "In Time Sounds" short films program. Also in the mix are Takeshi Nakamura's music video for Fantastic Plastic Machine, TAKE ME TO THE DISCO; Pixel Wurld's work for Supreme Beings of Leisure, STRANGELOVE ADDICTION; LOGAN's spot for Money Mark, INFORMATION CONTRABAND. All the music videos are screening in the "Directions In Sound" program. Also performing in the Directions In Sound program on Sunday, March 10 at the Cafe Du Nord is Jon Moritsugu's punk band Toni Ann.

Founded in 1982 as a modest weekend exhibition, the SFIAAFF has developed into the largest exhibition of Asian American and Asian films in North America offering some of the best of recent cinema from the US, Canada, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Philippines and dozens of other points of the Asian Diaspora. Attendance was over 15,000 at last year's Festival, host to more than 100 filmmakers, industry and special guests from Japan, Philippines, Korea and across the United States, with most programs selling out.

The Festival's presenting organization, the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA) was formed to challenge the historical exclusion of Asian Pacific Americans from the media field and to counteract the distorted portrayals of Asians by mainstream press. In addition to yearlong exhibition activities and the annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, NAATA's program areas include national public television broadcasts, educational film and video distribution and funding for media artists. For more information about NAATA, visit: www.naatanet.org.

The 2002 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) is supported by its Premier Sponsors: Academy Foundation, AMC Theatres, California Arts Council, California State Automobile Association, Chevron Texaco, Commodore Hotel, Grants for the Arts/SF Hotel Tax Fund and NOON. The Major Sponsors include: Applied Materials, Insurgency Pictures, Japantown Merchants Association, PMP Advertising and Ramada Limited Downtown. Media sponsors include: AsianAvenue.com, Asian Week, KDFC 102.1, KQED, KRON 4, KTSF 26, San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Mercury News/Viet Mercury/Nuevo Mundo/BayArea.com, SFStation.com and YOLK Magazine.

The 20th annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), runs March 7-17, 2002 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post Street, and the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, in San Francisco; and the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way in Berkeley and March 16-17 at the Camera 3 Cinemas, Second and Carlos Street in San Jose. For more Festival information, please call 415-255-4299. Advance fax tickets orders will begin on February 11, 2002 and the general Festival box office will open at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres on February 20