Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Asian Festival Brings Down the Curtain

Norwegian Wood.

While wrapping up my interview with friend of the San Diego Asian Film Festival (and star of the upcoming A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas), John Cho, I mentioned that he still had time to visit the fest while in town. "If you were to make an unbilled appearance," I gently hinted, "festival director Lee Ann Kim would have a cow."

After a hearty laugh and a few contemplative seconds, he agreed: "Man, I would love to see Lee Ann have a cow!"

Who wouldn't?

No heifers, Asian or otherwise, will be slipped tonight, but this is your last chance to witness the birth of a new movie or hit a few encore screenings of festival favorites at UltraStar Mission Valley. One tip: this reporter couldn't endure more than 20 minutes of Bang Bang. In the name of Marty, I had to bolt on this hopelessly derivative (and amateurish) home town attempt at making a gangster film. Tonight's best bets are Norwegian Wood or Surrogate Valentine. Here's the lineup:

4:00 p.m.: We Are the World, a collection of six shorts (Free)

5:00 p.m.: Dave Boyle's Surrogate Valentine

Shaolin.

6:00 p.m.: Benny Chan's Shaolin

7:00 p.m.: Byron Q's Bang Bang

7:30 p.m.: Roseanne Liang's My Wedding and Other Secrets

9:00 p.m.: Scud's Amphetamine (It's not a typo. It's a Scud missive!)

9:20 p.m.: David Gelb's Jiro Dreams of Sushi

9:40 p.m.: Tran Anh Hung's Norwegian Wood

Cold Fish.

9:45 p.m.: Sion Sono's Cold Fish

This year's awards were doled out at the annual gala. Here's to the winners!

Grand Jury Award: Dave Boyle's Surrogate Valentine

Best Narrative Feature: Patrick Wang In the Family

Best Feature Documentary: Kathy Huang's Tales of the Waria

Best Narrative Short: Andrew Ahn's Andy

Best Short Documentary: Mina Son's Making Noise in Silence

Special Jury Award: S. Casper Wong's The LuLu Sessions

George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award: Patrick Wang

Lifetime Achievement Award: Nancy Kwan

Thanks to Lee Ann, Mye, Brian, Phil, and everyone else at SDAFF for another seemingly effortless presentation. It's like watching a bolt of silk unravel. And judging by the number of sold out or near capacity screenings, you're a hit! See you next year, if not before at one of the many additional screenings you hold throughout the year.

[Related: "Meet Goh Nakamura, Musician & Star of Surrogate Valentine".]

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Love Thy Neighbor(Hood): Food & Art Exploration

Events November 2-November 6, 2024

Norwegian Wood.

While wrapping up my interview with friend of the San Diego Asian Film Festival (and star of the upcoming A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas), John Cho, I mentioned that he still had time to visit the fest while in town. "If you were to make an unbilled appearance," I gently hinted, "festival director Lee Ann Kim would have a cow."

After a hearty laugh and a few contemplative seconds, he agreed: "Man, I would love to see Lee Ann have a cow!"

Who wouldn't?

No heifers, Asian or otherwise, will be slipped tonight, but this is your last chance to witness the birth of a new movie or hit a few encore screenings of festival favorites at UltraStar Mission Valley. One tip: this reporter couldn't endure more than 20 minutes of Bang Bang. In the name of Marty, I had to bolt on this hopelessly derivative (and amateurish) home town attempt at making a gangster film. Tonight's best bets are Norwegian Wood or Surrogate Valentine. Here's the lineup:

4:00 p.m.: We Are the World, a collection of six shorts (Free)

5:00 p.m.: Dave Boyle's Surrogate Valentine

Shaolin.

6:00 p.m.: Benny Chan's Shaolin

7:00 p.m.: Byron Q's Bang Bang

7:30 p.m.: Roseanne Liang's My Wedding and Other Secrets

9:00 p.m.: Scud's Amphetamine (It's not a typo. It's a Scud missive!)

9:20 p.m.: David Gelb's Jiro Dreams of Sushi

9:40 p.m.: Tran Anh Hung's Norwegian Wood

Cold Fish.

9:45 p.m.: Sion Sono's Cold Fish

This year's awards were doled out at the annual gala. Here's to the winners!

Grand Jury Award: Dave Boyle's Surrogate Valentine

Best Narrative Feature: Patrick Wang In the Family

Best Feature Documentary: Kathy Huang's Tales of the Waria

Best Narrative Short: Andrew Ahn's Andy

Best Short Documentary: Mina Son's Making Noise in Silence

Special Jury Award: S. Casper Wong's The LuLu Sessions

George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award: Patrick Wang

Lifetime Achievement Award: Nancy Kwan

Thanks to Lee Ann, Mye, Brian, Phil, and everyone else at SDAFF for another seemingly effortless presentation. It's like watching a bolt of silk unravel. And judging by the number of sold out or near capacity screenings, you're a hit! See you next year, if not before at one of the many additional screenings you hold throughout the year.

[Related: "Meet Goh Nakamura, Musician & Star of Surrogate Valentine".]

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Film critic Beth Accomando hosts Park Chan-Wook retrospective at Reading Town Square

Next Article

Reviews!

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader