May 8th, 2008 at 7:00pm Tai Seng Entertainment is sponsoring a special screening of Dragon Tiger Gate at the Studio Movie Grill on 75/Central and Royal Lane. FREE Admission! Please note that seating is limited to theater capacity. Theater and AFFD are not responsible for overbooking. Please arrive early. Seating will begin at least 20 minutes prior to showtime.

Actor Donnie Yen and director Wilson Yip make a powerful pairing in this high-action Hong Kong import. Yen (IRON MONKEY) plays a former martial arts student whose rift with his mentor (Yuen Wah) caused his expulsion from the school. He reunites with his brother (Nicholas Tse) and together they take on a wicked enemy. DRAGON TIGER GATE adapts the action of the beloved comic book for the screen.

Dragon Tiger Gate was nominated for best action choreography and visual effects at the Hong Kong Film Awards. View Trailer

Forbidden Kingdom Premiere Series

Directed by:

Rob Minkoff

Cast:

Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano, Yifei Liu, Collin Chou, Bingbing Li, Morgan Benoit

While hunting down bootleg kung-fu dvds in a Chinatown pawnshop, Jason (Michael Angarano) makes an extraordinary discovery that sends him hurtling back in time to ancient China There, Jason is charged with a monumental task: He must free the fabled warrior the Monkey King, who has been imprisoned by the evil jade War Lord. Jason is joined in his quest by wise kung fu masters Lu Yan and a band of misfit warriors including Silent Monk. But only by learning the true precepts of kung fu can Jason hope to succeed and find a way to get back home.

The film marks the first-ever onscreen pairing of martial arts superstars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and features the awe-inspiring action choreography of Wo Ping.

Screening Schedule

Friday, April 4th 4:15pm NorthPark 7

Blood Brothers (Tian Tang Kou) World Cinema

Directed By:

Alexi Tan

Cast:

Daniel Wu, Chang Chen, Shu Qi, Liu Ye, Sun Honglei

This dazzling debut feature from newcomer Alexi Tan tells the thrilling story of three young men whose loyalty to one another is tested by their descent into the city’s alluring crime underworld.

In a sleepy rural town, Kang looks out for his naive younger brother, Xiao Hu, and their best friend, Fung, who is like a brother to them both. When Kang convinces them they should all seek their fortunes as waiters in Shanghai, Fung reluctantly follows. there, however, the three fall under the spell of Boss Hong, a local crime lord who runs the city’s film industry as well as its most glamorous nightclub, and who is determined to take control of the black-market weapons trade.

Screening Schedule

Monday, March 31st 10:30pm Magnolia 5

Saturday, April 5th 4:00pm NorthPark 2

Triangle (Tie saam gok) World Cinema

Directed By:

Ringo Lam, Johnny To, Hark Tsui

Cast:

Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Sun Hong Lei, Lam Ka Tung, Kelly Lin

Legendary Hong Kong action directors Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and Johnny To team up to present this quirky noir tale about heists and double-crosses, told in seamless 30-minute segments – each written and filmed on the heels of the other by the respective filmmakers.

Longtime friends Mok, Fai, and Sam, each strapped for catch, engage in the theft of an ancient artifact hidden under a government building. Complicating matters is Sam's wife, who's having an affair with a corrupt cop who has Fai under his thumb. Throw in the prerequisite gangsters, standoffs, and of bullet ballets, and the stage is set for an instant classic.

Screening Schedule

Thursday, April 3rd 7:00pm Magnolia 3

The Home Song Stories World Cinema

Directed By:

Tony Ayres

Cast:

Joan Chen, Yuwu Qi, Joel Lok, Irene Chen, Steven Vidler, Kerry Walker

In Tony Ayres's intensely personal and beautifully crafted The Home Song Stories, the astonishing Joan Chen proves yet again she is one of the world’s most extraordinary actresses.

She commands the screen with ferocity in her role as Rose, a Chinese mother of two, plucked from her low-rent career as a showgirl-cum-prostitute in Hong Kong and dropped into the intimidating landscape of '60s-era, whites-only Australia. Utterly unbowed, she rails against petty racism, old-fashioned morality, a decided lack of local glamour and the general dreariness of Australian men as she proves an erratic and selfish mother to her two bewildered kids.

