Just wanted to let you know that I've re-architected my blog so that it's based completely on twitter. There's a link to the new RSS feed at weskim.com/blogs. Or you can just go straight to the source at twitter.com/weskimcom and subscribe from there.
Anyway, thanks for your interest. Maybe you can join twitter too and we can all be twitter pals. (Twitterers? Twits?)
Best,
Wes
The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX, is sponsoring the "Blanks on a Blank" challenge wherein competitors must create a parody of the upcoming film SNAKES ON A PLANE based on a randomly assigned animal and vehicle.
I'm very proud to announce that the film "Aardvarks on a Tank" is now available for viewing online at www.blanksonablank.com.
Please take note: The films rated most highly by viewers will win prizes -- third prize is $250, second prize is $500, and first prize is an expenses-paid trip to LA to attend the premiere of SNAKES ON A PLANE.
Now it would be unethical for me to blanketly suggest that you VISIT WWW.BLANKSONABLANK.COM AND GIVE A SCORE OF 100 TO "AARDVARKS ON A TANK" BY AUGUST 10!!! Instead, I will simply suggest that you visit site, watch the films for yourself, and apportion scores to them as your conscience dictates.
*** WARNING! The film is rated R for language, per the rules of the contest. I'll be creating a PG version and posting it to YouTube later for those of you who prefer not to hear strong cuss words. ***
Extra silly note: In a Shyamalan-esque move, I myself play a key role in the film. But there are no narfs, scrunts, or any other nonsensical creatures in the film. Just aardvarks. Who dance to Kool and the Gang.
VideoSift.com is holding the first ever SiftOff where people can vote on a favorite video. Profiles in Science
is currently neck-in-neck with another video for first place. If
you have a moment, please consider throwing me a vote in this close
race. Voting closes at the end of the month!
Read my blog entry about the site and how to vote:
http://www.weskim.com/blogs/2006/05/videosift-is-on.html
Go straight to VideoSift site:
VideoSift SiftOff
Read my main blog: northWESsed
...and if you want to know more, visit my real blog at weskim.com/blogs.
Don't forget -- the "real" blog is at www.weskim.com/blogs.
And for anyone in SF, please check out "Profiles in Science" at the Hi/Lo Film Festival in San Francisco today (4/6) and Saturday (4/8)!
Full schedule at www.hilofilmfestival.com
Watch films: weskim.com
Read blog: weskim.com/blogs
Add to MySpace: myspace.com/weskimcom
Join mailing list: subscribe@weskim.com
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Sunday, February 26 at 3:00 PM
Seattle premiere of "Price of Letter" (Ugyen Wangdi, Bhutan, 2004, 68min), Best Documentary - 2005 Brooklyn International Film Festival
Venue: Central Cinema at 21st and Union, Seattle http://www.central-cinema.com/
Admission: $5
Presented by Tasveer: www.tasveer.org
Lingshi is a mountain village situated at an altitude of 12,000 feet in the Great Himalayan region of Bhutan. It is a four-day trek through the wilderness from Bhutan's capital city, Thimphu. 49 year-old Ugen Tenzin has been Lingshi's postal runner for 26 years. This documentary follows his journey in the winter when the route is snowbound and in mid-summer when the monsoons lash out. Ugen spends twelve to fifteen days of the month traveling. Despite the risks and the tiring ascents and descents of high mountains and valleys, he plans to continue until his retirement.
NORTHWEST ASIAN AMERICAN THEATRE PRESENTS
NORTHWEST ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
JANUARY 26-29, 2006
* Festival begins this Thursday
* Official program in the current International Examiner
* More info: www.nwaaff.org
* Advance tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com/group/3060 or 1-800-838-3006
* Festival blog: www.nwaaff.org/blogs
* Free admission to opening night film THE GRACE LEE PROJECT for all Grace Lees w/ID -- please RSVP: mynameisgracelee@nwaaff.org
Seattle, WA -- Northwest Asian American Theatre presents the 2006 edition of Northwest Asian American Film Festival (NWAAFF) taking place January 26-29, 2006. The largest showcase for Asian American films and videos in Washington, this year's lineup includes five feature films and over fifty short films from the United States and Canada. Screenings will be at the Theatre Off Jackson in Seattle's International District except for the closing night presentation which will take place at Cornish College of the Arts in PONCHO Concert Hall on Capitol Hill.
