130+ films, 15+ countries, 6 venues, 1 festival.

FESTIVAL MINI-GUIDE THE SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL HOW TO FEST

• Tickets for all shows are available at festival.sdaff.org

• Walk-up tickets for shows at UltraStar go on sale at the UltraStar Box Office startingOct. 30th

• Walk-up tickets for shows at non-UltraStar locations are available at that venue’s box office one hour before showtime.

NON-MEMBER PRICES PAC-ARTS MEMBER PRICES

GENERAL ADMISSION GENERAL ADMISSION $12 $9

OPENING/CENTERPIECE/CLOSING FILMS OPENING/CENTERPIECE/CLOSING FILMS $15 $12

OPENING NIGHT FILM + AFTER PARTY OPENING NIGHT FILM + AFTER PARTY (NOV. 5) (NOV. 5) $25 $20

FESTIVAL 6-PACK ALL FESTIVAL PASS BLAST THE MUSIC AND HANG UP THE SIGNS! MAJOR GRANTS $60 $150 This year, the San Diego Asian Film Festival turns ALL FESTIVAL PASS 16 and it’s gonna be sweet. The ten-day party is a $250 GROUP TICKETS celebration of Asian and Asian American cinema’s MINIMUM OF 10 vitality and continued emergence. The host is $9 (general), $13 (opening/centerpiece/closing) Pacific Arts Movement, the venues are throughout MAJOR SPONSORS San Diego County, and the partygoers are you: the audiences, the members, the filmmakers. FREE SCREENINGS

Check out over 130 films from Asia and beyond. FREE FILMS AT 4 SUSTAINING SPONSOR GALA PRESENTERS Join us in paying tribute to legends like Tyrus Wong All films at 4pm on weekdays of the festival are free and Kiju Yoshida, and new trailblazers like Ken SHORTS FOR SHORTIES! Jeong and the artists at BuzzFeed. Come for the A collection of international short films, free for kids 12 and under (Nov. 7, pg 19) premieres and stay for the Q&As with filmmakers REEL VOICES MAJOR MEDIA SPONSORS and actors. Take the conversation from the World premiere of our high school documentary program (Nov. 8, pg 13) auditorium to the internet and elevate the national ALL SCREENINGS AT UCSD ATKINSON HALL AUDITORIUM conversation about Asian and Asian American Free for UCSD students, faculty, and staff stories, politics, and representation. Our festival is just the beginning of a celebration and movement CLOSING NIGHT MEMBER SCREENING North American premiere of Filipino drama SWAP; free for Pac-Arts members (Nov. 9, pg 27) that is itching to get off the ground.

SPECIAL EVENTS

GALA AWARDS DINNER Mission Valley Marriott, November 7 $200 for Pac-Arts members / $250 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected] Periodical Statement San Diego Asian Film Festival, Nov. 5-14, 2015, Issue No. 1 MOVEFEST Published annually An 80s dance party and the official after-party of the Gala Awards Dinner Address: Pacific Arts Movement, 10PM - Midnight; free for passholders 2508 Historic Decautur Road #140, San Diego, CA 92106.

2 #SDAFF2015 HOW TO FEST 3 SCHEDULE

Times and films are subject to change. Visit festival.sdaff.org for the latest info. 3:55p SHORTS: ALL-STARS ONLY (72') ULTRA OPENING NIGHT

4:15p THE ASSASSIN (104') UCSD

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5 3:05p THE KIDS (90') UCSD 4:30p THE CASE OF HANA & ALICE (100') ULTRA

7:00p MISS INDIA AMERICA (93') MCASD 3:10p GETTING INTIMATE WITH ULTRA 6:00p SEOUL SEARCHING (105') ULTRA DR. KEN (60') 6:40p THE MASTER (80') ULTRA FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6 3:40p TYRUS (72') ULTRA 7:00p OBON BROTHERS (107') ULTRA MISS INDIA AMERICA 4:00p SHORTS: FREE SAMPLES (87') ULTRA 3:55p SOMEONE ELSE (72') ULTRA 8:20p COIN LOCKER GIRL (110') ULTRA CENTERPIECE 5:00p DIGITAL PIONEER PANEL: UCSD 4:50p THE BEAUTY INSIDE (127') ULTRA 8:35p THE DARK HORSE (124') ULTRA BUZZFEED (60') 5:10p THANATOS, DRUNK (106') UCSD 8:50p OFFICE (117') ULTRA 5:35p CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR (122') ULTRA 5:15p THE WHISPERING STAR (100') ULTRA 5:50p WONDERFUL NIGHTMARE (123') ULTRA 5:55p CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR (122') ULTRA MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9 6:30p LORNA (124') ULTRA 6:05p LORNA (124') ULTRA 4:00p OBON BROTHERS (107') ULTRA 7:00p THE WONDERFUL WEDDING (104') UCSD SEOUL SEARCHING 7:25p FEMALE PERVERT (62') ULTRA 5:30p MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART (131') ULTRA 7:10p THE WHISPERING STAR (100') ULTRA 7:35p SHORTS: ULTRA 6:00p LOVE & PEACE (117') ULTRA CLOSING NIGHT 8:35p SNOW PATHS (100') ULTRA MOMMY QUEEREST (104') 6:20p SWAP (96') ULTRA 8:55p MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART (131') ULTRA 8:25p THE LAST REEL (105') ULTRA 6:40p SHORTS: TALKING BACK (99') ULTRA 9:05p CRUSH THE SKULL (83') ULTRA 8:50p LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM (103') ULTRA 7:00p REUNIFICATION (85') UCSD 9:20p COIN LOCKER GIRL (110') ULTRA 9:40p DEADMAN INFERNO (108') ULTRA 8:15p THE ROYAL TAILOR (127') ULTRA

