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4/30: End of Washington State quarter poll

Sunday is the last day to vote on the design of the new Washington State quarter. The poll closed for a while because someone was electronically stuffing the ballot box, but apparently, they figured out a way to prevent it from happening again.

Of course, the online vote won't actually decide the final design -- it'll be just one of the factors considered by the powers-that-be. Hopefully, the folks in charge will come up with something that doesn't cause as much headscratching as the new state tourism slogan, "SayWA." (Or as I prefer to think of it, "WATF?")

[NWAAFF news] April 26, 2006 update

[From the NWAAFF mailing list.]

Friends of NWAAFF:

Quick updates from NWAAFF-land:

1) Upcoming screening -- save the date! On May 27, 2006, we'll be co-presenting a special screening to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (aka "May"). Details coming soon.

2) Latest blog entries! Are you keeping up with the festival blog? If not, you're missing out on event announcements, calls for entries, and more. Just visit www.nwaaff.org/blogs for all the details. Here's a sampling of recent posts:
3) Win admission to a free sneak preview of Chen Kaige's THE PROMISE (WU JI)! The first three mailing list members to send email to rsvp@nwaaff.org with the secret password will each win admission for two to a free screening of THE PROMISE at 7pm on May 3, 2006 at the Guild Theater in Wallingford. How do you get the secret password? You'll have to look at the NWAAFF blog ( www.nwaaff.org/blogs) for the answer to that question. Winners will be notified -- everyone else, try again next time. [NOTE: These tickets are gone already!]

Best,
NWAAFF
--
Northwest Asian American Film Festival
c/o Northwest Asian American Theatre
409 7th Ave. S
Seattle, WA 98104
206-340-1445 office | 309-424-9731 fax | info@nwaaff.org
Visit site: nwaaff.org
Read blog: nwaaff.org/blogs
Add to MySpace: myspace.com/nwaaff
Join mailing list: subscribe@nwaaff.org
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~

Northwest Asian American Film Festival is a production of Northwest Asian American Theatre.
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---



"Aquarium Kids" in heavy rotation

The TV premiere of my latest short documentary "Aquarium Kids" for Seattle Channel's "Community Stories" series has come and gone, but the program is still airing a few more times between now and the end of May. You can view the complete broadcast schedule here.

Of course, the program is also streaming from Seattle Channel's website. And there'll be a free screening of "Aquarium Kids" plus some other Asian American-themed episodes of "Community Stories" at the end of May at the downtown Seattle Public Library. More on that later.

kristinasherylwong.com: Want to see why Los Angeles keeps me here?

A funny blog entry by my friend Kristina about the dream that is living in LA. And I think I see this damn TV ad everywhere I go.

"Watch what makes my parents so proud. What makes every hellish day in Los Angeles living so worth it."

More at:
kristinasherylwong.com

Review of Hi/Lo Film Festival

For those of you who missed the screening of "Profiles in Science" at the Hi/Lo Film Festival in San Francisco earlier this month, you can read a recap here. Perhaps not the most impartial review, but I'm not complaning.

"Really good, in fact according to K.C. 'I think it was probably the best one in the whole Program' and he didn't even have to say that because he doesn't even know Wes."

More at:
Hi/Lo Film Festival

Get on a preview screening mailing list

Nancy Locke, crack film publicist and lovely human being, is expanding her mailing list for news about free preview screenings of films in Seattle. She also happens to represent some of the cooler distributors, so if you're into seeing upcoming indie/foreign/whatever films for free, you definitely want to get on her list.

Just send your email address to nlocke5820(at)aol[dot]com and you'll be on your way. (Does disguising email addresses like that work against spammers? Who knows?)


Watched: THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

APAFirstWeekend: KOREAN AMERICAN FILMMAKERS WANTED NOW FOR FILMMAKERS LAB BY KOREAN FILM COUNCIL

[I believe the first words out of my mouth were "Holy crap...!" -- Wes]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: APAFirstWeekend@aol.com

PLEASE POST, PRINT AND SPREAD THE WORD!

WANTED: KOREAN AMERICAN FILMMAKERS

KOREAN FILM COUNCIL LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE NEW FILMMAKERS DEVELOPMENT LAB IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ACADEMY FOR CREATIVE MEDIA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII

April 21, 2006 (Los Angeles) – In a major initiative to nurture and encourage emerging Korean American filmmakers to bring their stories to the screen, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced today the launch of its inaugural KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab.

Inspired by similar creative environments such as the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab is seeking applicants from the United States and Canada with a view to realizing projects that can find audience appeal in both Korea and North America. The Lab will be held in Hawaii in early September, in partnership with the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Following in October, the Lab fellows will be brought to the Pusan International Film Festival in Korea to meet with relevant film industry representatives and organizations whom could potentially produce their projects.

"Through this incubator type project, we would be able to promote a sharing and a merging of ideas between Korean and Korean American filmmakers," states Ms. An Cheong Sook, KOFIC's Chairperson. . "It is important to us that through this cross cultural experience, these filmmakers will be able to establish markets and audiences on both continents."

