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Timeline

2009: 27th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 12-22, 2009; Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Castro Theatre, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Pacific Film Archive, Hotel Kabuki, Camera 12 Cinemas)

With a strong attendance of 25,000 festivalgoers, filmmakers, and industry guests, the 27th festival showed a continued vitality and appetite for Asian and Asian American cinema. The program featured seven world premieres, one North American premiere, and two U.S. premieres of feature-length films, with more than half of the screenings sold out.

Opening Night featured the North American premiere of Lee Yoon-ki’s MY DEAR ENEMY, while SFIAAFF veteran So Yong Kim closed out the festival with her U.S./Korea-produced TREELESS MOUNTAIN. The Centerpiece presentation saw a sold-out Castro Theatre for the World Premiere of H.P. Mendoza’s directorial debut, FRUIT FLY. Other World Premieres included KARMA CALLING (Sarba Das, USA), San Jose Opening Night film WHITE ON RICE (David Boyle, USA), WHATEVER IT TAKES (Chris Wong, USA) and YOU DON’T KNOW JACK: THE JACK SOO STORY (Jeff Adachi, USA).

A retrospective of Kiyoshi Kurosawa offered rare screenings of his under-seen films (LICENSE TO LIVE, SERPENT’S PATH), as well as his latest Cannes film festival award winner TOKYO SONATA, with the director present to grace the stage. Other film luminaries in town included Lynn Chen, Joan Chen, Julia Nickson, and Leonardo Nam.

In between, highlights included a screening of Ang Lee’s LUST, CAUTION, with Lee in conversation with UCB professor Linda Williams; a showcase of works from experimental filmmaker Takahiko Iimura; a panel with WATCHMEN screenwriter Alex Tse; and the launch of CAAM’s HAPAS.US website. The festival also continued its ever-popular Directions in Sound event, day-long Festival Forum, and numerous short film programs from the best and brightest of new Asian American artists.

2008: 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 13-23, 2008; Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Castro Theatre, Landmark Clay Theatre, Pacific Film Archive, Camera 12 Cinemas)
The festival is marked by an exciting return to Japantown and a solid program with eight world premieres, three North American premieres and four U.S. premieres. To usher in the 26th, the festival introduces the “Festival Forum” – a full day of live music and dance, interactive Web cam booths (CAAM Interactive), and an outdoor screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s 1978 anime class, THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO, in the Japantown Peace Plaza. A newly renovated Sundance Kabuki Cinemas becomes home again to the majority of festival screenings.

A Spotlight on Wayne Wang includes Opening Night film, A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS – his first Asian American film in 15 years – and its companion film, THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA. The director reunites with author Amy Tan, producer Janet Yang and actors Ming Wen and Lauren Tom for a screening of THE JOY LUCK CLUB. A tribute to the late Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang features screenings of YI YI, THE TERRORIZER, and the rarely screened masterpiece, A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY.

Additional highlights include screenings of HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY and Michael Kang’s Centerpiece Presentation film, WEST 32ND, with actor John Cho present at both screenings. Kang’s Koreatown noir proves an unprecedented hit, selling out the 1400-seat Castro Theatre. The U.S. Premiere of Risa Morimoto’s doc WINGS OF DEFEAT is attended by a pair of kamikaze pilots and a U.S. veteran featured in the film. Among the 225 guests present: actors Daniel Wu, Henry O, and Adinia Wirasti, filmmakers Brillante Mendoza, Jessica Yu, Christine Choy, and Gina Kim, and Panels & Talks participants Iris Yamashita, Dennis Lim and Tim Goodman.

