Arthur Acuna, Chin-chin Gutierrez and Joel Torre are featured in
RIGODON, a new film by Sari Lluch Dalena and Keith Sicat set to unspool during the 29th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) on Sunday, July 16th at the Asia Society, Thursday, July 20th at the Quad Cinema and Thursday, August 3rd in Stonybrook.
In
RIGODON, three Filipino immigrants in New York City encounter racism and alienation during the immigration crackdowns after 9/11. Each breaks down in a different way, exposing the bleakness that awaits thousands of newcomers to the country, whose legal status or lack of it is tied to every step they take. Dante the poet has to choose between his own future and the safety of those whom he has given refuge to, by forging new identities for them. Salome prays for a blue-eyed blonde child. Amado fails his family in their time of need despite his best efforts to support them. Along with the active presences of these characters, characters who are absent also fill the frames with their unhappiness. Mohsen who has been detained by the INS while his family waits desperately for news and Lourdes who appears in Amado's yearnings for home become as real for us as for the family members who have been deprived of them.
Moving between dream, theater and reality and often mixing the three in a surreal combination of fears and hopes,
RIGODON manages to be politically charged and philosophical at the same time. The film raises important questions about the validity of the immigrant dream in the face of inhuman, unethical and manipulative anti-immigration policies. Equally importantly, it does this in an artistic and poetic way.
Followed by Q&A. Sari Lluch Dalena & Keith Sicat are both nominated for an Emerging Director Award.
Running July 13-21 and August 3-6, this year's festival takes place at the Asia Society (725 Park Avenue at 70th St. www.asiasociety.org). and the Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St.) Select films will be shown at Stony Brook University's Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook, Long Island.
SCREENINGS
Sun 7/16 8:30 PM Asia Society
ASRIGO
Thu 7/20 3:30 PM Quad Cinema
QCRIGO
Thu 8/3 7:00 PM Stonybrook
STRIGO
PURCHASE TICKETS
Online: www.aaiff.org
Call: (212) 327-9385
Box Offices:
Asia Society, 725 Park Ave. at 70th St. NYC
Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th St. (btn 5th & 6th Aves), NYC
* Tickets can be purchased for Quad Cinema screenings ONLY *
For Tickets to Stonybrook Screenings
Reserve tickets by emailing the wangcenter@stonybrook.edu or call 631-632-4400. Charles B. Wang Center is located at Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York. For more information for these and other upcoming Wang Asian/American programs and directions to Wang Center, log on to http://www.sunysb.edu/wang
| Asian Cinevision (ACV) is a nonprofit national media arts organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video arts. Since 1978, ACV has annually presented the Asian American International Film Festival, the first and longest-running festival devoted to Asian/Asian American cinema in the United States. The 2006 festival marks both a glimpse into the future of Asian American filmmaking, highlighting the works of a new generation of emerging talents, and a look back at the historic place of Asian cinema in New York City. In addition to the festival, ACV's programs and services include film exhibitions, mentoring and educational outreach, training workshops, publications, and a media archive. |
