23rd SAN FRANCISCO 
INTERNATIONAL ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL 
MARCH 10-20, 2005 IN SAN FRANCISCO, BERKELEY, AND SAN JOSE

Celluloid images from China and Chinese Americans, Taiwan as well

The 23rd San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) is a fantastic place to see films by and about Chinese Americans, Chinese and Taiwanese. The Festival, offering the largest and most prestigious showcase of movies by and about Asians and Asian Americans, unspools March 10-20 in San Francisco (AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres and Castro Theatre), Berkeley (Pacific Film Archive), and San Jose (Camera 12 Cinemas). For more information or tickets please telephone (415) 865-1588 or visit www.naatanet.org/festival on the worldwide web.

Opening Night film starring local luminary Joan Chen

This year's Festival gets off to a heartwarming start with SAVING FACE, the feature-length directorial debut of San Jose-born-and-raised Chinese American filmmaker Alice Wu. SAVING FACE, starring local luminary Joan Chen, is a romantic comedy about living life honestly amidst the expectations of a traditional community. Wilhelmina (Michelle Krusiec) is a successful young surgeon and a dutiful daughter, but also—to the chagrin of her 48-year-old widowed Ma (Joan Chen)—still single. During weekly socials in the tightly knit Chinese community of Flushing, Queens, Ma and her chatty cronies nudge eligible bachelors toward Wil, but her eyes are fixed instead on a gorgeous young woman, Vivian (Lynn Chen), who smiles back. One fortuitous encounter, some stammering and a few clumsily romantic (and steamy) moments later, Wil finds herself in love with Vivian, yet unable to come out to her own mother. Things take an unexpected turn, however, when it’s Ma who suddenly shows up at Wil’s doorstep pregnant, unwilling to name the father and disowned by her own parents. Filmmaker Wu and members of the cast are expected to attend the screening. A gala post-screening party takes place at the opulent Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

Two new films from acclaimed Chinese American directors

Two acclaimed Chinese American filmmakers return to the Festival with their latest projects: Quentin Lee's Ethan Mao and the world premiere of Curtis Choy's What's Wrong With Frank Chin? Quentin Lee's (SHOPPING FOR FANGS, SFIAAFF '97) ETHAN MAO is a gritty suburban melodrama. After his homophobic father throws him out of the house, the teenage Ethan becomes a hustler, turning tricks to survive. His only friend is the street-smart Remigio. When the two unexpectedly confront Ethan’s family, events spin out of control. Curtis Choy's (FALL OF THE I-HOTEL, SFIAAFF '83) WHAT'S WRONG WITH FRANK CHIN? is a powerful profile of author Frank Chin's many accomplishments—from publishing the groundbreaking Asian American literature anthology AIIIEEEEE! to founding the annual Day of Remembrance memorials—and an examination of the more contentious parts of Chin's life. 

Centerpiece Presentation with avant-garde pianist Margaret Leng Tan

The Festival is pleased to offer as its Centerpiece Presentation the United States premiere of Evans Chan's documentary about Margaret Leng Tan, SORCERESS OF THE NEW PIANO. Hailed by The New Yorker as "the diva of avant-garde pianism," Singapore-born, New York-based artist Tan may be one of the most important, yet under-appreciated, figures in contemporary music. Tan's life and contributions—and her famous toy pianos—finally take center stage in this engrossing documentary that invites the viewer to literally get inside the piano and discover the sublime sonic universe conjured by this musical force of nature. Stick around after the screening when Tan will step off the screen and onto the stage for a live performance.

A special sports presentation, a new film about Yao Ming

The festival is delighted to present the Bay Area premiere of James Stern and Adam Del Deo's documentary THE YEAR OF THE YAO. This captivating sports doc follows Yao Ming through one of the most exciting rookie debuts in the game's history. The scrutiny that greets any highly drafted player was compounded exponentially for Yao. Not only was the 22-year-old struggling with culture shock, he was also representing the hopes of a nation of 1.2 billion people. And waiting for him in Los Angeles was Shaquille O'Neal, the game's dominant big center. However, it's Yao's gentler collisions with this new culture—hilarious teammates and Fortune Cookie Night at an opponent's stadium—which give THE YEAR OF THE YAO its substantial charm.