8:30p THANATOS, DRUNK (106') ULTRA MADE IN JAPAN SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8 8:50p LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM (103') ULTRA 11:00a SHORTS FOR SHORTIES! (45') ULTRA 12:00p REEL VOICES (120') ULTRA 9:15p MYSTERY KUNG FU THEATER ULTRA 12:45p IT'S ALREADY TOMORROW ULTRA 1:00p LITTLE BIG MASTER (112') ULTRA VENUE LEGEND IN HONG KONG (79') (35') MCASD Museum of Contemporary Art, 1:00p NO NO SLEEP UCSD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 1:00p CHANGING SEASON: ON THE ULTRA Sherwood Auditorium 1:20p SHORTS: DRUNK IN LOVE (98') ULTRA MASUMOTO FAMILY FARM (57') 1:00p HAPPY HOUR (317') ULTRA ULTRA UltraStar Mission Valley 2:00p SHORTS: ANIMATION: ULTRA 1:00p WE ARE FAMILY (107') UCSD 2:00p GO AWAY MR. TUMOR (128') ULTRA UCSD UCSD Calit2 Atkinson Hall THE ILLUSION OF LIFE (78') Auditorium 1:20p FULL STRIKE (108') ULTRA 4:00p I HAVE SEEN MY LAST BORN (79') ULTRA 2:10p FLOWERS OF TAIPEI (109') UCSD MOPA Museum of Photographic Arts 1:35p OPERATION POPCORN (81') ULTRA 5:20p BEING GOOD (121') ULTRA PALOMA La Paloma Theatre 2:40p WONDERFUL NIGHTMARE (123') ULTRA 2:55p REUNIFICATION (85') ULTRA 3:25p OUT OF MY HAND (88') ULTRA CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

4 #SDAFF2015 SCHEDULE 5 SCHEDULE VENUES

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12 OPENING & CLOSING NIGHTS MAIN VENUE TAIWAN SHOWCASE

5:45p OFFICE (117') ULTRA 4:00p THE MASTER (80') ULTRA

6:15p AN (113') ULTRA 5:30p AN (113') ULTRA

6:40p MISSING PEOPLE (81') ULTRA 5:55p TBA ULTRA

7:55p FULL STRIKE (108') ULTRA 6:10p THE WINNING GIRL (68') ULTRA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, ULTRASTAR CINEMAS UCSD CALIT2 ATKINSON HALL SHERWOOD AUDITORIUM MISSION VALLEY AUDITORIUM 8:15p TWENTY (115') ULTRA 6:30p COUP D'ETAT (110') MOPA 700 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA 92037 7510 Hazard Center Dr. #100, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093 8:40p THE GRIEF OF OTHERS (103') ULTRA 6:45p TAXI (82') ULTRA (NOV. 5, NOV. 13) San Diego, CA 92108 (NOV. 6-8)

8:55p ATOMIC HEART (93') ULTRA 7:55p ZINNIA FLOWER (96') ULTRA GALA AWARDS DINNER & MOVEFEST KIJU YOSHIDA SPOTLIGHT SDAFF COMES TO NORTH COUNTY

8:15p TBA ULTRA WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11 8:30p TWENTY (115') ULTRA 1:00p HAPPY HOUR (317') ULTRA 8:45p SNAKESKIN (105') ULTRA 3:20p THE WONDERFUL WEDDING (104') ULTRA SAN DIEGO MARRIOTT MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS LA PALOMA THEATRE 3:40p ZINNIA FLOWER (96') ULTRA FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13 MISSION VALLEY 1649 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92103 471 S. Coast Highway 101, 8757 Rio San Diego Dr., (NOV. 11-12) Encinitas, CA 92024 4:00p RADHE RADHE ULTRA 7:00p MADE IN JAPAN (90') MCASD San Diego, CA 92108 (NOV. 14) (NOV. 7) 5:20p GO AWAY MR. TUMOR (128') ULTRA SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 5:35p THE BEAUTY INSIDE (72') ULTRA 1:00p LITTLE BIG MASTER (112') PALOMA 5:50p LOVE & PEACE (117') ULTRA 3:20p OFF THE MENU: PALOMA We are a proud sponsor 6:30p EROS + MASSACRE (202') MOPA ASIAN AMERICA (56') 6:40p SHORTS: ULTRA of the San Diego 5:15p THE LAST REEL (105') PALOMA DEARLY DEPARTING (90') 7:30p DEADMAN INFERNO (108') PALOMA Asian Film Festival 8:00p BEING GOOD (121') ULTRA

