Asian Film Festival of Dallas

The Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and supporting emerging and established Asian and Asian-American filmmakers and sharing the rich diversity of Asian culture through the medium of cinema.

Since its creation in 2002, the annual film festival has grown to become the South’s largest showcase of Asian and Asian American cinema. Over the last ten years, the festival has provided opportunities for nearly 400 Asian and Asian American filmmakers and documentarians to share their vision, often providing the only venue for their films to be shown in Dallas. The films have also allowed festival goers a chance to experience other lives and cultures without leaving their seats.

This year, AFFD is proud to celebrate its 10th Annual Film Festival, July 14-21, at Landmark’s Magnolia Theatre.  In celebration of ten years of showcasing Asian and Asian American films, we will be featuring some favorites from our first festival alongside new and exciting films.

AFFD Board of Directors

Board Members – Back row left to right (David Gibson, Stephen Carlton, Steve Norwood and Shawn Sreedharan), Middle row left to right (Crystal Decker, Thomas Schubert and Sara Rhodes), Front row left to right (Alicia Chang, Eric Hanes and Cecilia Lai)

Thanks to Skipping Stone Studios in South Lake for providing us with this great group shot.

About Our Directors

STEPHEN CARLTON
Founder
Stephen has had a lifelong interest in movies from all parts of the world. He became passionate about Hong Kong cinema when he started going to the Promenade Cinema in Richardson in the early 1990s with his son to see the latest Hong Kong releases. Over time  Stephen took over the screening of  these movies in the Dallas area and developed a love of Asian Cinema in general. This eventually evolved into the Asian Film Festival of Dallas.

Stephen uses his long background in screening of movies and festival organization to help in various areas of the Film Festival as needed.

In real life Stephen is an engineer working for Fujitsu a Japanese Telecommunications equipment provider and travels regularly to Japan.

MYE HOANG (not pictured above)
Founder
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mye graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2000 with a B.A. in Cinema.  In 2001, Mye founded the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, the largest showcase of Asian film in the Southwest.  In 2005, she moved to New York City and became the public relations coordinator for ImaginAsian Entertainment and assisted with the launching and programming of the first all-Pan Asian movie theatre in Manhattan. In 2006, Mye co-directed and produced a short film called “Press or Say 2″ which has shown in film festivals all over the world and won several awards for best comedy short.  She is currently producing and directing her first feature film from her original screenplay.  She resides in San Diego, CA and works as the Artistic Director of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation/Festival, the 2nd largest showcase of Asian cinema in North America.

ALICIA CHANG
Executive Director
Alicia’s first experience with the Asian Film Festival of Dallas was via a Call for Entries she spotted back in 2003. It prompted her to produce a short film with two SMU film graduates. After experiencing a bit of the festival, she decided to volunteer. She has since served as Volunteer Coordinator, Marketing Director, and now as Executive Director. As Executive Director she is tasked with overseeing the board and its direction.

Alicia has had a life-long love of film, even though her background is largely in music. She has degrees in music and marketing from Southern Methodist University, as well as an MBA from the University of Texas.

By day she works as a product manager for an importing firm, and also as the director of a company that develops copyright enforcement strategies for the film industry.

CRYSTAL DECKER
Artistic Director
Crystal is a film-school grad with a background of film criticism (a Met critic for 3 years), promotion and advertising (with a local PR agency), and festival planning in the DFW market.  Film has always been her first love, but she found her passion for Asian film at the very first year of AFFD.  She sat in one theatre seat for 9 straight hours, then went to the registration table and said, “I want to do this. Tell me how I can help.”  10 years later, she is now a proud member of the AFFD Board of Directors, and a fan for life.

As AFFD’s Artistic Director, Crystal works with the other members of the board to set the creative direction for the year’s events. Whether this means recommending films and series during festival week, or partnering with studios and other festivals to co-present films all year long, Crystal helps determine which opportunities and films fit best with AFFD’s goals and mission, while delivering maximum impact (and entertainment) for fans.

Crystal works directly with festivals, filmmakers, and distributors all over the world, spreading the word about AFFD and building strategic relationships to promote this amazing medium of expression. Crystal believes in the power of film to unite viewers and communities through the experience of watching a movie. When a film is truly special, it’s a gift – something you carry with you forever, becoming part of a shared cultural heritage.

