San Diego Asian Film Festival

The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement, formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation. The festival was first held in 2000 at the University of San Diego by the Asian American Journalists Association of San Diego.

Organization overview

Pacific Arts Movement (or Pac-Arts, formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation^[1]) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation founded in 2002. Before becoming an official organization, the foundation began as a film festival put on by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) to act as a fundraiser in August 2000. After receiving numerous film entries, both domestically and internationally, it had sold out crowds at its inaugural festival. Lee Ann Kim, the founding director and news anchor and reporter from KGTV, the San Diego ABC television affiliate, saw the potential of making the film festival into a separate entity of its own. She teamed up with several journalists, writers, filmmakers, and community leaders who all contributed to make the film festival into the non-profit organization that it is today.

The mission of Pacific Arts Movement is to present Pan Asian media arts to San Diego residents and visitors in order to inspire, entertain and support a more compassionate society.^[2] This is done primarily through the exhibition of films, workshops, and speaker series at Pacific Arts Movement's annual film festival and chief event, The San Diego Asian Film Festival.

The festival also has a reputation for throwing hip and chic after parties, galas, and social mixers. Throughout the year, Pacific Arts Movement offers student internships, cultural literacy programs with area high schools and colleges, and a high school filmmaker project entitled “Reel Voices.” Pacific Arts Movement also teams up with several movie production and marketing companies to promote both independent and mainstream films that are inline with the mission of the organization.

SDAFF films and events

2014 - 15th anniversary

Notable films^[3][4]

• Revenge of the Green Dragons - opening night film
• Meet the Patels - closing night film
• Fresh Off the Boat - world premiere of the television comedy

Notable events

• A Conversation with Anna Akana^[5] - at UC San Diego

2000 - Festival launch

Notable films^[6]

• The Debut - opening night film
• Girlfight - closing night film

Notable appearances

Margaret Cho, Tamlyn Tomita, and Dante Basco

Annual Spring Showcase

The Annual Spring Showcase, introduced in 2011 is a smaller festival than SDAFF, featuring around a dozen films each year. Notable films^[7]

• 2011 Little Big Soldier - inaugural opening night film
• 2012 Sunny - opening night film
• 2013 Linsanity - opening night film
• 2014 To Be Takei - won the audience award at the 4th Annual Spring Showcase
• 2015 In Football We Trust - opening night film

Reel Voices

Each year since 2005, Pacific Arts Movement offers students from local San Diego schools the chance to join this 12-week film internship program. The program accepts around 10 students per year. Students are paired with a mentor and helped to compose a nonfiction documentary film by the Reel Voices staff and volunteers. The final product is screened at SDAFF where the students participate in a Q&A session after the showing.^[8]

Venue

Most film showings and events at SDAFF and the Spring Showcase occur at the Hazard Center UltraStar Cinemas in San Diego, near Fashion Valley Mall, but some events have taken place at other locations such as UC San Diego and other local theaters.

References

External links

• Pacific Arts Movement
• San Diego Asian Film Festival