Where were you when the Asian Film Festival of Dallas celebrated its 10th anniversary as one of the longest running film festivals in Dallas? It is not a trivial thing to make it ten years in Dallas, or in any city for that matter. There has been more than one time over the last few years where we thought that we would not be able to continue bringing this festival to town.
There have been many challenges along the road to ten years, and sometimes we were not sure what was going to happen. Where would we get the money? Why can’t we get films? These were some of the questions that we have had to ask ourselves. Last year was a big challenge for us because for the first time in many years, we didn’t have a title or presenting sponsor to help us finance all the costs that go into running this festival.
This year we are so proud to have Well Go USA Entertainment and McDonald’s along as presenting sponsors, lifting the worry and stress of having to worry about money. What better fit for two sponsors? Well Go USA not only has stepped up to the plate and taken on the role of presenting sponsor, but they have also provided us with some incredible films (SHAOLIN LITTLE BIG SOLDIER, THE STOOL PIGEON and TRIPLE TAP) that we would not normally be able to procure due to cost or other factors. I can’t tell you how much of a pleasure it has been working with Well Go USA not only this year, but going back as we started the relationship with films like IPMAN, IPMAN 2 and THE MAN FROM NOWHERE.
We are really excited about our newest sponsor McDonald’s. The resources they bring to the table are huge and it’s something we have never had before. This is the first year with McDonald’s on board, and the way they have stepped up in such a short time is impressive. Their dedication to us and support we have already seen make me look forward past this year with great anticipation of how we can grow that relationship.
We have had many returning sponsors like Trulucks, Dart, Funimation GIO, Atlantic Hotels Group Ltd, Texas Isntruments, Panasonic, Fujitsu and many others that have been there for us year after. Also, how could we not talk about RD2 Inc and the incredible websites they have and continue to provide for us. I couldn’t imagine working with a more easy-going, patient, and dedicated team. They make us look so good.
And welcome to many of our new sponsors, we hope you become fans too – that is important to us, because that is what sponsorship is ultimately about for us. Special thanks to new sponsors like Skipping Stone Studios, Uptown Dallas and Lumi who will be hosting our opening and closing parties this year. Speaking of opening and closing parties, how could we not make a special call out to Teresa Nguyen at RedId for doing so much for us this year and showing us how to step up the parties and promotions.
But most of all after ten years, there really is only one person that matters to us and that is you, the fan. It is in fact a great statement of how awesome our fans are and how dedicated our volunteers are at making sure that we have even survived this long and that we continue to get bigger each year.
This is the tenth year, our program guide is bigger, our website is bigger, our films our bigger – our parties are bigger. We can’t wait to see you there during festival week.
Thank you,
Eric H. on behalf of the AFFD board