2007: 25th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 15-25, 2007; AMC Van Ness Theatres, Castro Theatre, Landmark Opera Plaza Cinemas, Palace of Fine Arts, Pacific Film Archive, Camera 12 Cinemas)
Another strong year for Asian American narrative features proves that 2006 wasn’t a fluke, with another dozen features screening in competition, including the world premieres of Desmond Nakano’s AMERICAN PASTIME, Juwan Chung’s BABY and Kern Konwiser and David Ren’s SHANGHAI KISS. That doesn’t even include Justin Lin’s FINISHING THE GAME, which screens on Opening Night, with MC Hammer joining the cast and crew on stage. Documentaries like Lisette Marie Flanary’s NA KAMALEI: THE MEN OF HULA, Socheata Poeuv’s NEW YEAR BABY and Linda Hattendorf’s THE CATS OF MIRIKITANI prove popular, as does Arthur Dong’s HOLLYWOOD CHINESE, which world premieres as the Centerpiece Presentation. The International Showcase features titles ranging from Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s arthouse SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY to Lee Jun-ik’s Korean blockbuster KING AND THE CLOWN to surprise anime hit THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME, by Mamoru Hosoda. The Festival also presents a complete 7-film retrospective of the works of Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo, with the filmmaker attending in person to present his latest, WOMAN ON THE BEACH.

2006: 24th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 16-26; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Castro Theatre, Palace of Fine Arts, Pacific Film Archive, Camera 12 Cinemas)
It’s a watershed year for Asian American narrative features as twelve features screen in the Narrative Competition, including Eric Byler’s Opening Night drama AMERICANese and the Closing Night epic JOURNEY FROM THE FALL, by Ham Tran. Other titles include Tanuj Chopra’s PUNCHING AT THE SUN, Julia Kwan’s EVE AND THE FIRE HORSE, and Richard Wong’s COLMA: THE MUSICAL, which world premiered at the Festival before going on become the darling of the indie film circuit. Actor James Shigeta (FLOWER DRUM SONG, THE CRIMSON KIMONO) gets the Spotlight, kicking off a thematic focus on Asian American masculinity, including Jeff Adachi’s documentary THE SLANTED SCREEN, which chronicles the history of Asian American men on screen, and a panel discussion featuring actors Daniel Dae Kim and Jason Scott Lee. Popular international titles include Wisit Sasanatieng’s CITIZEN DOG, Zhang Lu’s GRAIN IN EAR, Nobuhiro Yamashita’s LINDA LINDA LINDA, and the Centerpiece Presentation, WATER, by Deepa Mehta.

2005: 23rd San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 10-20; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Castro Theatre, Pacific Film Archive, Camera 12 Cinemas)
The Festival holds its Opening Night screening at the Castro Theatre for the first time and is graced with debut filmmaker Alice Wu’s romantic comedy SAVING FACE, starring San Francisco’s own Joan Chen. To celebrate NAATA’s 25th anniversary, the Festival invites seminal filmmakers (Renee Tajima-Pena, Justin Lin, Gurinder Chadha/Paul Mayeda Berges) as guest programmers to select films from its past, such as A.K.A. DON BONUS and FIRST PERSON PLURAL. The Spotlight goes to the prolific, Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, whose latest work THE MUSHROOM CLUB makes it world premiere at the Festival. The Centerpiece Presentation of SORCERESS OF THE NEW PIANO features a performance by avant-garde pianist Margaret Leng Tan on her famous toy pianos before the screening. Popular selections include documentaries like Grace Lee’s THE GRACE LEE PROJECT and Adam Del Deo and James Stern’s THE YEAR OF THE YAO, as well as international features like Park Chan-wook’s OLDBOY and Fruit Chan’s DUMPLINGS, whose North American premiere at the Festival was attended by star Bai Ling. The Festival also inaugurates a juried competition for Asian American and Asian Canadian narrative and documentary features, as well as Audience Awards.

2004: 22nd San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 4-21; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Castro Theatre, Pacific Film Archive, Camera 3 Cinemas)
Zhang Yimou’s highly anticipated swordplay epic HERO opens the Festival, which again sees a surge in attendance, which climbs over 27,000. A long overdue Spotlight on legendary Chinese American actress Anna May Wong features classics like SHANGHAI EXPRESS as well as a Centerpiece Presentation screening of the rediscovered British silent masterpiece PICCADILLY, with an original score composed and performed live by renowned pianist Jon Jang. Khyentse Norbu’s TRAVELLERS AND MAGICIANS, the first feature ever from Bhutan, helps kick off a series of films from the Himalayas. Other popular international films include Takeshi Kitano’s DOLLS, Lou Ye’s PURPLE BUTTERFLY, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s BRIGHT FUTURE and Royston Tan’s 15. Asian American features are led by daring works like Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Baker’s TAKE OUT and Gina Kim’s INVISIBLE LIGHT, while MASTERS OF THE PILLOW, James Hou’s documentary about the making of the first ever Asian American porn film, becomes one of the most talked about films in the Festival. Ramona Diaz’s documentary IMELDA, about the former first lady of the Philippines, closes the Festival.

