ACF 1240: DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48 – TO BE CONTINUED on DVD and digital on December 1st

New Music Biopic TracesThe Rise To International

Fame Of Japan’s Most Popular  Pop Idol Group;

Special DVD Online PromotionOffers A Second

NEW PEOPLE Film Title With Any Pre-Order Purchase 

NEW PEOPLE Entertainment, a filmdivision of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. that focuses on the licensing and distribution ofJapanese films and media, has announced the release of DOCUMENTARY of AKB48 to be continued onDVD on Thursday. December 1st The new music biopic follows the unstoppable all-female Japanese pop idolgroup, AKB48, on their incredible rise to fame, and will be sold exclusivelyonline for $19.99 through the NEW PEOPLE store at: store.newpeopleworld.com.

DVD pre-orders will begin today. For alimited time, NEW PEOPLE is offering a FREE bonus DVD title from its catalog toall pre-order purchasers. Select from a list of available titles. DOCUMENTARY of AKB48 to be continued willalso be available to stream online at newpeoplechannel.comfor $4.99 (for a 48 hour rental) beginning December 1st. The DVDwill be available from Amazon by mid-December.Follow NEW PEOPLE Entertainment on Facebook and Twitter for updates. 

AKB48 was conceived in 2005 by Yasushi Akimoto, one of Japan’smost respected music producers. Beginning as a small all-girl singing group basedin the Akihabara district of Tokyo – the city’s bustling electronics andanime/pop culture shopping Mecca – AKB48 has grown to 60 members and toppedJapan’s Oricon music charts with the two best-selling pop singles in 2010 aswell as another two singles ranking in the Top 10. 

“AKB48 created an entirely new format for pop groups and theirfame has spread internationally,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEOof NEW PEOPLE, Inc. “This insightful documentary captures AKB48 on-stage andbehind the scenes and offers a candid look into the member’s lives and thephenomenal notoriety that surrounds the group. We invite J-Pop and music fansto visit the NEW PEOPLE store online to get the new DVD and to take advantageof a special offer to receive a second DVD title from the NEW PEOPLE filmcatalog!” 

With acomplicated balance of competition and friendship among its members, thegroup’s bond is extremely strong. DOCUMENTARY of AKB48 to be continued traces AKB48’s historywith scenes from concerts and rehearsals, member general elections, and fanactivities both in Japan and abroad. The film also includes personal interviewswith select members that reveal each of the girls’ personal struggles, joys,path to growth, and dreams.

One uniqueaspect of AKB48 is that the group is divided into “Teams.” When AKB48 debutedin 2005, originally there were only 24 girls. Now there are 16 girls each onTeam A, Team K, and Team B, who are the core members of the group. In addition,there are trainees who are aspiring members. Members total to around 60 girlsas some graduate and some new members come in. In the recent years AKB48 hasbegun holding elections to determine the members who will participate in therecording of upcoming singles. Fans vote for their favorites and the girlranked Number 1 performs at the center of the group.

ACF 1223: Free screening of DREAM FACTORY on Tuesday, November 8th

 Korean Cultural Service NY

presents

Korean Movie Night

Series 6: Music Films

Dream Factory

South Korea, 2011, 80 minutes

When: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 @ 7:00 PM

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, on the corner of Canal Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served.

North American Premiere

One part Occupy Wall Street outrage, one part rock film, this documentary focuses on the labor battles between Cort Guitars, one of the largest guitar manufacturers in the world, and their workers. Contrasting the down-to-earth, blue collar workers who make the guitars and the upper class rockers who play them, this flick follows the protest movement that grew among Cort workers after they tried to unionize in 2007. Management’s response was to shut down the plant where they worked.

One worker set himself on fire to protest, while the others started a hunger strike. Groups of workers went around the world asking the musicians who play the guitars they made to support their cause and everyone from Rage Against the Machine to Gene Simmons (who comes across REALLY poorly) get involved. Truly moving, and capturing on film some of the violent tactics Cort’s owners employed to break up the strike, it’s a documentary that speaks loudly in these restless times to the value of working with your hands to make a better life for your kids.

ACF 1202: BEIJING BESIEGED BY WASTE at Asia Society NY

Beijing Besieged by Waste (2011). (dGenerate Films)

 Beijing Besieged by Waste

Directed by WANG Jiuliang

China, 2011, 72 minutes, Digibeta, English Subtitles

When: Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 3:00 PM

Where: Asian Society

725 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10021

Asia Society NY's Visions of a New China documentary film series concludes this coming Saturday afternoon with this recently and timely look at the impact of waste on Beijing's environments.



Synopsis: With a population of about 20 million, the growing city of Beijing produces 30,000 tons of waste each day. Photographer/filmmaker Wang Jiuliang traveled around the city and visited 460 legal and illegal landfills from 2008 to 2010 to document the collection of garbage and excrement, the environmental calamity and the life cycles around these landfills, which include scavengers building a precarious livelihood, green spaces forming on top of waste, and livestock being fed trash. An informative and alarming portrait of urban ecology, the film has earned keen Chinese media coverage and the attention of government officials.

Interview with director WANG Jiuliang:

WANG Jiuliang was born in Anqiu, Shandong Province in 1976. He is a graduate of the Cinema-Television School at Communication University of China. Wang is also a photographer. Beijing Besieged by Waste accompanies a larger photography project.

Tickets here.

The Visions of a New China film series was curated by La Frances Hui and is supported in part by a grant from the Open Society Foundations. Additional support is provided by the Center on U.S.-China Relations and New York State Council on the Arts.

ACF 1195: FLOATING at Asia Society NY this Friday, October 21st

Floating

Directed by HUANG Weikai

China, 2005, 93 minutes, DVCAM, English Subtitles

When: Friday, October 21, 2011 at 6:45 PM

Where: Asian Society

725 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10021

Asia Society NY's Visions of a New China documentary film series continues this coming Friday evening with HUANG Weikai's Floating.

Synopsis: A 30-year-old rural-born singer brings his guitar to Guangzhou to eke out a living by performing in public spaces. Like many migrant workers who don’t possess residence permits to stay in this southern metropolis, he is constantly dodging the authorities. The camera closely follows the singer’s daily life as he performs in pedestrian underpasses and lives out his tumultuous romantic life, which involves suicide, abortion and a bad break-up. As the film progresses, we find the filmmaker, who also made the much-praised Disorder (2009), getting intimately involved with his subject’s precarious existence. Floating offers a humanist portrayal of those who drift on the fringes of society.