"We are excited about this tremendous educational and professional partnership with the Korean Film Council, film industry and young filmmakers," said Chris Lee, Director of the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii. "It accentuates the tremendous growth of the Academy and its now global outreach. We look forward to a long and prosperous association."

Selected participants will be paired with industry mentors from both Korea and the United States, in an intensive week-long retreat. The goal of the Filmmakers Development Lab is to enable participants to develop a high quality script that could be presented to financiers and production companies in both countries.

"These are exciting times for filmmakers and films from non-traditional sources," expresses KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab director, Roger Garcia, a well-regarded international film consultant and producer. "(The Lab) not only looks to identify the talent but also to present real-world scenarios to participants in developing and presenting their projects. "

Information on the KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab, and how to apply is available online at http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr and www.hawaii.edu/acm

The deadline for submissions is May 31, 2006.

"While this project is an ambitious one, we believe the talent is there," adds Garcia. "And through this incubator program, we hope to develop the next generation of great new filmmakers."

The Korean Film Council is based in Seoul, Korea with a satellite office in Los Angeles. Its mission is to raise the standard of Korean films, and to promote the Korean film industry at home and abroad. KOFIC provides and supports programs to develop creative filmmakers, improve the production of low-budget films, raise the profile of Korean cinema, and create a network between filmmakers in the Korean, overseas Korean and international communities.

The Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii, founded just three years ago, emphasizes digital cinema, computer animation and videogame design, and critical studies. Its student films have been screened at major national and international festivals. It is developing a Center for Indigenous Filmmaking, which will embrace story-tellers from Hawaii, the Pacific and Asia.

###

April 23 event: unexpressions

A friend of mine has a performance piece at Seattle Center this Sunday. Check it out...

---------- Forwarded message ----------

'unexpressions' is the new evolution of an original performance piece that explores what is unsaid in the adoption journey experience through theatre, dance, music and the language of the body. The stories of an adoptee, her birth mother and her adoptive mother are woven together through love and loss. Please join us for the premiere performance, Q&A with the artist, and a community panel discussion from the perspectives of both adoptees and parents and the audience members.

The first incarnation of this work was called "courageous", "moving", "powerful" and "the voice of adoptees who have no voice" by audience members.

unexpressions
Created and Performed by Patty Pomplun
Directed by Michelle Lockhart
Featuring Walayn Sharples and Connie Kim

Sunday April 23, 2006
Two show times: 4:00 pm or 7:30 pm

T4 Theatre
4th Floor, Seattle Center House
Seattle Center
305 Harrison
Seattle, WA 98109

Tickets are $10 per person. Cash at the door or visit www.BrownPaperTickets.com for advance purchase. You can also buy tickets over the phone at 1-800-838-3006.

Please forward this to anyone or any group that may be interested in attending.

This event is sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.


Seattle P-I: Revisiting ramen, an Asian staple but an American afterthought

[Darn -- now I'm hungry... -- Wes]

------------------------------

FOOD & DINING

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Revisiting ramen, an Asian staple but an American afterthought

By HSIAO-CHING CHOU
P-I FOOD EDITOR

Instant ramen has sustained life under dire circumstances and yet it is incapable of escaping its harsh American reality as the food that most people gladly leave behind once the paychecks fatten. Some people even harbor resentment for ever having depended on the four-for-a-dollar staple.

More at:
Seattle P-I: Revisiting ramen, an Asian staple but an American afterthought



Liz Hickok: San Francisco in Jell-O

[And now I want Jell-O... -- Wes]

The City, 2005
C-print
16"x30"
edition of 12


Project: San Francisco in Jell-O













This project consists of photographs and video, which depict various San Francisco landscapes. I make the landscapes by constructing scale models of the architectural elements which I use to make molds. I then cast the buildings in Jell-O. Similar to making a movie set, I add backdrops, which I often paint, and elements such as mountains or trees, and then I dramatically light the scenes from the back or underneath. The Jell-O sculptures quickly decay, leaving the photographs and video as the remains.

More at:
Liz Hickok: San Francisco in Jell-O


"Community Stories: Aquarium Kids" to premiere Sunday, April 16th at 7:00 p.m.

Airing tonight at 7pm on Seattle Channel, a documentary short I produced on three high school interns at the Seattle Aquarium (not shown here). See Seattle tax dollars at work! Actually, given the subject matter, see some Seattle tax dollars showing you other Seattle tax dollars at work.

=============================

City of Seattle

Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

NEWS ADVISORY

SUBJECT: Community Stories: Aquarium Kids, a production of the Seattle Channel, to premiere Sunday, April 16th at 7:00 p.m.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
4/12/2006 1:00:00 PM
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shannon Gee (206) 233-3982
Beth Hester 206-684-3493

“Community Stories: A documentary series for the Seattle Channel”

SEATTLE – The Seattle Channel presents the premiere of Aquarium Kids, part of the Seattle Channel series Community Stories.