Revival screening of two classic documentaries by Chinese Americans

Revival screening of two classic documentaries by Chinese Americans
To celebrate its landmark 25th anniversary, NAATA, the Festival's producer, has asked Guest Programmers to select films from its past which embody the spirit, history and diversity of its work. 

Renee Tajima-Pe–a is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, scholar and film critic. Her films include: MY AMERICA... (OR HONK IF YOU LOVE BUDDHA) and the Academy Award-nominated WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN? Among Tajima-Pe–a's picks are Curtis Choy's DUPONT GUY - THE SCHIZ OF GRANT AVENUE (1976) and Arthur Dong's SEWING WOMAN (1982). Choy's DUPONT GUY opens with a mock newscast lamenting the increase in "gangland activity" in San Francisco's Chinatown and goes on to provide a radical rail on Chinatown politics. "Like Curtis' other films, and the filmmaker himself, it is unforgettable," writes Tajima-Pe–a. SEWING WOMAN is a portrait of the filmmaker's immigrant mother and her remarkable resilience. Using everyday images—home movies, family photos—Dong created a lyrical film essay that is at once economical and emotionally loaded. As Tajima-Pe–a enthuses, "for those of us who grew up thinking our families had no place in the pantheon of American myth-making, SEWING WOMAN was an awakening."

A look back at a glorious history during A CONVERSATION WITH HIM MARK LAI

Also on its 25th anniversary, NAATA is pleased to honor the life and pioneering work of celebrated historian Him Mark Lai. Perhaps the most important and under-recognized Asian American historian, Lai's life-long dedication to documenting Chinese America is legendary and enormously influential. Born in San Francisco in 1925, Lai worked as an engineer for more than thirty years, though his true passion, which he has pursued his entire life, is history. Beginning in the '60's by writing for East West Journal and collecting Chinese newspaper clippings (which he still does today), Lai published his groundbreaking syllabus "A History Of Chinese In America" in the '70s, which is still used widely in classrooms. This special event will feature an inter-generational conversation with Lai, noted film editor Walt Louie and filmmaker Evan Leong, whose film HIM MARK LAI: THE PEOPLE'S HISTORIAN chronicles Lai's extraordinary accomplishments. The film will be screened before the discussion.

Three Feature Films from The Mainland and Hong Kong

The festival is pleased to offer the North American premiere of Fruit Chan's black comedy DUMPLINGS, as well as screenings of Yan Yan Mak's BUTTERFLY, and Liu Fendou's THE GREEN HAT.

Featuring Bai Ling, Miriam Yeung and Tony Leung Kar-fai, and the sumptuous cinematography of Christopher Doyle, DUMPLINGS is a film sure to delight, shock and offend. Mei (Ling) is a trashy former abortion doctor who shuttles back and forth across the HK-China border with benign-looking containers of glistening dumplings. Bound not for the family dinner table, these dumplings are of a special sort, and the preferred meal of a high-paying clientele who seek their famed youth-renewing powers. Yan Yan Mak's tenderly erotic film BUTTERFLY, unspools the tale of a woman's attempt to acknowledge her lesbian desire despite cultural and familial disapproval: Flavia is a 30-year-old schoolteacher, wife and mother, living a comfortable middle-class existence in post-handover Hong Kong. When she meets Yip, a passionate and free-spirited singer, she is sexually drawn to her but realizes that her desire could result in losing her own child. One of the most audacious, entertaining and sexually frank films to emerge from China's independent film scene, THE GREEN HAT is a dazzling directorial debut for screenwriter Liu Fendou (SPICY LOVE SOUP, SFIAAFF '00). According to Chinese lore, a green hat is the sign of a cuckold, and betrayal is the cosmic tissue fatefully intertwining two men in a tragicomic crisis of manhood and sex. 

Two features from Taiwan, including a world premiere documentary

The world premiere of Anita Wen-shin Chang's 62 YEARS AND 6500 MILES BETWEEN headlines the fare from Taiwan. Asking her grandmother what advice she has for young people, filmmaker Chang receives a simple reply: "Politics!" Despite a third stroke and a century of struggle, "Democratic Grandma" remains true to the ideals that earned her acclaim and a memorable nickname. However, she also knows that progress exacts a price—a realization rendered vividly and with poignant candor in Chang's portrait of her headstrong amah. The film is preceded by two shorts: Yen-ni Wang's Plane Maker and Yu-ting Hsueh's Thunder Lannyang. 

