Whew - finally able to get the recap into the mix!
This past weekend was a flurry of activities courtesy of the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival. This year, the Film Festival relocated into the historic Portage Theater. This classic theater was recently renovated and although updated with new seats, walls, and what nots - the classy historic feel never left the atmosphere. The ceiling fixtures and grand scale curtains add the intricate details for big movie buffs to breathe in.
Before dipping into Festival news, we must send a huge thanks of gratitude to the staff and committee of CFAFF, especially Jonathan Laxamana and Larry Versola. They were great to work with and kudos to all their efforts in bringing this grand event to Chicago and the Filipino community. Applause to all the volunteers, sponsors, performers, audience members, and of course, the Filipino American Network. THANKS!
During this Festival, Jonald Reyes, writer/director of "That Asian Thing," was also a participant in the Music Video Competition for his work with the Chicago hip-hop band, Contriband. Contriband has become a well known staple within the music scene in Chi-town, and Jonald was fortunate enough to work with the guys. The music video was created for the song, "The Addict" to the theme of: ZOMBIES!
After a meeting with the guys, and numerous viewings of Michael Jackson's (or John Landis's) Thriller, Jonald was able to create storyboard sketches in the creation of this version of a short film. Filmed in color and then transferred to black & white, the final product was a homage to George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. A version of the video will be uploaded to the world wide web at a later date. Please stay tuned for more details to satisfy your curiosity.
And oh - did you want to know the results of the competition? We unfortunately came up a few feathers short of a soft pillow - resulting in a close 2nd place to the Gold Medalists's Slow Machines music video. Ironically enough, the Gold Medalist is under the Actually, Records record label. If your "That Asian Thing" trivial knowledge is up to par, you'll realize that we've just come full circle. Mr. Chien Yuan, of Actually Records, was part of "That Asian Thing," to which we now transition...
"That Asian Thing" was granted a nice time slot by the Festival peeps and was the first showing on Saturday afternoon. Just in time to get your AA fix. "Asian-American" fix, that is! hardy-har! We were told that we had a total audience of 130 people. Thanks to all that attended! And sitting within the crowd, and hearing personal reviews afterwards, the feedback was nothing but positive vibes. Afterwards, Jonathan Laxamana led the Q&A discussion with filmmaker, Jonald Reyes.
A big old shout out goes to the Asian-American artists that were part of the film which made an appearance at the screening. From memory (and if you were there and I missed you, let me know please!!), we saw Mia Park, Robbi, Jenny Guzon-Bae, Leslie Arca (Northwestern's Kaibigan 2006) and Jesch from Flipside/SOTO.
After the Q&A with Jonald, a Panel Discussion was held with Jonald and two other Filipino-American filmmakers who were in attendance as part of the Festival: Johnny Asuncion of the movie Float and Ed Mallillin of Brown Soup Thing. Both gave insight into the premise of their films, barriers faced, as well as how race (especially being Filipino-American) played a role into the creation of their project. When responses were accumulated, the bottom line seemed to be two things - a good story and financial budget.
Overall, the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival was a successful screening for "That Asian Thing." Not only was it a fun & exciting weekend, but the experience and new met friends was an overwhelming bonus. As it was it's Chicago Premiere, it has come in full circle from a year ago. One year ago, "That Asian Thing" held a private screening to display the first cut of the film to friends, family, and the Asian-American artists involved. After receiving feedback, going back to the editing board, and churning out a new layout, a final product was made in March of 2008. And now, we stand with 3 Film Festivals, 2 college screenings, 1 Audience Choice Award, and most important, more people who have become interested in Asian-American culture and artists.
Thank you. (most possibly the number one phrase used since the inception of this blog)
LET'S KEEP GOING!! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!
