Eight days, 145 films, thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of guests later, we officially close the 2015 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival at the Directors Guild of America. Read on for a wrap of Closing Night of Festival Week 2015!
Festival Week 2015: AWARD WINNERS, WITH LOVE!
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival closed down on Thursday, April 30 at the Directors Guild of America with the Los Angeles Premiere screening of Shonali Bose's MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW. A large and enthusiastic crowd greeted director Bose and her crew as Anderson Le hosted a post-screening Q&A with Bose, actors William Moseley and Sayani Gupta, and cinematographer Anne Misawa. Afterwards, a post-Closing Night party for Festival guests got under way in the DGA Grand Lobby, putting a capper on a Festival that saw both new and established filmmakers alike make new connections and in turn grow our creative community. And prior to Closing Night, the Festival Filmmaker Awards Ceremonies were held in the DGA Atrium, with the presentation of Grand Jury Awards in Feature-Length Documentary and Narrative as well as short film awards. Kudos to all! Stay tuned, a more comprehensive recap is being prepared for the Festival website and will be published shortly.


 

PICTURED: Director Shonali Bose (center) holds court at the Directors Guild of America as Anderson Le, William Moseley, Sayani Gupta, and Anne Misawa look on. (Photo: Steven Lam)

 
SPOTLIGHT: Festival Award Winners Shine at Closing Night
During the Filmmaker Awards Ceremony that preceded Closing Night, Festival photo documentarian Steve Lam was on the case, making sure to capture every moment as the filmmaker awards were handed out. Here are just a few highlights from a v-e-r-y busy night for Steven:

As Documentary Feature Jury member Tamlyn Tomita looks on, co-director Mina T. Son accepts the Best Editing-Documentary Award on behalf of Sara Newens and Summers Henderson for TOP SPIN.

Director Li Lu thanks her crew on behalf of THERE'S A NEW WORLD SOMEWHERE, which was recognized as Best First Feature in the Narrative Feature category.

As Narrative Feature jury members Panney Wei, Shipra Gupta, and Irene Cho look on, director Jennifer Phang accepts the Best Director-Narrative Award for ADVANTAGEOUS.

Directors Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto celebrate the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature for TWINSTERS with Executive Producer Jenna Ushkowitz, Producer Kanoa Goo, and Executive Producer/Editor Jeffrey Consiglio.

Director Daniel Park, screenwriter Danny Cho, and actor Shane Yoon represent for the ensemble cast of KTOWN COWBOYS, whose collective work was recognized with a Special Jury Award that somehow managed to fit ALL their names on one certificate!

Festival veteran Ken Ochiai received the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award for his wildly inventive JULIET JULIET - THE SOUND OF LOVE MUSICAL.

Timothy Yeung, the latest in a long line of filmmakers from New York University's Tisch-Asia film production program, bagged the prestigious Festival Golden Reel Award for his penetrating short subject, 90 DAYS.

Screenwriters Ravi Kapoor and Mira Simhan, accompanied by producers Saurabh Kikani and Megha Kadakia, celebrate the Best Screenplay Award for MISS INDIA AMERICA. Director Kapoor's raucous comedy was also recognized for lead actress Tiya Sircar's bravura performance.

Director Jennifer Phang gathers with lead actress/producer/screenwriter Jacqueline Kim and composer Timo Chen to celebrate multiple wins for ADVANTAGEOUS, including Best Director; Best Editing (Phang, with Sean Gillane); Music (Timo Chen); and a Special Jury commendation to Kim, the Linda Mabalot Renaissance Spirit Award.

And last but certainly not least, the crew from JASMINE, winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature. Director Dax Phelan hold the glass trophy accompanied by Guy Livneh (Best Cinematography); representative for Lisa K. Fowle (Best Sound Design); Chris Chan Lee (Best Editing); and Jason Tobin (Best Actor - Drama).

Congratulations to one and all; more pictures and complete wrap-up of Festival Week 2015 coming shortly.
Coming May 13 to J-Town: THE CURSE OF QUON GWON
The ongoing series "Big Trouble in Little Tokyo" resumes with a special presentation of the rare THE CURSE OF QUON GWON: WHEN THE FAR EAST MINGLES WITH THE WEST, by Marion Wong, the earliest know film directed by an Asian American, and one of the earliest directed by a woman.  Includes a talk with the descendants of star Violet Wong - Mai-Lon Gittelsohn and Dr. Greg Mark, and director Arthur Dong. Program and ticket info available here.
Shout-Out to Our Festival Sponsors
We are proud of our Festival Sponsors, without whom we would not be able to celebrate the achievements of our communities' cinematic artists. To see them all, click here .  We encourage you to patronize our sponsors. And when you do, tell them you heard about their products and services from Visual Communications and the Film Festival!

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