PHILADELPHIA ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL 2020

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

13TH ANNUAL PHILADELPHIA ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (PAAFF) NOVEMBER 5-15, 2020

Updated: 11/15/20 Excerpts from Q&A with Selena Yip Festival Director and director Alice Gu of Closing Night Film THE DONUT KING

THE DONUT KING is a rags to riches to rags and riches again story of Cambodian immigrant Ted Ngoy – not just a #foodinfilm doc, but a layered story of politics, survival, Americanism, representation, great generosity and harmful recklessness, and yes! donuts🍩

Although the film is less about this tasty treat and more a character study of a complex man and the American Dream – it was still so hard to watch this doc and not be eating donuts. I should have ordered The Royal Snack Box as PAAFF partnered with Okie Dokie Donuts to deliver before the film.

Thanks Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival for another amazing Fest!

Tinsel & Tine #MiniMovieReviews & Q&A Highlights Jump to: DECONSTRUCTING DOC FILMMAKING | DEFINITION PLEASE |DREAM IN SILENCE | THE PAPER TIGERS

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BE SURE TO CATCH THE DAILY #PAAFF LIVE STREAMING FACEBOOK PANELS and FILMMAKER Q&As FREE! – https://www.facebook.com/watch/PAAFF/

SEE LINE UP OF FILMS & EVENTS
FOR PAAFF 13TH SEASON 2020

PAAFF is excited to announce its very first online festival experience, coming straight to your home from November 5  to 15, 2020. During this year of unique change, the festival is adapting with the safety of our community in mind while still providing the same exciting entertainment, community engagement, and intriguing discourse. PAAFF is grateful for the opportunity to continue engaging our communities in storytelling and discourse through this online platform.

The program will feature over 80 films, live music streams, live theater performances by local artists, and panel conversations with global industry leaders, creators, and thinkers.

By exploring the themes of immigration, belonging, identity, and tradition – this year’s festival program features stories and narratives that will inspire new ideas and conversations around the future of Asian American storytelling and the role we play during this time of monumental and exponential change.

Updated 11/9/2020

Part of #PAAFF 2020 Mon. Nov 9th 8:30pm join Sreedevi Sripathy, Director of Production and Programming WHYY-TV in…

Posted by SIFT Media – Sisters in Film & Television on Friday, November 6, 2020

Updated 11/8/2020

#MiniMovieReview DEFINITION PLEASE Writer/Director/Lead Sujata Day | Narrative | Dramedy | USA | English | 91 mins | 

Fans of Issa Rae’s The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl & HBO’s Insecure will recognize Pittsburgh native Sujata Day from her role as CeCe.  In Definition Please (first narrative feature) Sujata plays Monica Chowdry a former Scribbs National Spelling Bee champion who peaked too soon.  The story puts me in mind of the recently released The Forty-Year-Old Version by Radha Blank, whose character also met with a promising career early on but loses focuses or luck along the way. In Monica’s case it seems to be her close ties to her ailing mother, Jaya (Anna Khaja) and somewhat recently deceased father that keeps Monica from making any big career decisions.  She’s comfortable at home, caring for her mother and tutoring the next generation of Spelling Bee hopefuls. When she needs a break from responsibility, she seeks out time with her best friend from high school, Krista (Lalaine). I love the scene of them playing a dance video game in oversized animal footy pajamas one moment, and the next she’s hooking up with a guy, PJ’s unzipped. Actually, it’s really not a bad life for a young woman in her mid to late twenties; if it weren’t for the fact that it’s all below her obvious intelligence, a fact she often tries to avoid. 

Something else she’s been avoiding for a number of years is her older brother, Sonny (Ritesh Rajan) he’s been living in California, but his mother calls him home for the ceremony to honor the anniversary of their father’s passing.   At first, you can’t understand why Monica is so cold to her brother when he seems so sweet, handsome and fun. Yet, she avoids him, gives one word answers and tries to escape his presence by hanging out in her childhood tree house, completing a painting and smoking weed.  Can I tell you how much I related to these scenes!  I have a tent in my backyard made from sturdy mesh and a 10ft umbrella, and all summer I’m out there smoking cigars.  I used to be an avid painter in acrylics and often think about starting again in my little backyard oasis.  She even has hers decked out with lighting similar to mine. Key settings like this can really shape of film for me.

Needless to say, as Definition Please proceeds, we find Monica has had good reason for keeping Sonny at arm’s length. Three things that further enrich this film.  1) Monica’s spelling bee prowess pops into scenes when a moment reminds her of a complex vocabulary word – the action stops, lighting turns blue, as she imagines spelling and defining what’s taking place.  2) South-Asian American culture.  I’m always fascinated by nick names, food, traditions and ceremonies which take place in homes in the United States, which relate to a family’s country of origin.  The Chowdry family slips seamlessly into their Indian heritage and back to their completely Americanized ways without issue. 3) LaVar Burton makes a cameo, who else is obsessed with his adult version of Reading Rainbow podcast called LeVar Reads🤚

Definition Please also screened during PFF29, won the Grand Jury Best Narrative Feature at CAAM Fest 2020, but I don’t believe it has distribution yet, which I’m sure is only a matter of time. Check out the post screening Q&A

Thanks @DefnPlease Fab to be Quoted 🤩👍🏾🎞️https://t.co/duGFAXHs7t

@PAAFF Sujata Day’s #DefinitionPlease Now screening during #PAAFF (until Nov. 15th) https://t.co/tkvKcHVWZE

