"Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese "
Asian American Film Series, Wisconsin Film Festival 2006
March 30 (Thurs.)-April 2(Sun.)

Ticket Order Information

Amu

[AMUUU] Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese
India , USA , 2005, 102 min, Color, 35mm
In English, Hindi, Bengali with English subtitles
Wisconsin Premiere

Screening Schedule: Thu, Mar 30 9:30 pm University Square Theatres $7.00
Sat, Apr 1 6:30 pm Hilldale Theatres 2 $7.00

Directed By: Shonali Bose
Producer: Shonali Bose
Executive Producer: Bedabrata Pain, Gurdip Singh Malik
Writer: Shonali Bose
Cinematographer: Lourdes Ambrose
Editor: Bob Brooks
Music: Nandlal Nayak
Cast: Konkona Sensharma, Yashpal Sharma, Brinda Karat, Ankur Khanna
Production Company: Jonai Productions

What at first seems like a standard back-to-roots story becomes something much more in Shonali Bose’s debut feature. Kaju, a recent college graduate from Los Angeles , has returned to Delhi for the first time since she was three years old. At first mocked for her American clothes, her video camera, and her constant questions, Kaju’s search takes a dark turn as she looks for clues to her childhood in India . An adopted child, how did her parents die? Why did she have to leave Delhi ? And what do these questions have to do with assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, and the days of riots and bloodshed that followed? Writer-director Bose confronts a recent tragedy in India ’s past with an unflinching eye, taking a strong stance against letting the past go to the point of injustice. “Bose is a fearless filmmaker who certainly knows how to tell anengrossing tale.” ­ Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter. Winner, FIPRESCI Prize,Mumbai International Film Festival. - Travis Gerdes

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Asian American Screen Test
[AASCR] Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese
Program Running Time is 118 min
Screening Schedule: Sun, Apr 2 1:00 pm Play Circle Theatre $7.00

Screen Test

Directed By: Linda Lee
Canada , 2004 , 8 min
Screen Test is a wry day-in-the-life of an Asian-Canadian actor and the convoluted process of “becoming Asian” during a casting session. This film exposes the exoticization of actors of colour from the performer’s point-of-view. By exaggerating her own Asian-ness, she performs in “yellow face,” subverting the process through exploiting and mocking the ignorance of those who get to define and direct the “other.”

My German Boyfriend

Directed By: Wayne Yung
Canada , 2004 , 25 min
A gay Chinese-Canadian encounters ethnic stereotypes as he seeks his ideal boyfriend in Berlin . A comedy about mistaken cultural identities, a diary of immigrant isolation, and a love letter to a boyfriend who might havebeen.

Shaolin Sisters

Directed By: Mishann Lau
Canada , 2004 , 6 min
Shaolin Sisters is a kick-ass kung fu short about two sisters and the trouble they get into when they find a tube of lipstick in their laundry. An appropriation of classic kung fu flicks from a queer feministperspective.

Trying to Keep Concentrate
Directed By: Ruthann Lee
Canada , 2004 , 8 min
Featuring footage from an in-store surveillance camera and interviews with the store’s owner, this documentary presents personal and systematic views of Korean immigrant experiences in Canada .

Muni to the Marriage
Directed By: Stuart Gaffney
USA , 2004 , 5 min
Riding to San Francisco ’s City Hall to take part in marriage history with his partner of 17 years, the filmmaker reflects on the difficulties experienced by his Chinese-American mother and white father more than 50 years ago, who were only able to marry when California ’s law against interracial marriage was overturned.

Kata Practice

Directed By: Siu Ta
Canada , 2004 , 5 min
David, a 6-year-old junior green belt, practices for his final fight. As he concentrates on each technique, he soon confronts a challenge that goes beyond the physical.

3 Meals
Directed By: Colin Goh, Yen Yen Woo
Singapore , 2005 , 19 min
San, a Singaporean woman under pressure from her mother to “find a good man,” hosts three disastrous meals ­ two with would-be suitors, and the last with her mother herself.

