NY's 29th Asian American International Film Festival will be from 7/13 - 7/21 in Manhattan and from 8/3 - 8/6 in Long Island.
Unfortunately, I will miss most of the festival while on vacation, including American Fusion, a movie that a friend's family helped make. But don't just watch it to support my friend, watch it because it looks like a great movie:
American Fusion
East Coast Premiere
USA | 2005 | 101 mins | 35mm | English, Chinese, Spanish w/E.S.
DIRECTOR: Frank Lin PRODUCERS: Robin Oliver, John Dunn, Jason Inouye
CAST: Sylvia Chang, Esai Morales, Collin Chou, James Hong, Pat Morita
Frank Lin takes a comedic look at the complexities of family, love, and race in this feature film that won the Hawaii International Film Festival's Audience Award. Set in California, AMERICAN FUSION concerns a divorced forty-something Chinese immigrant, Yvonne, played by the beautiful Sylvia Chang (ALL ABOUT AH LONG, see SUN SING THEATER retrospectives) who feels that the best of her days are behind her.
Yvonne's latest writing assignment lands her in the dental office of Dr. Jose (NYPD BLUE's Esai Morales), a handsome and single Mexican American. But her narrow-minded mother injures her back in a massage accident, and uses her suffering to emotionally blackmail her children into doing her bidding. In order to find true happiness, Yvonne must overcome her three demanding siblings and her ultra-conservative mother!
Showcasing an incredible cast of memorable characters that includes Fabio, James Hong, Eddie Shin, and the late great Pat Morita in one of his last appearances, Lin's feature debut goes out of its way to make you laugh and cringe. AMERICAN FUSION affirms that happiness comes out of accepting people and situations as they are.
Followed by Q&A. Frank Lin is nominated for the Emerging Director Award.
SCREENINGS
Sun 7/16 3:30 PM
ASFUSI
Asia Society
Wed 7/19 8:30 PM
QCFUSI
Quad Cinema