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Jake Moreno, H.P. Mendoza, L. A. Renigen, Sigrid Sutter, Brian Raffi, Larry Soriano star in Richard Wong's
COLMA: THE MUSICAL which screens on Saturday, July 15th and Tuesday, July 18th at the Quad Cinema in New York as part of the 29th Asian American International Film Festival.
Wong's impressive debut feature is the first Asian American musical since "Flower Drum Song" (1961). The musical follows three recent high school graduates as they attempt to make the most out of their lives in Colma, a San Francisco suburb where the dead outnumber the living. While best friends Rodel, Maribel, and Billy are listless in the confines of their humdrum hometown, they do the best to enjoy their newfound freedom by crashing parties and using their fake IDs to get drunk. Despite the good times they share, they realize that their future aspirations leave them at conflict with each other and with their friendship.
The catchy music and witty lyrics by the talented H.P. Mendoza, who also plays Rodel in the film, is well orchestrated with Wong's insightful direction, cinematography and editing in portraying the emotional life of young adults. Rather than churning out another cliché teen angst Sundance coming-of-age film, Wong and Mendoza provide a refreshingly original and affectionate look at suburban malaise which will make you want to sing, dance, applaud, and cry...sometimes all at the same time. Bucking the current trend in films to rely on irony rather than genuine feeling and get-go, Colma reminds us how musicals might be the last form of earnestness left in American culture.
Followed by Q&A. Richard Wong is nominated for an Emerging Director Award.
SCREENINGS at the QUAD CINEMA
Sat 7/15 8:30 PM
QCCOL1
Tue 7/18 6:00 PM
QCCOL2
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 *
** LIVE BAND KARAOKE AFTER PARTY!
Keep your ticket stub to
COLMA: THE MUSCIAL and get into the after party FOR FREE, featuring LIVE BAND KARAOKE with the Riding Mower Magic Mic Experience! SJK director Steve Mallorca will be roving around on different instruments, and the band features members of P.I.C, and other Riding Mower Records artists Shiva Copal, Blacksonny, The Jack Lords, Convertible Jennifers, and more!
LIVE BAND KARAOKE w/ The Riding Mower Magic Mic Experience
Saturday July 15th 10:30 P.M.
@ Parkside Lounge
317 E. Houston (btwn Ave B & C)
Lower East Side, NYC
Free Admission w/ ticket stub from Colma: The Musical or The AAIFF Music Video show
($5 at the door w/o stub)
http://www.ridingmowerrecords.com
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.
| 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. |
