The Asian Film Festival of Dallas Begins Their 11th Year

DEADLINES AND ENTRY FEES

Early Deadline: February 15, 2012(postmarked)
Early Deadline Entry Fee: $35 (Feature film), $20 (Short film)

Final Deadline: March 31, 2012 (postmarked)
Final Deadline Entry Fee: $40 (Feature film), $25 (Short film)

DALLAS – On Friday, November 11, 2011, the Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD, www.AFFD.org) opens the door for submissions of feature and short films for its 11th annual festival week, to be held July 12-19, 2012 at Landmark’s Magnolia Theater.

The Dallas-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization returns after a rousing and successful 10th anniversary celebration that included 50 films from a dozen countries.  Over the past decade, the AFFD has become the Southwest’s largest showcase for a combined 400+ Asian and Asian-American filmmakers to share their artistic visions with an ever-growing audience that otherwise might not get the chance to see such films on the big screen.

The AFFD launches its 11th year by opening the call for submissions to domestic and international filmmakers.   Their mission statement to “celebrate and support emerging and established Asian and Asian-American filmmakers” by “sharing the rich diversity of Asian culture through the medium of cinema” continues to draw in talented new artists like 2011 feature directors Christine Yoo, Fabien Gaillard, Freddie Wong, Sonali Gulati and Kelvin Kyung Kun Park.  More prominent and well-known filmmakers are often the cornerstones of the festival, including Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Miike, Yoshihiro Nakamura, Pang Ho-Cheung, Dante Lam and Derek Yee, whose films frequently star recognizable actors like Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Louis Koo and Nick Cheung.

Returning Director of Programming Steve Norwood has stated that “each year we look for the very best, the most unique and engaging, and the most fun films from a vast part of the globe.  2012 will be no different; from the blockbusters to the mind-benders, we will supply the long-term members, casual fans and adventurous newcomers with the very best we have to offer.”

Submissions can be processed and details obtained at the AFFD’s WithoutABox festival page here:

http://www.withoutabox.com/login/4793

Here are the award winners for the films that where in competition for 2011 as voted on by the jury and the audience members.

Narrative Feature: DANCE TOWN
Documentary Feature: I AM
Narrative Short: TEAMWORK
Documentary Short: A WOMAN NAMED CANYON SAM
Grand Jury Prize: I AM
Special Jury Prize for Cinematography: LAO WAI
Audience Award: I AM

Big thanks to McDonalds and Well Go USA Entertainment for taking on the presenting sponsor role this year. Sponsors are very important to making this festival happen, please support them. Use those coupons for free drinks.

Also, we couldn’t be giving you this information without the wonderful team at RD2 who gave us this fantastic site.

If you didn’t catch it in the slide show or by word of mouth last night the dates we announced for next years week long festival are July 12 – 19, 2012. Hope to see you all there.

As a special thank you to everyone, we are offering this one time offer to purchase your VIP pass for next year, now. This offer will be up for this week only and includes a 2011 festival shirt, and complimentary membership at the Supporting Cast level for only $125. That is a value of more than $200 and a few dollars less than our discounted price for the VIP pass. Follow this link to show your support and to get yours now. Thanks again.

Today we kick off at noon with Derek Yee’s (ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK) action packed and intense thriller TRIPLE TAP. This intense action – thriller  rides on the building tension of its mystery while having two strong lead performances from Koo (of AFFD 2010′s similarly intense ACCIDENT) and Wu (AFFD 2007′s THE HEAVENLY KINGS). 

After that at 2:15pm is the 1986 Taiwan drama KUEI-MEI, A WOMAN. This melodrama follows the efforts of a woman, pressed into a marriage of convenience, who must leave her home in China and move to Taiwan to care for her new family in an unfamiliar land and culture.

At 5:00pm bring you an old favorite from our first year, FALLEN ANGELS. Wong Kar Wai’s gorgeous and lyrical film is quite different from any other Hong Kong film you may have ever seen, FALLEN ANGELS is a classic that will take your breath away.