Every Sunday on Pier 59, three high schoolers come to the Seattle Aquarium to help clean the exhibit tanks and feed the animals, all to prepare for the thousands of visitors who come to aquarium each week. Interns Sam, Shun, and Savy all come from families with roots in Asia, but their unique personalities and life histories illustrate the diversity within the Asian American community, a diversity that in turn enriches the lives of the aquarium's staff and visitors.

The Seattle Channel presents Community Stories: Aquarium Kids, produced and directed by Wes Kim. Photography by John D. Pai. Editor is Alex Perrault. Opening Title Segment Director is David Russo. Senior Producer is Shannon Gee. Executive Producer for Community Stories is Gary Gibson. Community Stories: Aquarium Kids will air on the Seattle Channel, cable channel 21, on Sunday, April 16, at 7:00 p.m.

More at:
Community Stories: Aquarium Kids, a production of the Seattle Channel, to premiere Sunday, April 16th at 7:00 p.m.


NWAAFF update: April 14, 2006

Latest update from Northwest Asian American Film Festival.

========================

Friends of NWAAFF:

Some quick updates from Northwest Asian American Film Festival:
And don't forget to check out our blog at www.nwaaff.org/blogs.

Best,
NWAAFF

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Visit site: nwaaff.org
Read blog: nwaaff.org/blogs
Add MySpace: www.myspace.com/nwaaff
Subscribe: subscribe@nwaaff.org
Unsubscribe: unsubscribe@nwaaff.org
More options: groups.google.com/group/nwaaffnews

Northwest Asian American Film Festival is a production of Northwest Asian American Theatre.
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---



Screening: THE LAND HAS EYES

See below for a note about a Fijian film playing this week at the Grand Illusion. Also, here are some links to reviews:
=====================

Seattle Weekly Pick Seattle Weekly Pick: The Land Has Eyes

=====================
Davenport interrogates star pupil Taito.


The Seattle Times: Movies: Conflicts test a disappearing culture on a remote Fiji island

=====================

Seattle P-I: Filmmaker lets people of Fiji tell their own story

=====================
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nanette Fok

Hi everyone,

My brother-in-law, Corey Tong, has co-produced a lovely film -- THE LAND HAS EYES -- that will be showing in Seattle for only a week starting this Friday. It's set in Rotuma (a small South Pacific Island near Fiji), and is a beautiful story about a young girl who finds power inside herself both to seek justice for her family and to realize her vision and fulfill her dreams.

Please go and see this wonderful film...and bring all your friends along, too!! Director/writer/co-producer Vilsoni Hereniko and co-producer Jeannette Paulson Hereniko will be present at all the screenings to answer questions and tell their great stories. Information about the screenings is below.

Enjoy the film! Thanks!!

Best,
~ nanette
======================================
See the award winning first feature film ever made by a native of Fiji, THE LAND HAS EYES , directed by Vilsoni Hereniko

"This beautiful film brims with a gentle wisdom" - Hollywood Reporter

Winner -
*Best Dramatic Feature - Toronto's ImagineNATIVE Film Festival
*Best Overall Entry - Maori Waiora Film Festival
*Best Hawaii Filmmaker - Cinema Paradise Film Festival

*World Premiere at Sundance,
*Other festivals include Rotterdam, Montreal, Shanghai, Moscow
*Fiji's nomination to the Academy for Best Foreign Language considerations

THE LAND HAS EYES is the story of Viki (introducing Sapeta Taito), a young South Pacific Islander who redeems her family's name by exposing the secrets of her island's most powerful and important people. Shamed by her village for being poor and the daughter of a wrongly convicted thief, Viki is inspired and haunted by the island's mythical "Warrior Woman" (Rena Owen, Once Were Warriors.) The lush tropical beauty of Rotuma, an island of Fiji, contrasts with the stifling conformity of her culture as Viki confronts notions of justice and her own personal freedom.

GRAND ILLUSION CINEMA in Seattle, University District
Friday April 14th - Thursday April 20th.
Plays Daily at 7 & 9pm; plus 3 & 5pm Sat & Sun.

Vilsoni Hereniko, Director, writer and co-producer and Jeannette Paulson Hereniko will attend all screenings to introduce the film and for an after-film discussion at the end.

The theater is located at the SE corner of University Way & Ne 50th St., 1403 NE 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105
tel: 206.523.3935
Admission: $7.50 general, $6.50 students, $5.50 seniors,
$5.00 members of the cinema
website: www.grandillusioncinema.org

For more information on the film, please see www.thelandhaseyes.com


Slate: The two-minute Haggadah. By Michael Rubiner

My wife already marked the arrival of Passover on her blog, so I will counter with my own commemoration of this year's rite. Mazel tov!

The two-minute Haggadah. By Michael Rubiner

"Profiles in Science" at Hi/Lo Film Festival in San Francisco Apr. 6 and 8

If you're in the Bay Area, check out "Profiles in Science" at the Hi/Lo Film Festival in San Francisco today (4/6) and Saturday (4/8).

Full schedule at www.hilofilmfestival.com