Crystal’s dream job is to work full-time for a film festival or distributor, attending markets across the world, and bringing the best in film to US audiences. Until that magical day, she works for Panasonic Avionics, the global leader of in-flight entertainment systems.  If you’ve ever watched a movie on an airplane, it’s likely that Panasonic made that happen. You’re welcome.

ERIC HANES
Creative Director
Eric first started using Photoshop out of necessity when he was a teenager designing flyer’s for his band and his friends bands. He has always had been interested in many aspects of entertainment (films, art, comics, music, etc) and how all that ties together in one way or the other. He has worked on inking and coloring comic books and even took a stab at art for a video game. But the original need to have some really sharp and outstanding advertising for his band many years ago still drives his passion for the festival.

As the Creative Director for AFFD, Eric’s responsibilities include the overall responsibility of the look and feel of the festival. Over the last ten years the overall branding of the festival has matured along side the overall quality of the festival. The goal is to make something different while still being accessible and delivering the best product possible. Sometimes a flyer is all a person will see before making a decision to attend or not attend. You have the grab the casual observer and pull them in.

When Eric is not working on program guides, posters, t-shirts and the websites for AFFD, he is working his day job as an Information Architect for RBA Consulting designing large enterprise business solutions for Fortune 500 companies.

STEVE NORWOOD
Programming Director
A poet, writer and film reviewer, Steve has been consuming cinema in its many forms for decades, from impressionable-aged childhood viewings of LATITUDE ZERO, ROLLERBALL and THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB, to a modest adult obsession with all things Johnnie To, Paul Thomas Anderson and Nicolas Winding Refn.  When he stumbled across the AFFD in their inaugural year, he was just looking for something fun to do over a weekend.  Ten years later, his involvement has grown from program content provider to Director of Programming. Steve would tell you that Asian Cinema is not his only film interest, but if you randomly ask him at any time during the year what he’s working on, chances are the answer will be “AFFD.”

As the Director of Programming, Steve’s responsibilities include researching, locating and obtaining all the fine films you’ll be watching during festival week, and in the process maintaining a mix of origin countries, genres, audience appeal and overall festival balance.  For every SHAOLIN, he tries to find a DANCE TOWN.  And for every LITTLE BIG SOLDIER, he tries to find a DISORDER.  Steve’s goal is to find the sufficient cinematic goods to alternately entertain, challenge, stun and affect the audience.  Sometimes, all four.

Steve’s day-job entails working as a coordinator in a telecom repair shop.  He wishes there were a way to make a living as a programmer.  If you have the answer to this puzzle, Steve can be reached at…

SARA RHODES
Director of Events and Secretary
Sara Rhodes graduated from the University of Tulsa in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Management and Music (Vocal).   She has gained substantial experience working in the nonprofit world through positions with Texas Ballet Theater and the Texas Neurofibromatosis Foundation.  She also worked in programming for another DFW-area festival, which lead to her invitation to join the AFFD Board of Directors in Spring 2010.

Sara is the Festival’s Director of Events.  Whether it’s an intimate reception for a filmmaker or the Festival’s hugely popular Kick-Off and Closing Night parties, Sara plays a big role in making sure every event goes off without a hitch.

She also serves as Secretary.  She takes meeting minutes and ensures that all Board activities stay true to the Festival’s bylaws.  Always one to follow the rules, being the Board’s Secretary is a perfect fit for Sara.

Sara’s “other” job is with the Mary Collins Agency, where she gets to work with some of the best actors in the Metroplex.  When she’s not working, look for her at the theater supporting a client’s latest play, or, naturally, at the movies.

DAVID GIBSON aka “Crowd Control”
Membership Director & Assistant Programmer
David fell in love with Anime at an early age and kept with the genre when most outgrew it.  It is that love which leads him to the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. Joining the festival in 2004 as a volunteer, David has branched out from the Anime scene and moved up in his duties to help AFFD achieve the success it currently has today.  Taking on the role of Membership Director and Assistant Programmer responsible for Short Film programming, David is committed to helping make every year at AFFD better than the last.  As Membership Director he promotes the advantages of joining AFFD as a year round patron.  His focus is organizing the benefits for each member and building relationships for possible new members.  When he has to switch gears into the Shorts Film programming, he loves to see the creativity that is put forth by all the new and aspiring directors’ submissions.   “Short Films are where all great directors are made” is his motto.