2003: 21st San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 6-16; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Castro Theatre, Pacific Film Archive; Camera 3 Cinemas)
The Festival comes of age with a program widely praised as the best in years. Gurinder Chadha returns with the surprise British hit BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, co-written by former SFIAAFF director Paul Mayeda-Berges. The exuberant film opens the Festival and also kicks off its special focus, “Cinema of the Indian Diaspora,” which includes Bollywood classics like MOTHER INDIA (1957) and KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI (1998) as well as the world premieres of Benny Mathews’ Indian American feature WHERE’S THE PARTY YAAR? and Vivek Bald’s long-awaited documentary MUTINY: ASIANS STORM BRITISH MUSIC. The Festival Spotlight honors veteran filmmaker and sound recordist Curtis Choy. Eric Byler’s debut feature CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES generates considerable buzz, as do Mina Shum’s LONG LIFE, HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY and Greg Pak’s Closing Night feature ROBOT STORIES. Spencer Nakasako’s emotional REFUGEE (the Centerpiece Presentation) and MORNING SUN (from the creators of THE GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE) head a powerful lineup of documentaries, and critically acclaimed international features like Jia Zhang-ke’s UNKNOWN PLEASURES and Riri Riza’s ELIANA, ELIANA round out a diverse program that helps the Festival sell out more than 50% of its screenings and boost its attendance to 24,000, a whopping 30% increase from the prior year.

2002: 20th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 7-17; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres; Pacific Film Archive; Camera 3 Cinemas)
In 2002, the Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary with an extensive program (a record 135 films) looking at the past and future of Asian American cinema. Justin Lin’s controversial Sundance hit BETTER LUCK TOMORROW kicks off the 10-day event with a bang, instantly establishing itself as arguably the most exciting and groundbreaking independent Asian American film since CHAN IS MISSING (SFIAAFF ‘82), which is also presented in a new print at the Pacific Film Archive. The Festival provides historical context for these accomplishments with retrospective screenings of early works by Ang Lee, Kayo Hatta, Mira Nair, and other acclaimed filmmakers, as well as its first Centerpiece Presentation, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1961 musical FLOWER DRUM SONG, screened at the historic Castro Theatre with stars Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta in attendance. A rare screening of John Lone’s PAPER ANGELS pays tribute to the late Victor Wong. Canadians made a strong showing with the world premiere of Romeo Candido’s LOLO’S CHILD and the U.S. premiere of festival regular Helen Lee’s feature debut THE ART OF WOO. Festival hits include documentaries like Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner DAUGHTER FROM DANANG and the world premiere of Pamela Yates and Peter Kinoy’s PRESUMED GUILTY. World cinema highlights include Lin Cheng-sheng’s BETELNUT BEAUTY and Nonzee Nomibutr’s JAN DARA. The Festival closes with Tim Bui’s GREEN DRAGON before moving down to San Jose for an expanded showcase.

2001: 19th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 8 - 18; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres; Pacific Film Archive; Camera 3 Cinemas)
With Chi-hui Yang as the new Festival Director, the Festival focuses on emerging Filipino American talent with Rod Pulido’s THE FLIP SIDE (the first Filipino American film to screen at Sundance) on opening night and Gene Cajayon’s THE DEBUT (which goes on to enjoy an impressive theatrical run) on closing night. Other Asian American features like Abraham Lim’s ROADS AND BRIDGES and John H. Lee’s THE CUT RUNS DEEP, together with outstanding shorts from women filmmakers (Joy Dietrich’s SURPLUS, Lily Mariye’s THE SHANGRI-LA CAFE, Ellie Lee’s DOG DAYS, and Helen Lee’s SUBROSA), prove that a wealth of young talent is emerging. The inaugural Spotlight program focuses on pioneer filmmaker Loni Ding, while the Directions in Sound event expands to two venues (The Justice League and Cafe Du Nord). Once the San Francisco run closes, the Festival moves to San Jose for a weekend of screenings at the Camera 3 Cinemas.