At 7:00pm, after a decade of unique films including a sumptuous dissertation on love (DOLLS), an adaptation of the classic ZATOICHI series, and several offbeat, genre-skewing takes on his own efforts as an artist (TAKESHIS’, GLORY TO THE FILMMAKER! and ACHILLES AND THE TORTOISE) , director/writer/actor Takeshi Kitano returns to the crime genre that continues to bring him his greatest fame with OUTRAGE.

At 9:35pm we end the festival where we began, with the encore presentation of the thriller GOLDEN SLUMBER brought to us all the way from your friends in Sendai Japan. With equal parts edge-of-your-seat thrills and quirky humor, GOLDEN SLUMBER will keep you riveted from the first second.

This is the final day, don’t forget to support the festival by buying t-shirts and signing up for membership. Thanks for another successful year.

Today at 7:15pm, we are featuring Freddie Wong’s THE DRUNKARD at 7:15pm, since we moved to the bigger theatre, we are offering a discount code for this film for anyone that still needs to buy a ticket. Use the code AFFDD11 when buying your tickets for this film to get a 50% discount. If you are a VIP pass holder you can bring a guest with you for free to this screening. Director Freddie Wong will be in attendance and we will have a Q&A after the film.

At noon we kick off with an encore presentation of John Sayle’s epic drama AMIGO, which takes a look at a small town during the American occupation of the Philippines at the turn of the century.

At 2:30 is HOME SWEET HOME, another film in our Taiwan Now and Then showcase. This film is from 1970 and tells the multiple stories of Taiwanese students returning home from their studies in the United States, and how some plan to remain abroad while others want to settle down and create lives in their homeland.

After that, at 4:30pm we wrap up our shorts with the Shorts Block 3, featuring five short films, including one from last years festival favorite Quentin Lee, A WOMAN NAMED CANYON SAM. Last year, Lee brought us the hilarious and though provoking THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH. Also, in this short block, film maker Casey Poh will be in attendance to present his short film OUT OF THE SHADOWS.

After the shorts, at 5:45pm we bring one of our stranger picks for this year DISORDER to an earlier time slot than we normally would for such a bizarre, yet hypnotic documentary.

At 7:15pm is THE DRUNKARD, with director Freddie Wong in attendance.

Finally, we wrap up the day with a festival favorite from our very first year, the South Korean  TELL ME SOMETHING. This film is a grisly, moody horror-thriller that provides ample scares, tension and buckets of gore for mystery and terror fans alike.

At 2:05pm we have another installment in our Taiwan Now & Then Series with the 1963 film OUR NEIGHBOR, a touching film that was very controversial when it first hit the big screen so many years ago.

At 4:05pm, MIDNIGHT FM keeps the tension tight from the word go, and Ji-tae Yu (a familiar face from OLDBOY and LADY VENGEANCE) is terrific in his villainous role.  You will be on the edge of your seat the entire time.

Next up at 6:10pm, is the second in our shorts series, while the first short series the second series takes a sharp right turn into chaos and tensions.

At 7:30pm director Fabien Galliard brings us his excellent first film LAO WAI, a film about the challenges of love as a foreigner in a different culture. Special note: Since we are in a much bigger theatre than original planned, if you have already purchased a ticket for this film or have a VIP pass you can bring a guest for free. Director Fabien Galliard will be in attendance and available for Q&A after the film. Use coupon code LAFFD11W when buying your tickets to get a discounted price.

Now for something weird, something we can’t really describe. At 9:45pm we are very proud to be able to bring you THE IMAGE THREADS. If you enjoyed last years symbol then this is for you. If you want to see something you will not see anywere else and will probably never see on DVD, then come out and see THE IMAGE THREADS.

On Wednesday we will have Freddie Wong in attendance for his film THE DRUNKARD, we will have a Q&A after the film. As with LAO WAI, you can also bring one guest with you for free.

Also, we have moved to the biggest theatre and have a bunch of seats now available for the last three days so we hope you get your friends out to share the experience.

Finally, for the closing night party please RSVP at affd@redidagency.com so we know how much to plan for.

