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

Films by and about Filipinos and Filipino Americans

With more than 130 films and videos the 23rd San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) offers the largest and most prestigious showcase of movies by and about Asians and Asian American. This year’s Festival presents 17 feature length and short works by Filipino and Filipino American filmmakers. The SFIAAFF 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.

Two new features from the Philippines: a ten-and-a-half-hour epic and a black comedy 

The SFIAAFF is pleased to present a major cinematic experience—Lav Diaz's ten-and-a-half-hour feature EVOLUTION OF A FILIPINO FAMILY. Epic in scope, the film examines the 15 years of martial law in the Philippines imposed by former President Ferdinand Marcos. At the center of the movie is the Gallardo family, where in their barrio, the imposition of martial law coincides with a wave of guerrilla activity and a rise in crime and general lawlessness. As their fortunes decline, the family begins to fall apart. Photographed in stunning black and white, EVOLUTION OF A FILIPINO FAMILY is a milestone in Filipino cinema and was shot over an eight-year period.

Music-video-director-turned-movie-helmer Quark Henares' second feature film KEKA is a black comedy, action, suspense and love story combined into one cinematic treat. Keka (Katya Santos) is a young multi-tasker who works the night shift at a call-center, goes on dates, and hangs out with friends. She's also a calm, collected serial killer, busy avenging the murder of her boyfriend by tracking down the five fraternity brothers who were tried for killing him, yet acquitted because their parents had "friends in high places." You can also catch two recent music video efforts by Quark Henares—Rivermaya's A LOVE TO SHARE and Sugarfree's MARIPOSA—both in the "MUSIC VIDEO ASIA" shorts program.

Filipino American directors make a strong showing

Two Filipino American feature narrative films make their Bay Area premieres at the 2005 SFIAAFF. A motley multiracial threesome—led by a bespectacled Filipino American who dreams of being a gangsta pimp—hit the road from New York City to Nashville in New York-based Steven E. Mallorca's SLOW JAM KING, an award-winning comedy of cultural identity and assimilation. Dreaming of the thug life, JoJo impulsively carjacks and kidnaps a cowboy-hatted perfume salesman from Tennessee. With JoJo's friend Devaun in tow, they embark on a road trip of self-discovery. SLOW JAM KING is the Opening night selection at the San Jose component of the Festival.

A gritty psychological thriller, Ian Gamazon and Neill dela Llana's CAVITE provides an incisive commentary on Islamic terrorism in the Philippines. For Filipino American Adam, life seems to have hit rock bottom: his job is boring, his pregnant girlfriend refuses to bear his child because he is a Muslim, and his father has just died in a horrific bus explosion in the Philippines. Heartbroken and disheveled, he arrives in Manila to discover that terrorists have kidnapped his mother and sister. Via cell phone, the kidnappers lead him on a treacherous cat-and-mouse journey through the over-crowded, garbage-strewn streets of Cavite, a backwater town stricken by poverty and violence.

Numerous shorts and a selection of music videos

To catch a glimpse of tomorrow's new talents, check out the Festival's short film programs. 

From the creators of BETTER LUCK TOMORROW (SFIAAFF '02 Opening Night) comes the short film SPOTLIGHTING, a delightful look at the Sunspots, a Filipino American band performing in a Las Vegas lounge. This entertaining documentary—fueled by the band members' antics—underlines the struggles of Asian American artists in a white-dominated entertainment industry. SPOTLIGHTING makes its world premiere in the "BROTHERHOOD BEST" shorts program.

Works by Filipino American makers are included throughout. Screening are R.J. Lozada's DOWN SO BAD, LOOKING UP in the "VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS AT 35" shorts program; Debbie Formoso's INAY, Larilyn Sanchez and Riza Manalo's BALIKBAYAN, and Leizel Olegario's TILES AND SMEARS, all in "LISTENING TO LOVE SONGS", and Mark V. Reyes' LAST FULL SHOW and Michael Sandoval's ARIANA in the "PAST IMPERFECT, FUTURE TENSE" shorts program.

And don't miss "Music Video Asia," a collection of 23 new eye-popping music videos from all points of the globe. Included in the mix are two from Patricio Ginelsa, Black Eyed Peas' THE APL SONG and The Pacifics' ESPECIALTY; as well as Robert Poswell's THICKER THAN BLOOD for Death Angel; S. Lorenzo Deguia's HIDDEN AGENDA for Nemo; and Francisco Aliwalis' STRAIGHT OUT OF CANTON for Notorious MSG.

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.