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<\/a>Brian Hu, a North Park resident with a doctorate in film, has been the SDAFF\u2019s Artistic Director for three years. He spoke of the festival\u2019s roots and Kim\u2019s motivation behind the festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cLee Ann wanted to give a voice to the Asian filmmaking community,\u201d Hu said. \u201cThe festival has grown to become the largest exhibition of Asian films on the West Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hu described his role as, \u201cA fancy way of saying I pick the movies. I scout for new films by upcoming Asian film makers that will promote discussion in the San Diego area.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s opening night was held at the historic Birch North Park Theatre. The largest venue SDAFF has had yet, they were looking to find a place that would hold a greater capacity and \u201ccreate a sense of festivity,\u201d explained Hu. \u201cWith all the bars and restaurants in North Park, it seemed like a great fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opening night\u2019s film was \u201cFinding Mr. Right\u201d (Official Selection, 2013 Udine Far East Film Festival), directed by Xue Xiaolu, and starring actress Tang Wei (Best Actress, 2013 Shanghai Film Critics Awards). Finding Mr. Right is a sincere, captivating and honest story about a spoiled, self-serving young woman who comes to America from China while pregnant, forced to learn her own independence as she forges a new, unfamiliar life. The story evolves fluidly, and the characters are believable and compelling.<\/p>\n
By introducing the audience to a foreign film that broke the mold with its compelling story line and flawless character portrayals, it served as an intimate and creative way to open the festival. The leading actress, Teng Wei, has a way of gripping your heart and drawing you into the story.<\/p>\n
Xiaolu\u2019s feature film debut came in 2010 with the Chinese-Hong Kong drama \u201cOcean\u2019s Heaven\u201d starring Jet Li in what was billed as his first role in a drama film. She is also an associate professor and master instructor in the Department of Literature at the Beijing Film Academy and a volunteer with Beijing Stars and Rain, which works with autistic children.<\/p>\n Hosted at the newly christened San Diego Central Library, the closing night\u2019s film was \u201cDocumented,\u201d (Audience Award [Documentary], 2013 Hawaii International Film Festival) by filmmaker and immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas. Vargas is a prolific storyteller, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who didn\u2019t know he wasn\u2019t a United States citizen until he applied for his driver\u2019s license when he was 16. Vargas decided to reveal his status as an \u201cundocumented immigrant\u201d by writing an essay in 2011 for The New York Times Magazine.<\/p>\n Vargas explained that he\u2019s been writing since he was 17, shortly after finding out about his status as an undocumented immigrant, which played a large role in his entrance into journalism.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only reason I became a journalist was because when you\u2019re a journalist you have a byline, and so I figured if this country says I can\u2019t be here because I don\u2019t have the right kind of paper, then, what if I\u2019m on the paper?\u201d Vargas said. \u201cSo I thought that I could write my way into America. I thought, \u2018why don\u2019t I write these stories so my name will be in the paper,\u2019 and it was a way of saying, \u2018I\u2019m here, look at me! I exist on this paper.\u2019 It\u2019s not a green card, it\u2019s not a passport, but it\u2019s a paper.\u201d<\/p>\n With hope of a better life, Vargas was sent to America from the Philippines by his mother at the age of 12 to live with his grandparents. He and his mother have not seen` each other for 20 years due to immigration factors. Namely, that his mother cannot come to the United States as she was denied a tourist Visa.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause she\u2019s not wealthy enough to come, she\u2019s in line with other immigrants, so it will be at least another 12 years,” Vargas explained.<\/p>\n Knowing the risks of being denied reentry back into the United States, Vargas couldn\u2019t leave the country to film footage of his mother, so he sent a camera crew in his place.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are very unique, but to me, that\u2019s the American story, right? We all come here on different dreams. And that\u2019s why I think it\u2019s important that we tell these stories,\u201d Vargas said. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s important that we challenge our notion.\u201d<\/p>\n Documented was co-directed by Ann Lupo, a graduate of NYU\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts, and edited by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon. Both were part of the crew that traveled to the Philippines to shoot the footage of Vargas\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n The closing night also served as a fundraiser for the Philippines typhoon relief effort. They generously donated 100 percent of their proceeds to \u201cTyphoon Relief through Gawad Kailinga to send 200,000 food packs to victims and Operation Samahan, a locally-based health center working directly with medial teams in the Philippines in the afflicted areas,\u201d as stated on SDAFF\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<\/a>