Black Pottery Prize and Audience Award, Yunnan Multi Culture Visual Festival, China (2005)
New Filmmaker Award, Reel China Documentary Biennial, New York, Shanghai (2006)
Hong Kong International Film Festival (2006)
The International Umbria Film Festival, Italy (2007)

Director HUANG Weikai was born in 1972 in Guangdong Province, China. He studied Chinese painting for 15 years and graduated from the Chinese Art Department of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. He used to work as a cinema promoter, art editor, graphic designer, movie script writer and cameraman. Since 2002, he has been directing independent films. His 2009 found-footage documentary, Disorder, has been acclaimed as "One of the most mesmerizing films I’ve seen in ages" by Hua Hsu in The Atlantic for its unflinching look at the absurdity and anarchy of urban life in contemporary China

Tickets for Floating here.

The Visions of a New China film series is supported in part by a grant from the Open Society Foundations. Additional support is provided by the Center on U.S.-China Relations and New York State Council on the Arts.

ACF 1191: CHILDREN OF THE CHINESE CIRCUS at Asia Society

 Children of the Chinese Circus
Directed by GUO Jing and KE Dingding
China/UK., 2007, 58 min. Digibeta.
When: Sunday, October 16, 2011, 3:00 pm 

Where: Asia Society 

725 Park Avenue 

New  York, NY 10021 

"Recalling the finestnonfiction achievements of Frederick Wiseman…. Fiercely intelligent." —Robert Koehler, Variety 

Visions of a New China, the nine film documentary series presented by Asia Society (NY) continues this afternoon with this fascinating and revealing movie. It's about the rigorous training to which young and teenage children are subjected in order to acquire the skills to become circus performers. In terms of who is being depicted, the film's English title would more accurately be "Children of the Shanghai Circus School," but this is not a significant matter.

Synopsis: Take a behind-the-scenes look at thetraining of some of the world’s best acrobats and circus performers. In thisShanghai circus school, a highly disciplined environment, small children endureexcruciating and dangerous training regimes. Mostly from poor families, thesechildren are sent to the school by their parents in the hope that the specialtytraining will secure them a future. While small children sustain agonizingdaily practice, the teachers are also under tremendous pressure to produceaward-winning stunts. A faculty meeting turns into a Cultural Revolution-styledcriticizing session. This film is set to change your perception of acrobaticperformances forever. 

ACF Review: The film focuses on three acts. One is a young boy who performs solo acrobatics, such as one-armed handstands. He is prone to overeating and gaining too much weight when he visits his parents, who are both mute. (He is shown practicing a headstand in the top image.)

The Threesome Handstand Group at practice

Second is the Threesome Handstand Group, which as its name suggest is a trio of acrobats. The older male does a handstand on the ground, forming the base for the performance. One girl does a handstand on his feet, then another girl does the same on the first girl's feet. We watch them and their female coach as they struggle to find the proper balance points in order to free themselves of the need for safety harnesses.

Two members of the Flying Trapeze troupe during a performance.

Lastly, there is the large group of male and female Flying Trapeze artists. They too go through a long period of struggle; in their case the problem is missed catches of the girls by the males on the trapeze swings.

The coaches are generally harsh and at times brutal with their students. Though they can also be the same with one another, as shown in an intense self-criticism session that the female coach of the handstand group undergoes. On the other hand, at times the coaches do give positive pep talks to their students, and when one young girl in the trapeze act suffers an injury, the care and concern of the coaches is clearly genuine, and even borders on tenderness.

One of the things that occurred to me while watching this film was that Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao must have undergone much the same type of training at the China Drama Academy, the Peking Opera school they attended.

ACF Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; highly recommended.

 Children of the Chinese Circus will be shown in a double bill with Brave Father, a film about a peasant father who sacrifices for his son's college education. Brave Father will screen at 4:10 pm

ACF 1178: THE BIGGEST CHINESE RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD

The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World (2008). (Amber Entertainment)

The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World

Directed by CHEN Weijun

China/UK/Netherlands/Denmark, 2008, 80 minutes

When: Saturday, October 8th, 2011, at 3:00 PM

Where: Asia Society

725 Park Avenue

New  York, NY 10021

Asia Society NY's  documentary film series Visions of a New China continues this afternoon at 3:00 with another terrific offering, The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World, the massive West Lake Restaurant.

Synopsis: Situated in Changsha, Hunan is theworld’s biggest Chinese restaurant, which seats up to 5,000 diners and employs1,000 staff. A sprawling complex containing pavilions in the style oftraditional Chinese architecture, the restaurant is owned by Qin Linzi, amiddle-aged female self-starter who used to earn 30 RMB a month. Documentingthe restaurant’s day-to-day operation, the film shows routine slogan-chantingsessions intended to boost morale among the staff. A perceptive portrait ofChinese society, this engaging documentary provides a window into traditionalChinese customs that often revolve around banquets.



ACF Review:  There are many fascinating aspects to the story of West Lake Restaurant, not the least of which is that of its founder, owner and guiding force, Ms. Qin Linzi. When we first meet her, she talks about being a member of the Communist Party, explaining that someone in her position has to be. Obviously, to stay on the good side of those in power, it helps to be one of them. And the corollary of course is true as well: it always helps to be well-connected with those having power and influence. Sound familiar? Well, one of the points the film makes, at least to me, is that entrepreneurial capitalism in China isn't all that different from what it is in the United States. It's pretty much the same except that there's only one political party to deal with in China rather than the basic two in the U.S.

Mrs. Qin is a middle-aged woman with one daughter, apparently in her twenties, from her first marriage. She borrowed money from about thirty friends and family members and opened her first restaurant in 2000 in the city of Liuyang. By the end of its first year in business, she had paid back all the loans, and things just took off from there. Construction of the vast new facility in Changsha took over a year and the restaurant complex, which has five kitchens, opened in October 2004. Mrs. Qin's second husband is her former chauffeur, to whom she basically proposed. She says that she told him that since they spent so much time together, people would talk, so they might as well get married. Some years younger than her, he must be one of the most fortunate former drivers in China, if not the world.

