And finally, the Canadian drama Dragon Boys tells the story of a Chinese Canadian cop who wants to take on the Vancouver triad. Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti, it showcases talent from the U.S., Canada and Hong Kong, and has been compared with The Sopranos and The Wire.
The Year of the Fish
For the more romantic types, we have David Kaplan’s
The Year of the Fish, a rotoscoped fantasy film about a young Chinese immigrant, showcasing New York City like you’ve never seen it before. There’s also the racy and sexually charged
Summer Palace which has director Lou Ye tell the story of two Beijing University students over the period of ten years. Noteworthy documentaries like Duc Nguyen’s
Bolinao 52 showcase the story of a boat of ill-fated Vietnamese refugees who leave the country in the hopes of escaping persecution in 1980 Vietnam. There are even shorts from South Asia like the striking chapters from
Sita Sings the Blues, which takes stories from the Indian epic,
The Ramayana, and retells them in short animation form.
It’s impossible to highlight every good movie showing at the festival. This is just a handful of noticeable films and for each one mentioned here, there are about three or four films which are just as good. My only advice is this: If you’re in the Bay Area, check it out. You won’t want to miss it.
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