Aug. 5: AAIFF’12: Knots, written by and starring Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Illeana Douglas, Sung Kang, Mia Riverton, Janel Parrish and Cathy Foy, and directed by Michael Kang, screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas

Island Film Group’s independent feature film Knots, directed by Michael Kang (The Motel and West 32nd) and written by and starring Kimberly-Rose Wolter, will close the 35th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF’12) on August 5, 2012 at 7pm, at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, 260 West 23rd Street in New York. 
Knots, a charming “UN-romantic comedy”, is a witty take on the lives and loves of a family of Honolulu wedding planners, and was filmed on location in Hawaii. Click here to purchase tickets forKnots.

The film also features Illeana Douglas (Cape Fear, “Entourage”), Sung Kang (The Fast & The Furious, Better Luck Tomorrow), Mia Riverton (Red Doors), Janel Parrish (Bratz: The Movie, “Pretty Little Liars”), and Cathy Foy (Battleship, “Lost”, “Hawaii 5-0”).

In Knots, Kimberly-Rose Wolter tells the story of thrice divorced matriarch Miriam (Illeana Douglas), with one daughter born from each husband. What ensues is a recipe for comical family strife as the daughters finally reach the breaking point of addressing feelings repressed thanks to mom’s poor choices in men.

Cathy Foy-Mahi and Kimberly-Rose Wolter in Knots. Photo courtesy of Island Film Group/Knots Production

When eldest daughter Lily (Kimberly Rose-Wolter) rejects her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, she decides to return home to Hawaii for family support. It turns out the family is having troubles of their own – their wedding planning business is being run into the ground by Lily’s two half-sisters Twinny (Mia Riverton) and Hoku (Janel Parrish). It’s left to Lily to get things on the right track. If things couldn’t get worse, Lily’s ex-boyfriend Kai (Sung Kang) enters the picture, as does a surprise reveal that makes reconciliation no easy matter.

Kimberly-Rose Wolter and Sung Kang in Knots. Photo courtesy of Island Film Group/Knots Production

Knots features an original score by renowned ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro and showcases songs by such beloved local artists as Na Leo Pilimehana, John Cruz, Anuhea, Makana, Paula Fuga, Olomana, Willie K, Kepa Kruse and Eric Gilliom.

Illeana Douglas

Illeana Douglas (Miriam) – This iconic Indy Queen is a hit with critics and movie goers alike. Douglas was most recently seen guest starring in the eighth and final season of HBO’s “Entourage,” reprising her role as the sister of Ari Gold’s wife. This October, she will be seen in the independent drama “The Green” alongside Cheyenne Jackson, Julia Ormond and more. Her hit web series “Easy To Assemble”, which returns for a full third season in October 2011, has featured such stars as Jeff Goldblum, Craig Bierko, Kevin Pollack, Jane Lynch, Cheri Oteri, Patricia Heaton, Tim Meadows, Daryl Sabara, Ricki Lake and more. In two years, Douglas has been in ten projects, including the independent films APRIL SHOWERS, a true events based story that takes a look inside the events of a school shooting through the eyes of a survivor, OTIS, which premiered at the SXSW, THE YEAR OF GETTING TO KNOW US, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and LIFE IS HOT IN CRACKTOWN, an indie feature drama about how crack cocaine has become ubiquitous in inner cities. She also appeared as Sheila on ABC’s Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winning show “Ugly Betty”. Ms. Douglas first came to prominence as Matt Dillon’s suspicious sister in Gus Van Sant’s TO DIE FOR (NY Film Critic’s Nominee) and has since been a staple of the independent film scene with memorable performances inGHOST WORLD, HAPPY TEXAS, WEDDING BELL BLUES, DUMMY, HACKS, and many more.

Sung Kang

Sung Kang (Kai) was first seen on the critically acclaimed drama, Better Luck Tomorrow, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival garnering a Grand Jury Prize nomination, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, FAST & FURIOUS, and FINISHING THE GAME: THE SEARCH FOR THE NEW BRUCE LEE. Most recently, Kang stars opposite Sylvester Stallone in Dir. Walter Hill’sBULLET TO THE HEAD. He also reunited last year with Justin Lin in the successful FAST FURIOUS 5. Other credits include NINJA ASSASSIN directed by James McTiegue, Philip G. Atwell’s WAR, and Len Wiseman’s LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. Kang starred in Michael Kang’s acclaimed THE MOTEL, an Official Selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Originally from Gainesville Georgia, Kang began acting in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles-based experimental theater group F.A.T.E. (Friends Artist Theater Ensemble). Kang’s television credits include guest starring roles on such series as “Monk,” “Cold Case,” “Threat Matrix,” “Without a Trace,” “The Shield,” “NYPD Blue,” “Girlfriends,” ”Spin City,” “Felicity” and “Marshal Law” among others.