The film does not stint on covering the day-to-day operations of West Lake, its staff, nor its food. The camera takes us to pep talks to keep up employee morale as well as meetings of managers where issues such as employee turnover are discussed and addressed. We also gain insight into the lives of some of the employees. I found the story of one young woman to be particularly touching. With her father unable to truly work, she has come to West Lake to support her family, and has thus given up her chance to go to college so that her older sister and only sibling can.

Final mention must be made about the food. One almost gets a sense of the aroma of the dishes as they are prepared and then set forth for the customers. Though truth be told, I found some items to be less than to me liking. Segments of snake that are still writhing on the serving plate is one example. Another is a dish prepared in a chef's competition for the third anniversary of the opening of the complex. Fried Live Fish is prepared by the chef holding the fishes head and dipping the tail and body into frying oil. The fish is sliced along its side and then served. For the competition, if the fish's mouth is not still moving, the dish is disqualified! I'm not sure I could handle the sight of such a preparation, let alone eat it. But maybe that's just me.

The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World is terrific on several levels: as an example of entrepreneurial capitalism in present day Communist China, a sociological study of a large and varied workforce, and as a gastronomical insight.

ACF Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; very highly recommended. 

For information about the Visions of a New China documentary films series, including descriptions of each film, the full schedule, and ordering tickets, click here.

ACF 1009: Special theatrical screening of doc "Eatrip" in S.F. on May 21st, 2011

NEW PEOPLE PRESENTS A SPECIAL THEATRICAL SCREENING OF
EATRIP – A JAPANESE FOOD DOCUMENTARY

Unique Film Release Explores The Ways That Food Unites Humanity And Explores
The Interpersonal Relationships People Forge Through Eating

NEW PEOPLE, the nation’s only entertainment complex dedicated to Japanese popular culture, will present a special theatrical screening of the new culinary documentary Eatrip on Saturday, May 21st, to celebrate the release of the DVD by NEW PEOPLE Entertainment. (Read about the scheduled release of the DVD here.) The film takes audiences on an intriguing journey throughout Japan and features interviews with interesting personalities from a variety of walks of life to look at how life can be led richly through the daily ritual of eating.

Eatrip will screen at 3:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:00pm. A special ticket package for $25.00 includes a pass to the screening, a copy of the new DVD and a promotional poster. Tickets to the movie-only are available for only $10.00. More details on the Eatrip screenings are available at: www.newpeopleworld.com.

Eatrip director Yuri Nomura

To eat is more than a necessity – it’s a universal experience all human beings share. In the film, Yuri Nomura embarks on an insightful journey throughout Japan to examine the daily rituals of eating among people from different walks of life. Actor Tadanobu Asano, singer UA, and fashion designer Jurgen Lehl are among those featured. From the Tsukiji fish market to a farm in Okinawa, the film offers poignant interviews with intriguing personalities including the head monk of a famous Buddhist temple; a distributor of Japanese soup stock (Bonito broth); an Okinawan woman leading a self-sustainable lifestyle devoid of modern conveniences; a tea ceremony master, and a musician and writer who recites poems about food.

Eatrip was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival 2009 in the Documentaries of the World category; the Vancouver International Film Festival 2009; Le Festival International du Film d’Environnement 2009 (Paris); and the Barcelona Asian Film Festival 2010.

ACF 1000: Documentary short on Nrityagram Dance Ensemble by Nan Melville to screen at Newport Beach Film Fest

Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in India by Nan Melville

Nan Melville’s Documentary Film
Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance
selected to show at the Newport Beach Film Festival

Dance photojournalist Nan Melville, a freelance photographer for several arts institutions including The Julliard School, Carnegie Hall, and The New York Times, specializes in photographing and filming the performing arts, primarily dance. Her short documentary film Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance will be screened at the prestigious Newport Beach Film Festival on at 6 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, May 3, 2011, in Newport Beach, California. Watch the trailer here. (ACF note: I strongly urge you to check out the trailer. I did and was very impressed, both with the film itself and with the story of the dance company. I hope that the film does well for all concerned.)

Melville first met the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in 1996, when she was assigned by The New York Times to photograph their U.S. debut performance in New York. After visiting the Nrityagram dance village (www.nrityagram.org) in Bangalore, India, at the invitation of the late Protima Bedi, she began working on her documentary. She subsequently returned to India to film life in the dance village, and research archival materials. “I’ve become a great friend of the members of Nrityagram, photographing many of their New York performances,” says Melville. “I’ve even put up dancers on my sofa when hotels were overflowed.”

Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance debuted in January 2010 as an official selection of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Dance Films Association, Dance on Camera Festival in New York City. The New York Times’ chief dance critic Alistair Macaulay said, “Many intelligent points are made, and much of the dance footage, not least during the closing credits, is spellbinding. I wanted the film to be twice as long.”

“Alastair echoes my intent to expand the film into a feature length documentary,” says Melville. My mission is to capture the story of the dance village and the dancers and how they promote and develop the Odissi dance form for posterity.”

To learn more about the Nrityagram documentary project – and ways to contribute to Nrityagram’s continued success – visit www.nanmelville.com/nrityagram.

About Nan Melville: Nan Melville is an accomplished photographer and videographer. She has been based in New York City since she left South Africa in 1986. There are very few internationally-known dance photographers, and Nan is one of them. Her clients include such illustrious institutions as The New York Times, The Julliard School, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center. She has won various photographic awards, including 1st Prize in the Flying Springbok International Travel Photographic Competition (Nikon, Nissan, and SA Airways).

Nan has been assigned to photograph international figures and performers, and she often travels abroad on photo assignments. Her photographs are syndicated worldwide and have appeared in many overseas publications, including books, magazines, and newspapers. As more of her clients began requesting video work, Nan expanded her expertise into videography. She is much in demand to film performances as she has the ability to capture an event in both still and video. Her video experience led to an interest in documentary filmmaking. Before making Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance, she collaborated on filming a documentary on the Saeko Ichinohe Dance Company. For more information about Nan or to see examples of her work, log on to www.nanmelville.com.