8:20p THERE IS A NEW WORLD ULTRA SOMEWHERE (103') As the only locally-based 8:35p THE ASSASSIN (104') ULTRA VENUE LEGEND commercial health plan, 8:55p TBA ULTRA MCASD Museum of Contemporary Art, we not only serve the people of Sherwood Auditorium San Diego County—we are the people ULTRA UltraStar Mission Valley of San Diego County. UCSD UCSD Calit2 Atkinson Hall Auditorium

MOPA Museum of Photographic Arts (619) 499-8300 or 1-800-359-2002 PALOMA La Paloma Theatre sharphealthplan.com

6 #SDAFF2015 SCHEDULE 7 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

The feature presentations of this year’s San Diego Asian Film Festival include celebrations of youth, tributes to living legends, and an appreciation of an Asian American filmmaker who passed too soon.

MISS INDIA AMERICA THURS 11/05 GETTING INTIMATE WITH DR. KEN SAT 11/07 RAVI KAPOOR / USA / 2015 / 93’ 7:00p MCASD 60’ 3:10p ULTRA Lily is a college-bound valedictorian with a gilded Join us for a probing, awkwardly intimate conversa- future, so beauty pageants are way below her. But tion with everyone’s favorite doctor-turned-comedian when a case of sass strikes, she finds out what she’s Ken Jeong, star of Community, the Hangover films, not above: some good ol’ fashioned competition. and the new ABC sitcom Dr. Ken. Thanks to a wily script and Tiya Sircar’s knockout comedic performance, nobody is safe from Lily’s OPENING NIGHT schemes. PANEL DISCUSSION

SEOUL SEARCHING SUN 11/08 DIGITAL PIONEER: BUZZFEED FRI 11/06 BENSON LEE / USA / 2015 / 105’ 6:00p ULTRA 60’ 5:00p UCSD Don’t you forget about 1986, when the Latin Lover The website BuzzFeed has become not only one of collided with the punk and the pastor’s daughter on the most formidable presences on the internet, but a Seoul summer camp for overseas Korean youth also one of the most significant platforms for Asian to discover their roots. And by roots, we mean soju, American artists. We welcome BuzzFeed producer laughs, and that weird science of young love. and performer Eugene Lee Yang to talk about Buzz- Feed Motion Pictures, changing demographics, and CENTERPIECE PANEL DISCUSSION new opportunities for filmmakers.

MADE IN JAPAN FRI 11/13 THE SEASON OF SEX + POLITICS EROS + MASSACRE JOSH BISHOP / USA, JAPAN / 2015 / 90’ 7:00p MCASD In the annals of the Japanese New Wave, Kiju Yoshida WED 11/11 is one of the most towering, but also one of the lesser Howdy neighbors! So says Tomi Fujiyama to her known. Join us for a special tribute to the radical 6:30p MOPA friends in the U.S. who are about to discover just director and his equally-legendary actress Mariko what kind of neighbor she is. With cowboy hat and Okada, who will both be present for screenings of COUP D'ETAT guitar, she’s determined to re-take the Grand Ole two rare classics on 35mm: EROS + MASSACRE THURS 11/12 Opry stage, where in 1964, she became the country FOCUS ON (1969) and COUP D’ETAT (1973). music institution’s first Japanese star. 6:30p MOPA CLOSING NIGHT KIJU YOSHIDA

TYRUS SAT 11/07 RADHE RADHE: RITES OF HOLI WED 11/11 PAMELA TOM / USA / 2015 / 72’ 3:40p ULTRA PRASHANT BHARGAVA / USA, INDIA / 2013 / 35’ 4:00p ULTRA You may not have heard of Tyrus Wong, but you’ve The peerless Prashant Bhargava was only 42 when seen his work in classic films like Bambi and Rebel he passed away this May. We pay tribute to him Without a Cause. This enchanting documentary with one of his final works, a short celebration of follows the Chinese American pioneer from his art vitality in spirituality, chaos, color, and dance, and school beginnings during the Depression to his a celebration of spring in collaboration with jazz LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT TRIBUTE TO years as a production illustrator leaving indelible luminary Vijay Iyer. AWARD HONOREE PRASHANT BHARGAVA brushstrokes on Hollywood history.

8 #SDAFF2015 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 9 ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA

The best of Asian American cinema in all of its colors – from short film programs and I HAVE SEEN MY LAST BORN TUES 11/10 animation, to documentaries about the famous and infamous, to feature-length tales SAMUEL GRAY ANDERSON, LEE ISAAC CHUNG / USA, 4:00p ULTRA of woe and humor. RWANDA / 2015 / 79’ This affecting documentary follows Rwandan film- maker Jean Kwezi and his commitment to building a CHANGING SEASON: ON THE SAT 11/07 relationship with a teenage daughter he abandoned years ago. With a spirit of openness and responsibil- MASUMOTO FAMILY FARM 1:00p ULTRA ity, Jean and the filmmakers emanate hope, regret, JIM CHOI / USA / 2015 / 57’ and love for family. Nothing is forever, and certainly not on the Masu- moto family farm. Despite the peach farm’s renown, IT’S ALREADY TOMORROW IN SAT 11/07 age and a depleting water table threaten its longev- HONG KONG 12:45p ULTRA ity. Enter Nikko: daughter, hapa, queer, and person- EMILY TING / USA, HONG KONG / 2015 / 79’ ification of the farm’s changing season as well as its enduring spirit. Real-life couple Jamie Chung and Bryan Green- berg play Americans finding their ways in the CRUSH THE SKULL FRI 11/06 streets of Hong Kong – only to find themselves in a precarious web of flirtation. Emily Ting’s debut VIET NGUYEN / USA / 2015 / 83’ 9:05p ULTRA breezily captures expats’ now-whats and what-ifs Chris Dinh and Katie Savoy are in love, but they in a sparkling Hong Kong. need fast cash. Luckily, they’re professional thieves. Unluckily, they break into a house with no exit and CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE no cell phone reception and no explanation for the torture pit they discover there. Luckily for us, their hapless misadventures are sheer comic gold.

FEMALE PERVERT SAT 11/07 JIYOUNG LEE / USA / 2015 / 62’ 7:25p ULTRA Jiyoung Lee is back and the sleaze is as bemused the most creative & innovative and awkward as ever! This time we follow Phoebe, designer of video games of unappreciated genius and the lone champion of casual, mundane perver- printer in San Diego! sion, as she surveys the manscape while throwing shade at its petty intellectualism. Hilarious, screwy, enchanting.

THE GRIEF OF OTHERS TUES 11/10 PATRICK WANG / USA / 2015 / 103’ 8:40p ULTRA A death in the family paralyzes but also reveals connections and their consequences, especially upon the unexpected arrival of a visitor. With an exquisite condolence wrapped in loving humor and an active style that envelops and hugs, director Patrick Wang unites characters and audiences in a fertile grief that belongs to all. 8585 Miramar Place, San Diego www.repromagic.com (858) 277-2488

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MISSING PEOPLE TUES 11/10 REEL VOICES SUN 11/08 DAVID SHAPIRO / USA / 2015 / 81’ 6:40p ULTRA USA / 2015 / 120’ 12:00p ULTRA Decades after her brother’s unsolved murder, Fili- Twelve high school students from San Diego pino American art gallery director Martina Batan create documentaries based on subjects in their becomes strangely obsessed with the violent work own lives. of a black New Orleans artist. A trip to the artist’s hometown sparks questions of cultural appropria- tion and the dual demons that have brought these worlds together.

OFF THE MENU: ASIAN AMERICA SAT 11/14 REUNIFICATION SAT 11/07 GRACE LEE / USA / 2015 / 56’ 3:20p PALOMA ALVIN TSANG / USA, HONG KONG / 2015 / 85’ 2:55p ULTRA Asians. Taking Pictures. Of food. Add documentarian In the early 1980s, Alvin’s family decided to move MON 11/09 Grace Lee to that list and you get more than delecta- from Hong Kong to the United States. His mom and 7:00p UCSD ble soft-focus close-ups, but also fascinating portraits sister went first. But when he and his dad arrived a of Asian Americans and their relationships with the few years later, Alvin discovered that his family could meals they cook, serve, eat, and sell, from Hawaii to never be the same again. Texas to Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

OPERATION POPCORN SAT 11/07 SHORTS: ALL-STARS ONLY SUN 11/08 DAVID GRABIAS / USA / 2015 / 81’ 1:35p ULTRA 72' 3:55p ULTRA After fleeing Laos as refugees, a squadron of mili- It’s shirts vs. skins in this feisty set of shorts about the tary-minded Hmong men in California plot to stage unexpected superstars of music and sports. a coup in their embittered homeland with the help of the US government and its AK-47s. Filled with wily characters and pixelated evidence, this is both a documentary about secret wars and an edge-of- your-seat mystery.

OUT OF MY HAND SUN 11/08 SHORTS: ANIMATION: SUN 11/08 TAKESHI FUKUNAGA / USA, LIBERIA / 2015 / 88’ 3:25p ULTRA THE ILLUSION OF LIFE 2:00p ULTRA 78' When Cisco and his fellow rubber workers go on strike, it feels both inevitable and insufficient. When The magic of animation comes alive in this collection he turns instead to driving a cab in New York City, he’s of short films. still haunted by the same forces of captivity. Takeshi Fukunaga’s stirring tale of tenacity is an essential portrait of a transnational Liberia.

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SHORTS: DEARLY DEPARTING WED 11/11 SHORTS: TALKING BACK MON 11/09 90' 6:40p ULTRA 99’ 6:40p ULTRA Road trips and journeys home bring family together Filmmakers turn their cameras on their parents and pave the paths for self-discovery. and grandparents, inciting conversation, chas- ing tough memories, and refusing the paralysis of silence.

