CLIMAX GLOBAL :: Asian Pacific American Lifestyle Network :: Home

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) is coming soon!

When: March 8-18, 2012
Where: San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose, CA

The SFIAAFF, presented by the Center for Asian American Media, is the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films, annually presenting approximately 120 works in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Festival’s 30th anniversary program celebrates the past, present, and future – not only honoring pioneers in Asian and Asian American media-making, but also new directions in digital and interactive media, sound and youth culture, and gaming.

So, keep your New Year’s resolution – get out into the community and learn more about the richness and diversity of Asian and Asian American experiences (Wait, that wasn’t on your list? Well, it should be!).

In my interview with Andrew Ahn, the gay Korean-American filmmaker, whose short film Dol premiered last weekend at Sundance, I said he was "first generation," meaning he was of the first generation of his family to be born in the US.

And that started the debate that's simmering online.

Sky says: "Being involved in the Asian American community and being Asian American myself, I have to say that, despite what the dictionary says, Ahn is a second generation Korean American. His parents, having moved here form Korea, would be considered the first generation pioneers."

Clara writes: "For Koreans, I am a 1.5 generation because I was born in Korea and grew up somewhere else, my parents are 1st generation because they were born and grew up in Korea and then immigrated. My children are 2nd. generation because although of Korean descent, they were born in somewhere el...

[ Read Full ]

A Filipino American is representing the sunshine state in the upcoming Miss America 2012 Pageant competition.

Kristina Janolo, a 24-year-old University of Central Florida student from Kissimmee, Florida, won the Miss Florida crown and the right to represent the state in the Miss America competition last July. Janolo is the first Filipino American to win the title of Miss Florida.

She is among the 51 beauties from across the nation including the US Virgin Islands competing in the 2012 Miss America Pageant, which will be broadcast live from Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Jan. 14.

Janolo was born in the US. Her mother is from Manila and her father is from Mindoro.

Janolo hopes to follow in the footsteps of Angela Perez Baraquio, a Hawaii-born Filipina, who won the crown in 2001 and became the first Asian American to win the competition.

Janolo said the winner of the Miss America 2012 pageant has some big shoes to fill taking over for 2011 winner Theresa ...

[ Read Full ]

SAN FRANCISCO (January 19, 2012) – The largest gathering of Asian Pacific Americans in the nation is back and bigger than ever, this year showcasing the return of the Asian Arts & Crafts Alley, an extravaganza of special and unique hand-made products and artworks. The fair will also feature a scrumptious collection of pan Asian delights and sweets, along with the Bay Area’s favorite food trucks.

Thai participants from the 2011 Faces of Asia Cultural Procession at the Asian Heritage Street Celebration. Photo by Jong Arcega.

Popular returning features for people of all ages include the j-cars, wine area, children’s area, healthy living pavilion, cultural procession, free film screenings, along with performances by Asian American artists, DJs, and martial arts experts. The fair will also offer free hepatitis B screenings.

The Asian Arts & Crafts Alley will showcase the best and most creative Asian-themed arts and crafts items. All vendors will be carefully juried and sho...

[ Read Full ]

The Sundance Film Festival is once again upon us, having officially kicked off Thursday, January 19 in Park City, UT. While the bulk of the attention is usually given to feature films, the Shorts Program has also been a cinematic treasure trove, often launching many young filmmakers onto the path of making their first features. Among this year's shorts are two Asian American filmmakers, Andrew Ahn and Kangmin Kim. Coincidentally, they are both of Korean descent and members of the same 2011 class at CalArts. Hyphen chatted with them briefly this week to learn more about their lives and their films.

First up is Andrew Ahn, a Korean American born and raised in LA's Koreantown. The child of Asian immigrants, he went to an Ivy League school -- in his case, Brown -- to study Biology, but switched his major t...

[ Read Full ]

OAK BROOK, Ill. - January 23, 2012 marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. In many Asian cultures, the dragon symbolizes power and excellence, boldness and wisdom. McDonald’s commemorates the year with a special calendar that debuts artwork created by Asian American artists. McDonald’s Year of the Dragon calendars will be available for a limited time for McDonald’s Family Pavilion visitors at various Asian festivals while supplies last. McDonald’s wishes everyone a prosperous 2012 filled with great ambition and the strength of the dragon.

“McDonald’s has been a long-time supporter of the Asian American community, embracing its culture and heritage,” says Vivian Chen, Director of Ethnic Marketing, McDonald’s USA. “Through the Year of Dragon calendar project, McDonald’s continues to celebrate achievement through artistic talent while encouraging young artists to bring their imagination to life.”

For four consecutive years, McDonald’s has honored and promoted Asian heritage w...

[ Read Full ]

So many pretty girls, sparkly clothes, pearly-white smiles and amazing bikini bods.

ABC hosts Chris Harrison (The Bachelor) and Brooke Burke-Charvet (Dancing With the Stars) kept the Miss America Pagent 2012 rolling Saturday night, live from Las Vegas.

After all the sashaying, posing and displaying of talent, Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler was crowned the new 2012 Miss America. (A tiara for a cheesehead!) Here she is ...

"I was crying even before my name was called," Kaeppeler said backstage after the show. "It was just surreal to have this honor."

Kaeppeler, 23, has an unusual background. She says she thought long and hard as to whether she should make her father's jail time for mail fraud part of her pageant platform, reports AP.

Her father, Jeff Kaeppeler, served 18 months in federal prison for mail fraud, a sentence he sta...

[ Read Full ]

(CNN) - America’s embrace of Japanese pop culture, particularly manga and anime, hasn’t resulted in an embrace of Asian and Asian-American actors when those storylines go to Hollywood.

Two upcoming feature films based on Japanese material are already stirring controversy after rumors that white American actors will be cast as characters originally written as Japanese.

Tom Cruise is rumored to be in talks to play the lead role in the Warner Bros. adaptation of Japanese novel “All You Need is Kill,” replacing a Japanese main character. Warner Bros., which is owned by the same parent company as CNN, is also in the pre-production stages of making a live-action version of “Akira,” a graphic novel that was made into a landmark 1988 animated feature film in Japan. All of the actors rumored to be in consideration for the upcoming film’s main characters are white Americans, ...

[ Read Full ]

People were curious as to who the person behind the 40 year old Asian American woman / IMDB name and age revealing debacle is. It’s Junie Hoang. (Huong Hoang). She had to reveal herself in the lawsuit and does so with some disappointments. She’s played minor roles, resides in Texas of all places and is seeking 1 million dollars. The lawsuit isn’t frivolous but is it really harming her career? Is she really battling against the 20 year old hotties in Hollywood? She’s entitled to something and they’re clearly shooting for the stars. She’s telling a joke at bottom.

Home › Blogs › Ian Wang's posts › Looking Back at 2011’s Asian Americans in Film
Looking Back at 2011’s Asian Americans in Film
Submitted by Ian Wang on December 9, 2011 - 9:45am

Film
a very harold and kumar 3d christmas
almost perfect
beautiful boy
circmstance
fast five
In The Family
knots
one kine day
snow flower and the secret fan
surrogate valentine
The Green Hornet

3 9Email this pageEmail this page

Patrick Wang's In The Family

This post focuses on narrative features. Check back for part 2 which takes a look at the documentaries released this past year.

For Asian Americans in mainstream Hollywood, 2011 was an eventful but not exactly spectacular year. The year kicked off on a little sour note with The Green Hornet, which featured Ta...

[ Read Full ]