Congratulations to our 2018 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival winners!

CONTACT: FRANCISCO SANCHEZ
FSANCHEZ@TCDM-ASSOCIATES.COM

MERISSA LAURON
MLAURON@TCDM-ASSOCIATES.COM

ELISHA GUSTAFSON
ELISHA@TCDM-ASSOCIATES.COM

MEDIA RELEASE

“FOR IZZY,” “FISH BONES,” “CALL HER GANDA,” “MINDING THE GAP “WARU,” “IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC,” “PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE,” AND “BECOMING WHO I WAS”
TAKE TOP FEATURE FILM HONORS AT THE 34TH LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS

THE GOLDEN REEL AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING SHORT FILMS WERE BESTOWED ON “SILENCE (MAUN),” FOR EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE SHORT FILM AND “THREE BOYS MANZANAR” FOR DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

THE ANNUAL LINDA MABALOT NEW DIRECTORS/NEW VISIONS AWARD WENT TO
“MISS WORLD,” DIRECTED BY GEORGIA FU

May 10, 2018 (Los Angeles, CA) – Presented by Visual Communications, the 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) announced their filmmaker awards on the Closing Night of this year’s edition, which began on May 3 and concludes on May 12, 2018.

“FOR IZZY,” written and directed by Alex Chu, was awarded the LAAPFF Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding North American Narrative Feature, while the Best Director honor for North American Narrative went to Joanne Park for her film “FISH BONES.” Actress Adelina Amosco was selected for a Special Jury prize for Breakout Performance for her work in “THE FEVER AND THE FRET.” A Special Jury prize for Best Cinematography was awarded to Eunsoo Cho for lensing “AUGUST AT AKIKO’S.”

In the non-fiction feature section, “CALL HER GANDA” directed by PJ Raval took home the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding North American Documentary Feature, and Best Director was given to Bing Liu for his personal film “MINDING THE GAP.” The jury gave a Special Jury Mention to “ANOTE’S ARK” from director Matthieu Rytz and honored Nathan Fitch for Best Cinematography for his work on “ISLAND SOLDIER.” The jury awarded the Best Editing Award to Alejandro Valdes-Rochin and Tom Maroney for their outstanding work on “SCIENCE FAIR.”

This year, LAAPFF also recognized outstanding international films. In the International Narrative Competition, the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding International Narrative Feature went to “WARU” co-directed by a group of all female directors – Chelsea Cohen, Ainsley Gardiner, Casey Kaa, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Briar Grace- Semith, Paula Whetu and Katie Wolfe. The Best Director Award went to Caylee So and Visal Sok for “IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC,” and a Special Jury Mention was awarded to “KISS & SPELL,” directed by the late Stephane Gauger. The Best Acting Award in this competition was given to Timothy Castillo for his performance in “NEOMANILA.”

In the International Documentary Feature competition, the jury awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding International Documentary Feature to “PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE,” directed by Hao Wu. The Special Jury Prize for Best Director was bestowed on Jin Jeon and Moon Chang-Yang for their film “BECOMING WHO I WAS.” That same film and those filmmakers were also given the Best Cinematography Award, and the award for Best Editing was given to Hyewon Jee and Wongjung Bae for “SINGING WITH ANGRY BIRD.” This year, the jury created and gave a Special Jury Mention for Most Urgent and Cautionary Film to “THE CLEANERS,” directed by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck.

LAAPFF is proud to be an Academy Award® qualifying Festival for the Short Film Awards. Recipient(s) of the Film Festival’s Golden Reel Award for Narrative Short Film will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live-Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards®. The film that won this year’s Golden Reel Award and is now eligible to qualify in the Animated Short Film/Live-Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards® is “SILENCE (MAUN),” directed by Priyanka Singh. The jury also gave out a Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Directing to Paris Zarcilla for “POMMEL.”

The Golden Reel for Outstanding Documentary Short Film went to “THREE BOYS MANZANAR,” directed by Preeti Deb.

The annual Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award went to director Georgia Fu for her film “MISS WORLD,” presented for demonstrating an innovative and creative use of cinematic language.

“Our artists and their films were amazing this year,” said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications. “Their stories and their craftsmanship raised the bar. The dialogue, conversations, and resource-sharing that took place during our panels and presentations were on point and timely. This Festival is once again a great signifier of what is coming and our artists are ready and at the forefront of this sea of change with their films and projects. I’m grateful to them for making cultural connections with all of our communities.”

The 34th LAAPFF jurors included: Kennedy Kabasares, Ada Tseng, Marie Jamora, Hayley Pappas, Alex Demyanenko, Blessing Yen, Freeson Wang, Tanuj Chopra, Brian Yang, Christine Bacareza Balance, Yu Gu, AJ Calomay, Micki Davis, Dean Yamada and Lucy Mukerjee Brown.

The 34th LAAPFF continues on Friday, May 11 with a free outdoor screening of the Disney® classic animated film “MULAN” in the Park Center at Griffith Park. It will culminate with the Visual Communications Gala PAST//FORWARD: COMING HOME on Saturday, May 12, 2018 to celebrate the organization’s upcoming 50th anniversary in 2020, honoring Doug Aihara, Renee Tajima-Peña, and Comcast NBCUniversal.

Visual Communications’ mission is to develop and support the voices of Asian American & Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists who empower communities and challenge perspectives. Learn more at www.vconline.org.

COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

NORTH AMERICAN NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION AWARDS
Grand Jury Award –  FOR IZZY, Directed by Alex Chu
Best Director –  Joanne Park, FISHBONES
Breakout Performance – Adelina Amosco, THE FEVER & THE FRET
Best Cinematography –  Jose Asunción, Eunsoo Cho, AUGUST AT AKIKO’S

NORTH AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION AWARDS
Grand Jury Award – CALL HER GANDA, Directed by PJ Raval
Best Director – Bing Liu, MINDING THE GAP
Special Mention – ANOTE’S ARK, Directed by Matthieu Rytz
Best Editing – Alejandro Valdes-Rochin & Tom Maroney, SCIENCE FAIR
Best Cinematography – Nathan Fitch, ISLAND SOLDIER

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION AWARDS
Grand Jury Award – PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE, Directed by Hao Wu
Best Director – Jin Jeon & Moon Chang-Yong, BECOMING WHO I WAS
Best Editing – Hyewon Jee & Wonjung Bae, SINGING WITH ANGRY BIRD
Best Cinematography – Jeon Jin & Moon Chang-yong, BECOMING WHO I WAS
Special Jury Mention – Most Urgent and Cautionary Film
THE CLEANERS, Directed by Hans Block & Moritz Riesewieck

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION AWARDS
Grand Jury Award – WARU, Directed by Chelsea Cohen, Ainsley Gardiner, Casey Kaa, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Briar Grace-Smith, Paula Whetu & Katie Wolfe
Best Director  -Caylee So & Visal Sok, IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC
Best Actor – Timothy Castillo, NEOMANILA
Special Mention – KISS & SPELL, Directed by Stephane Gauger

SHORTS NARRATIVE COMPETITION AWARDS
Golden Reel Award (Excellence in Narrative/Animated Short Film)
SILENCE (MAUN), Directed by Priyanka Singh
Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Directing
Paris Zarcilla, POMMEL

SHORTS DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS
Golden Reel Award (Excellence in Documentary Short Film)
THREE BOYS MANZANAR, Directed by Preeti Deb

LINDA MABALOT NEW DIRECTORS/NEW VISIONS AWARD
Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award (Innovative Use of Cinematic Language)
MISS WORLD, Directed by Georgia Fu

ABOUT VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
Visual Communications’ mission is to develop and support the voices of Asian American & Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists who empower communities and challenge perspectives. The organization turns 50 in 2020. Learn more at www.vcmedia.org.

ABOUT THE LA ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL
Presented by Visual Communications, the 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival runs from May 3 – May 12, 2018. LAAPFF is the premiere showcase for the best and brightest of Asian Pacific American and international cinema. The largest festival of its kind in Southern California, LAAPFF is also a proud Academy Award®-qualifying film festival for the Short Film Awards. For program information, a complete listing of sponsors and partners, and to purchase tickets, please visit festival.vconline.org.

The Festival is is proud to be partnering with our following screening venues across Los Angeles and Southern California.
Aratani Theatre @ JACCC – Little Tokyo (DTLA) 244 South San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Aratani Hall at JANM (Japanese American National Museum) 100 N Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tateuchi Democracy Forum @ NCPD 111 N. Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Downtown Independent – Downtown L.A. (DTLA) 251 S. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
CGV Cinemas – Koreatown – Mid-Wilshire 621 Western Avenue (between 6th Street and Wilshire Blvd.), Los Angeles, CA 90005
Directors Guild of America – West Hollywood 7920 Sunset Blvd. (at Hayworth), West Hollywood, CA 90046
CGV Cinemas 621 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Regal LA LIVE Stadium 14 1000 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015
AMC Dine-In Sunset 5 8000 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046
East West Players 120 Judge John Aiso St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

The 2018 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is sponsored by:

PLATINUM LEVEL
Comcast/NBC Universal
HBO

GOLD LEVEL
Nielsen
Directors Guild of America
Tiger Beer

SILVER LEVEL
Department of Philippines Tourism
Sony

BRONZE LEVEL
Center Theatre Group
City National Bank
Creative Artists Agency
Taiwan Academy
FilmLA
Flash Cuts
MPEG
SAG-AFTRA
The Famous Group
SAG-INDIE
Writers Guild of America
Cinematografo
Warner Bros
Flipcause
IW Group

STAR LEVEL
Go Little Tokyo/METRO
JINS Eyewear
Kondo Wealth Advisors
Union Bank
CAAM

GOVERNMENT: National Endowment for the Arts; California Arts Council; Dept. of Cultural Affairs; Los Angeles County Arts Commission; City of Los Angeles; HCNC; Councilmember David Ryu, District 4

FOUNDATION: Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; Aratani Foundation; Asian Pacific Community Fund; Screen Actors Guild-Producers Industry Advancement & Cooperative Fund

MEDIA: KORE Asian Media; Angry Asian Man; This Filipino American Life; Potluck Podcast Collective; Pacific Rim Video Press; International Documentary Association; Giant Robot Media

IN KIND: Asahi; Boos Philly; Far Bar; First Street Catering; The Park’s Finest; Passion Planner; Chung Jung One; OkiPoki; Meiji; The Freezin’ Point; AFC Soy Foods; Cafe Dulce; Found Coffee; Creme Caramel; Yachak; La Colombe Draft Latte; Little Fluffy Head; Tanduay Rum; Ralph Smyth; Sun Noodle; G&B Coffee; Kindness & Mischief; KIND; Spitz; Fugetsu-Do; LT Vibes; Wolf and Crane; KASIH; Five Star Moving; Miyako Hotel; Hotel Indigo; Ninong’s Pastries & Cafe

VENUE: CGV Cinemas; Downtown Independent; Directors Guild of America; Japanese American Cultural & Community Center; Japanese American National Museum; Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center; AMC Sunset 5; East West Players; 341 FSN

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