Perhaps best known in the United States for her role in Ang Lee's EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN, veteran actress Sylvia Chang has also garnered attention as the director of such acute chronicles of the modern Taiwanese woman as SIAO YU (SFIAAFF '96). With her delightful 10th feature, 20:30:40, she triples the pleasure with a cross-generational fictional portrait of three women in Taipei whose lives are in transition: 20-year-old Xiao Jie (Angelica Lee Sinje), an aspiring pop singer from Malaysia; 30-something flight attendant Xiang (Rene Liu), and middle-aged florist Lily (Chang herself).

Always popular, a film about food

Following the sold-out screenings of SONG OF THE EXILE at the 2004 Festival, CHINESE RESTAURANTS: THREE CONTINENTS continues Cheuk Kwan's globetrotting tour of Chinese restaurants with eye-opening and mouth-watering stories from Madagascar, Norway and Canada. In Madagascar, the seamless integration of six centuries of Chinese presence is reflected not only in Restaurant Le Jade's fusion cuisine, but also in the faces of the island's large mixed-race population. In Norway, the Wongs employ savvy marketing and Hong Kong-style efficiency to deal with extreme weather and long hours. And in Canada, Noisy Jim is the aging owner of a typical Canadian "Chinese CafŽ." CHINESE RESTAURANTS: THREE CONTINENTS screens with two short food flicks Ray Wong's BBC HOUSE SPECIAL and Jason D. Mak's SELLING LOUIE'S VILLAGE (WITHOUT BREAKING THE YOLK).

Short films, a great way to catch tomorrow's stars

To catch a glimpse of tomorrow's new talents, check out the Festival's short film programs. Works by Chinese and Chinese American makers are scattered throughout. Featured are Peter Wang's SUPER HAIRO, Philip W. Chung's HARLEQUIN, and James T. Hong's TAIPEI 101: A TRAVELOGUE OF SYMPTOMS in the "HOUSE OF FLYING PANCAKES" shorts program; Ernest Woo's I'LL HAVE AN ESPRESSO AND JUST A WATER FOR..., Stuart Gaffney's MUNI TO THE MARRIAGE, and Debbie Lum's CHINESE BEAUTY in the "LISTENING TO LOVE SONGS" shorts program; Wayne Yung's MY GERMAN BOYFRIEND in the "PAST IMPERFECT, FUTURE TENSE" shorts program; Vincent Tsu's WALKING BETWEEN THE LINES in the "DREAM DREAM REVOLUTION" shorts program; Ai Lene Chor's MINDY and Angela Cheng's TEN AND TWO in the "FISHBOWLS AND SILENT YEARS" shorts program. The Festival will also present the world premiere of Justin Lin's (BETTERLUCK TOMORROW, SFIAAFF '02) new short documentary, SPOTLIGHTING, in the "BROTHERHOOD BEST" shorts program.

If short pieces with recorded music are more your bag, then don't miss "MUSIC VIDEO ASIA," a collection of 23 new eye-popping music videos from all points of the globe. Included are Francisco Aliwalas' STRAIGHT OUT OF CANTON for Notorious MSG, Evan Leong's NEXT for Ill Again, and Kuang Lee's GLOWSTICKS AND DRUMSTICKS for Hypercycle.

The SFIAAFF gratefully acknowledges its sponsors

The 23rd San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, presented by NAATA and Asia Street on International Channel is supported in part by the Asian Art Museum, Canadian Consulate Trade Office, Comcast, Grants for the Arts, Koret Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Noon, Oscar Printing, Procter & Gamble, Radisson Miyako Hotel, San Francisco Tobacco Free Project, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, and Wells Fargo. NAATA is supported with major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, runs March 10-17, 2005 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 18-20 at the Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 South Second Street in San Jose. For more information, please telephone (415) 865-1588 or visit www.naatanet.org/festival on the Internet.