Screening Schedule

Wednesday, April 2nd 10:15pm NorthPark 7

Friday, April 4th 7:15pm NorthPark 7

Flash Point (Dao Huo Xian) Mavericks

Directed By:

Wilson Yip

Cast:

Donnie Yen, Louis Koo, Collin Chou, Lui Leung-wai, Fan Bing-bing, Yu Xing

The team of director Wilson Yip and actor and fight choreographer Donnie Yen present a two-fisted cinematic powder keg.

Hot-headed cop Jun (Donnie Yen), whose punch-drunk brand of justice earns him constant reprimands from his superiors, is after drug-dealing brothers Archer (Lui Leung-wai), Tony (Collin Chou from The Matrix Reloaded) and Tiger (Yu Xing from Kung Fu Hustle). Undercover cop Wilson (Louis Koo, from Election) infiltrates the gang and wins its trust. When his cover is blown, the resulting battle leaves him crippled. Archer is snared by the lawmen, but the day before his trial Tiger vows to wipe out the only witness – Wilson – setting off an unforgettable series of high-octane chases and fisticuffs.

Screening Schedule

Saturday, April 5th 9:30pm NorthPark 2

Sunday, April 6th 7:30pm Magnolia 5

Vexille Mavericks

Directed By:

Sori

Cast:

Meisa Kuroki, Shosuke Tanihara, Yasuko Matsuyuki

The year is 2077. Japan has isolated itself from the rest of the world, opposing a United Nations treaty that restricts areas of advanced research in biotechnology. The country’s borders have been closed and a sophisticated magnetic shield has blocked communication and satellite surveillance. Life in Japan has become a mystery.

Following the discovery of a “human” limb with flesh replaced by a form of bio-metal, S.W.O.R.D., a United States Special Forces unit that polices treaty violations, is dispatched to infiltrate Japan. The unit, which is led by female commander Vexille, teams with an underground rebel force in Tokyo. The revelation of Japan’s new reality shakes Vexille.

Screening Schedule

Monday, March 31st 7:00pm Victory Plaza

Friday, April 4th 10:15pm NorthPark 7

Big Man Japan Midnight Specials

Directed By:

Hitoshi Matsumoto

Cast:

Hitoshi Matsumoto, Riki Takeuchi, UA, Ryunosuke Kamiki

Daisato lives a mundane life in a rundown house. This middle-aged slacker seems a puzzling subject to be followed by the documentary crew that films his banal daily routine. That is, until he prepares for his "job."

As bolts of electricity rip through the sky, Daisato is transformed into a stocky giant several stories high, sporting tight purple briefs, tattoos and an Eraserhead-style hairdo. The sixth-generation superhero defends Japan from ridiculous villains that include the freak with the comb-over hairdo who pulls down skyscrapers with elastic arms or the revolting beast that lets rip stink clouds. Daisato’s battles are broadcast late at night to diminishing ratings. He has become the scapegoat of New Japan, whose citizens bitterly complain about the noise and property destruction he causes.

Screening Schedule

Saturday, March 29th 11:15pm Magnolia 4

Please Vote For Me AFI FEST/SILVERDOCS Award Winners

Directed By:

Weijun Chen

Winner of the Sterling Audience Award at the AFI Silverdocs Film Festival, Please Vote for Me is one of the most insightful and enjoyable documentaries of the year.

In a school of Wuhan, China, it’s time to elect a class monitor. Three eight-year-old contenders are chosen to square off: an incumbent known for his harsh dictatorship, the smart yet shy girl with a penchant for gossip, and the much-loved class clown. While their parents coach and strategize as the free election approaches, the children face their fears and their challengers in a no-holds-barred series of classroom debates. The election elicits betrayals, tears and laughter, revealing the hardships of campaigning and the lessons of dealing with defeat.

In this immensely entertaining snapshot of a culture going through change and the growing pains of their children, Weijun Chen’s (To Live Is Better Than to Die) expertly crafted film will have you on the edge of your seat as the winner is announced.

