Flipside Movie Emporium

[SDAFF]

4th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival

Fact Sheet

WHAT: San Diego Asian Film Festival 2003; a competitive film fest premiering shorts, documentaries, and features made by or about persons of Asian descent. SDAFF is the first Asian film festival in the world featuring an all-animation program. The film festival includes workshops, panels, and receptions.

WHEN: Evenings October 2 and 3; all day October 4 and 5

WHERE: Most films will be shown at Madstone Theaters at Hazard Center in Mission Valley. Other film programs will take place at University of San Diego?s Institute for Peace and Justice and San Diego High Tech High School.

CONTACT: www.sdaff.org; press@sdaff.org, 858-650-3459

TICKETS: Discounted tickets go will be on sale in early September at www.sdaff.org. Online tickets cost $3-10. Tickets can also be purchased at the Madstone Theater during the festival for $5-15. All-Festival passes available for $65 online, $100 at door.

This year, the SDAFF will premiere more than 130 films including short films, animation, documentaries, a first-ever San Diego Filmmakers showcase and these feature films.

Memories of Murder ? (OPENING NIGHT FILM & U.S. PREMIERE)

Dramatic Narrative Feature by Bong-Jun Ho

Memories of Murder is Korea?s biggest grossing film in 2003. Based on a string of unsolved serial murders in Korea from 1986 to 1991, MEMORIES OF MURDER is an evocative detective drama that is blackly humorous, thought provoking, and horrifying.

Robot Stories ? (CLOSING NIGHT FILM)

Dramatic Narrative Feature by Greg Pak

An award-winning film, ROBOT STORIES is the debut feature by writer/director of SDAFF alumn, Greg Pak. It?s a quartet of stories with electronic quirks and mechanical sidekicks alongside human foibles, taking us deep into the heart of what makes people tick. It stars Tamlyn Tomita (Karate Kid II, Joy Luck Club). Director will attend screening.

Other Narrative Feature Films

? Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: Based on best-selling book ? film from China & France.

? Long Life, Prosperity, and Happiness: From Canada, starring Sandra Oh.

? Kung Phooey!: Hilarious spoof confronting every stereotype possible on Kung Fu, shot entirely in San Francisco

? Ping Pong: Funny Japanese film about table tennis fanatics.

? Where?s the Party, Yaar? : A hilarious film about a South Asian immigrant trying to fit into the cool ?desi? scene in Texas.

? Tokyo Godfather: West Coast premiere of Satoshi Kon?s latest anime

? I Not Stupid: a Singaporian coming-of-age film

Sumo East and West

Feature Documentary by Ferne Pearlstein

The popular Japanese sport of sumo has recently experienced change as participants from outside Japan have made inroads. Particularly successful have been Hawaiian Americans, one of whom, Akebono, attained the title of ?yokozuna,? supreme champion status. While examining all of sumo's tradition, from the revealing loincloth called "mawashi" to the painstaking, male-only construction of the dohyo (the sumo arena), the documentary thoroughly reveals the dedication and passion the sport elicits from its fans and participants.

An Untold Triumph

Feature Documentary by Noel Izon

Following Pearl Harbor, the world watched as the U.S. Army in the American territory of the Philippines first retreated before invading Japanese forces to Corregidor, and then surrendered. What followed was the infamous Bataan Death March in which 70,000 American and Filipino prisoners were forced to walk with little rest, food, or water. Thousands died or were executed along the way. This is the story of a group of Filipino nationals and Filipino Americans who joined together to form the First and Second Filipino Infantry Battalions of the U.S. Army. Lou Diamond Phillips narrates the heroic story.

Other Feature Documentaries

? Refugee: Three Cambodian American teens return to Cambodia to deal with the past.

? Saigon USA: Clashes in Orange County?s huge Vietnamese American community.

? Sleeping Tigers The Asahi Baseball Story: A Japanese American baseball team continues tradition, even through internment.

PLUS ? films from Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Cambodia, India, France, Italy and Hong Kong

SPECIAL GUESTS

More than 100 filmmakers and actors from our film festival are expected to attend. The following celebrities are scheduled to appear:

? Dat Phan winner, Last Comic Standing

? Sandra Oh actress, Arli$$

? Keiko Agena actress, Gilmore Girls

? Sab Shimono actor

? Eddie Shin actor

? John Cho actor, Better Luck Tomorrow, American Pie

? Greg Pak director, Robot Stories

? Tamlyn Tomita actress, Joy Luck Club, Karate Kid II, Robot Stories

? Joy Bisco actress, Port Charles, The Debut

? Karin Anna Cheung?.. actress, Better Luck Tomorrow

The San Diego Asian Film Festival is a nonprofit event of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, located at 7969 Engineer Road, Suite 206, San Diego, CA 92111. For more info, call SDAFF at: 858-650-3459 or email us at: info@sdaff.org