2000: 18th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 9 - 16; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres; Pacific Film Archive)
Former NAATA Executive Director Deann Borshay’s personal documentary FIRST PERSON PLURAL kicks off the Festival with an emotional journey about confronting her childhood and identity as a Korean adoptee, while Korean American Daniel Yoon’s do-it-yourself debut feature POST CONCUSSION is the closing night film, providing strong bookends highlighting the Korean American experience as well as new voices and directions in independent filmmaking. World premieres of Asian American documentaries include Paul Kwan and Arnold Iger’s A WOK IN PROGRESS (the third installment in their cultural/culinary trilogy) and Eric Paul Fournier’s OF CIVIL WRONGS AND RIGHTS: THE FRED KOREMATSU STORY. Nonzee Nimibutr’s Thai blockbuster NANG NAK and Zhang Yang’s SPICY LOVE SOUP showcase emerging industries and talents while co-productions like Jule Gilfillan’s RESTLESS (USA/China) and Kal Ng’s DREAMTRIPS (Canada/HK) point to a more global filmmaking economy. The inaugural Directions in Sound event showcases new Asian American musicians and music videos in a sold out show at Rico’s.

1999: 17th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 11 - 18; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Pacific Film Archive)
New festival director Brian Lau highlights the wealth of Bay Area talent, the diasporic nature of the Asian American identity, new accomplishments in narrative and documentary forms, and the diversity of the communities with Tony Bui’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner THREE SEASONS on opening night and the world premiere of Ruby Yang’s documentary CITIZEN HONG KONG on closing night. Asian American films make a strong showing once again with Philip Kan Gotanda’s LIFE TASTES GOOD, Darshan Baghat’s KARMA LOCAL, Emiko Omori’s RABBIT IN THE MOON, Dai Sil Kim-Gibson’s SILNECE BROKEN: KOREAN COMFORT WOMEN, and Barbara Sonneborn’s REGRET TO INFORM. A well-balanced program of international features includes Takashi Miike’s BLUES HARP, Hur Jin-Ho’s CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST, and Fruit Chan’s MADE IN HONG KONG.

1998: 16th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 5 - 12; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Pacific Film Archive)
With Kayo Hatta (director of PICTURE BRIDE) and Linda Blackaby (founding director of the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema) collaborating as Co-directors, the Festival is highlighted by strong Asian American documentaries like the world premiere of Spencer Nakasako’s camcorder diary, KELLY LOVES TONY on opening night, Renee Tajima-Pena’s road trip MY AMERICA (…OR HONK IF YOU LOVE BUDDHA), which features the late Victor Wong as the tour guide, and Loni Ding’s ANCESTORS IN THE AMERICAS, PART 2. Another strong collection of international features includes Edward Yang’s MAHJONG, Wu Ming’s controversial FROZEN, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s documentary WITHOUT MEMORY, Naomi Kawase’s Cannes award-winning SUZAKU, and the closing night film, Shinobu Yaguchi’s MY SECRET CACHE.

1997: 15th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 6 - 13; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Pacific Film Archive, World Theatre)
The Festival traces an arc to place and past by returning to the World Theatre and Chinatown for a special opening screening of Bu Wancang’s rediscovered 1931 classic Shanghai silent film, LOVE AND DUTY, complete with the live accompaniment of an original score commissioned for the event. Along with special presentations of two Sessue Hayakawa films (THE CHEAT, I HAVE KILLED!), these glances at the past provide context for the remarkable explosion of young talent as evidenced in four world premieres of Asian American feature narratives: Quentin Lee and Justin Lin’s SHOPPING FOR FANGS, Michael Idemoto and Eric Nakamura’s SUNSETS, Rea Tajiri’s WHAT HAPPENED TO HER? AND THE STRAWBERRY FIELDS, and Chris Chan Lee’s YELLOW. The Festival also features strong Asian American documentaries like Christine Choy’s THE SHOT HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD and Paul Kwan and Arnold Iger’s PINS AND NOODLES, both world premieres, and some outstanding international features like Zhang Ming’s RAINCLOUDS OVER WUSHAN and a retrospective on Korean maverick Jang Sun Woo. Deepa Mehta’s moving FIRE closes the Festival.

