Coming full circle, this year's Centerpiece film is the 2001 AAIFF Screenplay
competition winner and Michael Kang's feature film debut "The Motel." The film,
which screened at Sundance earlier this year, is the story of a 13-year-old
Korean American misfit desperate to create his own identity, finding guidance
and dubious inspiration from a washed-up tenant in his parents' seedy motel.
Other New York premieres include Gaurav Seth's "Pink Ludoos" about a Punjabi
Canadian girl whose impending arranged marriage is cramping her untraditional
lifestyle. Yasmin Ahmad's Malaysian film "Sepet" (Malay for "single eyelid"),
about the taboo romance between a Chinese peddler of pirated videos and a Malay
Muslim schoolgirl who likes the Hong Kong movies he sells. And the Taiwanese
documentary, "62 Years and 6,500 Miles Between," which tells the story of the
nation's struggle for self-determination through a portrait of director Anita
Wen-Shin Chang's own grandmother.
Another documentary making its U.S. premiere is Heesook Sohn's "Happy Family"
about a Korean American woman living in Berlin with her family who sets out --
from Los Angeles to New York to Seoul -- to learn about the fate of her
scattered relatives. The sex caper "AV" by director Ho-cheung Pang about four
Hong Kong University students who dupe a Japanese porn star into acting in
their bogus X-rated movie so that they can have sex with her is another
American premiere, as well as, Yuthlert Sippapak's "Pattaya Maniac," an action
filled romantic comedy about two best friends who unwittingly find themselves
on the outs with the Thai mafia.
And Indonesian director Joko Anwar's "Janji Joni" about Jakartan man in a race
against time as he delivers film reels to a movie theater for the chance to
meet a beautiful woman, will enjoy its international debut at the festival.
In all, the complete festival program includes 19 world premieres, 14 U.S.
premieres and 47 New York premiers, 36 of which are also East Coast debuts. The
films represent Asian filmmakers from the U.S., Peru, France, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The Asian American International Film Festival got a tidy kick-off on Friday
(July 15th) with the help of international cinema star Maggie Cheung at the
Opening Night screening of Olivier Assayas' award- winning film "Clean,"
followed by a gala reception. The 28th annual festival will continue through
July 31, taking place in three locations (Asia Society, IFC Center and Cinema
Arts Centre) and screening a number of films, including Michael Kang's
Centerpiece, "The Motel."
