George C. Lin

Year after year, DC APA Film is fortunate to partner with many individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations. But undoubtedly the most important “partnership” we have is with the Lin family. For those who are just discovering our organization, George C. Lin was our first Executive Director and founder. In 2008, he passed away at the very young age of 37. We remember George for his passion and love for the arts as well as his dedication to our organization and to San Diego Asian Film Foundation.

Last year DC APA Film and the Lin family was proud to present the first-ever George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award to Tze Chun, the very talented writer and director of Children of Invention. This year we are both thrilled that the award will be presented again this year during the closing night of our festival.

The Lin family continues to amaze us and touch us by their kindness and generosity. George’s brother Frank informed us that the family is donating $2500 to DC APA Film. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised because this is the type of thing that George always did – he would do whatever he can to help. We continue to see George’s kindness through the Lin family.

We are very touched by this donation. From the bottom of our heart, we want to say THANK YOU to the Lin family. We are so fortunate to be your friends.

For more information about George, please visit the George C. Lin Memorial Fund.

The George C. Lin Memorial Fund was established by the Lin family in October of 2008 in memory of George C. Lin (1971-2008). The fund provides charitable grants to students, educators and professionals in the non-profit media and arts industries. Additionally, the fund provides grants and other forms of support promoting Pheochromocytoma cancer research, education and awareness.

Charitable donations can be made to:

The George C. Lin Memorial Fund
c/o The San Diego Foundation
2508 Historic Decatur Rd. Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92106

Email the George C. Lin Memorial Fund if you wish to be updated on the fund’s activities: georgelinfund@gmail.com

What did Allison think of 'Joint Security Area'?

Last year local film blogger Allison Lyzenga reviewed many of our films. We dig her because she watches a ton of movies and blogs about them on her movie site, My Film Habit. Allison watches all kinds of movies – mainstream, indie, obscure and the silly ones – and her reviews are dead on.

We emailed several months ago and I asked her if she’s reviewed any Asian flicks of late. She said she saw this one. And that one. And this one. And that one. And soooooo much more. This gal is a true film buff.

We are thrilled to have Allison back as DC APA Film’s official film critic.

Check out her cool film site, My Film Habit.

Come see the D.C. Premiere film screening of Dear Lemon Lima by director Suzi Yoonessi
When: Saturday, October 2nd at 4:30 pm
Where: National Geographic All Roads Film Festival at 1600 M Street NW
Co-hosted by DC APA Film Festival

Dear Lemon Lima is an epistolary coming-of-age tale, narrated through the pondering yet hilarious diary entries of young Vanessa (brought to life by Savannah Wiltfong, who, like Vanessa, is part Yup’ik), a quirky middle-school age girl in a small Alaskan town who wants to win back her wealthy, snobbish ex-boyfriend (played by award-winning actor Shayne Topp). So she and her motley-crew of outcast friends form a team to compete against her ex-boyfriend’s team in their prep school’s Snowstorm Survivor Competition, and in the process, Vanessa builds her self-esteem and gains pride in her Yup’ik (Native Alaskan) heritage.  Acclaimed actors and Alaskan native youth round out the cast in this family-friendly film. This film is a National Geographic All Roads Film Grant recipient.

“A spoonful of sugar, to say nothing of bright pastel colors and friendly bunny rabbits, helps the medicine go down in the sometimes ungainly but often winning prep school comedy.”—-Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

Tickets on sale now! For tickets and more information, click HERE.

The All Roads Film Festival is a part of the All Roads Film Project, a National Geographic program dedicated to providing a platform for indigenous and underrepresented minority-culture storytellers from around the world to showcase their works to promote knowledge, dialogue, and understanding with a broader, global audience. In six days, the festival takes its audiences from the Native American Southwest and Northwest Coast tribes to the Arctic Circle, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Pacific Islands, and Africa through film, photography, and music events with stories of hope, triumph, coming of age, wisdom, culture, and humor.

Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness, by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets, local filmmaker Linda Hattendorf befriended him and brought him into her home. In this documentary, the two unexpected friends embark on a journey to confront Jimmy’s painful past. The film is an intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing powers of friendship and art.

The screening is in conjunction with the exhibition The Art of Gaman which showcases arts and crafts made by Japanese Americans in U.S. internment camps during World War II.  A Mirikitani painting is included in the exhibit.

Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, now 90 years old, will attend. After the screening, filmaker Linda Hattendorf and co-producer Masa Yoshikawa will answer questions from the audience. DVD signing to follow.

Are you interested in volunteering for the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival this year???

