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New Asia Film Festival 2010 | Richmond, B.C. | May 27 - 30, 2010
By Genie MacLeod
Do 21st century sensibilities make interracial relationships easier, or even more complex? How do Chinese Christians maintain their faith in a country with freedom of belief but no freedom of practice? What would you do if chocolate suddenly became illegal? At the end of this month the Richmond Cultural Centre will play host to the 3rd annual New Asia Film Festival, where filmmakers from Canada and around the world explore these very questions and many more.
The NAFF brings together 28 films from 12 countries and regions, includes several home-grown talents, as well as multiple formats and genres of film, and a host of perspectives on what Asian culture means, and how it is perceived in the 21st century.
Ying Wang, Director of New Asia Film FestivalYing Wang, the chair of Cinevolution Media Arts Society and director of the festival, envisions this year's NAFF as an "examination of the relationship between our inner and outside world, and between art and life," and features films that "reveal...the inner landscape of contemporary Asian culture."
The creative minds behind NAFF are as committed to bringing film to the people as they are to bringing the people to film. In addition to the four day film frenzy, NAFF is co-hosting two film forums and embarking on a youth outreach program called the Dream Project. The first forum, DocuAsia, which was inaugurated at last year's NAFF, is presented in collaboration with the David Lam Centre at SFU, and will feature a two-part screening and panel discussion of China's Leap of Faith, produced and directed by Christopher Sumpton. The director will be in attendance at both installments, as will Dr. Paul Crowe, director of the David Lam Centre, Dr. Li Yu of the Asian Studies department of Langara College, Professor Daniel Overmyer of Asian Studies at SFU, as well as representatives from Vancouver's Buddhist and Christian communities.
The second forum features a screening and community discussion of Ohla ai, Ohla ai! (Listen Up, Watch Out!), a series of short films made by participants in the World Beat Project, Vancouver Community College's free education initiative for new immigrants. The participants in the program were given the reins to tell their own stories about blending their native cultures and values with a new life in Canada.
The Dream Project, Ying Wang's brainchild, is the result of a conversation Wang had with a school teacher about the importance of giving immigrant youth the chance to tell their stories. Wang decided to do just that, so she and filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns are putting cameras in the hands of kids from high schools across Richmond and giving them the tools to share their experiences through film. Wang chose the name of the project to encourage every kind of style or approach to storytelling, since "dreams," she says, "can be anything."
From hundreds of films submitted to be part of the festival Wang and the rest of Cinevolution whittled the selection down to 28, all of which, as per Cinevolution's selection criteria, have an intercultural aspect. That's the kind criteria that we at Schema are very much on board with! Wang explains that the "New" in NAFF reflects the changing demographic in Canada, and especially here in the Lower Mainland of B.C. This corner of the world is fast becoming a "New Asia" of sorts, and so the NAFF aims to explore how both Asians and non-Asians are presenting and engaging with Asian cultures here and now. The festival runs from May 27th to 30th, and be sure to check out the closing film, 7 Days in Slow Motion, which Schema is sponsoring. See you at the theatre!
What: New Asia Film Festival
Where: Richmond Cultural Centre
When: May 27th - 30th (Check NAFF website for screening times)
What: DocuAsia Forum
Where: Part 1 - Richmond Cultural Centre
Part 2 - SFU Harbour Centre Campus
When: Part 1 - May 19th
Part 2 - May 21st
What: Ohla ai, Ohla ai! (Listen Up, Watch Out!) Screening and Forum
Where: Richmond Cultural Centre
When: May 28th
Schema Magazine's coverage of NAFF 2010 is sponsored by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival
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