ACF 988: Documentary "Eatrip" to debut on DVD from New People on May 24th, 2011

TAKE A DELICIOUS CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH JAPAN
IN THE DOCUMENTARY EATRIP
NEW ON DVD FROM NEW PEOPLE ENTERTAINMENT

New Film Release Explores The Ways That Food Unites Humanity And Explores The Interpersonal Relationships People Forge Through Eating

NEW PEOPLE Entertainment, a film division of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. that focuses on the licensing and distribution of Japanese films and media, has announced the release of the culinary documentary Eatrip on DVD on May 24th. The film takes audiences on an intriguing journey throughout Japan and features interviews with interesting personalities from a variety of walks of life to look at how life can be led richly through the daily ritual of eating. Eatrip will carry an MSRP of $24.92 U.S. / $35.99 CAN.

Director Yuri Nomura

Special bonus features on the disc includes an exclusive interview with Eatrip director Yuri Nomura, who is also a food coordinator, columnist, and teacher. She makes her directorial debut with this film, and in Japan Nomura is widely active with her food creative team Eatrip.

“Food is a central aspect of human existence and Eatrip vividly examines the social bonds we forge through eating,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of NEW PEOPLE Inc. “The food we consume helps to shape our identity and bring us together, and this film is an extraordinary journey that highlights a variety of different individuals and the ways they each views eating and the unique role it plays in their daily lives.”

To eat is more than a necessity – it’s a universal experience all human beings share. In the film, Yuri Nomura embarks on an insightful journey throughout Japan to examine the daily rituals of eating among people from different walks of life. Actor Tadanobu Asano, singer UA, and fashion designer Jurgen Lehl are among those featured. From the Tsukiji fish market to a farm in Okinawa, the film offers poignant interviews with intriguing personalities including the head monk of a famous Buddhist temple; a distributor of Japanese soup stock (Bonito broth); an Okinawan woman leading a self-sustainable lifestyle devoid of modern conveniences; a tea ceremony master, and a musician and writer who recites poems about food.

Eatrip was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival 2009 in the Documentaries of the World category; the Vancouver International Film Festival 2009; Le Festival International du Film d’Environnement 2009 (Paris); and the Barcelona Asian Film Festival 2010.

ACF 949: Screening of "Intangible Asset No. 82" followed by Live Performance

Intangible Asset No. 82
Directed by Emma Franz

2008, 90 minutes

Followed by a Live Performance
When: Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Where: Museum of the Moving Image
35th Avenue and 37th Street, Astoria, Queens, NY

N or Q Train to 36th Avenue

The Korea Society closes out Asia Week 2011 at The Museum of the Moving Image with a screening of the documentary Intangible Asset No. 82. In the film, director Emma Franz follows Simon Barker, an Austrailian jazz musician, on his exploration of Korean traditional folk rhythm and shamanic ritual. He meets Intangible Asset No. 82, shaman Kim Seok-Chul, and professor Kim Dong-Won, who advise him on the technique and roots of traditional Korean music.

Simon Barker (left) and Bae Il-dong

Following the screening, Kim Dong-won, Barker and artist Bae Il-dong will perform contemporary and jazz stylings on traditional instruments. This screening is part of Korean Cinema Now, co-presented by the Museum of the Moving Image and The Korea Society. The Museum of the Moving Image recently reopened after a $67 million expansion, with dyamic new architecture by Thomas Leeser and New York City’s newest, state-of-the art screen.

ACF 888: MoMA'S 10th ANNUAL DOCUMENTARY FORTNIGHT FESTIVAL

Documentary Fortnight 2011: MoMA’s International Festival of Nonfiction Film and Media, running February 16 through 28 in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, celebrates its 10th anniversary with 20 feature-length documentary films representing 14 countries; two performance events; and thematic programs focusing on independently made contemporary Chinese documentaries and the legacy of New Day Films, the first distributor to be run by and for filmmakers.

Below is informaion about the documentaries related to Asia.

For the full festival screening schedule, click here.

Peace
2010, Japan/USA/South Korea
Directed by Kazuhiro Soda
U.S. premiere
Introductions and discussions with Soda
Thursday, February 17, 8:00. T1
Monday, February 21, 4:00. T2

Toshio Kashiwagi drives disabled and elderly people to appointments with his affordable taxi service. His wife, Hiroko Kashiwagi, is a professional caregiver who also runs a nonprofit home-helper agency for the elderly and disabled. While Hiroko visits 91-year-old cancer patient Shiro Hashimoto to help in his daily routines, her husband returns home to feed the hungry stray cats outside their door. As government funding for these services dwindle, the hungry stray cats encounter a "thief" and the elderly man recalls being drafted into WWII for the price of a postcard. In Japanese; English subtitles. 75 min.

The Warriors of Qiugang
China. 2010
Directed by Ruby Yang
New York premiere
Wednesday, February 23, 7:30
Thursday, February 24, 4:00. T2

This portrait of grassroots activism is a rare example of people speaking out against the abuses caused by corporate greed in modern China. When the house and fields of farmer Zhang Gongli, located near the banks of the Huai river in the village of Qiugang, were destroyed by pesticides, he filed a lawsuit against the private chemical factory adjoining his land. The film follows his community's efforts to get media support, solicit help from a local NGO, and bring their concerns to the attention of the national government. In Chinese; English subtitles. 39 min.

Screens with My Fancy High Heels below.

My Fancy High Heels
2010. Taiwan
Directed by Ho Chao-ti
U.S. premiere
Introductions and discussions with Ho Chao-ti

While filming a series of stories about clothing, the filmmaker discovered just how complicated the process of making a pair of shoes was. Her fascinating, surprising film follows the trail of shoes, from women in sophisticated high heels on Manhattan's streets to the manufacturers and young female assembly line workers in China who make them. In Chinese, English; English subtitles. 56 min.

I Wish I Knew
2010, China
Directed by Jia Zhangke
Thursday, February 24, 7:00. T2

18 people from Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong recall their lives in Shanghai from the 1930s to 2010. After the Chinese Communists‘ victory in 1949, thousands of Shanghainese left for Hong Kong and Taiwan. Leaving meant being separated form home for 30 years, remaining meant suffering through the Cultural Revolution and other Chinese political upheavals. In Chinese; English subtitles. 118 min.