The opening night gala features the first-person documentary THE GRACE LEE PROJECT by filmmaker Grace Lee. Called "ridiculously entertaining" by New York Magazine and "delightful" by Variety, this witty documentary deconstructs one of the most ubiquitous female names in Asian America. The film will be preceded by Lee's Student Academy Award-winning short film BARRIER DEVICE starring Sandra Oh (GREY'S ANATOMY, SIDEWAYS). Special guest filmmaker Grace Lee will attend the screening and a subsequent reception at Wing Luke Asian Museum.
The festival's closing night film is the documentary SORCERESS OF THE NEW PIANO: THE ARTISTRY OF MARGARET LENG TAN. The film is a celebration of the fascinating career of Margaret Leng Tan, hailed by The New Yorker as the "diva of avant-garde pianism." The world's first professional toy pianist, Tan has risen to the highest ranks of performers interpreting the ground-breaking works of master composers Henry Cowell, George Crumb, and John Cage in addition to works by newer generations of composers like Philip Glass and Tan Dun. In addition to the film screening, this program will include the first-ever Seattle appearance by Margaret Leng Tan herself performing works by her former mentor John Cage and others. This program marks both the end of NWAAFF 2006 and the beginning of the TRANSPORT concert series presented by Washington Composers Forum.
Other programming highlights include the following:
• A program of short films exclusively showcasing works by Pacific Northwest filmmakers
• Short film programs featuring award-winning Asian American documentary and narrative films from across North America
• A special animation showcase curated by the San Diego Asian Film Festival
• A late-night "extreme" program of sexy, violent, and/or humorous short films
• A mid-festival party featuring a performance by Bay Area comic Ali Wong followed by CINEOKE (karaoke set to movies) hosted by Three Dollar Bill Cinema, producers of the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
• The "Sunday Docs" programs, a series of three feature-length documentaries on Sunday, January 29th:
>>> IN TIME OF WAR -- a Washington state production focusing on Japanese-American internment in the Northwest
>>> GRASSROOTS RISING -- a look at the Asian American labor movement
>>> WHAT'S WRONG WITH FRANK CHIN? -- a portrayal of ground-breaking and controversial writer Frank Chin featuring local interviewees Shawn Wong, Alan Chong Lau, Frank Abe, and others
A complete list of films selected for NWAAFF 2006 is as follows. (All programming is subject to change.)