Fuck Off
Directed By: Persephone Tan
USA , 2004 , 6 min
People have a natural tendency to stare, especially if you look or act differently. Uncomfortable glances? Shaking heads? Sneers? Fuck Off is dedicated to those who can’t accept the fact that not everybody is thesame.

Be Very Quiet
Directed By: Mona Nahm
Thailand , USA , 2004 , 26 min
As a child, Thana witnessed the rape and murder of his prostitute mother. Years later, he spots a man who resembles the killer and embarks on a path of vengeance.

Chinese Beauty

Directed By: Debbie Lum
USA , 2005 , 10 min
A woman jogger chases down love, literally.

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The Grace Lee Project

[GRACE] Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese
USA , 2005, 68 min, Color, BetaSP
Screening Schedule: Fri, Mar 31 5:00 pm Monona Terrace Convention Center $7.00

Directed By: Grace Lee
Producer: Amy Ferraris
Executive Producer: In-Ah Lee
Writer: Grace Lee, Amy Ferraris
Cinematographer: Jerry A. Henry
Editor: Amy Ferraris
Music: Woody Pak

Filmmaker Grace Lee grew up thinking she was special: there weren’t many other Korean American girls in Missouri . As she went out into the world, she found that her name was more common, and that many people knew a Grace Lee. Oddly, they were all described as polite overachievers, usually Christian, always nice: fitting a stereotype of Asian Americans. Off Grace went on a search to find other women named Grace Lee who defy that description, and to question cultural assimilation and stereotypes of Asian American virtue along the way. “Packed with skillfully interwoven personal stories, this film will resonate with anyone who’s ever Googled their own name, hoping to find a fascinating doppelganger. And let’s face it, isn’t that just about all of us?” ­ Jenny George, Bust Magazine. - Meg Hamel

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Journey From the Fall (Vuot Sóng)
[JOURN] Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese
USA , 2005, 135 min, Color, 35mm
In Vietnamese, English with English subtitles
Midwest Premiere
Screening Schedule: Sat, Apr 1 11:00 am Orpheum Main Theatre $7.00

Directed By: Ham Tran
Producer: Lam Nguyen
Writer: Ham Tran
Cinematographer: Guillermo Rosas, Julie Kirkwood
Music: Christopher Wong
Cast: Kieu Chinh, Long Nguyen, Diem Lien, Jayvee Mai The Hiep, Khanh Doan, Cat Ly, Nguyen Thai Nguyen
Production Company: A Fire in the Lake , Old Photo Film

A complex, haunting film from Vietnamese American filmmaker Ham Tran, Journey From The Fall chronicles a family divided after the 1975 fall of Saigon . There are two stories here, that of the father, Long, who is sent to a torturous re-education camp, and the journey that mom, grandma, and son make when they escape by boat to California . Tran makes use of shifts in time and flashbacks to piece together a gorgeously photographed film. It asks the question so central to the experiences of immigrants: how much of your homeland should you give up to fully embrace your new life? Many Asian American cast and crew came together to present an original and authentic look at a war rarely described for American audiences from the Vietnamese perspective. 2006 Sundance Film Festival. - Meg Hamel

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Mardi Gras: Made In China

[MARDI] Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese
USA , 2005, 71 min, Color, BetaSP
In Mandarin, English with English subtitles
Fri, Mar 31 10:00 pm Monona Terrace Convention Center $7.00
Sun, Apr 2 5:30 pm Monona Terrace Convention Center $7.00

Directed By: David Redmon
Producer: David Redmon
Executive Producer: Deborah Smith, Dale Smith
Cinematographer: David Redmon
Editor: David Redmon
Music: Matthew Dougherty
Cast: Ms. Pearl, Roger Wong, Ga Hong Mei, Lio Lina, Qui Bia, Ling Ling, Dom Corlone

