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

SFIAAFF Opening Night Anniversary Gala

Kick off the nation's largest Asian American film festival in style on Thursday March 10 at the historic Castro Theatre with Alice Wu's feature-length directorial debut SAVING FACE, starring Joan Chen. Afterwards, head to the opulent Asian Art Museum for the exclusive after-party with sounds from Dan the Automator, Dhamaal, DJ King Kong and SambAsia.

The Film

SAVING FACE marks a triumphant feature debut for San Jose-born-and-raised Alice Wu, who breathes life—in all its bittersweet glory—and compassion into this inspiring 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 (San Francisco's own 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. Now mother and daughter must both decide whether to continue "saving face" at the expense of their hearts. The film screens at 7:00pm at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street in San Francisco. Filmmaker Wu and members of the cast are expected to attend the screening.

The Party

The evening continues at 9:30pm at the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street in San Francisco, with an exclusive post-screening party. Enjoy appetizing morsels as well as free-flowing libations courtesy of Kirin, Crown Royal, and Quady Winery. Then it's time to get down with a very lively soundsystem provided by some of the Bay Area's most acclaimed musical acts.

Headlining the evening will be a live DJ set from famed hip hop producer and San Francisco native, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, best known for his work with Dr. Octogaon, Deltron 3030, gorillaz and Handsome Boy Modeling School. Also in the mix will be sets from local South Asian electronic collective, Dhamaal, who combine Indian classical music with dance beats, San Francisco's DJ King Kong, who will spin old school hip hop, and the Brazilian-samba-meets-Japanese-taiko group, SambAsia, led by percussionist Jimmy Biala.

The Art

Another highlight of the evening is the opportunity to explore the treasure-filled exhibition "The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, 1350-1800" and thousands of other works of art throughout the entire Asian Art Museum. Beginning February 18, 2005, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco will present The Kingdom of Siam, the world's first major exhibition of art from Thailand's lost kingdom of Ayutthaya, and the first exhibition of classical art from Thailand shown in the United States in more than thirty years. The exhibition showcases eighty-nine of the finest surviving works from Ayutthaya, drawn from collections in Thailand, Europe and the United States; many of these are being displayed for the first time in the West. They include stone and bronze Buddha images, sculptures of Hindu deities, figural and decorative wood carvings, temple furnishings, and illuminated manuscripts. Also on view will be "Sui Jianguo: The Sleep of Reason," an exhibition showcasing the work of Sui, one of the most respected sculptors in China today. The 14 works on view—ranging from a 13-foot-tall caged Tyrannosaurus Rex painted bright red, a fiberglass replica of Mao Zedong sleeping and surrounded by 20,000 tiny plastic toy dinosaurs, and life-size renderings of well known Greco-roman sculptures clad in Mao jackets—are witty, incisive and humorous. 

Gala Tickets and Pricing

Tickets for the Opening Night screening of SAVING FACE and the after-party are $55. Tickets for the film screening only are $25. Gala party-only tickets are $40. As always, tickets are limited, so please purchase them early.

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.