— Tinsel & Tine (@tinseltine) November 9, 2020

#MiniMovieReview DREAM IN SILENCE|Directors Xin Huang, Ye Bao |Feature Documentaries |China |Subtitled 2020 | 76 min

In the grand tradition of films within films, this doc follows a group of young film students who try to help a senior former filmmaker in his quest to remake his only film made nearly 50 years ago.  The film crew affectionately call him Fang Sir, I’m not sure we ever get his actual name, but he’s this adorably annoying, Taiwanese immigrant living in New York City, who wrote and directed a film called “Silence” which was awarded a jury prize in a Taiwanese film Festival in the early 70’s. You’d think that would be a nice jumping off point to future films, but no.  Instead, a few years later he hires a noted Cinematographer, Christopher Doyle to re-shoot the film “Silence”, why? He never explains.  He does make it clear he feels Doyle’s work was sub-par and never uses the footage, nor does he make another film. 

Cut to present day, he meets a film producer/director, Yeo Bao (Fang He), they become friends. Bao learns that Fang Sir is aching to remake his film Silence for a 3rd time.  This time with an Anglo cast.  Bao makes his dream come true, he gathers the talent, puts in $5K and they make SILENCE 3.  The trouble being, Fang Sir doesn’t have a lot of focus, he gets distracted easily, often either hungry or tired or both. Plus, it’s been a very long time since he’s directed and isn’t very good at expressing his vision. The film crew find it easier and more  economical to carry on without him for most of the shoot. So ironically, the film that actually makes it to film festivals is this doc which is an entertaining behind the scenes look at the shooting of Fang Sir’s obsession with Silence.

Updated 11/6/2020

#MiniMovieReview THE PAPER TIGERS  Filmmaker: Tran Quoc Bao USA | Action, Comedy | English  2020 | 108 mins | Philadelphia Premiere 

I can’t say I watch a lot of Martial Arts inspired movies.  I don’t dislike them, but I’ve just never gravitated to Bruce Lee or the likes. Nevertheless, The Paper Tigers held my full attention. I think it’s because I could relate to the core theme of the film which is nostalgia for your former glory. I’ve been looking back a lot lately to those long ago days when I was taking boxing lessons and could eat & drink pretty much what I wanted; could get up off the floor without an assist; where something didn’t hurt for no reason…

At the beginning of the film, through some great establishing montages, we meet the three young Kung Fu disciples of Sifu (Roger Yuan) at this time, they are young guys in the 90’s at the top of their game. No one would dare touch Sifu’s Paper Tigers.  But fast forward to present day, none of the guys Danny (Alain Uy), Hing (Ron Yuan) and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) have kept in touch with each other. Hing is very out of shape, Danny’s definitely gotten soft in more ways than one, Jim’s the only one still in fighting shape, but he’s moved on to other disciplines and has forgotten most of his former training.  Sadly, it’s the murder of their beloved teacher Sifu that brings the trio back together to try and solve the crime and bring honor back to their brotherhood. 

All of this sounds deeper and more culturally Asian then it is.  The movie is very much an Asian American, emphasis on the American, light-hearted comedy with a good deal of entertaining martial arts fight scenes. The choreography is both authentic and humorous.  Surprisingly, there are no scenes of these guys training and trying to get back in shape. They just go at it with heart, hoping sense memory kicks in (pun intended).  I won’t give more away; the film won’t be widely released until 2021.  Hopefully, Netflix will pick it up cause it will do very well on that platform.

ORIGINAL POST:

OPENING NIGHT FILM – THE PAPER TIGER
Director Bao Tran

In The Paper Tigers, three teenagers endure brutal Kung Fu training under their master’s constant watch. Swearing loyalty to their teacher and each other, they hone their skills in secret challenge matches and defeat rival schools. Building up a fearsome reputation of invincibility, they are known as “The Three Tigers.” After growing apart for twenty years, the former classmates are reunited when their master is mysteriously killed. Digging deeper, they learn that he died at the hands of a traitorous student who sold out his fighting skills to the criminal underworld. Despite their past grudges, personal struggles, and being terribly out of shape, the old Kung Fu brothers must stop the rogue disciple and keep the vow they made long ago – to defend the honor of the clan, no matter the cost.

Food & Film:

RANGOON                                             PHILLY POKE

CLOSING NIGHT GOODIES

See Tinsel & Tine 2018 & 2019 PAAFF Coverage

About the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival

PAAFF is the showcase event of Philadelphia Asian American Film and Filmmakers, a non-profit organization founded in 2008 dedicated to supporting and highlighting the experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through creative, community-focused programs. In addition to our film events, our volunteer-run organization also presents supporting programming such as live performances, chef demonstrations, lectures, and educational workshops during the festival and throughout the year. PAAFF provides a convening space for these underrepresented communities while also educating the general public about the diversity of AAPIs. 

PAAFF is currently the third-largest Asian American Pacific Islander film festival in the United States, and the largest on the East Coast, attracting some 5,000 attendees each year. PAAFF is considered a leader among Asian American media advocacy organizations in the nation.

Since 2008, PAAFF has presented hundreds of culturally relevant films and exciting programming to diverse audiences throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. In recent years PAAFF has also expanded their offerings to include live music, theater performances, culinary events, and academic conferences.

For more information about the Festival, visit paaff.org. Website · Facebook · Instagram