DEAR APA FIRST WEEKEND FILM CLUB:
AUGUST 12, 2005
Print this out - it could get long!
CELEBRATE ASIAN AMERICAN AND ASIAN INTERNATIONALCINEMA!

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are interested in Asian American and Asian international cinema.  We try
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For those of  you who are first timers here, the mission of this email
newsletter blast to keep everyone aware of Asian American and Asian
international films that will be coming out so that we can go out and
support them.

First weekend box office receipts are very important to Hollywood and to
our films because these reports will make or break a film.  If the films
does well on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the "first" weekend it comes
out, theater owners and distributors will make their decisions on Monday
mornings about a film's life. 

So, we encourage each and every one of you to go out there and support
our Asian American and Asian international filmmakers.  It is at the box
office where we can show our strength and our power for our films and
and filmmakers.  Even if you don't have the time to sit through the film
on the first weekend - go to the theater and purchase a ticket so that
we can show box office $$$ numbers.  It is extremely important.  At the
end of the day.. the color in Hollywood is GREEN!  Show up and vote for
yourself at the box office!

IN THIS ISSUE:
Summer is winding down and soon it will be back to school. Toronto
International Film Festival is gearing up and the APA FIRST WEEKEND FILM
CLUB will be there checking things out - we sure want to see ANG LEE's
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN and DEEPA MEHTA's "WATER" and others. Then the fall
brings us the DC APA FILM FESTIVAL, SAN DIEGO ASIAN PACIFIC FILM
FESTIVAL, HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, TORONTO REEL ASIAN FILM
FESTIVAL, BOSTON ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL and many others. We will try our
best to keep you posted. Then, come end of 2005 we are looking forward
to seeing THE GRACE LEE PROJECT in theaters opening December in New York
City at the popular FILM FORUM and we are anticipating MEMOIRS OF A
GEISHA, as well. But for right now, we definitely have choices
so let's see what's up.

1. ASIAN AMERICAN FILMMAKER JAY CHANDRASEKHAR HITS THE BIG #1 WITH THE
DUKES OF HAZARD
2 QUENTIN LEE'S ETHAN MAO HITS THEATERS
3. BOLLYWOOD HIT MANGAL PANDEY - THE RISING TO OPEN THIS WEEKEND IN
OVER 60 THEATRES
4. 2046 - WONG KAR WAI - MUST SEE! OPENING ACROSS THE NATION!
5. BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS HITS THE US
6. "A STATE OF MIND" OPENS IN NEW YORK AND WILL EXPAND ACROSS THE US
DURING SEPTEMBER
7. VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS CELEBRTES 35 YEARS OF ASIAN AMERICAN CINEMA -
SEPTEMBER 29
8. PRODUCER GINA KWON'S ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW STILL BRINGING
EM IN
9. SAVING FACE STILL IN THEATERS
10. OTHER STUFFS
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1. ASIAN AMERICAN FILMMAKER JAY CHANDRASEKHAR HITS THE BIG #1 WITH THE
DUKES OF HAZARD
History was made last weekend when THE DUKES OF HAZARD became #1 film in
the country and put Asian American filmmaker JAY CHANDRASEKHAR as one of
the few Asian American directors to have a film premiere at the number
one slot. The last one was WAYNE WANG with MAID IN MANHATTAN. Could it
be that these are the only ones so far. This is not counting the Asian
international directors such as John Woo. In any case a huge
congratulations to JAY whose career was jump started back with SUPER
TROOPERS Who said an Asian American can't dierct a mainstream studio
film? Congrats on your success... We look forward to your continuing
success. See - who said we can't do non-Asian mainstream films???

