festival.sdaff.orgPac Arts Presents | 2017 San Diego Asian Film Festival

-- Skip to main content Home Festival Info Venues Visiting Festival Discounts Volunteer Festival Jurors Sponsors All Films & Events Festival Sections Potluck Podcast Panels Awards Gala Special Events Taiwan Film Showcase @UCSD Indie Films in North Park MOPA Saturday Schedule Ticket Info All-Festival Pass Festival 6-Pack Press Festival News About Pac Arts Contact Membership Announcing the 2017 SDAFF Award Winners See What’s Cooking at the 18th San Diego Asian Film Festival ‹ › THE PROBLEM WITH APU Michael Melamedoff / Asian American Panorama / USA / 2017 / Comedy, Documentary / 49 mins South Asian American comedian Hari Kondabolu confronts his long-standing “nemesis” Apu Nahasapeemapetilon – better known as the Indian convenience store owner on The Simpsons. THE PROBLEM WITH APU Museum of Photographic Arts Saturday, Nov 18, 2017 7:45PM BEFORE WE VANISH Kiyoshi Kurosawa / Masters / Japan / 2017 / Romance, Science Fiction / 129 mins An unfaithful husband returns home to his dispassionate wife, but he’s no longer the same person. In fact, others in town too seem disconcertingly possessed by aliens intent on creating havoc and controlling minds. Meditative, unsettling, and deeply romantic, Kurosawa’s latest takes to body snatching to redeem humanity of its emotional and spiritual stasis. BEFORE WE VANISH UltraStar Mission Valley Friday, Nov 10, 2017 8:35PM BEFORE WE VANISH UltraStar Mission Valley Monday, Nov 13, 2017 8:40PM SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE MIST Cheung King-wai / Discoveries / Hong Kong / 2017 / Drama, Thriller / 86 mins A teenager confesses to killing her parents and dumping their bodies in a reservoir. The cold, clinical confession startles the policewoman investigating the case and presses her to look more closely. Violence hangs over Cheung King-wai’s Hong Kong like an unmovable fog, as the two women slither into each other’s lives, shaking off layers of guilt, sadness, and emotional fatigue. SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE MIST UltraStar Mission Valley Thursday, Nov 16, 2017 7:50PM MON MON MON MONSTERS Giddens Ko / Special Presentations / Taiwan / 2017 / Comedy, Horror, Thriller / 110 mins In high school, there are victims and victimizers, enablers and bystanders. There are monsters too: figurative ones that feed on trouble, and literal ones that feed on human flesh. When some of the former inadvertently capture one of the latter, the real monstrosity materializes. From Taiwan’s most popular novelist-turned-director comes a savage comedy of adolescence run amuck. Centerpiece Film: MON MON MON MONSTERS UCSD Price Center Theater Sunday, Nov 12, 2017 6:30PM CLAIRE’S CAMERA Hong Sang-soo / Masters / France, South Korea / 2017 / Comedy, Experimental / 69 mins A self-parodic comedy of film festival attendees turns, with utter effortlessness by Hong Sang-soo, into a gentle rumination on chance encounters, alternative possibilities, and a spiritual escape best basked under the rays of the French Riviera sun. Kim Min-hee and Isabelle Huppert sing, drink, and shine. CLAIRE’S CAMERA UltraStar Mission Valley Saturday, Nov 11, 2017 1:00PM A BETTER MAN Attiya Khan, Lawrence Jackman / Special Presentations / Canada / 2017 / Documentary / 79 mins 20 years after they were together, Attiya confronts Steve, an ex-boyfriend who used to abuse her every day. With Steve’s permission, Attiya films them in conversation as they acknowledge a painful past and lay out a path for healing. Viscerally intimate, A BETTER MAN is an inspiring work of courage with few peers in contemporary personal documentary. Closing Night Film: A BETTER MAN San Diego Natural History Museum, Kaplan Theater Friday, Nov 17, 2017 7:00PM CLOSE-KNIT Naoko Ogigami / Asia Pop! / Japan / 2017 / Drama, Family, LGBT / 127 mins With her mother gone, 11-year-old Tomo lives with uncle Mako and his partner Rinko. In this big-hearted and empathetic family dramedy, Tomo and Rinko develop a bond which they hope will lead to the warmth