My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)
HAPPY THINGS:
1. The summer reading list announcement for The Tournament of Books (here)
2. Got my fill of Asian, Pacific Islands and Asian American films at CAAMfest.
3. Singing Carmina Burana at Southern Pacific Brewing Co. with the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
Author event:
SFMOMA Public Knowledge Library hosted an Asian Pacific Heritage month event, My So-Called Filipino Egyptian Life with Malaka Gharib and her debut graphic novel, I Was Their American Dream. After Q&A with Malaka attendees were invited to join Malaka's zine making workshop.
This event was co-presented by San Francisco Public Library Excelsior Branch and PAL / The Pilipinx American Library, a movable library and programming platform dedicated exclusively to diasporic Filipinx narratives.
by Malaka Gharib
-Graphic Novel, Memoir | Goodreads
Library:
by Susan Choi
-Literary | Goodreads
GETTING started on the reading list for Camp Tournament of Books self-challenge (here).
For Review:
Lindsay's Joyride
by Molly Hurford
illustrated by Violet Lemay
-Sports, Middle Grade | Goodreads
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
WANTED to check out the girl's perspective of this biker world.
A Regency Romance
(Hearts of Amberley Book 2)
by Charlotte Brentwood
-Historical, Romance | Goodreads
courtesy of author -Thanks!
ENJOYED the first book in this series and looking forward to more.
AND watched: in theatre for CAAM 2019 Festival - Center for Asian American Media festival
Director: Dan Lee
-Folktale, Korea | trailer | my rating: 5
Q&A with director and band
Dan Lee (from the rock band Scrabbel) premieres a dynamic, new live music performance based on the Korean fairytale, Chilseok. The Magpies of Seoul is about two childhood friends who get separated by the Korean War, Lee’s interpretation of the traditional story. The live performance will feature a mix of indie rock and traditional Korean drumming.
THIS was a live presentation with film footage accompanied by musical performance. The illustrations created were compiled and made into a book as well.
Director/Writer: Andrea A. Walter
Stars: Carla Humphries, Chris Pang, Dante Basco, Osric Chau, Rhian Ramos
-Drama, Philippines | imdb | my rating: 5
Q&A with director and actors
In director Andrea A. Walker’s feature debut, two strangers rediscover the Philippines after life abroad, finding both familiarity and detachment on their journeys. Graduate student Samantha returns from London following the tragic loss of her parents, defensive with her sister’s attempts to motivate her and torn on a path forward to a post-grad school life. Stuntman Eric arrives from the U.S. to work on a film, wanting to reconnect to the places he remembered so fondly from his childhood, but frustrated by the cultural disconnect he faces after being away.
As Samantha and Eric encounter loneliness and detachment in a place once familiar to them both, they seek out connection and friendship in one another, searching for someone they can relate to. EMPTY BY DESIGN beautifully unwraps the most simple desires and emotions that we all face when trying to find community. — Brian Ray
BEAUTIFUL dreamy shots of the middle class filipino world.
-shorts | CAAMFest description | my overall rating: 5
Q&A with all but one director
If a tree falls in a forest, but no one Instagrams it, does it matter? Social media has changed our world and the characters in this visionary program are feeling the effects. Whether they’re searching for their online community or struggling with overwhelming FOMO, this collection of films tackles modern technology head on.
BUFFALO NICKEL
Directed by Youthana Yuos
A bored and lonely Indian American woman unwittingly calls upon the powers of a Social Media Influencer who offers her a chance to change.
CONTOURS
Directed by Javian Ashton Le
Existing between her parents’ unfamiliar heritage and the norms of Western society, a teenage girl’s refuge in a hotel suite following cosmetic eyelid surgery explores the amorphous nature of first-generation Asian American identity.
REACH
Directed by Mike Wierzenski, Mina Park
When a young woman struggling with body image issues posts a photo of herself online, we follow the spectrum of reactions that occur in every corner of the internet.
SELF PORTRAIT
Directed by Sharon Choi
SELF PORTRAIT is an experimental short of a woman’s journey into her inner well.
SHARE
Directed by Barna Szász, Ellie Wen
An 18-year-old Instagram influencer attempts to reconcile his identity online with his identity in real life.
SWORDED LOVE
Directed by Tina Takemoto
Fleeting cinematic impressions of star-crossed swordsmen are captured in the oblique wanderings of emulsion lifted from a stray reel of a 35mm kung fu action film.
GAMERS
Directed by Searit Huluf
An amateur female gamer is given a once in a lifetime opportunity to try out for a pro league gaming team, only to be repressed by self-doubt.
Written, performed and produced by Susan Lieu
Directed by Sara Porkalob.
-live performance | website | my rating: 5
Q&A with performer
Two hours into surgery, Susan’s mother loses oxygen to her brain and the plastic surgeon deliberately does not call 9-1-1 for fourteen minutes. Five days later, while in a coma, she flatlines. The surgeon is charged with medical negligence and her family falls apart; no one talks about what happened. Nineteen years later on her wedding day, Susan’s mother’s seat sits empty and Susan realizes she can no longer ignore what she’s always wanted: to know who her mother was. Sifting through thousands of deposition pages and reaching out to the killer’s family, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of Vietnamese feminine beauty.
