Director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow, Fast & Furious) and his fellow Offenders at YOMYOMF (You Offend Me You Offend My Family) are proud to launch INTERPRETATIONS, a new initiative created to support our community of aspiring filmmakers.

Here’s the deal: They provide everyone with the same script, consisting of four lines of dialogue, and you make a short film from that script. Five finalists will receive $3,000 toward the development of their next project. One Script, Endless Possibilities.

Check out the shorts they commissioned to launch the initiative!

Submission deadline: September 1, 2010

For all the details and to download the script, visit the website HERE.

In another edition of great film series at the Smithsonian Institute’s Freer and Sackler Galleries, this year’s 15th annual Made in Hong Kong Film Festival takes place in June 18 – August 15 at the Meyer Auditorium of the Freer Gallery. The festival is co-sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. The Made in Hong Kong Film Festival has included films such as Ip Man, Rule Number One, and The Contract.

Seating for films is available on a first-come, first-served basis and general run at 7pm on Friday and 2pm on Sunday. Free tickets are required for most performances and auditorium doors will open approximately 30 minutes before each show.

For more information, visit Freer Film Calendar HERE.

FORMOSA BETRAYED, an official selection of DC APA Film Festival 2009 is now available on DVD and Video-on-Demand.

To celebrate the release, DC APA and Screen Media Films is sponsoring a free raffle to win copies of the DVD! Please send an email to tony[at]formosathemovie.com and mention “DC APA DVD RAFFLE” in the subject line and include your full name and mailing address.

Three random winners will be selected from those who submit for the raffle by July 28, 11:59pm. Not feeling so lucky? Guarantee your DVD by ordering it today on Amazon.com or putting it on your Netflix queue. For more information, visit the website HERE.

Co-sponsored by the Asian Heritage Foundation, this year’s films are: “Hero,” Taiwan’s highest grossing film ever “Cape No. 7,” “The Host,” Akira Kurosawa’s “Dreams,” and “Munnabhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi.”

Go HERE for more information.

Did you miss A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES during the 2009 DC APA Film Festival? You’ve got a second chance at the Modern Times Coffeehouse at Politics & Prose TODAY, May 24 at 7pm (5015 Connecticut Ave NW).

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Versailles residents impressively rose to the challenge by returning and rebuilding before most other neighborhoods in New Orleans, only to have their homes threatened by a proposed toxic landfill.

This event is free. Please RSVP to village@communitycinema-dc.org or at 202-939-0794.  Sponsored by ITVS Community Cinema and the DC APA Film Festival.  For more information, visit the website HERE.

So come join us for our film fest in October. We guarantee you’ll have a swell time! Click here to enter your film.

Yet another showing of 9500 Liberty! If you haven’t seen this great film yet, here’s your chance. Presented by Rights Working Group, 9500 Liberty will be shown Tuesday 5/11, 7:00PM at GWU Law School – Rm Lerner 401 (2000 H St. NW).

Another favorite from our 2009 film festival, A Village Called Versailles, will be played Wednesday 5/12, 6:30pm at the Capitol Visitor’s Center – Orientation Theatre South (E. Capitol St. NW & 1st St NE). Hosted by the Center for Asian American Media and the Congressional APA Caucus, the screening will be followed by a reception in the CVC Restaurant, Dining Room South. Through Community Cinema, the film will also be shown on Sunday 5/23, 5:00PM at Bus Boys and Poets (2021 14th st NW) and on Sunday 5/30, 3:00PM at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center (1529 16th st NW).

The Washington Film Institute and AED hosts Fiesta Asia Festival, Thursday 5/20 and Friday 5/21 at the AED Globe Theater (1927 Florida Ave, NW). Co-produced with Asia Heritage Foundation and The Pink Line project, the festival features 4 films, hailing from Sri Lanka, Taiwan, China and Japan.

FLOWERS OF THE SKY – THURSDAY 6:30PM

DIRECTED BY: Prasanna Vithanage
SYNOPSIS: Living a modest life in complete obscurity, long-forgotten movie star Sandya Rani (Malini Fonseka) finds herself thrust back into the spotlight when she becomes entangled in a scandal revolving around the infidelities of hot, young starlet Shalika (Dilhani Ekanayake). As the media frenzy continues to build momentum, Sandya is soon forced to come to terms with the emergence of her darkest, deepest secret.

THE DRUMMER – THURSDAY 8:00PM

DIRECTED BY: Kenneth Bi
SYNOPSIS: After offending a powerful triad boss, young Hong Kong rebel Sid (Jaycee Chan) is sent by his father to hide out in Taiwan. Under the protection of Chiu (Roy Cheung) and in rural isolation, Sid encounters a group of Zen drummers, whose powerful art speaks to him. But to become a member of this inspiring ensemble, the cocky and selfish Sid must learn the important values of discipline and hard work.

THE KING OF MASKS – FRIDAY 6:30PM

DIRECTED BY: Tian-Ming Wu
SYNOPSIS: Nearing the end of his life, Wang — a locally renowned street performer and wizard of the venerable art of mask magic — yearns to pass on his technique. But custom decrees that he can only hand down his craft to a male successor. Anxious to preserve his unique art, the heirless Wang buys an impoverished 8-year-old on the black market.

DEPARTURES – FRIDAY 8:00PM

DIRECTED BY: Yojiro Takita
SYNOPSIS: Freshly unemployed, young cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) has an epiphany in which he realizes he’s been heading down the wrong career path. Retreating to his hometown, he trains for a new professional role as a nakanshi, or one who prepares the dead for burial. Tsutomu Yamazaki provides comic relief as Daigo’s eccentric mentor in director Yojiro Takita’s Oscar-winning, richly detailed — if unlikely — drama about finding your bliss.

The 2009 DC APA Film Festival’s Opening Night feature, 9500 LIBERTY, will be shown at 2167 Rayburn House Office Building on Thursday, April 22 at 6:30PM, followed by a question and answer session with the filmmakers: Annabel Park and Eric Byler.

In collaboration with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, this event is hosted by the Congressional APA Staff Association, Congressional Black Associates, and Congressional Hispanic American Staff Association. 9500 LIBERTY weaves several narratives focused on America’s cultural struggle over immigration policy and dramatic demographic shifts.

Synopsis:

Prince William County, Virginia becomes ground zero in America’s explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopt a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have “probable cause” to suspect is an undocumented immigrant.

9500 Liberty reveals the startling vulnerability of a local government, targeted by national anti-immigration networks using the Internet to frighten and intimidate lawmakers and citizens. Alarmed by a climate of fear and racial division, residents form a resistance using YouTube videos and virtual townhalls, setting up a real-life showdown in the seat of county government.

The devastating social and economic impact of the “Immigration Resolution” is felt in the lives of real people in homes and in local businesses. But the ferocious fight to adopt and then reverse this policy unfolds inside government chambers, on the streets, and on the Internet. 9500 Liberty provides a front row seat to all three battlegrounds.

For more information, visit the website HERE.

Tickets are FREE and seating for films are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Auditorium doors will open approximately 30 minutes before each show. Click here for more information about the festival.

Postmark Deadline for early submission is THIS SATURDAY, April 10, so get your entries in now! Regular submission deadline is May 8. Benefits of early submissions include a discounted entry fee and earlier consideration by the programs committee.

See our Submissions FAQ page for more information.