Welcome to the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2014

Tomorrow night, Visual Communications will kick off its 30th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. That’s a real milestone and I’m happy to volunteer as one of the programming committee for my second year. So I’ll get to attend the gala opening screening of To Be Takei (I hope I see some Starfleet members) and then get ready to watch some import, indie, and arty movies…

On Friday night, I have the pleasure of introducing Lisa Takeba’s The Pinkie. Combining crime, gore, and other genres that I love, it’s as colorful as it is energetic. It’s going to be a kick to watch on a big screen with a hopefully boisterous audience.

Yes, Lisa will be in attendance for a Q&A afterward and so will representatives from “Unusual Targets,” a short that will accompany it. That will be cool and that doesn’t happen when you stay home and watch movies on your computer.

On Sunday at noon, I’ll get to introduce another indie import. Miko Livelo’s Blue Bustamante addresses the series topic of Overseas Filipino Workers and mashes it up with vintage Japanese sentai shows. You know, masked Power Rangers.

There’s no Q&A afterward, but when will you ever get to see a movie like this on the big screen? Of course, this movie and The Pinkie are perfect movies to be presented by Giant Robot.

On Sunday night, I present one more movie. Lordville is the latest documentary by the hugely respected arthouse director Rea Tajiri. It’s a spooky and beautiful and real study of her adopted hometown, which happens to be a ghost town.

Yes, Rea will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A to answer the many questions that will arise. Won’t you attend, too? Support indie, imported, and Asian cinema! See you there!