Screening Schedule

Tuesday, April 1st 5:00pm Magnolia 3

Sunday, April 6th 2:15pm Magnolia 4

Mongol Premiere Series

Directed By:

Sergei Bodrov

Cast:

Tadanobu Asano, Honglei Sun, Khulan Chuluun, Odnyam Odsuren

Sergei Bodrov brings the story of one of the great rulers of the Mongol Dynasty to the screen in the tale of how nine-year-old Temudgin ascended to become Khan.

Mongol reaches Shakespearean heights in its narrative account of a family that is torn apart, cast aside and eventually restored to power. Temudgin tests his courage against forces determined to destroy him and, through sheer force of will, wins out. His picaresque journey sees him descend to the depths of slavery before exacting his revenge and re-ascending to the heights of power he knew as a young boy. This saga plays out against the stunning landscapes of Central Asia, where tribal loyalties rule and violent warfare trumps other means of resolution.

The grand canvas of the story clearly stimulates Bodrov, and he relishes the visuals in the realistic warfare scenes. But he also finds ample time for the quiet moments between Temudgin, his wife and his beloved mother.

Screening Schedule

Sunday, March 30th 7:15pm Northpark 7

Munyurangabo AFI FEST/SILVERDOCS Award Winners

Directed By:

Lee Chung

Cast:

Jeff Rutagengwa, Eric Ndorunkundiye, Jean Marie Nkurikiyinka, Jean Pierre Mulonda Harerimana, Edouard B. Uwayo


Lee Isaac Chung, a Korean-American filmmaker working out of New York makes his feature debut with an outstanding film about two young Rwandan men,one Hutu and the other Tutsi, on a journey through Rwanda’s haunted countryside.

Set in the years after the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the film opens with Ngabo (Jeff Rutagengwa)—who is named after the ancient Rwandan warrior, Munyurangabo—stealing a machete from a market. Shortly afterward Ngabo and his best friend Sangwa (Eric Ndorunkundiye) set out for the countryside to find the man who killed Ngabo’s father during the genocide.

Chung and his actors—first-timers who were also involved in writing the script—articulate the pain of memory, betrayal and loss with poignancy in this rare and moving film about the delicate ties that bind friendship and family.

Screening Schedule

Tuesday, April 1st 5:00pm Angelika 7

Thursday, April 3rd 10:30pm Magnolia 5

Up the Yangtze Environmental Visions Competition

Directed By:

Yung Chang

Upon completion, China’s mammoth Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River will be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. Progress, though, comes at a price: The dam has displaced more than a million residents and destroyed cultural and archaeological sites. Yung Chang examines the effects of this massive project as he follows two young people, each one transformed by the construction.

Sixteen-year-old Yu Shui and her family are dismantling their tiny shack along the river’s edge to make way for rising waters. She longs to continue her education, bus she must work for a company that ferries tourists looking to catch a glimpse of the river region before it’s too late. Meanwhile, the journey’s significance is lost on her co-worker Chen Bo Yu, whose good looks and English skills make him an ideal hire. He merely sees his job as an opportunity to make some money. 

Beautifully photographed, the film provides a final snapshot of a rapidly disappearing cultural landscape.

Screening Schedule

Monday, March 31st 10:15pm Magnolia 4

Wednesday, April 2nd 4:00pm Angelika 7

Amal World Cinema

Directed By:

Richie Mehta

Cast:

Rupinder Nagra, Koel Purie, Naseeruddin Shah, Seema Biswas

In chaotic New Delhi, an aged and irascible man, seemingly homeless, cheats everyone he meets. When Amal, an auto-rickshaw wallah, generously allows him to dodge his fare, both are affected in a way that has far-reaching consequences.

This vividly textured portrait of contemporary India is an extraordinarily ambitious and heartfelt debut from first-time director Richie Mehta. Showing us an unvarnished India rich in flavor, Amal is a powerful and touching story of one man’s decency.

Mehta – who also co-wrote the film – viscerally conveys the feel of working-class Delhi. Nuanced performances from some of India’s most revered and beloved performers enhance the film’s authenticity and immediacy. Rupinder Nagra brings a serene wisdom to Amal that captivates and transports us.

Screening Schedule

Wednesday, April 2nd 7:00pm Angelika 7 Rush Line only

Saturday, April 5th 6:15pm Magnolia 4