INDEPENDENT CHINESE DOCUMENTARY:

Fortune Teller
2010. China
Directed by Xu Tong
Friday, February 18, 4 p.m.
Monday, February 21, 7:00. T2

The film's narrative is divided into sections with paired chapter headings, in the style of popular fiction during the Qing Dynasty. Li Baicheng is a charismatic traditional Chinese fortune-teller who lives in a village near Beijing with his deaf and mute wife Pearl, who he rescued from an abusive family. He cares for her while also telling the fortunes of his clients, most of whom are prostitutes. As the police crack down on both fortune-tellers and prostitutes, Li Baicheng and Pearl are forced to move to his hometown, where he is haunted by his family‘s past and China's history. In Chinese; English subtitles. 157 min.

Karamay
2010, China
Directed by Xu Xin
New York Premiere
Introduction and discussion with Xu Xin.
Saturday, Feb 19, 1:30. T2

In December 1994 a fire broke out in the Karamay Friendship Theater in Urumqi, killing 323 people, 288 of whom were school children performing for a special event. Government officials were ushered out, while the children were locked inside. Interviewing over 60 people related to the victims and showing video footage shot at the time of the disaster, the film slowly unravels the details of the incident, and provides a platform for the families to speak and be heard. Denied an official public apology, many of the victim‘s family members have suffered their own physical and emotional trauma. In Chinese; English subtitles. 356 min.; 15 min. intermission. [Also an International Film Selection]

Disorder
2009. China
Directed by Huang Weikai
Introduction and discussion with Huang
Friday, February 18, 7:15
Sunday, February 20, 2:00. T2

This portrait of Guangzhou is masterfully compiled from 1,000 hours of amateur footage shot by various cameramen. Huang interweaves scenes of traffic jams, accidents, floods, police violence, protestors, and lost, wandering souls into an epic look at urban life in China, a riveting black-and-white collage of apocalyptic imagery that's both unsettling and surreal. In Chinese; English subtitles. 58 min.

Tape
2010. China
Directed by Li Ning
Sunday, February 20, 5:00
Wednesday, February 23, 4:00. T2

Avant-garde dancer Li Ning documents five years of his struggle to balance life as a choreographer with a dance troupe of committed college students, and his responsibilities as a son, husband, and father. Li Ning‘s life becomes intertwined with the film and with his own obsessions; his life before the camera is driven and chaotic, a public platform and a confessional. Loosely chronological and rife with symbolism, the film is a riveting portrait of an artist‘s attempts at expression and conflicts with societal norms. In Chinese; English subtitles. 168 min.

ANPO: Art X War
2010. USA/Japan
Directed by Linda Hoaglund
Introduction and discussion with Hoaglund
New Day Program 2: Friday, February 25, 7:00. T2

ANPO refers to the U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Treaty, which permits the continued presence of numerous U.S. military bases in Japan. In 1960, public resentment against the military presence erupted in massive popular demonstrations that were crushed by Japan‘s C.I.A.-backed Prime Minister Kishi. A wide range of Japanese artists depicted this resistance with a rich archive of art and films, including many large-scale paintings long hidden from public view. Contemporary artists continue to draw on their predecessors‘ legacy, depicting problems generated by the bases. Shot in high definition, the film reveals the extraordinary passion behind this wave of paintings, photographs, anime, and documentary and narrative films. In Japanese, English; English subtitles. 89 min.

ACF 791: Director's forum with Brian Iglesias and special screening of Chosin at The Korea Society

A Discussion with Director Brian Iglesias
and a special screening of his film Chosin

When: Thursday, December 2, 2010 @ 6:30 PM
Where: The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor
(Entrance is on 57th Street, the south-west corner of the intersection)

Price: $10 Members and Film Students; $20 Guests

Film fans and students of military history can unite for an intimate discussion with director Brian Iglesias on the making of his award-winning independent documentary Chosin. Brian, a Marine and Iraq veteran, embarked on this production to honor those who sacrificed at the Battle of Chosin Reservior in the Korean War. Those who survived went on to facilitate the first evacuation under UN auspices, and over one million Koreans today descend from those who were assisted.

The director will discuss his cross-country journey to film those veterans still with us and the challenges of growing the production from humble origins to award-winning heights—including a sold-out New York premiere hosted by The Korea Society last June.His story is one that honors the Korean-U.S. friendship in a compelling and heartfelt way. The director’s forum is followed by a special screening of the film.

BUY TICKETS

ACF 784: VIZ Pictures announces planned 2011 release of documentary "Eatrip"

VIZ PICTURES LICENSES DIRECTOR YURI NOMURA’S
SCRUMPTOUS CULINARY DOCUMENTARY EATRIP

New Film Explores The Ways That Food Unites Humanity And Explores
The Interpersonal Relationships People Forge Through Eating

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced that it has licensed Eatrip, a documentary that takes audiences on a journey throughout Japan to look at how life can be led richly through the daily ritual of eating.

Yuri Nomura, a food coordinator, columnist, and teacher, makes her directorial debut with this film. In Japan, she is widely active with her food creative team Eatrip. VIZ Pictures plans to release the film in 2011. Eatrip was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival 2009 in the Documentaries of the World category; the Vancouver International Film Festival 2009; Le Festival International du Film d’Environnement 2009 (Paris); and the Barcelona Asian Film Festival 2010.

To eat is more than a necessity – it’s a universal experience all human beings share. In the film,Yuri Nomura embarks on an insightful journey throughout Japan to examine the daily rituals of eating among people from a variety of walks of life. Actor Tadanobu Asano, singer UA, and fashion designer Jurgen Lehl are among those featured. From the Tsukiji fish market to a farm in Okinawa, the film offers poignant interviews with intriguing personalities including the head monk of a famous Buddhist temple; a distributor of Japanese soup stock (Bonito broth); an Okinawan woman leading a self-sustainable lifestyle devoid of modern conveniences; a tea ceremony master, and a musician and writer who recites poems about food.

