29th Asian American International Film Festival

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 COLMA: THE MUSICAL , the first Asian American musical made since 1961's Flower Drum Song . Controversial issues of racism, immigration, and globalization are tackled in Sandhya Suri's I FOR INDIA (a 2006 Sundance Film Festival selection); RIGODON , a tale of three Filipino immigrants living in a post-9/11 New York City; director Robert Winn's GRASSROOTS RISING , a documentary on the Asian Pacific Island working class in contemporary Los Angeles; and NALINI BY DAY, NANCY BY NIGHT , a remarkable documentary about the outsourcing of American jobs to India.

Films from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States will be showcased with selections running the gamut of genres, from family dramas to comedies to romance. Frank Lin's romantic comedy AMERICAN FUSION , which garnered the Hawaii International Film Festival's Audience Award, and the intimate BEAUTY REMAINS , directed by Ann Hu are among the festival highlights.

AAIFF is presenting a rare screening of six films from the old Sun Sing Theatre in New York's Chinatown. In the summer of 1995, just before the permanent closing of the Sun Sing, three intrepid film lovers rescued more than 40 films and movie paraphernalia. With Chinese theaters having become a dying institution, these half-dozen "unearthed" films are being brought before an audience for a very rare screening.

"This year AAIFF is not only presenting the latest achievements in Asian and Asian American filmmaking and acting, it is celebrating the glory of the late 20th-century classic Hong Kong cinema. AAIFF is a vital exhibition platform of diverse talent and expression in the world of cinema," says Festival Director Diana Lee. "We are very proud to have the opportunity to feature some of the latest and most innovative films, along with the privilege to share six rare films from the Sun Sing Theatre."

Festival awards include the first annual "For Youth by Youth" One to Watch Award, an audience award given to the best youth film from the "For Youth By Youth" program and the first annual ACV/Verizon V-Clip Competition, a juried award given to the best submitted V-Clip, with a second and third runner-up recognized as well. The competition encourages filmmakers to submit 15-second video clips that highlight the Asian American film experience while creatively incorporating the Verizon logo. AAIFF continues to present its Emerging Director Award, the Excellence in Short Filmmaking Award, Best Music Video, and the Second Annual Michelob Light Music Video Competition, where ACV commissions five filmmakers to produce music videos highlighting the spirit of the AAIFF with creative bottle placement of the new Michelob Light.

Continuing its mission to provide filmmakers with opportunities to connect with the larger independent film community and learn more about their craft, the AAIFF has set up a number of panel presentations with industry professionals including "The Distribution Matrix," "The Funding Mix," "Meet the Funder," with Robert Byrd, senior program officer at the Jerome Foundation, and "Screenplay Reading," a staged reading by the Pan Asian Repertory of the winning screenplay HOMELAND from the annual screenplay competition.

Tickets for the 29th AAIFF will be available for purchase online at www.asiancinevision.org and at the Asia Society box office or by calling 212.327.9385. For complete program information, visit www.asiancinevision.org or call the festival hotline at 212.989.1422.

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. In addition to the festival, ACV's programs and services include film exhibitions, mentoring and educational outreach, training workshops, publications, and a media archive.