Asian Film Festival Showcases Six Arabic Speaking Movies
The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) will feature six Arabic speaking movies including Memories on Stone (Iraq), Theeb (Jordan), Void (Lebanon), The Wanted 18 (Palestine), 4 O’Clock at Paradise (Syria) and From A to B (United Arab Emirates). From October 26 – November 2, 2015 in Culver City and Westwood, California, the Festival will feature select foreign language films from the 50 eligible countries in the Asian World region, including films that have been officially submitted as their country’s Oscar® and Golden Globe considerations. Website: www.AsianWorldFilmFest.org.
The official Oscar® submissions in competition include Memories on Stone from Iraq, The Wanted 18 (Palestine) and Lebanon’s Void, which will also hold its US premiere during the Festival.
Films screening out of competition are Jordan’s Oscar® submission, Theeb, and UAE’s From A to B. There will be a special screening of Syria’s 4 O’Clock at Paradise.
“It is rare to find a festival which showcases so many strong Asian films from such a wide variety of Asian countries, together at one time and although some countries have not submitted for Oscar® or Golden Globe consideration, like UAE and Syria, we have also included a selection of films from these countries due to their high production content and value,” said Asel Sherniyazova, Programming Manager and Festival Coordinator.
“As a director of Lebanese origin, I am so proud of my fellow filmmakers from that region who are creating such beautiful films and we strongly believe that our Festival will be a place for audiences to experience something unique,” added Georges N. Chamchoum, Executive & Program Director.
Bringing the best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles, the Festival was created by Sadyk Sher-Niyaz (multiple award-winning director, Kurmanjan Datka Queen of the Mountains) in order to draw greater recognition to the region’s wealth of filmmakers and to strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. All films that participate in the Festival will have a unique chance to be guided through the challenging awards season, showcasing their foreign films to the Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and all Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention and awards consideration.
Following the Opening Night Red Carpet Awards Gala and Opening Night Film, the Festival features seven days of films at ArcLight Cinemas in downtown Culver City and the luxury iPic Theaters in Westwood.
As previously announced, South Korea’s The Shameless will officially open the Festival with Taiwan’s official Oscar® submission, The Assassin, as the official closing night film on November 2nd. The films in competition include: [in alphabetical order by country]: Utopia (Afghanistan), Jalal’s Story (Bangladesh), The Last Reel (Cambodia), 12 Citizens (China), Moira (Georgia), Court (India), Memories on Stone (Iraq), 100 Yen Love (Japan), Heavenly Nomadic (Kyrgyzstan), Void (Lebanon), Talakjung vs Tulke (Nepal), The Wanted 18 (Palestine), How to Win at Checkers (Thailand), Sivas (Turkey), Jackpot (Vietnam) and Unsolved Love* (Yakutia, Sakha Republic). The films not in competition and with Special Screenings include [in alphabetical order by country]: Let Pan (Burma), Road to the Sky (China), My Voice, My Life (Hong Kong), Piku (India), Theeb (Jordan), Under Heaven (Kyrgyzstan), The Thief of the Mind (Mongolia), Kid Kulafu (Philippines), Steppe Games (Republic of Buriatya, Russia), 4 O’Clock at Paradise (Syria), and From A to B (United Arab Emirates).
Throughout the week there will also be expert panels on subjects such as Film Financing and Distribution, PR, Marketing and Awards Campaigns and Cross Cultural Collaborations in the Festival’s Filmmaker Lounge located at the Culver Hotel.
Leading digital news organization, TheWrap, serves as the Festival’s Official Media Partner with the Red Cross as the Official Charity Partner. Other partners are the City of Culver City and the Culver Hotel, which serves as the Official Hotel of the Festival and homebase for the Filmmaker Lounge and Festival offices. Aitysh Film is the Sustaining Partner.