“Eatrip is a cinematic culinary journey that explores the interpersonal relationships that food nurtures,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “Through interviews with a variety of people, Yuri Nomura shows the ways that food and the ritual of eating unites humanity and creates strong bonds between human beings. We’re very pleased to license this documentary and look forward to audiences gleaning new meaning from something so essential to life that we all do every day.”

For more information on Eatrip or other VIZ Pictures titles, visit http://www.viz-pictures.com/.

ACF 762: "Live From Tokyo" special one-night screening in San Francisco

Yukada Jazz

VIZ CINEMA TAKES AUDIENCES ON A SONIC TRIP
TO EXPLORE TOKYO’S UNDERGROUND MUSIC CULTURE IN
LIVE FROM TOKYO
PLAYING FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Friday, November 12th, 2010 at 7:30 PM

Documentary Blends Live Performances And Interviews To Offer
New Insights On Unique Music Culture; VIZ Cinema Screening Event
To Feature A Live Simulcast Of Performances By Saijanu, Kirihito,
And Others From The Forest Limit Club In Tokyo

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, takes audiences on a sonic tour through Tokyo’s vibrant and varied underground music culture in LIVE FROM TOKYO, a new documentary directed by Lewis Rapkin. After a sold out premiere at the Asia Society in New York City, LIVE FROM TOKYO’s San Francisco premiere opens at VIZ Cinema for a one-night-only showing and special event beginning at 7:15pm. Tickets, trailers and more information are available at: www.vizcinema.com.

Immediately following the screening, VIZ Cinema and goforaloop Gallery are proud to present a special simulcast of performances from the bands Kirihito, Sajjanu, Yudaya Jazz, and Onnacodomo (all featured in the film), streamed live from the Forest Limit club in Tokyo.

Tokyo’s reputation as a media-saturated hub for global information and cutting-edge innovation makes it the perfect setting for addressing a new outlook on music culture. LIVE FROM TOKYO takes the viewer through the back streets in Shinjuku, the intersections of Shibuya, narrow alleys in Koenji, and all over the city, as it highlights the innovative musicians who create this multi-faceted artistic culture. The film features interviews and live performances by DMBQ, Tenniscoats, Shugo Tokumaru, Nisennenmondai, PARA (ex-Boredoms members), Kirihito, d.v.d., and many more.

Bands and artists featured in Live From Tokyo include:

Saijunu
Sajjanu is a ripping new unit from Tokyo that performs incredibly complex through-composed compositions with few if any repetition. Combining the intensity of the Ruins with the quirkiness of the Boredoms and the compositional integrity of Zappa, Zorn and more, Sajjanu is creating a new Japanese music of infinite possibilities. In addition to releases in Japan, Sajjanu’s album Pechiku!! was released in 2009 on John Zorn’s New York-based Tzadik label.

Kirihito
"With a reputation for furious, hypnotic live performances, and a sound that evades all attempts to pin it down with the usual genre clichés, Tokyo-based duo Kirihito have gradually carved themselves a position as legends in the underground-music scene." - The Japan Times

Yudaya Jazz
As a video artist, Yudaya Jazz, juxtaposes multi-media in a way most people cannot imagine. He synchronizes the images and sounds on an audio/visual platform outfitted with a set of turntables, a laptop, video camera, microphone, multiple projectors and sometimes a piano.

Onnacodomo
"DJ Codomo, Yasuko Seki and Ruka Noguchi perform in real time using a video camera to capture their spontaneous creations. Shimmering projections are created using water, mirrors and an array of lights, while a world of fantastic images is constructed with found photos, kitchen utensils, toys, stationary, and improvised artwork. Kaleidoscopic, absurd and unreal, Onnacodomo takes you into a slightly-unhinged world that is absolutely original in its conception."

d.v.d
This electronic art trio blends Japanese technology and artistic innovation in a band. Visual artist Ymg was a CG game developer for Namco, Itoken has provided soundtracks for popular Playstation video games and Jimanica has been a professional drummer in both Tokyo and New York City. Their interactive “live installation” blurs the borders of visual art and music, leaving audiences wondering if they are at a concert, video arcade or art exhibit.

Shugo Tokumaru
Shugo Tokumaru is a multi-instrumentalist claiming to play over 100 instruments on his most recent release and one of today’s most talked-about Japanese musicians. With three albums under his belt, Shugo made his US debut in September of 2009, touring with the Magnetic Fields and performing with members of the National and Beirut. Shugo has also been featured twice on NPR in an in-studio performance and on the World Café.

NISENNENMONDAI
This all-female rock trio from Tokyo has been making noisy, technically challenging, experimental rock for the past decade. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed, as reputable American bands such as Prefuse 73, Lightning Bolt, Battles, and No Age have all shared the stage and spoken outwardly of their admiration for Nisennenmondai.

DMBQ
Drawing heavily from Western rock and roll, garage and noise influences, DMBQ’s high-energy performances and several international tours have made them one of Tokyo’s most lauded underground acts. They have also appeared in SPIN magazine.

Tenniscoats
Tenniscoats is an avant-garde folk duo made up of Saya and Takashi Ueno. Since 2000, Tenniscoats have released albums and also collaborated with a variety of other artists, both Japanese and foreign. In 2008, Tenniscoats collaborated with US-based Indie band Deerhoof in a project called OneOne. Most recently, Tenniscoats collaborated with long-running Scottish band The Pastels on an album called Two Suns.

Tokyo Pinsalocks
Tokyo Pinsalocks is an all-female electro-pop trio who has toured the UK and US including the 2009 US Anime Fest in Boston. They curate and headline Spoon Market, an event series that features “the coolest of female artists – be they musicians, fashion designers, visual artists, or cooks.”

Other featured acts include: Kuruucrew, PARA, The Lady Spade, Makoto Oshiro, Sexy-Synthesizer, Umi No Yeah!, Samm Bennett, Shintaro Miyazaki, W. David Marx, Dr. Jennifer Matsue, Suishou no Fune, Plugdead + Yudaya Jazz, Secai, Nu Clear Classmate, Kelly Churko, Cal Lyall, Kenichi Fumoto, The Muzenji Monk, Taguchi Fumihito, Tayutau, My Pal Foot Foot, Elevation, The Lady Spade, Makoto Oshiro, Henrytennis, Mahiruno, ECD & DJ Illicit Tsuboi, Uhnellys, The Fadeaways and more...

