Asian Film Festival of Dallas announces complete slate of screenings for 2008

by John P. Meyer

The 7th annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas kicks off festivities on Thurs., Aug. 14, with the movie Ping Pong Playa, which strikes me as a pretty amusing take on a sports theme.

As noted in a prior post, the closing night film (on Thurs., Aug. 21) is Tak Sakaguchi's Be a Man! Samurai School.

Both these films - along with the festival's centerpiece screening, a hard-hitting war movie called The Assembly (Ji jie hao) - will be shown at the Magnolia, where special event ticket prices of $12 apply (sorry, no student or senior discounts). Admission to the remainder of the eight-day movie lineup is $9/tic, with students and old folks (er, I mean "revered elders") getting in for just $6.50.

BEST DEAL for aficionados: buy the VIP pass, which gets one into everything - including priority seating at films, the special opening, closing and centerpiece screenings, and filmmaker receptions - for $125. It also comes with an official AFFD t-shirt, in case your closet can actually hold another clothing item.

Most shows will happen at the Magnolia, but there will also be featured events coming off at both the Crow Collection of Asian Art and the Studio Movie Grill location in North Dallas.

The AFFD folks have now posted their complete slate of films, which includes:

Thursday, Aug. 14 (Opening Night)

7:00 pm PING PONG PLAYA (96 min.) - Guest Appearance by writer/actor Jimmy Tsai

9:30 pm Opening night reception @ THE FISH

Friday, Aug. 15

5:40 pm Shorts Block 1 (90 min.)

7:40 pm FIRE UNDER THE SNOW (75 min.)

9:20 pm TOKYO GORE POLICE (100 min.)

11:45 pm HELP ME EROS (103 min.)

Saturday, Aug. 16

10:00 pm THE PARK [Free screening at Crow Collection of Asian Art]

12:20 pm THE KILLING OF A CHINESE COOKIE (74 min.)

1:50 pm GENGHIS KHAN (136 min.)

2:00 pm BOOMTOWN BEIJING [Free screening at Crow Collection of Asian Art]

4:30 pm MAIKO HAAAAN (120 min.)

7:25 pm THE REBEL (103 min.)

9:35 pm L: CHANGE THE WORLD (129 min.)

11:59 pm WIDE AWAKE (113 min.)

Sunday, Aug. 17

12:00 pm SHORTS BLOCK 2 (90 min.)

1:50 pm BEHIND FORGOTTEN EYES (75 min.)

3:20 pm SANTA MESA (82 min.) - Guest appearance by director Ron Morales

5:10 pm LOINS OF PUNJAB PRESENTS (88 min.)

7:00 pm Centerpiece reception @ the Magnolia Lobby

7:45 pm THE ASSEMBLY (124 min.) - Centerpiece

10:10 pm OUR TOWN (112 min.)

Monday, Aug. 18

2:30 pm Shorts Block 1 (90 min.)

5:30 pm THE KILLING OF A CHINESE COOKIE (74 min.)

7:00 pm MUAY THAI CHAIYA (111 min.)

9:30 pm KALA (104 min.)

Tuesday, Aug. 19

5:10 pm BEHIND FORGOTTEN EYES (75 min.)

7:00 pm THE CASE (87 min.)

7:00 pm FOR MORE SUN [Free screening at Studio Movie Grill]

8:50 pm MACHINE GIRL (96 min.)

Wednesday, Aug. 20

3:00 pm SHORTS BLOCK 2 (90 min.)

4:50 pm THE REBEL (103 min.)

7:00 pm BLACK BELT (95 min.)

9:00 pm OUR TOWN (112 min.)

Thursday, Aug. 21

4:20 pm GENGHIS KHAN (136 min.)

7:00 pm BE A MAN! SAMURAI SCHOOL (110 min.) – Guest appearance by director/actor Tak Sakaguchi

9:30 pm Closing night reception @ ROCC

For more details or to purchase a VIP pass, visit the festival website.