IMPRESSED with this touching one-woman show.
Director: Alister Grierson
Writers: Michael Pugliese, Prem Singh
Stars: Mickey Rourke, Janel Parrish, Marshall Manesh
Based on true story
-Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
A practicing Sikh is banned by the boxing commission for refusing to back down from his religious beliefs. Through racial profiling and stereotypical threats, he does what any strong American would do, fight back.
YES! when things turn out right.
State v. Shuai (original title)
Directors: Marion Lipschutz, Rose Rosenblatt
-Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5
Q&A with director
Alone in a foreign land, a pregnant woman is abandoned by the man she loves. She tries to kill herself and survives, but her baby dies. Is she a tragic victim or a murderous criminal?
TIMELY especially with issues around abortion swirling around these days.
Mirrors and Feathers (original title)
Director/Writer: Chengjie Cai
Stars: Wang Qilin, Tian Tian, Wen Xinyu
-Drama, China | imdb | my rating: 5
After losing her house and husband, a rural woman leads a stranded life with her 10-year-old brother-in-law in a modified "recreational vehicle". To find a warm place to survive the cold winter, she pretends to be a shaman who can rid villagers of evil spirits, and ironically, her juggled deceits often become real. However, she soon loses her power to people's greed and apathy, and in meagre attempts of salvation, her life story eventually ends in tragedy and disillusion.
UGH. Beautiful scenes, but tugs at the heart in so many places.
Directors: Harry Chuck, Josh Chuck
-Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5
Q&A with directors
A documentary based on Harry Chuck's collection of clippings and period films about the issues that motivated members of San Francisco's Chinese American community to reject submissive stereotypes.
RICH with footage from Chinatown's political past.
Director: Nadia Shihab
-Documentary | imdb | my rating: 4
Q&A with director
JADDOLAND explores diasporic longing and the meaning of home across generations. When the filmmaker returns to her hometown in the Texas panhandle to visit her mother, an artist from Iraq, she turns her lens on her mother's increasingly isolated life, as well as the beauty and solace that emerge through her creative process.
INTERESTING peek into an artist's life for both the subject and filmmaker. A wonderful art installation of Lahib Jaddo's work were also on display for CAAMfest.
-shorts | CAAMFest description | my overall rating: 5
A selection of shorts from the Himalayas in partnership with the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) and the Bay Area Himalayan Film Festival. These shorts spotlight the burgeoning documentary and narrative film scene in the region and are sure to move viewers in many ways.
ABOUT A GIRL
Directed by Manish Niraula
A high school girl can’t speak about a traumatic incident she experiences on the bus.
DOLPA DIARY
Directed by Prasna Dongol
A young woman battles her inner demons as she solo treks across Dolpo.
SILVER BANGLES
Directed by Roshan Thakuri
A woman takes extreme measures in order to save her childless marriage.
SUPERMONK
Directed by Shenang Gyamjo Tamang
An engaging tale of a little monk whose life takes a dramatic turn – just like in the movies.
TATTINI (THE MOON IS BRIGHT TONIGHT)
Directed by Abinash Bikram Shah
The young widow of a migrant worker wants to start a new life with her husband’s insurance money…
TIRKHA (THE THIRST)
Directed by Bhabasagar Ghimire
A young girl thirsts for knowledge but struggles to be on time at school.
Directors: Caylee So, Sok Visal
Writers: Caylee So, Dane Styler
Stars: Daniel Chea, Socheat Chea, Sreynan Chea
-Drama, Family, History, Cambodia | imdb | my rating: 5
In the Life of Music, a story told in three chapters, tells the story of how one song 'Champa Battambang,' a song made famous by Sinn Sisamuth (the King of Khmer Music), plays a role in the lives of three different generations.
LOVED how a song was made into a character. Again, another beautifully done film.
Director: Deann Borshay Liem
-Documentary, Korea | CAAMFest description | my rating: 5
GEOGRAPHIES OF KINSHIP traces the legacy of war and political and economic upheaval in South Korea, particularly on the vulnerable women and children of a traditionally patriarchal society. This powerful and heartbreaking documentary reveals the origins of the international adoption models that sent over 200,000 Korean children to other countries. Those models are still in place today across the world, and filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem brings history to life in the compelling stories of five Korean adoptees.
Coming to grips with their past has led the adoptees to return to South Korea to find their histories and families. We are invited to witness the making of history, as some adoptees find ways to participate in important political reforms that address the treatment of single mothers and could help end the economy of adoption in South Korea.
GEOGRAPHIES OF KINSHIP tells a vast story grounded in the adoptees’ lived experiences, revealing the personal repercussions of transnational adoption, and exploring issues around identity, family, and nationality. — Kat Hughes
FASCINATING piece about the history of adoption and South Korea as well as perspectives from adoptees.
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently
Thanks for stopping by :-)