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

About NEW PEOPLE
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

ACF 748: "Live From Tokyo" will be shown at Asia Society this Friday, October 29th

Live From Tokyo (Image courtesy Lewis Rapkin)

Asia Society and New York-Tokyo present the World Premiere of

Live From Tokyo
Directed by Lewis Rapkin
79 min. HDCAM.
Showtime: Friday, October 29, 2010, 6:45 P.M.
Q&A with Filmmaker.
At Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, NYC

Tokyo's reputation as a media-saturated hub for global information and cutting-edge innovation makes it the perfect sample for addressing a new outlook on music culture. This documentary takes the viewer through the back streets in Shinjuku, the intersections in Shibuya, the alleys in Koenji, and all over Tokyo, as it highlights the innovative musicians who create this multi-faceted artistic culture. The film features performances by DMBQ, Tenniscoats, Shugo Tokumaru, Nisennenmondai, PARA (ex-Boredoms), Kirihito, d.v.d., and many more.

Film director Lewis Rapkin is a NYC-based filmmaker and musician. He has worked on documentaries for PBS, HBO and is currently editing a TV series for the Discovery Channel. As a musician, he has worked on soundtracks for industrials and short films and has composed the original music for Live From Tokyo. Rapkin has played keyboards, guitar, bass and drums with bands in both New York and Tokyo. Live From Tokyo stems from Rapkin’s interest in the Tokyo music scene and his early documentation of it while studying in Japan in 2005. In 2008, he returned to Japan with a crew to start the production of Live From Tokyo. Rapkin has recently come back from Berlin, where he was scouting and researching the making of a Live From Berlin.

For more information on the series, visit http://asiasociety.org/events-calendar/live-tokyo.

Tickets: $7 members; $9 students/seniors; $11 nonmembers. To purchase tickets or for more information, please call (212) 517-ASIA or visit www.AsiaSociety.org.

Co-presented with New York-Tokyo. This project was supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

About the Asia Society:

Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonprofit nonpartisan educational institution. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art, and in Asia today. Asia Society is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City. www.AsiaSociety.org

About New York-Tokyo:

Founded in 2001, NYT is a NYC-based lifestyle marketing, communications, and event media company that creates a place online and offline for the creative exchange inspired by the NY and Tokyo youth cultural scenes. www.newyork-tokyo.com

ACF 724: Reminder - free screening of "Grandmother's Flowers" tomorrow

The director's grandmother is the woman seated on the left,
holding the child with the striped shirt

Grandmother's Flower
Directed by MUN Jeong-Hyun
South Korea, 2008, 89 min.

When: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 @ 7:00 PM
Doors open at 6:30 PM
Where: Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street at Canal Street,
one block from the A, C, E and 1 train Canal Street stops

Price: FREE!!!
Seating is first come, first serve.

Grandmother's Flower is the third and final film in the Korean Cultural Service's current KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT series, which focuses on documentaries. I was able to watch the film on a DVD screener in advance. This viewing is the basis of the following review.

Director Mun Jeong-Hyun embarked on making this documentary about his maternal grandmother, before she died, at the insistence of his own mother. Not expecting to find much of a story line, he was surprised -- and we the viewers are astounded -- as he uncovers disturbing secrets about his family and the inhabitants of three neighboring villages. His family came from Njau, one of the two more-well-to-do villages which had many communist or communist sympathizers at least since the Japanese occupation of Korea. The third village was populated largely with "commoners" who tended to be staunch loyalists to South Korea.

A history of dislike and distrust between the left-leaning villagers and the right-wingers is revealed. There are stories, believed by some and denied by others, of torture, persecution and secret executions. There are also tales of insanity, self-mutilation, and decades of discrimination. Mun finds that members of family are spread over three countries: South Korea, Japan, and one in North Korea. The film is truly "A searing look at what history has done to the Korean people."

Director MUN Jeong-Hyun

And what history has produced is a widespread environment of intense sadness and grief, of great distrust, resentment, and grudges, not to mention a near constant state of anxiety over future military action between North and South Korea, the only two "countries" that remain divided in the aftermath of World War II, a war that ended over 65 years ago!

Overall, Director Mun has done an admirable job of helping the viewer keep track of who is who, with subtitles giving the name and relationship of significant people being interviewed. But the grandmother of the film's title had a husband, siblings, and nine daughters. So we're dealing with numerous people in the family spread over three generations -- grand-aunt and -uncles, aunts and uncles, and cousins -- and three countries, not to mention other villagers who are interviewed. So while some confusion may be inevitable after awhile, it really doesn't matter.

The thrust of the story is clear and heart-wrenching. An emotional power-house that truly deserves to be seen, and seen again. But I suggest letting some time pass before a second viewing so one can again face the emotional turmoil it depicts and conveys straight to the viewers heart. Even now, several days after seeing Grandmother's Flowers, tears well up in my eyes just thinking about the movie. It's that powerful and touching.

P.S. - I can't help but mention Dear Pyongyang (2005) by Yang, Yong-hi, a female Japanese director of Korean parents who were North Korean sympathizers who had come to live in Japan. The father of the family chose to send her three brothers, her only siblings, to live in the North, and this touching film is concerned with the consequences of that and other decisions.

Grandmother's Flowers and Dear Pyongyang shares many aspects, and both should be seen. But they are too intense to intense to watch within a brief period of time, in my opinion. I suggest you give yourself at least a brief "break" between seeing the two of them.

ACF 720: Free screening of "Grandmother's Flower" next Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Grandmother's Flower
Directed by MUN Jeong-Hyun
South Korea, 2008, 89 min.

When: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 @ 7:00 PM
Doors open at 6:30 PM
Where: Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street at Canal Street,
one block from the A, C, E and 1 train Canal Street stops

Price: FREE!!!
Seating is first come, first serve.

Grandmother's Flower is the next film in the Korean Cultural Service's current KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT series, which focuses on documentaries.

It's one of the most astonishing documentaries about modern day Korea ever made, but when it begins this documentary sounds terrible. Director Mun Jeong-Hyun is pressured into making a doc about his grandmother, and he's convinced there's no story there, but when he discovers a secret cache of his great uncle’s incomprehensible journals he begins to pull on the threads of his family history, and everything unravels.