2 QUENTIN LEE'S "ETHAN MAO" HITS THEATERS
Indie filmmaker Quentin Lee is back on the big screen with his festival
favorite ETHAN MAO - a new thriller about a gay Asian teen from Monterey
Park, CA who gets kicked out of his house when dad finds out that his
son likes boys. Ethan ends up on the Hollywood streets hustling and
becomes friends with another very hot gay Latino teen. They bothdecide
one faithful Thanksgiving to go back to Ethan's house and get his
belongings while his family is supposedly out. Ethan's family
unannounced comes back and the rest makes for an intriguing situation.
Festivals and critics have been moved by ETHAN MAO and especialy with
Julia Nickson as the evil stepmother. All in all, ETHAN MAO brings
together a cast of new talent who could very well be seen again soon in
a new picture. JUNE HEE LEE and JERRY HERNANDEZ as the two main gay
teens along with dad RAYMOND MA are particularly good - and of course,
everyone loves a bitchy stepmom - JULIA NICKSON plays it to the core.
Film opens this weekend in LA and wiill open other cities across the
nation throughout the fall. Distributed by MARGIN FILMS and TLA
RELEASING.
Check your local listings. NOTE: Watch for JUNE HEE LEE in the new
AMERICAN PIE 4!

3. BOLLYWOOD HIT "MANGAL PANDEY - THE RISING" TO OPEN THIS WEEKEND IN
OVER 60 THEATRES
Our good friend GITESH PADAYA from boxofficeguru.com sent us the info
on a new Bollywood film set to open this weekend!

MANGA PANDEY - THE RISING directed by KETAN MEHTA and starring Aamir
Khan, Rani Mukherjee, and Toby Stephens
www.YashRajFilms.com
Release Pattern: 63 theaters across North America

"Mangal Pandey - The Rising" is an epic tale of friendship, love, loss
and betrayal set against the backdrop of the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
British colonial rulers are plundering the country, treating the locals
unjustly and causing widespread resentment. Worst of all they are using
the Indians as sepoys, the infantry of the army, to control and regulate
the population. After a hundred years of subjugation, India is
awakening to the revolutionary prospect of change and self-rule.

During a fierce battle in the Afghan wars of the mid-century, Mangal
Pandey, a heroic sepoy rescues his British commanding officer William
Gordon. The event creates a strong friendship and binding loyalty
between them that transcends consideration of rank and race. The
friendship is soon challenged, first by arrival of a charming and
beautiful young aristocrat, Emily Kent, and then by the introduction of
controversial new gun cartridges among the troops. The relationship is
complicated further when Gordon saves a beautiful young native girl,
Jwala, from the funeral pyre of her late husband, and falls in love with
her.

The new cartridges require soldiers to bite through their greased
casing, made of animal fat, and suspicion spreads that the British are
ignoring religious beliefs in favour of cheap weapons, and polluting
their Muslim and Hindu soldiers. Gordon assures Mangal that the
cartridges are free from pollution. Demonstrating total trust in
Gordon, Mangal bites the cartridge only to discover that it really is
animal fat. With rumour spreading that the cartridges will be widely
used, it is this act that ignites the resentment in the country. Mutiny
breaks out with Mangal Pandey growing in stature to lead the Indian
people to freedom.

Set in one of the most beautiful countries on earth, told across the
divides of time, "Mangal Pandey - The Rising" tells the tale of friends,
lovers and enemies, exploiters and exploited, and the growth and
awareness of a man and a nation. This sweeping epic is based on real
historical events, seen as a trigger for Indian independence.

4. 2046 - WONG KAR WAI - MUST SEE! OPENING ACROSS THE NATION!
Ok - check this out -
WONG KAR WAI directs
CHRISTOPHER DOYLE as one of the Directors of Photography;
GONG LI, ZIYI ZHANG, MAGGIE CHEUNG, FAYE WONG and TONY LEUNG cast
and mix it together with a killer soundtrack and
you get one of the most stunningly beautiful films to come in a long
time.
2046 is a sequel to the amazing IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. The tone is so
sexy and it just oozes from frame to frame.
The acting is great with all of the lead actors bringing it to the
table. It's difficult to have one favorite because they were all so
good and they all just sizzle!
The was not only worth wait, but it lived up to expectations. 2046 only
begs the question: What will this visionary do next?

Opening select theaters nationwide - check local listings or go to
www.sonypicturesclassics.com
Already did $170,000 in the first week alone in four theatres! Damn....
if it's playing near you - run don't walk!

5. BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS HITS THE US
What can you say about a beautiful great flm? Except that it is
beautiful and great. BALZAC is opening slowly here in the US - and is
just in NYC right now but bringing em in - with over $60,000 in the
past 2 weeks from one theater - it could be on its way to being a hit.
Written and directed by Dai Sijie - BALZAC follows closely Sijie's own
personal story about years spent in a Maoist re-education camp dealing
with love, life and the changing cultural and political situation in
1970 China.