FEATURES
• THE GRACE LEE PROJECT, Grace Lee
• GRASSROOTS RISING, Robert C. Winn
• IN TIME OF WAR, Andrea Palpant
• SORCERESS OF THE NEW PIANO: THE ARTISTRY OF MARGARET LENG TAN, Evans Chan
• WHAT'S WRONG WITH FRANK CHIN?, Curtis Choy
SHORT FILMS
• 5X90: THE WAKE, Samuel Kiehoon Lee
• THE ADVENTURES OF PACO, THE RIDICULOUSLY STRONG LITTLE BOY, Daniel Chong
• AIR, Patti Sakurai
• [ASSORTED FILMS], Seven Oh Five
• THE BALLOON, Bum-Jin Lee
• BARRIER DEVICE, Grace Lee
• BLUE SCHOLARS, Shannon Gee
• BUNNY AND CLYDO, Rocky Jo
• A CHINK IN THE ARMOUR, Baun Mah
• CONEHEAD, Don Pan
• CORAZON EN FUEGO, Yorico Murakami
• DASTAAR, Kevin Lee
• DAVID ISHII: BOOKSELLER, Doug Ing
• DICK HO: ASIAN MALE PORN STAR, Jeffrey Lei
• EGGHUNT, Paul Yan
• ERACESURE, Justin Massoud Leroy
• FALLING IN RHYTHM, Malcolm Lam
• FISHBOWL, Kayo Hatta
• GETTING MARRIED, Rami K. Sandhu
• THE GOO'D WAR, Dwight Hwang
• GRANDMA'S HAPPY FIST, Hyun-Ho Choi
• HEJIRA, Baharak Saeid Monir
• IF TIRED HANDS COULD TALK, Shannon Gee
• ISE KYOPOS, Cerin Hong
• JAPAN, Nobuo Takahashi
• JIKKEN, Doug Ing
• THE LISTENER, Michael Chang
• A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, Lynn Okimura
• MICROCOSM, Joe Takayama
• MY JOURNEY, Will Kim
• PAINTING DAY, Dae-Sup Chang
• PGI-13, Beom Sik Shim
• PUBLIC BATH, Tak-Hoon Kim
• SAFE, Ming Lo
• SCREEN TEST, Linda Lee
• SEIBUTSU: STILL LIFE, Joe Turner Lin
• SHANGHAI BEAUTY, Ding Ye
• SMALL & DEEP, LOVE STORIES, Hsin-Ping Pan
• STOOPID MOVIE, David Chai
• SUMMER OF THE SERPENT, Kimi Takesue
• VAUDEVILLE, Chansoo Kim
• WHAT ARE YOU ANYWAYS?, Jeffrey Chiba Stearns
• WHAT ROBOTS BEAR, Natt Thangvijit
• WHITE FOX, Ian Burkhard
• YELLOW BROTHERHOOD, Tadashi H. Nakamura
Advance tickets are now available for purchase online at www.nwaaff.org or by phone at 1-800-838-3006. Ticket prices are $15 for opening and closing night galas, $9 for evening shows, and $5-7 for afternoon shows with discounts for students and seniors. Full festival passes good for all festival screenings and events are also available for purchase.
Sponsors of NWAAFF 2006 include Asian Counseling & Referral Service, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the City of Seattle Mayor's Office of Film and Music, Cornish College of the Arts, Georgetown Brewing Company, Glazer's Camera, Immedium, International Examiner, Korean American Professionals Society, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, National Association of Asian American Professionals, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Scarecrow Video, Screaming Flea Productions, Staging Techniques, Theatre Off Jackson, Three Dollar Bill Cinema, The Warren Report, Washington Composers Forum, and Wing Luke Asian Museum.
[END]
Win a free ticket to the shorts program ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE at NWAAFF 2006 by participating in a film crawl this Monday, January 9, with the NWAAFF crew! (Participants must be 21 or over.) Here's how:
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Stop #1: Open Screening at 911 Media Arts Center
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Click here for the map from Stop #1 to Stop #2
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Stop #2: CINEOKE! at the JewelBox Theater
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Click here for the map from Stop #2 to Stop #3
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Stop #3: Karaoke at LO_FI Performance Gallery
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If you make it to all three stops along the crawl, you'll get a complimentary ticket to the shorts program ANIMATION: THE ILLUSION OF LIFE which screens at 1pm on Saturday, January 28.
Let the crawl begin!
Northwest Asian American Theatre invites you to the NWAAFF 2006 Preview Party, a chance to have some fun and get a sneak peek at the next Northwest Asian American Film Festival coming at the end of January 2006!
*** PLEASE RSVP AT www.nwaaff.org/party !!! ***
Location:
Date:
Time:
Admission:
Don't forget to RSVP, and we'll see you at the party!
***
Microcinema International is a really cool outfit. They distribute programs of independent, experimental, and otherwise interesting film all over the world for screenings small and large. My first three shorts are in their library, and when I remember to, I check out what part of the world my films will be in next.
Anyone going to Spain or Singapore, be sure to mark your calendars...