1996: 14th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 7 - 14; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Pacific Film Archive)
Asian cinema (especially Hong Kong fare) is about to land in the household consciousness of the mainstream American public. Jackie Chan makes an appearance at a pre-festival launch screening of RUMBLE IN THE BRONX before Jackie’s third attempt at Hollywood crossover becomes a resounding success. Tong and Yi continue to focus on the diaspora as the Festival offers more international features than ever before, exploring life in modern day China, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in addition to the strong showing from Asian American films. Opening with Tran Anh Hung’s CYCLO and closing with Carma Hinton and Richard Gordon’s epic documentary about the 1989 Tiananmen incident, THE GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE, the Festival also spotlights Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-Hsien with screenings of THE PUPPETMASTER, A CITY OF SADNESS, and GOOD MEN, GOOD WOMEN. Asian American highlights include Quentin Lee’s FLOW, Trinh T. Minh-ha’s A TALE OF LOVE, Marlon Fuentes’ BONTOC EULOGY, Sturia Gunnarsson’s AN EVENING WITH EVELYN LAU, and Loni Ding’s ANCESTORS IN AMERICA.

1995: 13th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
(March 2 - 9; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Pacific Film Archive, Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Gardens)
The Festival undergoes its final renaming, becoming the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, as it is known today. Co-directors Corey Tong and Paul Yi commemorate the centennial anniversary of the birth of cinema by assembling a program (the largest yet) celebrating “A Century of the Asian Diaspora in Motion.” In arguably the most ambitious program to date, films from throughout Asia and the diaspora, both new and old, explore the ways in which Asian identity has evolved. Opening and closing with two new first-time features by Asian American women (Kayo Hatta’s PICTURE BRIDE and Canadian Mina Shum’s DOUBLE HAPPINESS), the Festival also features Freida Lee Mock’s Oscar-winning documentary MAYA LIN: A STRONG CLEAR VISION, Jon Moritsugu’s MOD FUCK EXPLOSION, and Spencer Nakasako and Sokly Ny’s Emmy Award-winning video diary A.K.A. DON BONUS in addition to international discoveries like Tomoyuki Furumaya’s THIS WINDOW IS YOURS and Wong Kar Wai’s influential CHUNGKING EXPRESS. The Festival also presents retrospective screenings of some of the most important works in Asian American cinema, including Wayne Wang’s CHAN IS MISSING, Arthur Dong’s FORBIDDEN CITY, USA, Curtis Choy’s DUPONT GUY: THE SCHIZ OF GRANT AVENUE, and Duane Kubo and Robert Nakamura’s pioneering HITO HATA: RAISE THE BANNER.

1994: 12th San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival
(March 3 - 10; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, Pacific Film Archive, Castro Theatre, Yerba Buena Gardens)
With Paul Mayeda Berges and Corey Tong as Festival Co-directors, the Festival continues its growth with well over 100 films and videos while reprising the Pacific Film Archive screenings and also holding screenings at Castro Theatre and Yerba Buena Gardens. The Festival becomes the largest showcase in North America dedicated to Asian American and Asian cinema. Renaming itself once again, the Festival opens with Gurinder Chadha’s BHAJI ON THE BEACH and closes with Arthur Dong’s COMING OUT UNDER FIRE, further establishing its outreach to underrepresented communities and challenging the general public’s perception of what defines “Asian America.” The program reflects the expanded mission towards a more inclusive vision of the Asian Pacific diaspora with films from China, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, and Canada in addition to the U.S. Highlights include Jon Moritsugu’s TERMINAL, USA, Tian Zhuangzhuang’s THE BLUE KITE, and an “AIDS on Screen” series.

