FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vancouver Asian Film Festival Accepting Film Submissions rd for their 23 ​ Year ​

Vancouver, BC – March 15, 2019 – The Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) is currently ​ accepting submissions in its open call for film entries to commemorate their 23rd year. The annual four-day festival is set for November 7-10, 2019, and has traditionally been held at the Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas, 88 West Pender St., in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown district.

Festival Director Lynne Lee and Creative Director Vincent Wong, are very excited to kick off ​ ​ ​ the 2019 season and festival. The VAFF 2019 theme of NO LIMITASIANS celebrates the ​ ​ ​ ​ achievements of Asian diaspora artists and empowers aspiring artists of Asian heritage to continue pushing boundaries and challenging expectations. As new filmmakers take the spotlight to tell authentic stories from their Asian and Asian diaspora experience, they break moulds and expose the world to a multitude of voices. They are telling the mainstream, “We are here – now and the future are our chances, and anything is possible!”

This year, we will also be shining a spotlight on Asians in Music and will be accepting ​ ​ submissions of music videos. Please look out for the AIM Music Sync Competition in ​ mid-to-late April to submit your songs and be part of AIM compilation.

The Festival seeks film submissions from Canadian and International filmmakers to be screened at its annual November festival. VAFF is accepting entries between March 15 and June 10, 2019 Early bird submissions end on April 30, 2019. Regular submissions close on May 20, 2019. The final call for entries is on June 10, 2019.

VAFF accepts:

● Independently produced films and videos by Asian North American artists (including Asian-Canadian or Asian-American artists), or ● Films or videos produced in East Asia (including People’s Republic of [incl. ], Macao, North Korea, South Korea, , Mongolia, Taiwan), Southeast Asia (including Myanmar [Burma], Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor-Leste) or South Asia (including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh), in English or with English subtitles, or ● Films or videos produced must have at least one member of the creative team (director, writer, producer/production company or cinematographer) or at least one of the lead actors/subjects (if Documentary) self-identify as being of Asian or part-Asian heritage. ● For music videos, in addition to all rules that apply to films and videos, the lead

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singer/artist must be Asian.

ARTISTS

Being the platform where a number of successful Asian filmmakers first showcased their work, VAFF’s international visiting artists have included (Fast & Furious, 2009), Quentin Lee (, 2012), Benson Lee (Seoul Searching, 2015), Evan Jackson Leong (Linsanity, 2013), Jessica Yu (Grey’s Anatomy), Tze Chun (), and Freida Lee Mock (Return with Honor, 1998), as well as Canadian filmmakers Julia Kwan (Everything Will Be, 2014), (Meditation Park, 2017), Ann Marie Fleming (, 2017), Ben Lu (Blood and Water), Phil Planta (Beyond Redemption, 2016), and Jeff Chiba Stearns (Mixed Match, 2016). Attending performers have included Edison Chen (Infernal Affairs II, 2003), (Arrival, 2016), ( 2015), Agam Darshi (Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency), Sarita Choudhury (The Hunger Games, 2014), and Rizwan Manji (The Dictator, 2012).

AWARDS

Available awards include a juried award for Best Canadian Short, presented by Telefilm Canada; a juried award for Best Canadian Feature, presented by the Directors’ Guild of Canada—; audience-voted People’s Choice Awards for best Overall Feature, Overall Short, Overall Performance; and a curated award for Outstanding Contribution: Diversity in Film, to an Asian North American creative industry professional with a significant body of work or advocacy.

PROGRAMMING / INDUSTRY

Programming at the four-day November festival includes 10-13 film programs incorporating feature length and short films and videos (dramatic narrative, documentary, experimental and ) featuring an Artist/Concept Spotlight, International Spotlight, International and Canadian Shorts, Q & A sessions, the VAFF Industry series including panel discussions and networking, and gala events.

VAFF 23 Open Call guideline is available at VAFF.ORG/open-call-submission/ ​

Follow the festival as it unfolds at: Facebook/VAFFVancouver /@VAFFVancouver #VAFF Instagram/vaffvancouver YouTube/VAFFVancouver

1350 Burrard Street, Suite 367, Vancouver, BC V6Z 0C2

EMAIL: [email protected] | WEB: www.vaff.org ​ ​

ABOUT THE VANCOUVER ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

The Vancouver Asian Film Festival is the longest running Asian film festival in Canada. Founded by independent filmmaker and writer Barbara K. Lee in 1995 to celebrate diversity in film, the festival has grown to provide an engaging platform for Asian filmmakers to showcase their talents. The VAFF is run by The Vancouver Asian Film Festival Society, a not-for-profit organization comprised of a group of dedicated volunteers. Sponsors and community partners nd alike also contribute to the success of the organization. Now on its 22 ​ year, the event only ​ expects to grow even bigger. Close to 4,000 people are expected to attend the festival.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Regina Leung, Media Relations, VAFF 604.961.7866 [email protected]

1350 Burrard Street, Suite 367, Vancouver, BC V6Z 0C2

EMAIL: [email protected] | WEB: www.vaff.org ​ ​