In this enchanting tale about the magic of reading and the wonder of
romantic awakening, two hapless city boys, Luo and Ma, “reactionary
intellectuals,” are exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education
during China’s infamous Cultural Revolution, in the early 1970’s. The
boys keep their spirits up after arduous work in the fields and coal
mines by playing Ma’s violin, which they save from destruction, by
re-inventing Mozart’s lieder as songs of the revolution.

They also tell clever and amazing stories and the chief of the village
sends them to a large town to watch revolution-touting melodramatic
movies. They then come back and tell the stories to the culturally
starved locals. During one of these trips, the two fall in love with
the local beauty, the daughter of the most renowned tailor in the
region. They also meet another “enemy of the people,” Four-Eyes, who
has a secret stash of subversive books - Flaubert, Tolstoy, Hugo, and
the most compelling to them, Balzac.

The two pursue their courtship of the little Seamstress, entrancing her
with classics of European literature-peppered with praise for Mao. She
becomes infatuated with Balzac, and with Luo, mostly because of Balzac’s
evocations of feminine emotion.

This is a simple story that overflows with the director’s feeling for a
time when censored literature meant so much to the people, even
peasants, and when many were transformed by intellectual stimulation.

You must check your local listings for this great film being relased by
EMPIRE FILMS

6. "A STATE OF MIND" TO OPEN HERE IN THE US IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER
Producer PAUL YI brings the eye opening documentary A STATE OF MIND to
the US together with KINO INTERNATIONAL. Here's more info:

A STATE OF MIND is a rare glimpse into North Korea, a nation described
recently on the op-ed page of The New York Times as “the most bizarre…
most
regimented, militarized and oppressive country in the world.” North
Korea may be unique among nations in not having had a single political
demonstration in the past 50 years; however its officially devised Mass
Games is a spectacle of extravagant proportions: 100,000 people
participate in
elaborately choreographed, dazzlingly colorful, jaw-dropping gymnastic
displays, after months of daily, grueling rehearsals. It’s all for the
delectation of
Kim Jong Il, often referred to as “Dear Leader Kim” or “Dear General.”
Whether the reclusive dictator will deign to show up on the day of the
performance
is a matter of constant speculation.

British filmmaker Daniel Gordon (THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES) documented for
nine months the lives of two North Korean schoolgirls (13-year-old Pak
Hyon
Sun and 11-year-old Kim Song Yun) as they train for the Mass Games.
Gordon paints a candid portrait of their difficult (though by North
Korean standards,
very privileged) lives in this fascinating look at one of the world’s
most hidden societies. Through the voice of three generations of North
Koreans, the film
reveals more of North Korea than anything that’s ever been seen
before...

“JAW-DROPPING…. a rare and chilling glimpse into the culture of North
Korea “ Dana Stevens NEW YORK TIMES
“AMAZING ACCESS … Gordon captures the grand follies of the countries
(self-reliance) philosophy and mundane ,,,paranoia. Breathtaking
footage of the
Mass Games” Ed Park VILLAGE VOICE Pick of the Week
****(1/2) “A PORTRAIT OF THE POWER OF POWER… extraordinary
cinematography …first rate editing “ John Anderson NEW YORK NEWSDAY
“An ENGROSSING ENGROSSING… captures an isolated ,seldom filmed society”
Alison Rosen TIME OUT
“Terrific… Gordon had amazing access, going inside the girls’
exceptionally privileged homes.” - Amy Taubin, Film Comment
“93 unblinking minutes of insight into the lives and minds of the people
living in North Korea, one of the last locked-down communist
dictatorships.” -
Bruce Wallace, Los Angeles Times

A STATE OF MIND play dates:
Aug 10 - 16, New York - Film Forum (filmforum.org)
Aug 19 - 26, Chicago - Facets Cinematheque (www.facets.org/cinematheque)