1993: Asian American International Film Showcase
(March 11 - 18; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres)
Powered by increased sponsorship and a surge in creative activity by Asian Americans, the Festival makes another enormous leap in expanding the program to a staggering 80 films and videos, more than double that of the previous year. Commencing with a rare screening of Sessue Hayakawa’s 1919 film THE DRAGON PAINTER and Philip Kan Gotanda’s directorial and acting debut THE KISS, the Festival proceeds to present voices from both the old and the new, featuring an unprecedented number of shorts and student works. Highlights include a special benefit screening of Christine Choy, Dai Sil Kim-Gibson, and Elaine Kim’s SA-I-GU: FROM KOREAN WOMEN’S PERSPECTIVES and the world premiere of Paul Kwan and Arnold Iger’s first installment in their culinary/cultural trilogy, ANATOMY OF A SPRINGROLL. Also included are early works by directors who go on to make Hollywood headlines, like PUSHING HANDS by Ang Lee (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, 2000) and PRAYING WITH ANGER by M. Night Shyamalan (THE SIXTH SENSE, 1999).

1992: Asian American International Film Showcase
(March 12 - 19; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres)
The Festival marks the first attempt at a larger scale event, shifting to a continuous 8-day format (rather than weekly Wednesday screenings) and nearly doubling the program from the previous year. The 34 films and videos showcased include the world premiere of Steven Okazaki’s TROUBLED PARADISE on Opening Night, Rea Tajiri’s HISTORY AND MEMORY, and Emiko Omori’s HOT SUMMER WINDS. Uyeki’s efforts to reflect the diversifying Asian American community results in films representing Pacific Islander, South Asian, hapa and queer communities, like Barry Barclay’s TE RUA, Srinivas Krishna’s MASALA, Paul Mayeda Berges’ EN RYO IDENTITY, and Yasushi Kojima’s ROUGH SKETCH OF A SPIRAL.

1991: Asian American International Film Showcase
(March 6, 13, 20, 27; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres)
The festival opens with a rare Thai feature film, UCLA-educated prince Chatri Yukol’s THE ELEPHANT KEEPER. With new technology enabling even more voices to be heard, the Festival features video documentaries and experimental video shorts, such as Keiko Tsuno’s THE STORY OF VINH, Valerie Soe’s ALL ORIENTALS LOOK THE SAME, and Richard Fung’s MY MOTHER’S PLACE. A special benefit screening of Shohei Imamura’s BLACK RAIN concludes the festival, with proceeds going to Friends of the Japantown Peace Plaza.

1990: Asian American International Film Showcase; World Series of Asian Films
(March 7, 14, 21, 28; AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres)
Festival Director Bob Uyeki begins laying the groundwork for a more stable and continuous annual festival. Screenings take place over four consecutive Wednesdays in March. Focusing on works that explore the changing face of contemporary Asian American experiences, the Festival features Steven Okazaki’s Oscar-winning DAYS OF WAITING, Lise Yasui’s FAMILY GATHERING, Gregg Araki’s THE LONG WEEKEND (O’DESPAIR), Trinh T. Minh-ha’s SURNAME VIET GIVEN NAME NAM, and Peter Wang’s FIRST DATE. Meanwhile, NAATA continues to bring Asian films to the Bay Area with the World Series of Asian Films at the World Theatre, a weeklong series of 11 films from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, including Lawrence Ah-Mon’s QUEEN OF TEMPLE STREET and Xie Fei’s BLACK SNOW.

1989: Asian Summer Film Series; special benefit screenings
In 1982, the year of the festival’s inception, a Chinese American draftsman was beaten to death with a baseball bat by two white American auto workers during the height of resentment against the Japanese domination of the auto industry. The incident and the ensuing outcry against discrimination towards Asian Americans became the subject of Christine Choy and Renee Tajima’s Oscar-nominated documentary WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN? NAATA presents a special screening of this film on March 2, 1989 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres in Japantown (beginning the long and fruitful relationship with this venue that has continued to this date), followed by the Asian Summer Film Series, a collection of seminal Asian American and Asian works, such as Steven Okazaki’s LIVING ON TOKYO TIME, Allen Fong’s AH YING, and Kidlat Tahimik’s PERFUMED NIGHTMARE, presented in weekly screenings at the Asian Art Museum. The year concludes with an exclusive premiere engagement of Arthur Dong’s documentary, FORBIDDEN CITY, USA.

