SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2013 – CAAMFest successfully concluded after 11 days of expanded programs in film, music and food featuring over 100 films and a variety of music performances, food salons and media workshops. Formerly the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the largest of its kind, CAAMFest has extended its scope through original forms of artistic expression and community engagement. The festival welcomed over 20,000 participants, including over 230 filmmakers, artists, musicians, culinary creatives and industry professionals from around the world. Highlighting programs from 21 countries, festival attendees participated in a multitude of interactive live events that combined film, music and community dialogue – distinct experiences that exemplify CAAM’s signature style. This year’s film program consisted of 21 narrative films, 19 documentaries and 50 short films as well as 6 world premieres, 7 U.S. premieres and 14 San Francisco premieres.
Congratulations to the 2013 CAAMFest Award Winners:
2013 Comcast Narrative Competition
The Comcast Narrative Competition Award focuses on the depth of contemporary American cinema. From taut thrillers to love stories, this year’s selection is a dynamic showcase that featured an exciting array of filmmakers. The 2013 jury included Marcus Hu, Co-President and Co-Founder of Strand Releasing; Jigar Mehta, Director of Operations at Matter Ventures and previously a reporter and journalist for the New York Times; and Jennifer Ruppmann, Assistant Director in General Audience Programming at PBS.
Winner, Best Film: DEAD DAD
Dir. Ken J. Adachi
Jury Statement: A complex web of family interrelations is beautifully untangled through a thoughtfully paced and brilliantly acted portrait of estranged siblings struggling to cope with the death of their father and find closure. Ken Adachi’s delicate direction gives this talented cast an opportunity to shine as an ensemble.
2013 Documentary Competition
The Documentary Competition is designed to recognize courage and innovation in documentary filmmaking. The documentary jury included Zahra Billoo, civil rights attorney and Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); award-winning documentary filmmaker David Grabias; and National Jurist magazine’s most influential dean in legal education, Frank H. Wu, Chancellor and Dean of University of California Hastings College of Law.
Winner, Best Film: SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE
Dir. Debbie Lum
Jury Statement: An engaging, lighthearted look at the serious issues of race, power and gender in the global economy. SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE tells the story in a way that compels the audience to wonder how it will turn out. The narrator herself is drawn into the story of a potentially creepy but eventually sympathetic older man who finds love on the Internet in the form of a Chinese woman half his age.
2013 Emerging Filmmaker Award
Our newest award category, the Emerging Filmmaker Award, surveys the domestic and international pool of emerging filmmakers. The jury included Tanuj Chopra, Director of Nice Girls Crew and previous winner of CAAM’s Best Narrative with Punching at the Sun; Jane Kim, member of the Board of Supervisors, representing District Six in San Francisco; and acclaimed documentary film editor Jean Tsien.
Winner: SUNSET STORIES
Dirs. Ernesto Foronda and Silas Howard
Jury Statement: It was a difficult decision but we felt SUNSET STORIES presented a diverse vision with compassionate characters and heartfelt storytelling. This year, we felt the award should go to a dedicated filmmaker holding the torch for the Asian American film movement. Every submission in this category has its merits yet SUNSET STORIES’ effort to present a pluralistic vision of American society won our hearts and our decision.
2013 Audience Awards
The Audience Award gives the valued members of our audience the honor of selecting their favorite films of the festival. The 2013 Audience Award winners are:
Best Documentary Feature: HARANA, Dir. Benito Bautista
Producer Fides Enriquez’s Statement: HARANA is our first full-length feature documentary and we are so honored to be part of this year’s festival. On a personal level, I am so inspired to create more full-length documentaries about Philippine vanishing cultures and traditions. HARANA was my “training”, and I’m so happy the movie resonated with the audience. It is even more poignant to us given that one of the haranistas featured in the film, Felipe Alonzo, just passed away this weekend (on March 24). I feel that we honored him as best we can with this movie.
Best Narrative Feature: THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST
Dir. Mira Nair
2013 Loni Ding Award in Social Issue Documentary
Loni Ding (1931-2010) was a veteran independent television producer and university instructor. She devoted her life to advocacy and public service, and played a key role in the founding of several public media organizations, including the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) and the Independent Television Service (ITVS). Her award-winning productions, which include Nisei Soldier (1984), The Color of Honor (1988), and Ancestors in the Americas (1997), were among the first to document early Asian immigrant histories. The Loni Ding Award was created in 2011 to honor the film and filmmaker that most reflects Loni’s passion and commitment.
Winner: INHERITANCE
Dir. Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz
CAAM is proud to announce the third annual Loni Ding Award winner and its prize of $1000 goes to Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz and her short film INHERITANCE, which investigates what’s lost, gained and carried over in the process of diaspora.
Ready, Set, Pitch!
CAAM continued its venture into the world of live funding with its Ready, Set, Pitch! presentation at this year’s CAAMFest. With help from online YouTube voting, five media producers with projects in development were selected to present their pitch to a jury of media professionals and a live festival audience. The jury included Lee Ann Kim, Executive Director of Pacific Arts Movement; Shaady Salehi, Executive Director of Active Voice; and Jigar Mehta, Director of Operations of Matter Ventures. The jury scored the projects on story, pitch presentation, and audience engagement strategy.
Winner: FACING THE MIRROR
Producer Sara Khaki
This year’s winner is producer Sara Khaki with her project FACING THE MIRROR about an Iranian-born American plastic surgeon offering hope and healing to those whose lives have been ravaged by war. As the winning pitch, Khaki was awarded $5000 in CAAM Research and Development funding.
Guests In Attendance
Special guests in attendance at this year’s festival included: actor/director Joan Chen (SHANGHAI STRANGERS); director/writer Jennifer Phang (ADVANTAGEOUS); director Nicholas Bonner (COMRADE KIM GOES FLYING); director/writer/producer Amrit Singh, producer/editor Zoe Schack with musicians Himanshu Suri and Ashok Kondabolu (DOSA HUNT); musicians Ethan Holtzman, Zac Holtzman, Chhom Nimol, Senon Williams, David Ralicke and Paul Smith of Dengue Fever; director/writer Benito Bautista and assistant director Emma Francisco (HARANA), director/writer Ernie Park (LATE SUMMER), presenter Mark Decena (MEMORIES TO LIGHT); director/writer Tanuj Chopra with actors Lynn Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Sheetal Sheth, Anthony Ma and Parvesh Cheena; director/writer/producer Debbie Lum (SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE); director/writer Ernesto Foronda (SUNSET STORIES), author Soman Chainani (SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL); director Evan Jackson Leong and producers Allen Lu, Brian Yang and Christopher Chen (LINSANITY); Yang was also at the festival as an actor in SOMEONE I USED TO KNOW, accompanied by director Nadine Truong and actors Eddie Mui and West Liang.
The festival also continued its Southwest Airlines Student Delegate Program and welcomed 12 university students from across the country to participate in a rigorous program of screenings and private discussions with festival guests. In addition, over 200 delegates representing 15 Asian American film festivals from various U.S. and Canadian cities attended and participated in the Festival’s annual programmers meeting.
CAAMFEST GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES ITS SPONSORS
CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. CAAM does this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media. For more information on CAAM, please visit www.caamedia.org.