SHORTS: DRUNK IN L0VE SUN 11/08 SOMEONE ELSE SAT 11/07 98’ 1:20p ULTRA NELSON KIM / USA / 2015 / 72’ 3:55p ULTRA In these shorts, getting home while under the A law internship brings the studious Jamie to New influence of love is going to take some unusual York City, but it’s the seduction of women and night- maneuvering. life that really commands his attention. Or is it? Nelson Kim’s sinuous drama of doubles and family rivalries tackles expectations of good and bad Korean American men with twisty glee.

SHORTS: FREE SAMPLES FRI 11/06 THERE IS A NEW WORLD WED 11/11 87’ 4:00p ULTRA SOMEWHERE 8:20p ULTRA LI LU / USA / 2015 / 103’ Everyone likes free samples. Whet your appetite on this assortment of flavors, emotions, and the Stuck in a dead-end arts job, Sylvia escapes with a best things in life. handsome stranger who invites her on a road trip through the Deep South. An adventure of romance, risk, and validation, Li Lu’s debut feature tantalizes with the deeply-felt charge of a woman taking bold strides to define her own future.

SHORTS: MOMMY QUEEREST SAT 11/07 THE WINNING GIRL THURS 11/12 104’ 7:35p ULTRA KIMBERLEE BASSFORD / USA / 2014 / 68’ 6:10p ULTRA From mama drama and a possessed phone to an 16-year-old Teshya is a 125-pound judo and wrestling off-the-rails dinner party, the queer life sometimes champion who dreams to be world champion. But her veers over the top. journey, followed across four years in this sensitive documentary, shows the physical and economic costs for a tenacious teen and her supportive family in Hawaii.

14 #SDAFF2015 ASIAN AMERICAN PANORAMA 15 ASIA POP!

Films to make you laugh, cry, and cheer, featuring Korean hotties, badminton FULL STRIKE SAT 11/07 buddies, imperial intrigue, cute kindergartners, and women you do not want to DEREK KWOK, HENRI WONG / HONG KONG / 2015 1:20p ULTRA / 108’ mess with. TUES 11/10 A down-and-out ex-badminton champ shakes off her 7:55p ULTRA shuttlecock to reclaim her family honor from a trio THE BEAUTY INSIDE SAT 11/07 of conniving thieves. Only in Hong Kong can this sports redemption tale play out with the lunacy of a BAEK JONG-YEOL / S. KOREA / 2015 / 127’ 4:50p ULTRA thriller and the hysterical charms of a goofy comedy. Imagine waking up every morning with a different WED 11/11 face. Now imagine falling in love with somebody, 5:35p ULTRA only to know that their first impression will be the GO AWAY MR. TUMOR TUES 11/10 last. In the grand tradition of Korean romantic HAN YAN / CHINA / 2015 / 128’ 2:00p ULTRA fantasy, THE BEAUTY INSIDE turns this premise into a lush exploration of amorous and cinematic surfaces. A plucky 30-year-old artist is hospitalized, but while WED 11/11 friends fret about her health, she finds herself pleas- 5:20p ULTRA antly distracted by her gorgeous doctor played by COIN LOCKER GIRL FRI 11/06 Daniel Wu. Gracefully personifying the manic spirit HAN JUN-HEE / S. KOREA / 2015 / 110’ 9:20p ULTRA and emotion of the original web comic, actress Bai Baihe proves why she’s China’s new box office queen. Dickens meets Godfather when Il-Young, abandoned SUN 11/08 in a coin locker as a baby, grows up as a fierce daugh- 8:20p ULTRA ter in a family of loan sharks. But teenage rebellion CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE turns deadly when she starts to battle her adopted mother, the intimidating, coiffed-for-murder matron of the Chinatown underworld.

THE DARK HORSE SUN 11/08 JAMES NAPIER ROBERTSON / NEW ZEALAND / 2014 8:35p ULTRA / 124’

Whale Rider’s Cliff Curtis stars as Maori chess legend Genesis Potini, an outsider in life who nonetheless stands up for underprivileged youth by creating opportunities for them through chess. Based on a true story, this raw and inspiring drama stokes passion that transcends class and disease.

DEADMAN INFERNO SAT 11/07 HIROSHI SHINAGAWA / JAPAN / 2015 / 108’ 9:40p ULTRA A crew of washed-up yakuza are about to hang up SAT 11/14 their coats until ZOMBIES ATTACK!! With the help of a 7:30p PALOMA high-kicking daughter, a reggae-loving fisherman, a questionable cop, and absolutely zero help from the authorities, they rediscover their calling in Japan’s most pitch-perfect horror-comedy in years.

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THE LAST REEL SAT 11/07 THE ROYAL TAILOR MON 11/09 SOTHO KULIKAR / CAMBODIA / 2014 / 105’ 8:25p ULTRA LEE WON-SUK / S. KOREA / 2014 / 127’ 8:15p ULTRA The rebellious Sophoun is milling about a crumbling SAT 11/14 Court politics get tangled in this farce about an movie theater when something catches her eye: a 5:15p PALOMA emperor, his personal tailor, and a cocksure young picture of her mother from decades ago. Digging designer who has wild ideas about fashion, spinning into her mom’s history unearths an entire catalogue the city asunder. From one of Korea’s best comedy of glamour from the golden years of Cambodian directors comes sexy period intrigue with a distinctly cinema, inspiring Sophoun to bring the past back modern twist. to life.

