JUST ANNOUNCED: THE 2018 SDAFF LINEUP!

19th San Diego Asian Film Festival Announces Expanded Festival Lineup With Over 160 Films in 30 Languages

 

Festival showcases Asian and Asian American stories told through award-winning and cutting-edge cinema for its 19th year

 

SAN DIEGO, CA – October 19, 2018 Pacific Arts Movement (Pac Arts) is thrilled to present the 19th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF), the largest platform of Asian cinema on the west coast, from November 8-17, 2018. In its largest iteration yet, SDAFF will present over 160 films from 20 countries in 28 languages showcasing the best in both award-winning and cutting-edge cinema from Asia, Asian America and around the world.

“After a summer where ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and ‘Searching’ proved that Asian Americans can be box office gold, this year’s festival reminds us that none of that progress would be possible without the independent film festival as an incubator of new ideas and fresh voices,” remarks Pac Arts Artistic Director Brian Hu. “This is where you will find the hitmakers of tomorrow, as well as the filmmakers who will always be too daring and too indie for Hollywood.”

“We’re excited to announce one of our biggest festivals to-date,” says Pac Arts Executive Director Kent Lee. “This year, we’re expanding the festival to include screenings in Mira Mesa, where we will be able to better serve audiences and communities in northern areas of San Diego.”

Festival attendees will enjoy films, Q&A’s with filmmakers, opportunities to meet cast and crew and, new to this year, virtual reality from Taiwan and a new series called “Film to Table,” where local chefs are tasked with bringing the food seen on screen to life during Opening Night and Closing Night After Parties. Additionally, for the seventh year in a row, SDAFF will present the Taiwan Film Showcase at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the biggest annual presentation of Taiwanese cinema outside of Asia. This year, the Showcase will continue to highlight the diversity of perspectives, languages, stories, as well as celebrate new forms of storytelling through VR.

SDAFF programs span across six San Diego venues over 10 days, with the festival headquartered at the UltraStar Mission Valley; opening and closing night at the San Diego Natural History Museum; the 7th Annual Taiwan Film Showcase at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), indie films at Digital Gym Cinemas, an expanded lineup of films at Edwards Cinemas Mira Mesa, the 2018 SDAFF Awards Gala at the Port Pavilion, and encore screenings at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
Opening Night Film: LITTLE FOREST 리틀리틀 포레스트 포레스트
San Diego Natural History Museum | Thursday, November 8, 7:00 p.m.

When Hye-won flees Seoul’s empty calories and daily humiliations, she returns to her rural town with a voracious craving to whip up the good stuff. A gorgeous cooking journey based on a popular manga, auteur Yim Soon-rye’s latest glows with the beauty of self-invention, seasonal joys and homemade makgeolli. Director Yim Soon-rye scheduled to attend from South Korea

Centerpiece Film: INVENTING TOMORROW
UltraStar Cinemas Mission Valley | Sunday, November 11, 7:00 p.m.

Science and young adult passion are entwined in this exhilarating dose of hope, creative guts, and Inspector Gadget genius. Four teens from Mexico, Hawaii, Indonesia, and India pursue ingenious solutions for environmental crises close to home on their way to the largest science fair in the world. A riveting journey and beautiful ode to awkward adolescence, teamwork, and people who want to save the world. Filmmaker and subject scheduled to appear

Closing Night Film: RAMEN SHOP 情牽拉麵茶 情牽拉麵茶 (West Coast Premiere)
San Diego Natural History Museum | Saturday, November 17, 7:15 p.m.

A cinematic turducken of food movie wrapped in a love story marinated by Singapore’s multi-ethnic history. Two iconic dishes and one iconic director come together in a Japanese chef’s search for his Singaporean mother’s soup recipe, discovering forbidden love and family rifts swimming in the broth. Foregoing nostalgia, Eric Khoo vividly portrays the ways political histories reinvent the very food we eat.

SDAFF AWARDS GALA & AFTER PARTY
The Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier | Saturday, November 11, 5:00 p.m.

The red carpet event brings together more than 500 entertainment, business, and community leaders to celebrate the SDAFF’s top independent films, enjoy the spectacular live entertainment, and meet celebrity guests. Proceeds support Pac Arts’ year-round education programs, such as Reel Voices, a documentary filmmaking program for San Diego County high school students.

VR FROM TAIWAN:

Experience the latest in virtual reality from Taiwan, featuring short narrative experiences that poke fun at tradition and reveal history in 360 degrees.

