Tag: Los Angeles

An Animated Guide to VC Film Fest (2024)

Taking place next month is VC Film Fest and we have our guide on must sees for the animation fan and our top three live-action cinematic presentations too. ;)

VC Film Fest Logo
Runs from Wed, May 1, 2024 – Fri, May 10, 2024

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival / LAAPFF is now known as VC Film Fest and they’re celebrating 40 glorious years! This event is great at showcasing films from this region and this year, the shorts program includes Armed with Camera, Digital Histories and Pacific Cinewaves. This helps attendees select what they like to see, and sewn into the fabric of each of these are many animated works and they will be my focus on my top ten works to see this year.

And also included are my top three picks of live-action feature length works.

Aikane Waterfall Picture Still

AIKANE

A valiant island warrior, wounded in battle against foreign invaders, falls into a mysterious underwater world. When the octopus who rescued him transforms into a handsome young man, they fall in love and an epic adventure begins.

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The Guardians of Wonder are Ready to Strike at Hollywood Fringe!

It’s Fringe Festival season and while its rare to have a show truly dedicated to otakus, Alicein Project wants to change all that with The Guardians of Wonder!

The Guardians of Wonder LOGOIn Los Angeles, the Fringe Theatre scene is even more spectacular when considering the range of talent who have learned the Arts here. The Hollywood Fringe Festival is world renowned! And they will be hosting The Guardians of Wonder, an anime themed spectacular, spectacular by Alicein Project! 

This team is better known for their stage adaptation of the popular video game “NieR:Automata,” and “YoRHa” series. It promises to fuse everything fans adore from anime, manga and video games into one really big show, if we’re to borrow a phrase from Ed Sullivan. 

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The Waterman is Riding High Near You

Director/documentarian Isaac Halasima is excellent at showing just how Duke is an embodiment of the Polynesian spirit, too.

Duke Kahanamoku doc 'Waterman' coming to Waimea Theater - The Garden IslandDuke Paoa Kahanamoku is the Waterman, a hero unlike any other. He not only represented Hawaii‘s spirit in sports competitions, but also became something more. At the height of his career, he became a five-time Olympic medalist. Like Aquaman, part of his family’s heritage comes from noble blood and viewers will be pleased Jason Momoa is one of many voices to offer insight to this athlete’s world.

Kahanamoku grew up enjoying life along the warm beaches around Waikiki. He honed his many oceanic skills here, and that also included mastering the waves on an alaia–a waterboard. When he introduced this sport to the world (starting in Australia) the love for it was only starting. Duke didn’t get the recognition for it right away, and what this documentary perfectly explores are all the problems he faced before being hailed the king of the sea.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Picks of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

“2020 marks the 50th anniversary for visual communications,” said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications. “The organization was born because our founders began searching for visual resources to build a greater consciousness of Asian Pacific history in America ….

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film FestivalBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Runs Sept 24 to Oct 31

The complete lineup of the 36th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is here! The list is extensive and to figure out what to see for its virtual event took more than days to figure out. Because of this event being region specific, most of these movies are geolocked to those residing in the county to see. However, with a lot of film festivals offering an online component, it’s safe to assume that these films will become available for another region in no time. Failing that, some works are already available on home video for purchase in the country it was made.

Over 225 filmmakers will be featured in the five weeks which starts very soon! There’s three feature film world premieres and plenty of shorts to see.

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AX ’97 Masquerade Video Surfaces on the Net

Anime Expo LogoWhen scouring the internet, it is not easy to find photos of early Anime Expos (AX)– especially the ones your parents went to. And it is even more rare to discover a video. But it is thanks to people like Michael Winslow, who treasure such memories, that videos like this even exist. Although the video clocks in at 2:00:17 the masquerade itself runs 1:46:05. That’s enough time to cover the entire event.

Shot in 1997, Anime Expo had just made a return to it’s previous venue of the Los Angeles Aiport Hilton Hotel in California. The last time AX had been at the Hilton was in 1995.

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