Saturday, October 29, 2016

51 Countries of filmmakers come to Hollywood

Asian World Film Festival Fights Euro Odds in Oscar’s Backyard

 - Variety




Fed up with Euro dominance of the Oscar foreign-language category, Sadyk Sher-Niyaz and Georges Chamchoum decided to do something about it: They created the Asian World Film Festivaland launched it in the industry’s backyard last year.
Now the fest is returning for its second outing in Culver City: It kicks off Oct. 24 with a screening of Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia’s “Ali and Nino,” and concludes Nov. 1 with John H. Lee’s Korean hit “Operation Chromite,” starring Liam Neeson as Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
The festival, sponsored by Variety, will honor pioneering “Bambi” illustrator Tyrus “Ty” Wong with a lifetime achievement award Oct. 24; Pam Tom’s documentary about him will screen on his 106th birthday the following day. Korean-American actor-director Justin Chon, best known for his work in the “Twilight Saga,” will receive the fest’s Rising Star Award. Panels on topics ranging from marketing to women in Hollywood are also on the agenda.
But the primary goal remains: To cast a greater spotlight on films from the region. To qualify for competition, films must be submitted for Oscars, or up for similar honors at the Golden Globes. A jury led by “Frozen River” producer Heather Rae will determine award winners over the course of the eight-day festival.
This year’s lineup includes “3000 Nights” (Jordan), “The Age of Shadows” (South Korea), “Interrogation” (India), “A Father’s Will” (Kyrgyzstan), “Cold of Kalandar” (Turkey), and “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass” (Vietnam).
The festival is positioned after foreign-language Oscar entries were submitted to help Asian filmmakers gain traction during awards season. Chamchoum, executive director of the festival, considers the region’s paltry Oscar showing unjust considering the number of masterpieces made there over the years.
Since 1947, Asian movies have received seven foreign-language Oscars, and three honorary Oscars before the designation of the foreign-language category in 1956. All told, Japan and Russia/USSR are both tied for four each; Iran and Taiwan have each nabbed one Oscar each for their films.
Russia extends into the European continent but the bulk of the country is in Asia, and the festival counts past Russian- and Soviet-winners as Asian.
The Academy itself says it does not classify non-U.S. films by region.
“When you think of the wealth of talent it should be higher,” Chamchoum says. “If there was any justice as least a dozen would have won.”
By contrast, consider the European bounty: Italy and France have each won more foreign-language Oscars than the whole Asian continent, with 14 and a dozen, respectively. Spain has also picked up four Oscars, with Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands at three each.
Sher-Niyaz and Chamchoum both feel the disparity keenly as filmmakers themselves. Fest founder Sher-Niyaz, a native of Kyrgyzstan, directed “Kurmanjan Datka” (Queen of the Mountains) in 2014 and produced “Nomaden des himmels” (Heavenly Nomadic) last year. Chamchoum, born in Niger to a Lebanese family, was educated at a boarding school in France before becoming a filmmaker.
Now 70, he has been working in America for 25 years. He says his biggest frustration is an Euro Oscar tilt.
Once he and Sher-Niyaz hatched the festival plan, Chamchoun quickly worked his contacts to pull it together last year.
“It wasn’t even an idea of a festival when Sadyk approached me,” Chamchoum explains, praising him as a man of vision. “We have the same frustration about Asian cinema in Hollywood.”
He says he quickly rallied a team of organizers to the cause. “Didn’t even take 48 hours to set it up,” Chamchoum says.
There were frustrations along the way, but both Sher-Niyaz and Chamchoum are pleased with their first showing. Last year, 14 Oscar-submitted movies screened at the festival — proof, according to Sher-Niyaz, “that the idea of the festival was right and necessary.”
“Last year it went very well,” Chamchoum concurs, citing mostly full houses during screenings. “For a first year we really pulled a miracle because Hollywood is not easy.”
He considers “Ali and Nino” a particularly good fit for this year’s opening-night slot. The movie is an adaptation of a 1947 novel about a Muslim and Christian who fall in love despite their differences. Kapadia, a British filmmaker of Indian-Muslim heritage who just won an Oscar winner for his Amy Winehouse documentary, directed it.
“For me it has everything that we want,” Chamchoum says, before detailing its cross-cultural appeal. “It is the perfect example of what we’re trying to do with festival.”
“We were approached by the festival and delighted to be asked,” producer Kris Thykier says. He believes the movie has contemporary resonance despite its setting in World War I-era Azerbaijan, and wants as many moviegoers as possible to see it.
Thykier applauds the festival for showcasing diverse voices at a time when tribalism and xenophobia is on the rise around the globe.
“Anything that can bring diverse cultures and perspectives to a larger audience should be supported and applauded, particularly in a world riven by xenophobia and fear of ‘difference,’” he says.
Convincing some filmmakers to screen their movies at the festival has been more of a challenge than Chamchoum expected, however. He and his all-volunteer team try to get filmmakers to screen their movies for free in exchange for the exposure.
Each Oscar-submitted film will screen twice at the festival and 80% of all the Globes contenders will play twice, the remainder getting a solo screening. The festival draws from 51 countries, spanning from Cyprus to Japan and including movie-loving India.