In a squalid Chinese factory, Ga Hong Mei spends eleven hours a day yanking strings of hot beads out of a dangerous machine. She struggles to fill enough bags to prevent her wages from getting docked. On the other side of the world, New Orleans native “Ms. Pearl” squeals with delight as she catches her zillionth tangle of glistening bead necklaces from a Mardi Gras float. Mardi Gras: Made in China portrays the immense disconnect between the factory and the consumer that arises in a global economy. The cultural and economical differences are stunning, as is the Chinese workers’ reaction to the sticker price of the beads and the astonishing way people “win” the beads. In tracing the path of the disposable commodity ofMardi Gras beads, filmmaker David Redmon tells a story about globalization in which CEOs aren’t really the bad guys, we are. Official selection,Sundance Film Festival, One World International Film Festival, Amnesty International Film Festival, and Human Rights Watch Film Festival. - Heather Shimon

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No Sleep Til Shanghai

[NOSLE] Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese
USA , 2005, 70 min, Color, BetaSP
Midwest Premiere
Screening Schedule: Fri, Mar 31 9:30 pm Play Circle Theatre $7.00

Directed By: Todd Angkasuwan
Producer: Carl Choi, Todd Angkasuwan
Executive Producer: Christina Angkasuwan, Todd Angkasuwan
Editor: Todd Angkasuwan
Music: Ted Chung, Allen Wong
Cast: Jin Au-Yeung, Kamel Pratt, Carl Choi, Barshir Fida, Brian Wong
Production Company: TNT Digital Media

Jin Au-Yeung, born in Miami and raised on hip-hop, broke new ground and gained fame by being the first Asian American rapper to sign with a major recording label. His quickness and charm ­ sharpened from winningfreestyle battles ­ makes this documentary an extraordinarily appealing look at the way music can punch through boundaries. To promote his aptly named album “The Rest is History” (featuring songs recorded with Kanye West, Wyclef, and others), Jin and his team embark on a tour of Tokyo , Hong Kong , Taiwan , Singapore , and Shanghai . On one level, “No Sleep Til Shanghai” is afunny and funky diary of a fast-paced, red-eye trip to bring hip-hop to fans in Asia . The bigger picture, though, is more complicated: since the tour, Jin has changed his name (to “The Emcee”), dropped the label, and reinvented his career. What answers does that give to the questions of race and fame? - Meg Hamel

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Red Doors

[REDDR] Y'all Gonna Learn Chinese
USA , 2005, 90 min, Color, 35mm
Midwest Premiere

Screening Schedule: Sat, Apr 1 3:30 pm Club Majestic $7.00
Sun, Apr 2 7:30 pm Hilldale Theatres 1 $7.00

Directed By: Georgia Lee
Producer: Jane Chen, Georgia Lee, Mia Riverton
Executive Producer: Lowell Bryan, Austin S. Lin, Greg Nihon, Tenno Tsai, Martin Zagorsek Writer: Georgia Lee
Cinematographer: Zeus Morand
Editor: Youna Kwak
Music: Robert Miller
Cast: Jacqueline Kim, Elaine Kao, Tzi Ma, Kathy Shao-Lin Lee, Freda Foh Shen, Rossif Sutherland, Mia Riverton
Production Company: Blanc de Chine Entertainment

On the surface, the Wongs are a family that has it all. The father, Ed (Tzi Ma), is about to retire from a job that has left his family well off, the mother (Freda Foh Shen) has her family to care for and a wedding to plan, and each of the three daughters is bright, attractive and successful. But the Wongs are also a family quietly falling apart at the seams. Samantha (Jacqueline Kim), a business woman, doubts her choice of career and fiancée. Julie (Elaine Kao), a medical student, is struggling with her blossoming relationship with movie star Mia Scarlett (Mia Riverton). Katie (Kathy Shao-Lin Lee) expresses her feelings for a high school classmate with increasingly more explosive practical jokes. Silence has become a way of life for Ed; after numerous attempts at suicide, he finally stumbles upon a new way to leave his life behind, and in the process, throws the family into further turmoil. In Red Doors, every character has a journey to make. On the way, they discover what makes them who they are as individuals, and find their place again in the family. Writer and director Georgia Lee was part of the 2005 Sundance short film jury. Winner, 2005 Audience Award for First Narrative Feature, Grand Jury Award for Screenwriting, Outfest Film Festival; 2005 Best Narrative Feature, “NY,NY” Competition, Tribeca Film Festival; 2005 Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting, CineVegas. - Kerman Eckes

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