When David is not helping with the festival, he is working full time as a Sr. Contracts Compliance Analyst with the largest Pharmaceutical Wholesaler in the world.  David has been with McKesson since 2000 and his current role is auditing agreements for large Health Systems in the US.  Also, through David’s participation on the Board of Directors, his company is an avid sponsor of the festival every year.

CECILIA LAI
Legal Advisor
Asian cinema has always played a major role in Cecilia’s life.  Cecilia was always excited to see the latest and greatest period flicks and to taking trips to the Chinese video store to pick up the newest releases from Hong Kong, and she still remembers the time she watched China’s Last Emperor on the big screen here in Dallas (which was a very long time ago).   Because she was so engrossed with Chinese films, she didn’t even speak English until pre-school despite being born in Texas!

Cecilia has come a long way since her pre-school days.  Now, she is the legal advisor for AFFD, which is a harmonizing fit with Cecilia’s law practice that is focused on Entertainment Law.  As the legal advisor, Cecilia counsels the AFFD Board in matters relating to non-profit compliance, intellectual property rights, and other legal issues that may arise from AFFD’s activities.  To mix things up a bit and make her role on the board more fun, Cecilia also helps with the event (read PARTY) planning part of the festival.

In “real life,” Cecilia is licensed to practice law in Texas and her work includes advising and counseling or negotiating deals and contracts for individuals or entities involved in the entertainment industries, namely music, film, television, and new media (among other subjects).  Cecilia has also studied Intellectual Property Law in China and worked as a Legal Extern in Hong Kong.  Through her participation with AFFD, Cecilia is able to bridge together local talent with an audience that appreciates art, culture, film, and music offered in Dallas.

SHAWN SREEDHARAN
Treasurer/Operations Director
Shawn works for the secret service so we can’t tell you what he does, in fact we may not even be able to acknowledge that he exists. I can tell you that Shawn is the guy behind the guy, behind the guy. Without him everything would come to a screaching halt.

THOMAS SCHUBERT
Director of Volunteers and Education Development
Tommy will never forget the day he wondered into the back of that comic book store in college.  He didn’t really know why the store had a huge collection of anime and kung fu movies and he sure as heck wasn’t going to question why they rented for only $2 for a whole weekend.  Imagine the look you might see on a kid’s face who’s experiencing Christmas for the first time.  The same look would grace his face for the next four years every time he entered that store. There was just something about Asian cinema.  Something that spoke to him.  When he got the opportunity to work as a board member for the biggest Asian film festival in the southwest he couldn’t say anything be “yes”.  Enthusiastically.

For the last five years, he’s been the primary film teacher at Garland High School.  Since he’s been at GHS he’s done everything in his power to get more and more opportunities for his kids.   Compared to wrangling children everyday, managing all the volunteers AFFD has on tap is a piece of cake.  He also has been taking steps to get the festival out of the theatre and into the community of film schools in the Dallas area.

When he’s not wrangling children, critiquing student films or answering volunteer emails he can usually be found at home.  It’s here he’s created his own nerd-mecca.  Reading comics, watching movies, playing videogames, and enjoying Dungeons and Dragons with his friends are just some of the things on his list of favorite activities.  Rule of thumb: If it’s nerdy in any way, he probably does it with some regularity.

JENNY SKINNER (not pictured above)
Development Director
Jenny has always loved film and how it can connect people from all backgrounds.  She has always had a fondness for foreign/cultural films and how they can educate and resonate with peoples’ perceptions about each other.  Her passion for sharing the many aspects of the film industry evolved when she was in college serving on the executive board for the Texas Film Festival, the largest student-run independent film festival in the U.S.

Jenny is very excited to be part of the 10th anniversary of AFFD.  She hopes to use her passion and energy for film to continue building the foundation of the organization and bringing people together.  A Dallas local, she hopes to help develop AFFD into a long standing community icon.