1988: Bay Area Asian American International Film & Video Showcase
(June 16 - 25; Pacific Film Archive, World Theatre)
Prominently featuring video works for the first time, the Festival is renamed and offers new documentaries by Asian Americans, such as Felicia Lowe’s CARVED IN SILENCE, Ying Ying Woo’s VIETNAM VETS: DISSIDENTS FOR PEACE, Arthur Dong’s LOTUS, and Deborah Gee’s SLAYING THE DRAGON. The program is complemented by a strong program of features from Asia, including Chen Kaige’s THE BIG PARADE, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s DAUGHTER OF NILE, and Tian Zhuangzhuang’s HORSE THIEF.

1987: The New Chinese Film Series
(June 5 - 12; World Theatre)
In place of the annual Festival, NAATA sponsors The New Chinese Film Series in collaboration with China Film Import & Export and World Entertainment, Inc. Spanning eight days, the series showcases a collection of ten films from China at World Theatre, at the time one of San Francisco’s newest theaters, located in the heart of Chinatown. The series serves as part of NAATA’s ongoing efforts to increase the visibility and appreciation of Asian and Asian American films in the Bay Area in addition to spotlighting the Fifth Generation talent emerging in mainland Chinese cinema, including Huang Jianxin’s THE BLACK CANNON INCIDENT and Teng Wenji’s AT THE BEACH.

1986: Bay Area Asian American International Film Festival
(March 19 - 27; World Theater, Kokusai Theater, Dwinelle Hall: UC Berkeley)
For the first time operating and presenting a program independent of ACV, the Festival is renamed and the dates are moved to the spring season. Opening with Lupita Aquino Kashiwahara’s Filipino film MINSAY ISANG GAMU GAMO, the Festival features a variety of Asian American works, such as Robert Nakamura and Karen Ishizuka’s CONVERSATIONS: BEFORE THE WAR/AFTER THE WAR, Jon Esaki and Amy Kato’s YUKIO SHIMODA: AN ASIAN AMERICAN ACTOR, Dean Hayasaka, William Satake Blauvelt and Ken Mochizuki’s BEACON HILL BOYS from Seattle’s King Street Media, and a work-in-progress screening of Steven Okazaki’s LIVING ON TOKYO TIME, which goes on to become a Sundance Film Festival hit in 1987.

1985
NAATA focuses its efforts on organizing the National Asian American Media Arts Conference in UCLA, marking 1985 as the only break in the history of the annual exhibition event.

1984: Asian American International Film Festival
(November 7 - 9; Kokusai Theater, Pacific Film Archive)
Assembling a full program proves to be a challenge, but the Festival finds strong works to screen, including Renee Cho’s JAZZ IS MY NATIVE LANGUAGE, Loni Ding’s NISEI SOLDIER, Lino Brocka’s JAGUAR from the Philippines, and Christine Choy, Worth Long, and Allan Siegel’s MISSISSIPPI TRIANGLE.

1983: Asian American International Film Festival
(October 25 - 28; Kokusai Theater, Pacific Film Archive, Wheeler Auditorium: UC Berkeley)
The Festival extends to San Francisco for the first time with two evenings of screenings at the Kokusai Theater in Japantown, opening with the Bay Area Filmmakers’ Night, highlighting, among others, the premiere of Curtis Choy’s riveting documentary, THE FALL OF THE I-HOTEL. Other films featured include Steven Okazaki and Amy Hill’s THE ONLY LANGUAGE SHE KNOWS, Robert Nakamura and Karen Ishizuka’s FOOL’S DANCE, Stephen Ning’s FRECKLED RICE, Mira Nair’s SO FAR FROM INDIA, and Kidlat Tahimik’s TURUMBA.

1982: Asian American International Film Festival
(October 2, 9, 12; Pacific Film Archive)
For the inaugural Festival, NAATA and ACV co-sponsor three nights of well-attended screenings at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. Highlights include Wayne Wang’s landmark independent feature CHAN IS MISSING, and retrospective screenings of three Sessue Hayakawa films-THE CHEAT, THE DRAGON PAINTER, and THE TONG MAN-in addition to shorter films from Bay Area filmmakers like Curtis Choy, Arthur Dong, Emiko Omori, Lambert Yam and Ruby Yang.