LITTLE BIG MASTER SUN 11/08 SHORTS FOR SHORTIES! SAT 11/07 ADRIAN KWAN / HONG KONG / 2015 / 112’ 1:00p ULTRA USA, TAIWAN, INDIA, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA / 45’ 11:00a ULTRA Miriam Yeung plays a star school principal who can SAT 11/14 Kid-friendly animated and live-action short films get any job she wants, but opts instead to save a 1:00p PALOMA about resilience, childhood, acceptance, and struggling kindergarten from closing on its five friendship. students. With uncommon sincerity and a moun- tain of cuteness, this family-friendly Hong Kong hit fights class inequality with the fervor of principle.

LORNA FRI 11/06 TWENTY TUES 11/10 SIGRID ANDREA BERNARDO / PHILIPPINES / 2014 6:30p ULTRA LEE BYEONG-HEON / S.KOREA / 2015 / 115’ 8:15p ULTRA / 124’ SAT 11/07 Three buds may be entering their twenties, but they THURS 11/12 Lorna, 60, has men in her midst: the ex-husband, the 6:05p ULTRA are by no means men, at least as evidenced by their 8:30p ULTRA smooth-talker, the overseas boyfriend, the rock star skirt-chasing and general shirking of responsibility. with a stoned smile. Love should come easy, but as But the circling women force them into adulthood, Lorna quickly learns, it doesn’t get easier with age. a ride fuelled by soju, awkward laughter, and above Shamaine Buencamino and Lav Diaz steal the show all, a bond to survive any decade. in this retro, dashing comedy..

OBON BROTHERS SUN 11/08 WE ARE FAMILY SAT 11/07 AKIRA OSAKI / JAPAN / 2015 / 107’ 7:00p ULTRA JIM WANG / TAIWAN / 2015 / 107' 1:00p UCSD A struggling director moves in with his sick brother MON 11/09 Three slacker roommates who can barely take care after his wife’s divorce threats send him packing. On 4:00p ULTRA of themselves are put to the test when an old friend top of that: a forced double-date that’s no good for arrives with a baby, a wad of cash, and a plea for help. anybody. But in honor of the follies of fate, OBON Now, the trio must get creative to keep the crying BROTHERS spins calamity into gentle observation baby happy and secret from prying eyes. and wry, cool comedy.

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WONDERFUL NIGHTMARE FRI 11/06 KANG HYO-JIN / S. KOREA / 2015 / 123’ 5:50p ULTRA In this touching comedic fantasy, the city’s top attor- SUN 11/08 ney dies in an accident, but is given a second chance 2:40p ULTRA at life if she can trade places with an ordinary mother for one month. Leave it to actress Uhm Jung-hwa to take no prisoners – even when locked-up in her own suburban cell.

THE WONDERFUL WEDDING FRI 11/06 HUANG CHAO-LIANG / TAIWAN / 2015 / 104’ 7:00p UCSD A cranky Taiwanese dad gets the dreaded news that WED 11/11 his precious daughter is marrying a mainlander, 3:20p ULTRA setting off a cross-cultural comedy of reluctant in-laws and pre-marital hijinks. Fuelled by love and a sense of fun, this box-office hit impressively balances genuine anxiety with straight-up silliness, a fitting allegory for cross-straits relations.

ZINNIA FLOWER WED 11/11 TOM SHU-YU LIN / TAIWAN / 2015 / 96’ 3:40p ULTRA They say it takes 100 days to mourn a death. Director THURS 11/12

Tom Lin, who made the gripping ZINNIA FLOWER to 7:55p ULTRA cope with his wife’s own passing, gifts us the story of two strangers who lose their loved ones in a car crash and discover that mourning takes more than time, but an unexpected, liberating journey of solitude.

ASIA POP! 21 20 #SDAFF2015 MASTERS

Fresh from Cannes, Berlin, and other prestigious international film festivals, these are FLOWERS OF TAIPEI: TAIWAN SUN 11/08 premieres and rediscoveries of works by the world’s best directors. NEW CINEMA 2:10p UCSD HSIEH CHINLIN / TAIWAN / 2014 / 109’