Ultimately lifting the lid off his peaceful hometown of Naju, he reveals a hair raising history of conflict between intellectual left wingers and working class right wingers who have been at each other's throats since the Japanese occupation.

A harrowing family saga, it begins with torture, persecution and secret executions and it ends with self-mutilation, decades of discrimination, threats against the filmmaker, and a family exiled over three countri es.

A searing look at what history has done to the Korean people, this is the kind of documentary that keeps upping the ante, finding new realms of pain and suffering to inflict as history has its way with its victims.

ACF 677: Reminder - Free Screening of "Turn It Up To 11" September 14th

TURN IT UP TO 11
2009, 93 minutes
New York Premiere
Showtime: 7:00 PM
Doors open: 6:30 PM
Price: Free.
Seating: first-come, first served

KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT's latest series of films continues tomorrow, Tuesday September 14th with this winner of four major film awards, a documentary that spawned the Korean catch phrase, "I don't think we're gonna make it." TURN IT UP TO 11 is a rambunctious rock n'roll odyssey about Incheon's unlikeliest talent incubator: Ruby Salon.

A tiny, hole-in-the-wall club founded by aging punk Lee Kyou-Young, who moved back home to Incheon after accidentally getting his girlfriend pregnant, Ruby Salon is the seed that sprouts two bands: Galaxy Express, a tight, ambitious outfit that dreams of stardom; and Tobacco Juice, a band whose members are so lazy they can't even be bothered to show up for gigs.

As one band goes up, and the other goes down, this slacker doc follows them to shows, bars, massive concerts, antagonistic rehearsals and empty clubs in the best movie ever made about the Korean music scene.

Beyond the publicity material above, I can say that I watched a DVD screener of the film and found it fascinating and insightful. Unfortunately, and due to events totally unrelated to the film and the screening, I'm not able to put up a full review at this time. Suffice it to say that Turn It Up To 11 gets an ACF rating of 3 stars, highly recommended. And that Galaxy Express, sort of a Korean cross between The Who in the 60s and The Sex Pistols, have the energy of James Brown at his height and deserve the success they have achieved.

This latest series of KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT presentations, all of which are free, focuses on documentaries but includes a Halloween special event. It will run every other Tuesday @ 7pm through ­ October 31, 2010, courtesy of the Korean Cultural Service.

ACF 671: Latest FREE film series from Korean Cultural Service announced

The next segment of the Korean Cultural Service's KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT will focus on documentaries and will run from September 14, 2010 ­ October 31, 2010. Screenings will take place every other Tuesday @ 7pm at Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street, on the corner of Canal Street, one block from the A, C, E and 1 train Canal Street stops.

Price? Free.
All seating is first-come, first served.
Doors open at 6:30pm.

UPCOMING MOVIES:

TUESDAY, September 14 @ 7pm
TURN IT UP TO 11 (2009, 93 minutes, New York Premiere)

Winner of four major film awards, and the documentary that spawned the Korean catch phrase, "I don't think we're gonna make it," TURN IT UP TO 11 is a rambunctious rock n'roll odyssey about Incheon's unlikeliest talent incubator: Ruby Salon. A tiny, hole-in-the-wall club founded by aging punk Lee Kyou-Young, who moved back home to Incheon after accidentally getting his girlfriend pregnant, Ruby Salon is the seed that sprouts two bands: Galaxy Express, a tight, ambitious outfit that dreams of stardom; and Tobacco Juice, a band whose members are so lazy they can't even be bothered to show up for gigs. As one band goes up, and the other goes down, this slacker doc follows them to shows, bars, massive concerts, antagonistic rehearsals and empty clubs in the best movie ever made about the Korean music scene.

TUESDAY, September 28 @ 7pm
DANCE OF TIME (2009, 92 minutes, New York Premiere)

Song Il-Gon is the director of such classic Korean arthouse films as FEATHER IN THE WIND and the one-take-wonder, THE MAGICIANS, and here he turns his attention to the documentary, directing a relaxed, sun-soaked, lighthearted ode to love, dance, music, Santeria and Cuba. Starting at the turn of the century, DANCE OF TIME follows Cuba's tiny community of Koreans from their accidental immigration to the present, along the way surviving wars, revolutions, and tumultuous romances. A little-known part of Cuba, these Koreans have flowered into a vital part of the island's culture that almost no one has heard of. This slick, technically accomplished documentary, throbbing with music, takes care of that problem.

TUESDAY, October 12 @ 7pm
GRANDMOTHER'S FLOWER (2008, 89 minutes)

It's one of the most astonishing documentaries about modern day Korea ever made, but when it begins this documentary sounds terrible. Director Mun Jeong-Hyun is pressured into making a doc about his grandmother, and he's convinced there's no story there, but when he discovers a secret cache of his greatuncle's incomprehensible journals he begins to pull on the threads of his family history, and everything unravels. Ultimately lifting the lid off his peaceful hometown of Naju, he reveals a hair raising history of conflict between intellectual left wingers and working class right wingers who have been at each other's throats since the Japanese occupation. A harrowing family saga, it begins with torture, persecution and secret executions and it ends with self-mutilation, decades of discrimination, threats against the filmmaker, and a family exiled over three countries. A searing look at what history has done to the Korean people, this is the kind of documentary that keeps upping the ante, finding new realms of pain and suffering to inflict as history has its way with its victims.

SPECIAL HALLOWEEN SCREENING
TUESDAY, October 31 @ 4pm
GHOST aka BE WITH ME (2010, 100 minutes, US Premiere)

Every summer it's horror movie time in Korea, but this year, BE WITH ME captured attention not by scaring the pants off its audience, but by offering a fresh take on the omnibus ghost film by some of Korea's hottest young directors who take the traditional horror movie in a funnier, more experimental and more moving direction. These three stories about ghosts star a cast of some of the best young actors in Korea including Kim Kkot-Bi (BREATHLESS) and Kim Ye-Ri (PAJU) and they center around the loneliness of the ghost. From the tale of two best friends (and the boy who got one of them pregnant) competing for a single slot at a top college, to the story of a boy branded as a loser because he sees dead people, this is one of the freshest takes on the genre to come along in years.