Ham Tran's JOURNEY FROM THE FALL opens the 29th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) on July 13th at the Asia Society.

Ham Tran's JOURNEY FROM THE FALL opens the 29th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) on July 13th at the Asia Society (725 Park Avenue at 70th St. www.asiasociety.org). Dedicated to the millions of Vietnamese boat people and survivors of the communist reeducation camps, Tran's impressive feature film debut is the first American film to depict the Vietnam War from a Vietnamese perspective.

The AAIFF - the nation's longest-running festival devoted to works by filmmakers of Asian descent - is an annual global showcase of feature narratives, documentaries, short films, and special programs. 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. Included among the 19 features and 74 shorts at this year's festival are challenging films by a number of first- or second-time filmmakers who have pushed Asian American filmmaking to a new place by engaging with its past.

Running July 13-21 and August 3-6, this year's festival takes place at the Asia Society 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.

Festival offerings include Richard Wong's debut feature

AsianConnections editor Lia Chang is one of 55 artists whose work is featured in SALON, a womens art exhibition on view through August 24, 2006, at Bellevue Hospital Center's Atrium located at 462 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporations Art Collection, the NYCHHC Art Collection is proud to present SALON, a womens art exhibition on view through August 24, 2006, at Bellevue Hospital Center's Atrium located at 462 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

Although all the artists are female, they represent a variety of ages and cultures and their artistic expression varies greatly. Mediums include painting, sculpture, photography, textile, video, and architectural design. Among the internationally known masters of 20th century art, included are Helen Frankenthaler, Emma Amos, Mary Frank, Wendy Wilson, Hannah Wilke, Lee Krasner among others and exceptional works by such esteemed contemporary artists as Candida Alvarez, Edna Espasas, Audrey Frank Anastasi, Lia Chang, Hiromi Oikawa, and Eva Cockroft. Salon also features works of art by artists from the Brooklyn Arts Council, Bronx Council on the Arts, and the Queens Council on the Arts.

Bellevue Hospital Center's Atrium
462 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016

Eyewitness: Stan HondaReflections of a Photojournalist, a short film will unspool at the Asian/Pacific/American Institute Day of Rembrance Program in New York.

Join along with the New York Day of Remembrance Committee, for a Day of Remembrance Program to gather together to remember the internment and incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. The program will include a candlelight memorial, potluck, a report on Army Lt. Ehren Watada (Japanese/Chinese American soldier, the first commissioned officer to publicly resist fighting Iraq Warby Wayne Shi Wing Lum, and screenings of two short films "Hidden Internment: The Art Shibayama Story" and "Eyewitness: Stan HondaReflections of a Photojournalist."

"Eyewitness: Stan HondaReflections of a Photojournalist"
Eyewitness: Stan Honda presents the photographer's own recollections and commentary, revealing the stories behind the haunting, unforgettable images that one media commentator observed, "put a face on the human witness and survivor stories." Mr. Honda relates the aftermath of 9/11 to the unconstitutional incarceration by the U.S. government of Japanese Americans during World War II. (His parents were incarcerated at Poston, Arizona) His photographs of camp sites and understated observations alert us to the chilling parallels between the treatment of Arab Americans in the aftermath of 9/11 and of Japanese Americans in 1941. (25 minutes)

"Hidden Internment: The Art Shibayama Story"

Don't Miss Georgia Lee's RED DOORS which opens in New York on September 8th at the Angelika and ImaginAsian Theaters

Dear Friends,

I am writing to you today because RED DOORS is opening theatrically in New York on September 8 and we urgently need your help!

The first weekend box office determines if a film will sink or swim. Independent films like ours are left to fend for themselves each and every week. RED DOORS is currently scheduled to open in three cities: New York (Sept 8), San Francisco (Sept 22), and LA (date TBD). The opening weekend numbers in New York will determine how wide and how long our film lives.

RED DOORS is a dark comedy about the Wongs, a dysfunctional Chinese- American family coming of age in New York. The film has been described as AMERICAN BEAUTY meets JOY LUCK CLUB .

RED DOORS was an incredibly difficult film to get made. In the financing stages, studio execs who loved the script wanted us to make the Wongs a Caucasian family, or make the lesbian couple heterosexual, in order to have more commercial potential. So Jane, Mia, and I made RED DOORS on our own terms: completely outside of the Hollywood system. We raised our own financing, maxed out our credit cards, and called in favors in order to create our labor of love.

Needless to say,

AsianConnections' team was in full force at the red carpet premiere in Hollywood for '300' - Check out AsianConnections' video features and photos!

Check out AsianConnections' photos by Michael Nguyen! CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO EXCLUSIVES from AsianConnections' Michael Nguyen at the 300 Premiere.

Click on the video boxes below for the three video features on 300 with AsianConnections' Marissa Becker and Haman Movafagh as they catch up with Director Zack Synder on the red carpet and introduce UP CLOSE interviews by Jim Ferguson with stars Gerard Butler and Director Zack Snyder.

AT '300' RED CARPET PREMIERE - ASIANCONNECTIONS' MARISSA BECKER AND HAMAN MOVAFAGH TALK WITH DIRECTOR ZACK SNYDER ABOUT WORKING WITH '300' GRAPHIC NOVELIST FRANK MILLER, AND RAVES ABOUT '300' CINEMATOGRAPHER LARRY FONG

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY JIM FERGUSON WITH '300' STAR GERARD BUTLER!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY JIM FERGUSON WITH '300' DIRECTOR ZACK SNYDER!