The 11th Annual DC APA Film Festival will be held on October 7-16. The success of our non-profit organization depends on the participation of volunteers like yourself.  We will be holding a Happy Hour for people interested in volunteering at the location below:

Who: You
What: Happy Hour
When: 9 September 2010 / 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: Science Club
1136 19th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20036-3602
(202) 775-0747   **Near the Farragut West Metro Station
Why:  Come out and support the APA cause, Get information about and/or sign-up to volunteer for events for the festival, enjoy cheap drinks, appetizers, and Meet new people

You can volunteer for a variety of positions to include ticket sales, event operations,  film support, setup crew, marketing, etc . Pick the films you would like to work and meet new friends at the same time.

We also have a immediate need for volunteers before the festival so if interested, please email Ken at volunteer[at]apafilm.org.

We look forward to meeting you!!

If you have access to a video camera and a great idea, here’s your chance to make a difference and win cash plus an all-expense paid trip to the San Diego Asian Film Festival! REEL IN THE VOTE looking for the most creative, 30-second videos that promote and encourage voter registration and participation in the APIA community. This competition is free and open to anyone.

Reel in the Vote is a non-partisan PSA contest and campaign to generate awareness, excitement, and dialogue to get more Asian Pacific Islander Americans and independent voters out to the polls this year.

The top three videos will be selected to screen throughout the San Diego Asian Film Festival in October in front of thousands of attendees. We will provide travel and lodging to the makers of each of the top three videos to attend the opening weekend of the film festival (October 21-23). A live audience will choose the top winner at our Gala Awards Dinner, October 23, who will be awarded a minimum $1000 prize, two runner ups receive $250 each.

Deadline is August 31. For more information, visit the website HERE.

“I read Li’s autobiography when it was first published a few years ago. I found his story totally compelling but rejected any idea of trying to film it as I didn’t believe anyone could be found for the central role. This necessitated finding a young Chinese dancer in the very front rank, fluent in English and Chinese, handsome, and able to handle a complex acting role. However, I didn’t take into account the determination of the producer, Jane Scott, who bought an option on Li’s book and insisted we embark on a worldwide search for our leading man,” said director Bruce Beresford.

Opening August 20 at E Street Cinema, the film poignantly captures the struggles and triumphs, as well as the intoxicating effects of first love and celebrity amid the pain of exile. Mao’s Last Dancer showcases ballet sequences from acclaimed Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy and co-stars Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, and Joan Chen.

For more information, visit the website HERE.

The retreat started with the Lead Color exercise, which asked each person to rank the lead colors that best characterized them. The exercise was meant to better identify how each person works and  to recognize the lead dynamics within the organization so that each person can learn to flex their lead style to better communicate with others. It turns out, the staff is relatively evenly split between creative green and responsible gold, with a smattering of nurturing blue and adventurous orange. Which colors are you?

Next, we posted suggestions, ideas, and perceived problems into different categories and then broke into work groups to brainstorm solutions and next steps for each issue areas. The topics included: volunteer recruitment and retention, documenting best practices, and national board growth.

The retreat ended with a blueprint for each issue area and a list of next steps for each committee. Everyone is back hard at work ensure that this year’s DC APA Film Festival is the best one yet and that the organization continues to grow and improve.

“I think the retreat was extremely helpful. Through activities and discussion, we were able to learn a lot about how we communicate and function as an organization. We decided to have the retreat because we felt it was a good time to do some planning for the next five years. We had a retreat about 5 years ago and the planning that came from that really allowed us to grow and develop as we did the last few years.

The retreat was a great opportunity for us to learn about each other and get beyond our own preconceptions about each other and our roles in the organization. We also identified several areas for planning and development within the organization, and through extensive activities, were able to begin to address these items and plan for future growth,” said Tad Doyle, DC APA Film Festival’s Director of Programming.

Although the emphasis of our 10-day film festival is the Asian Pacific American experience, since 2007 we have also conducted a “Point of View” workshop in film-making for area high school students. They learn how to write a script, direct actors, set up scenes, operate equipment, employ make-up and costumes, and edit a film into a short production, which is then shown at the festival.

We also have killer parties, fun workshops, panel discussions and hip merchandise!

Need another reason why you should sponsor us? We are a registered nonprofit, tax exempt organization under 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, which means your donation is 100 percent tax deductible.

Find out more about being a sponsor by clicking here to view our Sponsorship Packet.

If you have any questions, you can email Richard Fidler and Ron Sanchez at sponsorship(at)apafilm.org

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.