Join us at:
Thursday, July 21, 2011
9 pm – 11 pm

Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen
3407 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75204
www.lumikitchen.com

Wine & Hors D’oeuvres
DJ R3VO

Cocktail attire.
No cover. Limited space.
RSVP to affd@redidagency.com

Parking options:
parking lot behind Lumi
parking lot behind Dear Clark
parking at the West Village
parking at the old Borders
valet parking at Primos
hop on the Uptown trolley from any location in Uptown

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS:
Well Go USA Entertainment
McDonald’s
Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen
SmartWater
D. Reeves Production
Prestige Model Management
Elli Grace
Essentuals London
Lisa Abraham, make-up artist
Duy Nguyen of dN Fotos
Uptown Association
Asiance Magazine

This also means we have a lot more seats available for all of you to see the rest of the films this week. Starting today we are offering some discount tickets to LAO WAI and THE DRUNKARD, which both have will have the directors in attendance for you to meat and talk to.

Use LAFFD11W and AFFDD11 for 50% off when ordering online.

The second film of the day, starting at 2:30pm is the amazing documentary CHEONGGYECHEON MEDLEY: A DREAM OF IRON. This film is a mesmerizing, dream like and absolutely stunning look at how obsolete metal working techniques still exist in a growing modernized world.

At 4:05pm we are proud to present our first block of Short Films, featuring four poignant films dealing with relationships and matters of the heart. Director Julie Chow will be in attendance to discuss her short entry THE GOOD DAUGHTER, don’t miss these they are well worth your time.

After the shorts, at 5:20pm we jump back into the features with the second Benny Chan (SHAOLIN) directed film of the week CITY UNDER SIEGE. This action packed thrill ride about circus performers gaining mutant super powers fighting to save their city is great fun and will have you laughing and cheering until the end.

At 7:30pm we present you another documentary for the day with I AM, a highly personal and courageous look at how loved ones deal with high-profile adversity, and how communities can create change at a national level.

Finally, at 9:30 pm, we crank up the tension and action one more time to end the day with ENEMY AT THE DEAD END. The description “OLDBOY set in a hospital room” might not be too far-fetched, as ENEMY AT THE DEAD END is all about forgotten pasts, misconceived rage and bloody, bloody retribution. Claustrophobic vengeance at its finest.

Another great day ahead of us, another day with some great films – we look forward to seeing you there.

We kick off a day of heavy drama and epic film with the light hearted teen drama FROM ME TO YOU, a sweet film about teen friendship and unrequited love. I predict this little known film will be a festival surprise favorite.

At 2:20pm we bring you the latest from from John Sayles, AMIGO. A thought-provoking and incredibly sincere look at a subject that is largely overlooked in the many wartime dramas that hit the theatre every year. AMIGO, starring Chris Cooper focuses on the lives of the people living in a rural Filipino village during the American occupation of the Philippines at the turn of the 19th century.

After that at 4:50pm we are extremely proud to take a look back at one of the greatest film makers, Akira Kurosawa, best films SEVEN SAMURAI. This is a rare opportunity to see this film in a theatre, presented in glorious 35mm. A lot of you have been telling us how excited you are to see this, we are too.

At 7:30pm we have our centerpiece film LOVE IN A PUFF, a politically incorrect drama that looks at a relationship that develops based on the need to take a quick smoke break in a city that has made it very difficult to smoke anywhere. This is one of those films that doesn’t make it to the US market and you will most likely only be able to see at this film festival.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: There is an overlap of SEVEN SAMURAI and LOVE IN A PUFF of about 20 minutes. We will be playing these films in separate theatres, if you want us to save you seat in the LOVE IN A PUFF let one of our volunteers or directors know and we will take care of that for you. Also, LOVE IN A PUFF has an encore presentation at noon on Tuesday.

Finally, wrapping up the third day is the South Korean harrowing drama BEDEVILLED. Starting at 9:50pm, this very dark and distressing film is part intense drama, part psychological thriller, part revenge and multiple parts terror. This film will get under your skin and keeps the tension level high throughout.