Taro Goto's Top 10 Things You May Not Have Noticed About This Year's SF International Asian American Film Festival

By Jennifer Young

The large Castro Theater crowd greeted MC Hammer with wild enthusiasm after the screening of Justin Lin’s “Finishing the Game” on opening night of the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. Hammer had a cameo role in the farce, which Lin called “therapy for working in Hollywood.” You could say the annual SFIAAFF, now well underway, is therapy for those who’ve had to watch films from Hollywood all year round. In this week’s List, Festival Assistant Director Taro Goto offers audiences SF360.org readers a few tips on navigating the festival’s first weekend.

1. Famed cinematographer Ellen Kuras (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) will be giving a master class (Sun/18, 3p.m., Landmark Opera Plaza) and presenting her new documentary “Nerakhoun: The Betrayal” (Sat/17, 2:45 p.m., AMC Van Ness).

2. A new panel was added. It’s called “Down and Dirty Pictures,” and features filmmakers Gregg Araki (“Mysterious Skin”), Jon Moritsugu (“Terminal, USA”) and Roddy Bogawa (“Some Divine Wind”) talking about underground filmmaking. It’ll be moderated by Marcus Hu, co-president of Strand Releasing. (Sat/17, 1pm, Landmark Opera Plaza.)

3. Speaking of panels, industry notables Elaine Chin (Director of
Development and Production, HBO Films) and Laura Kim (EVP of Publicity and Marketing, Warner Independent Pictures) join director Justin Lin (“Better Luck Tomorrow”) on a panel about the future of commercial Asian American Cinema. (Sun/18, 12:30pm, Landmark Opera Plaza.)

4. Most of the screenings are taking place at AMC Van Ness Theatres, since Sundance Kabuki is still under renovation.

5. A free festival shuttle is operating over the weekend (Fri/16-Sun/18), moving guests between AMC Van Ness, Japantown and the Castro.

6. The festival is showing “Big Trouble in Little China.” Yes, that John Carpenter flick with nearly every Chinatown stereotype in the books. We think it’s actually kinda fun. See it again and you may notice that it’s a rather impressive showcase for Asian American actors, and the stereotypes are taken to such outrageous extremes that they transcend racism. Fri/16, 10 p.m., Castro.

7. There’s cheap parking near the Castro. From Thurs/15 to Sun/18, you can park at Everett Middle School (on 17th St. by Church, about three blocks from the theater) for $5.

8. The executive producer of “Superman Returns,” Chris Lee (former head of Columbia/Tristar Pictures) is participating as a juror for the Narrative Competition.

9. The festival trailer you’ll be seeing before every screening was
directed by Richard Wong and with music by H.P. Mendoza, the creators of “Colma: The Musical,” a favorite at last year’s festival.

10. MC Hammer attended the Opening Night Gala (see photo, above). (He plays a cameo role in the Opening Night film “Finishing the Game.”) Oh, and Yul Kwon (winner of “Survivor: Cook Islands”) will be serving as Opening Night Master of Ceremonies. Thurs/15, 7 p.m., Castro.

03.16.2007