and maternal love for which both have been longing. CLOSE-KNIT UltraStar Mission Valley Sunday, Nov 12, 2017 2:30PM CLOSE-KNIT Museum of Photographic Arts Saturday, Nov 18, 2017 3:05PM YOUTH Feng Xiaogang / Masters / China / 2017 / Drama, Historical, Romance / 146 mins The ardor of youth and the aromas of romanticism, tucked safely in the haven of a Cultural Revolution dance troupe, get blown into the wind in Feng Xiaogang’s poignant epic of lithe bodies, fleeting fancies, and the callous weight of China’s turbulent political history. The craft and the critique are as sweeping as they are impeccable. YOUTH UltraStar Mission Valley Wednesday, Nov 15, 2017 6:00PM YOUTH UltraStar Mission Valley Thursday, Nov 16, 2017 6:15PM OH LUCY! Atsuko Hirayanagi / Special Presentations / Japan, USA / 2017 / Comedy, Drama / 95 mins A middle-aged woman in Tokyo escapes dull office life when she chances upon an English class taught by a charming American. Soon she’s renamed Lucy, she develops a penchant for hug-hellos, and she’s following a postcard from San Diego to find love, adventure, and her spunky niece in Southern California. Opening Night Film: OH LUCY! San Diego Natural History Museum, Kaplan Theater Thursday, Nov 9, 2017 7:00PM THE FEELS Jenée LaMarque / Asian American Panorama / USA / 2017 / Comedy, LGBT, Romance / 90 mins Constance Wu stars in this hilarious romp about a lesbian couple’s bacherlorette weekend, when one of the fiancées admits to having never had an orgasm. Talking about sex can be fun, awkward, painful, and liberating, and THE FEELS delivers on all that plus more: an ensemble cast that captures the joyous spontaneity of friendship. THE FEELS Museum of Photographic Arts Saturday, Nov 18, 2017 5:45PM THOSE LONG HAIRED NIGHTS Gerardo Calagui / Discoveries / Philippines / 2017 / Drama, LGBT / 72 mins Tuesday is looking for love, Amanda is searching for family, and Barbie...well, Barbie just can't stay away from trouble. Together, these trans women work their way through the hurdles of the world: the violence, the exploitation, the attitude. And under the direction of Gerardo Calagui, they do so within a refreshing space of romance, warmth, and endless charm. THOSE LONG HAIRED NIGHTS UltraStar Mission Valley Monday, Nov 13, 2017 7:35PM ABU Arshad Khan / Asian American Panorama / Canada / 2017 / Documentary, LGBT / 80 mins Pakistani Canadian filmmaker Arshad Khan lays bare his struggle reconciling his sexual identity with his father, a devout Muslim. Combining family home video, animation, Bollywood clips, and new footage, ABU recounts a family history across two countries and a personal journey from victim to activist. ABU UltraStar Mission Valley Thursday, Nov 16, 2017 8:00PM ‹ › Keyword Section Special Presentations Asian American Panorama Asia Pop! Masters Discoveries Genre Animation Comedy Documentary Drama Experimental Family Fantasy Food Historical Horror Kids LGBT Martial Arts Music Noir Romance Science Fiction Thriller Country Afghanistan Australia Canada China Federated States of Micronesia France Germany Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Japan Kingdom of Tonga Malaysia Mexico Myanmar New Zealand Norway Philippines Qatar Singapore South Korea Sweden Taiwan Thailand United Kingdom USA Vietnam Language Arabic Bahasa Indonesian Bahasa Malaysia Bengali Cantonese English French Fuzhou dialect Gondi Hawaiian Hindi Hunanese Indonesian Japanese Khmer Korean Kosraean Mandarin Nepali Persian Pidgin Punjabi Samoan Sumba dialect Tagalog Taiwanese Thai Tongan Urdu Vietnamese Include Shorts Search Special Presentations The feature presentations of this year's San Diego Asian Film Festival include a cross-cultural comedy, restored classics of Asian and Asian American cinema, live podcast recordings, and a powerful documentary about healing. Asian American Panorama The best of Asian American and Asian Canadian cinema in all of their colors – from short film programs and animation, to documentaries about the famous and infamous, to feature-length tales of woe and humor. Asia Pop! Films to ma...