Aug 26 - Sept 1, San Francisco - Roxie (www.roxie.com)
Sept 2 - 8, Los Angeles - Laemmle Fairfax 3 (www.laemmle.com)
Sept 2 - 8 , Boston - Coolidge Corner (coolidge.org)
Sept 9 - 15, Minneapolis - Bell Museum (mnfilmarts.org)
Sept 9 - 15, Larkspur - Lark Theater (www.larktheater.net)
Sept 9 - 15, Albuquerque - Guild Theatre (www.guildcinema.com)
Sept 23 - 29, Seattle - Grand Illusion Cinema
(www.grandillusioncinema.org)

Official website of the film: www.astateofmind.co.uk

7. VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS CELEBRTES 35 YEARS OF ASIAN AMERICAN CINEMA -
SEPTEMBER 29
Visual Communications - the nation's oldest Asian American Media
Resource Center celebrates its 35th birthday this year.
A huge multi-media extravaganza from films to digital slams (30 second
digital film pieces by our own cutting edge Asian American directors) to
spoken word and music will honor and fete VC's 35 year history of Asian
American media. One of the highlights will be a look at Asian American
cinema over the past 35 years. With appearances and performances from
Asian American stars including JOHN CHO and KEIKO AGENA. Tickets are
just $15 and available at VCONLINE.ORG

HERE'S THE INFO:
VC'S 35 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
"PAST FORWARD"
WHEN: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 - 7PM
WHERE: FORD AMPHITHEATRE - OUTDOOR
TICKETS: $15 AT www.vconline.org

8. PRODUCER GINA KWON'S ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW STILL BRINGING
EM IN
IFP'S SPIRIT AWARD WINNER PRODUCER TO WATCH GINA KWON's film "ME AND YOU
AND EVERYONE WE KNOW" is still out there bringing em in with over
$3million and change and counting. GINA also produced THE GOOD GIRL,
CHUCK AND BUCK and last year's Sundance hit Michael Kang's THE MOTEL.
Keep it coming Gina!

9. SAVING FACE AND THE YEAR OF THE YAO STILL IN THEATERS
Alice Wu's comedy drama SAVING FACE starring MICHELLE KRUSIEC, JOAN CHEN
and LYNNE CHEN is still keeping smiles on faces. Already nearly
$2million in box office - audiences are seeking out this fun film as
alternatives to the summer doldrum of studio films. Check local
listings on this one or www.sonypicturesclassics.com

The acclaimed documentary about our own NBA SUPERSTAR - YAO MING -
entitled THE YEAR OF THE YAO is continuing to make its rounds at
theaters across the nation. This film provides a great insight into a
most intriguing subject. Check your local listings or log on to
www.yearoftheyao.com. It's a movie you can bring everyone to. It's
funny because some critics dumped on the film as an NBA film - but it's
far from it. So don't pay attention to those people - go see THE YEAR
OF THE YAO - you will be glad you did and there are no penguins in this
movie, either.

10. OTHER STUFFS
SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE from OLD BOY director PARK CHAN WOOK is
opening soon in theaters near you in major citiies. More on that next
time

THE GRACE LEE PROJECT from GRACE LEE - opens New York Film Forum
December 14!!! MARK YOUR CALENDARS.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA is coming in December

FAST AND FURIOUS 3 is still casting - don't know if any of you sent your
tapes in - we hope so!

WAYNE WANG is in post in his latest called LAST HOLIDAY starring QUEEN
LATIFAH and LLCOOL J. Set for November release...Could be Wayne's next
#1 Box Office film with the Queen and LL starring - hmmmmm.

MAD HOT BALLROOM still hoofing it up at over $7 million with all those
great kids dancing their hearts out - mad props to the Asian American
peeps from BENSONHURST BROOKLYN in the film - you all were great. Film
is still playing - check local listings - take your whole family - you
will be glad you did - no one gets shot - no one gets cussed out - no
one is having sex - but just having fun!

MURDERBALL - Another one that gets under your skin - wow...

DEUCE BIGALOW - EUROPEAN GIGOLO hits screens. Yes, ROB SCHNEIDER
represents with his half Pinoy self in one of the craziest sequels
again. For Fans - it's a must see - for non fans - well, it's up to
you. As he says - SAME HO! NEW LO! well....

********************************
OK.. that's it for now. If you have any news about a film or production
you got going - send us the info.

Otherwise see you in line at the movies.

peace,

APA FIRST WEEKEND