Some of the world’s most famous directors and curators debate, reminisce, and celebrate “Taiwan AN TUES 11/10 New Cinema,” the film movement that reshaped cultural dialogue in 1980s Taiwan and introduced NAOMI KAWASE / JAPAN / 2015 / 113’’ 6:15p ULTRA groundbreaking new talents like Hou Hsiao-hsien A pastry chef gets an unusual applicant to be his THURS 11/12 and Edward Yang. assistant: a 76-year-old woman with a special mastery 5:30p ULTRA of the red-bean filling for his pancake confections. LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM SAT 11/07 But with the secret recipe comes secrets about the YAMASHITA NOBUHIRO / JAPAN / 2015 / 103’ 8:50p ULTRA woman’s background, and the chef is brought to rethink his inspiration. An amnesiac awakens knowing nothing about MON 11/09 himself except that he can sing! His process of 8:50p ULTRA self-discovery, enabled by an ambitious teen at a THE ASSASSIN SUN 11/08 recording studio, brings him face-to-face with buried demons and a talent that can lift him to redemption. HOU HSIAO-HSIEN / TAIWAN / 2015 / 104’ 4:15p UCSD From the director of Linda Linda Linda. The great Hou Hsiao-hsien’s long-awaited martial WED 11/11 arts adaptation is a masterpiece of the wuxia spirit. 8:35p ULTRA An assassin is ordered to kill her cousin but then CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE scales away from a life of violence. Intricately ordered and immaculately detailed, but always profoundly naturalistic, Hou stuns with a treatise on beauty and justice that is beyond words. Holland America Line is proud to support THE CASE OF HANA & ALICE SUN 11/08 SHUNJI IWAI / JAPAN / 2015 / 100’ 4:30p ULTRA Pacific Arts Movement In this animated prequel to Shunji Iwai’s 2004 hit, we find out that the titular high schoolers first met when they whimsically started looking into the famed murder surrounding a classmate. Their amateur sleuthing becomes a teenage dance of friendship, illuminated by the gentle hues of youth.

CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR FRI 11/06 APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL / THAILAND / 2015 5:35p ULTRA / 122’ SAT 11/07 Apichatpong Weerasethakul casts another spell on 5:55p ULTRA his characters and audience, this time watching over a hospital full of soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness. Past worlds – a school, ancient ruins – animate strange states of longing and dreams held in suspension..

22 #SDAFF2015 MASTERS 23 MASTERS

LOVE & PEACE MON 11/09 TAXI THURS 11/12 SION SONO / JAPAN / 2015 / 117’ 6:00p ULTRA JAFAR PANAHI / IRAN / 2015 / 82’ 6:45p ULTRA From the warped mind of Sion Sono comes one of WED 11/11 Jafar Panahi’s third film while banned from film- his most entertaining films to date. An office nerd 5:50p ULTRA making is a shocker of unwavering mastery. With an has glam-rock dreams but only his pet turtle gives almost cheeky love of the camera, Panahi mounts him any encouragement. Things blow up (literally) several camcorders in a taxi he drives around town, when a magic spell turns the sewers and the city interacting with passengers and brazenly putting to into a musical fantasy-world. the test the ethics of cinema in urban Iran.

MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART FRI 11/06 THANATOS, DRUNK SAT 11/07 JIA ZHANG-KE / CHINA / 2015 / 131’ 8:55p ULTRA CHANG TSO-CHI / TAIWAN / 2015 / 106’ 5:10p UCSD A poignant epic spanning decades and continents, MON 11/09 The aptly-named Rat crawls through a subcultural, MON 11/09 Jia Zhang-ke’s latest masterpiece follows a love 5:30p ULTRA emotionally subterranean world left to him by an 8:30p ULTRA triangle from its dance-infused beginnings to its alcoholic mother and shared with a brother who has jet-set millennial melancholy. Jia explores China’s just returned from the United States. Chang Tso-chi’s past, present, and future as only he can: with a canto- despairing, shockingly-felt drama plays like a woozy pop heart and a bleeding love for ordinary people dream interrupted by bouts of emotional acuity. strewn apart.

NO NO SLEEP SUN 11/08 THE WHISPERING STAR FRI 11/06 TSAI MING-LIANG / TAIWAN, JAPAN, CHINA, HONG 1:00p UCSD SION SONO / JAPAN / 2015 / 100’ 7:10p ULTRA KONG / 2015 / 35’ A delivery-robot travels from planet to planet drop- SAT 11/07 Tsai Ming-liang’s walker drifts from the Tokyo streets ping off packages for human clients. Perched behind 5:15p ULTRA into the lush quiet of a bath house. No one truly her intergalactic console, she starts to wonder about sleeps alone under Tsai’s somnambulistic spells. the worlds of humans, so far apart in space, so far Preceded by Midi Z’s immigrant dream dance THE away in each other’s memories. PALACE ON THE SEA.

OFFICE SUN 11/08 JOHNNIE TO / CHINA, HONG KONG / 2015 / 117’ 8:50p ULTRA Megastars Chow Yun-fat and Sylvia Chang engage TUES 11/10 in power-plays, sideline deals, and other dubious 5:45p ULTRA games of high finance. In any other hands, this would be a routine takedown of corruption. In John- nie To’s, it’s a high-flying musical with pop stars and living legends spinning corporate intrigue to dizzying heights.

24 #SDAFF2015 MASTERS 25 DISCOVERIES

From Asia’s most innovative and thought-provoking filmmakers come new stories and new ways of telling them.

ATOMIC HEART TUES 11/10 THE MASTER SUN 11/08 ALI AHMADZADEH / IRAN / 2015 / 93’ 8:55p ULTRA NAWAPOL THAMRONGRATTANARIT / THAILAND / 6:40p ULTRA 2014 / 80’ Decked out in dyed hair and rhapsodizing on life THURS 11/12 in their twenties, a pair of partiers cruise the Tehran Thai filmmakers and critics reminisce on the 4:00p ULTRA streets and along the way encounter a chic old friend neatly-kept corner stall of a bustling market, and a charmer with a devilish side. Without a doubt where in the 1990s, a shadowy entrepreneur sold the most surreal new Iranian film is also the coolest. lovingly-smuggled works of world cinema on VHS, and inadvertently transformed the face of Thai cinema forever.