THE TRAIN HAMASEN 哈瑪星列車 哈瑪星列車

Overlapping various eras and bringing together different corners of ethnic life, this innovative VR piece is a dreamy palimpsest of Taiwanese history.

YOUR SPIRITUAL TEMPLE SUCKS 全能元神宮改造王 全能元神宮改造王

Traditional beliefs and new technologies clash in this hilarious short about a man who’s told by his spiritual guardian to tidy up his life to save his marriage.

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHTS
SPOTLIGHT ON JAPAN
ASAKO I & II 寝ても覚めても
INLAND SEA 港町
KILLING 斬、
MORI, THE ARTIST’S HABITAT モリのいる場所
ONE CUT OF THE DEAD カメラを止めるな
RAMEN SHOP 情牽拉麵茶
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: ASYNC AT THE PARK AVENUE ARMORY
SHOPLIFTERS 万引き家族
TEN YEARS JAPAN
THE LEGEND OF THE STARDUST BROTHERS 星くず兄弟の伝説
VISION ビジョン
YOCHO (FOREBODING) 予兆 散歩する侵略者 劇場版
SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH KOREA
THE RETURN THE LAND OF SEONGHYE 성혜의 나라
THE WITNESS 목격자
SUNSET IN MY HOMETOWN 변산
GRADUATION 졸업
GRASS 풀잎들
TO KILL ALICE 앨리스 죽이기
FICTION AND OTHER REALITIES
WAIKIKI BROTHERS 와이키키 브라더스
LITTLE FOREST 리틀 포레스트

 

NORTH AMERICAN, US, AND WEST COAST PREMIERES OF MAJOR NEW TITLES:
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERES
BETWEEN TIDES
DETECTIVE DEE: THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS (3D VERSION)
THE LAND OF SEONGHYE
THE LEGEND OF THE STARDUST BROTHERS (NEW DIGITAL MASTERING)
MR. AND MRS. CRUZ
TEN YEARS JAPAN
TEN YEARS TAIWAN
TEN YEARS THAILAND

 

US PREMIERES
FATHER TO SON
GRADUATION
A LAND IMAGINED
MORI, THE ARTIST’S HABITAT
SIGNAL ROCK
TO KILL ALICE
XIAO MEI

WEST COAST PREMIERES

ASAKO I & II
DEAR EX
GRASS
INLAND SEA
KILLING
RAMEN SHOP
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: ASYNC AT THE PARK AVENUE ARMORY
THE THIRD WIFE
YOCHO (FOREBODING)
TICKETING:

Tickets are available online for all shows. For screenings at UltraStar, tickets can be purchased at the Ultrastar Box Office starting November 3. For shows at all other locations, tickets can be purchased at that venue’s box office one hour before showtime. General admission tickets are $9 for members and $12 for non-members. Student, military, senior, San Diego Public Library and group discounts are available at the door with valid ID. Opening and closing films are $30 for members and $40 for non-members. Centerpiece is $15 for non-members and $12 members. Limited All-Fest Passes are available for $195 for members and $295 for non-members.

For ticketing info, full film details and schedule, please visit sdaff.org, call (619) 400-5911 or email info@pacarts.org.

Major sponsors of the San Diego Asian Film Festival include Barona Resort & Casino, G4 Strategies, KPBS, McGregor and Associates, Qualcomm, Sharp Health Plan, Sycuan Casino, Wawanesa Insurance and Wells Fargo.

The Taiwan Film Showcase is sponsored by the UCSD Chuan Lyu Foundation for Taiwan Studies, the UCSD Taiwan Studies Lecture Series, the Taiwan Academy Los Angeles, and the Taiwan Ministry of Culture.

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ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

The 19th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival takes place from November 9-17, 2018. In 2017, the 10-day festival showcased over 150 independent and foreign films from more than 20 countries at six different venues across San Diego county. Over 15,000 people attended the star-studded red carpet awards night, screenings, Q&As, and panel discussions. The annual festival receives national and regional attention for its awards and premieres.

ABOUT PACIFIC ARTS MOVEMENT

Pac Arts launched in 2000 when it debuted the San Diego Asian Film Festival, a showcase of Asian American and Asian international cinema. Rooted in the love of film and the arts, global citizenship, and Asian culture and communities, Pac Arts became an official nonprofit media arts organization in 2002, and is now one of the most significant exhibitions of Asian cinema in North America. Pac Arts presents two major annual events: the Spring Showcase (April) and the San Diego Asian Film Festival (November), which bring awareness to, and educate the public about, Pan Asian cinema and media issues throughout the year.