Kimberly Rose-Wolter

Kimberly-Rose Wolter (Lily) is a hypenate, not just in her name. She is a writer, actor and producer. Wolter’s writing debut was the feature film TRE, which she also produced and starred.TRE made its theatrical release in February 2008 and won Special Jury Prize at San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and was nominated for The Maverick Award and Wolter for Best Actress at The Method Festival. She directed and wrote the award nominated PSA, “Preschoolers Reel in the Vote” as well as a number of interstitials for Leapster on the kids channel Sprout.

Mia Riverton

Mia Riverton (Twinny) starred in and produced the critically-acclaimed filmRED DOORS, which won multiple awards including Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival, a Special Jury Prize for Acting at CineVegas, and both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Award for Screenwriting at Outfest. She also wrote and performed songs for the film’s soundtrack and co-created a pilot adaptation of “Red Doors” for CBS. Other film roles include OPEN HOUSEwith Anna Paquin, and CEO, with renowned Chinese director Wu Tian-Ming for Beijing Film Studios. TV credits include “The Mentalist”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Miami Medical”, “One on One” and “Strong Medicine”. Mia also recurs on hit webseries “Easy to Assemble”, created by Illeana Douglas. Her stage work includes “Voices We Remember” (Geffen Playhouse), “Street Psalms” (American Repertory Theater), “Mixed Messages” (East West Players), and Ovation Award-winning musical “bare: A Pop Opera”. Originally from Indianapolis, Mia was honored as a Presidential Scholar during high school. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University and subsequently founded the Harvardwood arts organization.

Janel Parrish

Janel Parrish (Hoku) Born in Hawaii, Janel started her career with a love for music. When she was 6 years old, she was cast in the National Touring Company and Broadway Company ofLes Miserables as “Little Cosette”. It wasn’t long before Janel’s Broadway experience and recognition lead her to acting auditions in Hollywood. While studying acting, Janel continued to train vocally, eventually adding piano and dance to her repertoire. She also began writing her own music. The past few years has seen Janel appear in many television shows and made-for-TV movies such as “Geppetto”, “Baywatch”, “The O’Keefes”, “The Bernie Mac Show”, “Zoey 101”, “The OC”, “Heroes”, and most recently, “True Jackson VP”. In the summer of 2007, Janel made her feature film debut starring as Jade, one of the lead characters in the Lionsgate feature film BRATZ: THE MOVIE. Since then, Janel has gone on to do a few more feature films, including TRIPLE DOG, ONE KINE DAY, and KNOTS. Currently, Janel can be seen on Tuesday nights appearing as “Mona” in the top rated ABC Family TV series, “Pretty Little Liars”.

Cathy Foy-Mahi

Cathy Foy-Mahi just is an award-winning actor and recording artist, who recently completed the 2011-2012 National Tour of the NETworks Presentations’ new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musicalSouth Pacific, receiving rave reviews as Bloody Mary. She has appeared in Battleship with Alexander Skarsgard, “Lost” (ABC), and “Hawaii 5-0” (CBS).The Hawaiian native’s favorite roles include Chah-Li in the original cast of the Off-broadway production of Song of Singapore starring Donna Murphy, Lady Thiang in King and I, Madame Liang in Flower Drum Song, Mrs. Meers inThoroughly Modern Millie, Madame Thenardier in Les Misérables, Mazeppa in Gypsy and Lilli in Kiss Me Kate. The Former Miss Hawaii is the founder of All Hawaii Entertainment, offering Polynesian and continental performances for any occasion in Hawaii.

Director Michael Kang (photo by Lia Chang)

Michael Kang (Director) is an independent filmmaker currently recovering from a three-year stint in L.A. His feature film directorial debut THE MOTEL premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is the recipient of the Humanitas Prize, the 2003 NHK International Filmmakers Award, as well as jury prizes from the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the San Diego Asian Film Festival and the VC Film Festival.THE MOTEL was also nominated for Best First Feature Film by The Independent Spirit Awards. Michael’s second feature filmWEST 32nd premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival.

On the set of Knots with director Michael Kang. Photo courtesy of Island Film Group/Knots Production

Roy Tjioe and Ricardo Galindez (Producers) have produced or executive produced independent feature films such as PRINCESS KA`IULANI(Q’orianka Kilcher, Barry Pepper, Will Patton), SOUL SURFER (Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Anasophia Robb), and Lifetime Television movies such as SPECIAL DELIVERY (Lisa Edelstein, Brenda Song), FLIRTING WITH FORTY (Heather Locklear, Robert Buckley) and DEADLY HONEYMOON(Summer Glau, Chris Carmack), as well as television series such as “BEYOND THE BREAK” (Nickelodeon). They were previously partners at the Honolulu law firm of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel where they led the Entertainment Law Group. www.islandfilmgroup.com

Knots is a production of Island Film Group (through Knots Productions) and Redhead Productions.

About Asian CineVision & AAIFF
The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is produced by Asian CineVision (ACV), a nonprofit media arts organization devoted to the development, promotion and preservation of Asian and Asian American film and video. AAIFF is the nation’s longest-running festival of its kind and a leading showcase for the best in independent Asian and Asian American film and video.

For more information on the 35th Annual Asian American International Film Festival, please visit http://www.asiancinevision.org/aaiff/.

Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.