BEING GOOD TUES 11/10 SNAKESKIN THURS 11/12 MIPO O / JAPAN / 2015 / 121’ 5:20p ULTRA DANIEL HUI / SINGAPORE, PORTUGAL / 2014 / 105’ 8:45p ULTRA A teacher has about had it with his rowdy students. A WED 11/11 In 2066, the remaining member of a cult looks mother realizes she hasn’t a clue on how to discipline 8:00p ULTRA back on its history when he discovers film footage her young daughter. Director Mipo O captures the of its pre-founding in 2014. Altogether strange anxiousness of childcare with paralyzing effect, but and death-defying, this is an alternative history of also a realist’s take on adults’ desires – even incli- Singapore told from the future, showing racial and nations – for doing the right thing. cultural fault lines manifesting as a nation’s ghosts- in-the-making.

HAPPY HOUR TUES 11/10 SNOW PATHS FRI 11/06 RYUSUKE HAMAGUCHI / JAPAN / 2015 / 317’ 1:00p ULTRA KIM HEE-JUNG / S. KOREA / 2015 / 100’ 8:35p ULTRA The precious balance holding together four best WED 11/11 An alcoholic checks into a forest convent for rehabili- friends is tested when one announces that she will 1:00p ULTRA tation, but has an icy relationship with the nuns – that be divorcing her husband. With a grandeur and detail is, until he meets one with an other-worldly obliga- afforded by its running time, HAPPY HOUR explores tion to him. Their connection is just one of many that balance through a feat of fortitude and the poise enigmas in a film blurring religious and secular, of simply “being there” between friends. burning passion and the cold of winter.

THE KIDS SAT 11/07 SWAP MON 11/09 WEI-SHAN YU / TAIWAN / 2015 / 90’ 3:05p UCSD REMTON ZUASOLA / PHILIPPINES / 2015 / 96’ 6:20p ULTRA Bao-Li and Jia-Jia meet in middle school and Staged in a magnificent single take while zipping become forever connected in this remarkable in time and shifting breathlessly across locations, debut by Sunny Yu, who structures her document SWAP follows a young couple as they confront the of youth as a mystery with overlapping revelations. unimaginable: the kidnapping of their son. The film’s As money problems, the pressure of family, and the theatrics foreground a thrilling game of cat-and- seduction of redemption mount, so does the film’s mouse, while the ghosts of social upheaval loom willful sympathy. behind the curtains.

26 #SDAFF2015 DISCOVERIES 27 © 2015 Southwest Airlines Co. Airlines Southwest 2015 ©

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28 29 You are part of a greater community

Union Bank® believes in the power of Making Health Care Better for Everyone partnerships. That’s why we partner with communities and organizations to make California Schools VEBA proudly supports a positive di‡ erence in the places where the Pacific Arts Movement and the . . . we work and live. To us, building a strong community is the most valuable 16th annual investment of all. SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL Union Bank is proud to sponsor the San Diego Asian Film Festival. FDV_Promo Card_2.4x3.5.pdf 1 9/4/15 9:56 AM

unionbank.com

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©2015 MUFG Union Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. 31 Union Bank is a registered trademark and brand name of MUFG Union Bank, N.A. oct. 21, 7 pm CALLITHUMPIAN CONSORT nov. 20, 7 pm STEPHANIE RICHARDS nov. 24, 7 pm RED FISH BLUE FISH Proudly supports the Pacific Arts Movement and the . . . conrad prebys concert hall

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SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 5-14, 2015 nov. 14-21 IONESCO’S RHINOCÉROS nov. 18-21 WAR OF THE WORLDS nov. 28-dec. 5 CHEKHOV’S THE CHERRY ORCHARD joan and irwin jacobs theatre district 16th department of theatre & dance theatre.ucsd.edu percussionist ross karre uc san diego alumnus visual arts & music

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PRINT AD - McGREGOR.indd 1 8/13/2015 4:02:23 PM BECOME A MEMBER MOVING PICTURES, MOVING MINDS MOVING PICTURES, MOVING MINDS

ABOUT PACIFIC ARTS MOVEMENT Our mission is to present Pan Asian media arts for San Diego residents and visitors in order to inspire, entertain and support a more compassionate society.

OUR PROGRAMS From our award-winning high school documentary program Reel Voices, to Youth Day, bringing artists to schools, and internships, we are dedicated to nurturing a new generation of creative leaders. We share powerful stories with audiences year-round through the San Diego Asian Film Festival, Spring Showcase, Spotlight Screenings, Outdoor Screenings, and Film Forums.

DID YOU KNOW that members get discounted tickets and exclusive invitations to screenings and events? Your membership allows us to bring the world’s best cinema to San Diego, and it helps sustain our year-round programs and operations. As a 501 (c) (3), memberships are partially tax-deductible.

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