But some consultants and publicists treat festivals as a business proposition, Chamchoum rails, admitting he has an old-school approach to the gatherings.
Another obstacle this year: Increased competition with other U.S. film festivals interested in booking Asian films, Sher-Niyaz says. “But we are thrilled at the same time that is happening,” he says in a translated email exchange. “That is what we have aimed for.”
The main goal, he adds, is that more Americans see important film projects from the region. Chamchoum expects to triple last year’s attendance, which he pegs above 7,000.
“I hope we have 25,000,” he says.
“There’s always frustration and anger,” putting a festival together, he says, “but passion and commitment takes over.”
As for Sher-Niyaz, he believes the festival he founded can help further highlight the need for diverse views and perspectives everywhere, Hollywood included.
“The world is different and thus interesting,” he says. “Politicians create walls and borders; people of culture and art try to create bridges to connect people.”
The second annual Asian World Film Festival runs Oct. 24 to Nov. 1 at ArcLight Culver City. Visit asianworldfilmfest.org for more information.
Thank you to Variety for the great article. ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/asian-world-film-festival-2016-oscar-foreign-language-1201894554/
ALL CREDIT for this article goes to 

Friday, October 28, 2016

Foreign films in Los Angeles 2016 - #AsianWorldFF

The Asian World Film Festival is taking place at the Arclight Cinemas in Culver City Friday-Monday, and is screening a wonderful range of films from across Asia including 20 Oscar submitted movies!
Please share this information with your friends, colleagues or students!  We hope to see you all at the festival!

Tickets are only $9 and all films screen at Arclight Cinemas in Culver City, 9500 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232 (
map).  
Parking is available at the city garages on Watseka Avenue (map) and Cardiff Avenue (map) nearby, and is free for the first 3 hours with cinema validation!  We hope you can join us for some stunning Asian movies!

Below are films and Show Times ( * means Oscar Submitted Movie).  Click on the link for a film description and to book tickets:
Fri Oct 28th  11:00am      Vietnam - Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass*
Fri Oct 28th  12:00m        Pakistan - Mah E Mir*
Fri Oct 28th  2:00pm        Russia - Paradise*
Fri Oct 28th  3:00pm        Mongolia - Mother
Fri Oct 28th  5:00pm        Japan - Nagasaki, Memories of My Son
Fri Oct 28th  6:00pm        Russia - The Student
Fri Oct 28th  8:00pm        Lebanon - Halal Love
Sat Oct 29th 11:00am       China/USA - Pali Road
Sat Oct 29th 12:00pm       Malaysia - Redha
Sat Oct 29th 2:00pm         Korea - Deer Flower (short)* & The Age of Shadows*
Sat Oct 29th 3:00pm         Korea - The World of Us
Sat Oct 29th 5:30pm         Russia - Zoology
Sat Oct 29th 6:00pm         Kazakhstan – Road to Mother
Sat Oct 29th 8:00pm         Turkey - Cold of Kalandar*
Sat Oct 29th 9:00pm         Lebanon - Very Big Shot*
            Sun Oct 30th 11:00am      Mongolia - The Faith
Sun Oct 30th 2:00pm        Nepal - The Black Hen
Sun Oct 30th 3:00pm        Jordan - 3000 Nights*
Sun Oct 30th 5:00pm        Russia – Paradise*

Sun Oct 30th 6:00pm        Iraq - El Clasico*
Sun Oct 30th 8:00pm        Korea - Deer Flower (short)* & The Age of Shadows*

Sun Oct 30th 9:00pm        Palestine - 
The Idol*
Mon Oct 31st 11:00am    Palestine - The Idol*
Mon Oct 31st 2:00pm      Jordan - 3000 Nights*
Mon Oct 31st 3:00pm      Iraq - El Clasico*
Mon Oct 31st 6:00pm      Kazakhstan - Amanat*
Mon Oct 31st 8:00pm      Kyrgyzstan - A Father’s Will*

Mon Oct 31st 9:00pm      Mongolia - 
Mother
The full festival schedule is at this link, and all the movie descriptions and options for buying movie tickets are at this link.

We hope to see you this Friday to Monday at the festival!

Kind regards,
ASIAN WORLD FILM FESTIVAL1801 Century Park E, Suite 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90067www.asianworldfilmfest.org




Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Tupac inspired Powamekka pop-up Cafe huge success in Fresno

#FultonFilmCompany 
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/


Great job to everyone that was involved in making this event happen. Congrats to Take 3 Burgers at Fulton Mall & Sam Hansen for a very successful event. I am happy to see that the creative community is having more influence in building our city to the full potential that it can grow to.

Enjoy a few photos from the #Powamekka event and below you can find a couple of links to articles written about "POWAMEKKA" from various internet sources.

"The cafe is a collaboration between Hansen and Desirae Washington-Reed, who owns Take 3 with her father, Brian Washington. The concept is based on a restaurant Shakur was planning to open in Los Angeles before his death." - BY JOSHUA TEHEE

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/entertainment/article100495967.html#storylink=cpy
----------------------------------------------------
Photography by: @GeorgeOhan on Instagram 






Fox 26

Amanda J.






https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/



Kenny KT Thomas

Desiree W.



The MAN!

https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/

https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/

#CaliBred Clothing 

KP on Camera



https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/


@GoalMindClothingCo on Instagram giveaways!
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/




@GoalMindClothingCo on Instagram giveaways!
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/



@GoalMindClothingCo on Instagram giveaways!
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/










@GoalMindClothingCo on Instagram giveaways!
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/


The LADIES of Powamekka!


#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/



#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/


Family fun!


CaliBred T-shirt contest!



#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/





#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/




#CaliBred giveaways!
#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/








Daniel Ramos Jr. - Filmmaker


Nice shirt!



Sam Hansen handling biz!

On The Rocks, VIP... You know those chairs :-)

#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/




#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/



#FultonFilmCompany
https://www.facebook.com/fultonfilmcompany/



#FultonFilmCompany



SOUL GLO!
FRESNO BEE:
http://www.fresnobee.com/entertainment/article100495967.html

VOGUE:
http://www.vogue.com/13476583/tupac-restaurant-pop-up-20th-anniversary/

ROLLING STONE:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tupac-inspired-pop-up-restaurant-in-the-works-w438730

XXL:
http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2016/09/tupac-restaurant-inspired-sketches-open-california/