Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Tomorrow night, Visual Communications will kick off its 30th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. That’s a real milestone and I’m happy to volunteer as one of the programming committee for my second year. So I’ll get to attend the gala opening screening of To Be Takei (I hope I see some Starfleet members) and then get ready to watch some import, indie, and arty movies… On Friday night, I have the pleasure of introducing Lisa Takeba’s The Pinkie. Combining crime, gore, and other genres that I love, it’s as colorful as it is energetic. It’s going to be a kick to watch on a big screen with a hopefully boisterous audience. Yes, Lisa will be in attendance for a Q&A afterward and so will representatives from “Unusual Targets,” a short that will accompany it. That will be cool and that doesn’t happen when you stay home and watch movies on your computer. On Sunday at noon, I’ll get to introduce another indie import. Miko Livelo’s Blue Bustamante addresses the series topic of Overseas Filipino Workers and mashes it up with vintage Japanese sentai shows. You know, masked Power Rangers. There’s no Q&A afterward, but when will you ever get to see a movie like this on the big screen? Of course, this movie and The Pinkie are perfect movies to be presented by Giant Robot. On Sunday night, I present one more movie. Lordville is the latest documentary by the hugely respected arthouse director Rea Tajiri. It’s a spooky and beautiful and real study of her adopted hometown, which happens to be a ghost town. LORDVILLE Trailer from Rea Tajiri on Vimeo. Yes, Rea will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A to answer the many questions that will arise. Won’t you attend, too? Support indie, imported, and Asian cinema! See you there!
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Tomorrow night, Visual Communications will kick off its 30th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. That’s a real milestone and I’m happy to volunteer as one of the programming committee for my second year. So I’ll get to attend the gala opening screening of To Be Takei (I hope I see some Starfleet members) and then get ready to watch some import, indie, and arty movies… On Friday night, I have the pleasure of introducing Lisa Takeba’s The Pinkie. Combining crime, gore, and other genres that I love, it’s as colorful as it is energetic. It’s going to be a kick to watch on a big screen with a hopefully boisterous audience. Yes, Lisa will be in attendance for a Q&A afterward and so will representatives from “Unusual Targets,” a short that will accompany it. That will be cool and that doesn’t happen when you stay home and watch movies on your computer. On Sunday at noon, I’ll get to introduce another indie import. Miko Livelo’s Blue Bustamante addresses the series topic of Overseas Filipino Workers and mashes it up with vintage Japanese sentai shows. You know, masked Power Rangers. There’s no Q&A afterward, but when will you ever get to see a movie like this on the big screen? Of course, this movie and The Pinkie are perfect movies to be presented by Giant Robot. On Sunday night, I present one more movie. Lordville is the latest documentary by the hugely respected arthouse director Rea Tajiri. It’s a spooky and beautiful and real study of her adopted hometown, which happens to be a ghost town. LORDVILLE Trailer from Rea Tajiri on Vimeo. Yes, Rea will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A to answer the many questions that will arise. Won’t you attend, too? Support indie, imported, and Asian cinema! See you there!
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Cambodia finally has its first entry into the Academy Awards and the movie is now showing at the Art Theatre in Long Beach. In The Missing Picture, director Rithy Panh combines hand-carved figures with archival photos and footage to retell his experiences surviving the Khmer Rouge. The artful and affecting documentary is packed with style, intelligence, and heart, and there really is no other movie like it. At a special screening on Saturday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m., the director will be on hand to introduce the movie and take part in a panel that also features producer Catherine Dussart, French narrator Randal Douc, and composer Marc Marder. Adding extra perspective are Chhom Nimol from Dengue Fever, Prach Ly from the Cambodia Town Film Festival, Anderson Le from the Hawaii International Film Festival, and yours truly. Moderating will be my friend Julia Huang from interTrend. Check out the trailer, below, and get tickets at arttheatrelongbeach.com. It’s the same price as a regular show even though you also get the panel discussion, a dance performance, and a reception with food and drink… Or reach out to me directly and I’ll see what I can do for you. More press, in case you aren’t sold yet. Hope to see you there! “Startlingly, Panh tells his story through a mixture of Khmer Rouge propaganda newsreels and little clay figurines. It was perhaps the only way of managing the devastating memories.” – The Guardian “Panh’s remarkable new documentary works as a survivor’s testament, a film about memory and loss–and as a self-reflexive essay asking how atrocities should be depicted on screen.” – The Independent “The Missing Picture is personal and unexpected, a documentary that mixes media in an unusual way to very potent effect.” – The Los Angeles Times “The film, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, uses miniature clay figures and archival newsreels to recount Mr. Panh’s childhood memories—the missing pictures of the title.” – The Wall Street Journal
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Cambodia finally has its first entry into the Academy Awards and the movie is now showing at the Art Theatre in Long Beach. In The Missing Picture, director Rithy Panh combines hand-carved figures with archival photos and footage to retell his experiences surviving the Khmer Rouge. The artful and affecting documentary is packed with style, intelligence, and heart, and there really is no other movie like it. At a special screening on Saturday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m., the director will be on hand to introduce the movie and take part in a panel that also features producer Catherine Dussart, French narrator Randal Douc, and composer Marc Marder. Adding extra perspective are Chhom Nimol from Dengue Fever, Prach Ly from the Cambodia Town Film Festival, Anderson Le from the Hawaii International Film Festival, and yours truly. Moderating will be my friend Julia Huang from interTrend. Check out the trailer, below, and get tickets at arttheatrelongbeach.com. It’s the same price as a regular show even though you also get the panel discussion, a dance performance, and a reception with food and drink… Or reach out to me directly and I’ll see what I can do for you. More press, in case you aren’t sold yet. Hope to see you there! “Startlingly, Panh tells his story through a mixture of Khmer Rouge propaganda newsreels and little clay figurines. It was perhaps the only way of managing the devastating memories.” – The Guardian “Panh’s remarkable new documentary works as a survivor’s testament, a film about memory and loss–and as a self-reflexive essay asking how atrocities should be depicted on screen.” – The Independent “The Missing Picture is personal and unexpected, a documentary that mixes media in an unusual way to very potent effect.” – The Los Angeles Times “The film, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, uses miniature clay figures and archival newsreels to recount Mr. Panh’s childhood memories—the missing pictures of the title.” – The Wall Street Journal
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If you’ve been following Wong Kar Wai since his early days, the sunglasses are his trademark. You can’t really discern his age, and it’s now nearly 20 years later and he looks exactly the same. The talk ranges from a little bit of kiss ass both ways, since they’re both legends and fans of each others work. You’ll get a bit of insight into the emerging industry of China as well.
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