L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 10

Today is the final day of the L.A. Film Fest with the awards ceremonies (SHIRO'S HEAD is a nominee for the GRAND JURY AWARD) and closing night celebration taking place. So, we drove five hours from the Bay Area back to L.A. just in time to get ready for the event. We were able to spread the word about Guam by talking with John Manal Castro, co-writer of the film “The Debut” (which I saw while it was making its rounds in Guam in the early 2000’s). John also lived on Guam for about three months and has some relatives on island, so we had lots to talk about.

He introduced us to Winston, who I believe is a publicist and works with HBO. Surprisingly, Winston had some knowledge about Guam. We had a fantastic time at the festival thanks to Abe Ferrer, Anderson Le, Chris in Marketing and Jeff! These folks were really cool and very down-to-earth, which is rare here in L.A.
And the award goes to...

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 09

We only have 2 full days of free time, so we cap off our road trip with an super-long 8 hour drive from Las Vegas to the Bay! Good times! We have to send a huge shout-out to Custom Limos for our free limousine tour of the Bay! Our bro-in-law Tony Garner of Custom Limo was kind enough to take some time out to give us a 1st class tour of San Francisco with a surprise visit to the grounds of the Lucasfilm Ltd., Industrial Light and Magic campus!

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 08

Time for some personal let-loose. We decided since the workshops at the fest are over, that we’d unwind with a banzai road trip to Las Vegas (a 4 hour drive from L.A.) and then to San Francisco (an 8 hour drive from Vegas).

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 07

The highlight of Day 07 was the seminar, “HO’OPUNIPUNI: THE MYTH OF STATEHOOD” held at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Downtown L.A. Because the focus of the seminar centered around Hawaii’s 50th Anniversary of statehood along with the issues of international law, cultural preservation and annexation, we knew that given the current situation of Guam, there was much that we could absorb.

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 06

Day 06 during the festival consisted of spending some quality time with Daniel Ferranti, (technical coordinator of "This Film is Not Yet Rated", who helped Shiro’s Head with its first ever critical screening before its final cut) and wife Darcy Harris. Also, getting some quality time in the karaoke bars to help recharge the ol' batteries!

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 05

After a successful Day 4, Day 5 was another big day for Guam cinema as "Under the American Sun" screened. The project is produced by Alex Munoz and Bernie Schumann and directed by Burt Sardoma, Jr. At almost 30 minutes, the project was not only entertaining, but informative and insightful. We also got the chance to check out "Double Happiness" and "Kung-Fu Granny", both crowd favorites!

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 04

A long day starting with a brunch at the Director's Guild of America and then preparing for our big screening in which were glad to see so many familiar (and not familiar) faces. Folks came out from as far as Ft. Lauderdale Florida and Houston, Texas! It was a successful and amazing night and thank you to everyone who made the screening!

We also want to say thanks to Alex Munoz for hooking up the after party at Sushi Dan's! The night had a great, positive energy. We're so grateful to have made the trip out to L.A.

The L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 03

Our first day at the L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival was off to a great start. We picked up the 3rd Muna brother, Associate Producer Michael Muna, and were off to the Director’s Guild of America in West Hollywood for the filmmaker check-ins, interviews with Giant Robot’s Eric Nakamura, photos at the press wall, meeting up with festival director Abraham Ferrer and Andersen Le as well as other filmmakers.

We were surprised to discover how many people have heard of Shiro’s Head and Guam. We spent most of the night getting the word out to the crowd and spreading the word about Guam, the movie and the talented local artists.

The L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 02

For our 2nd day, we got our much needed rest and prepared for all the action that day 3 was about to bring.

The L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 01

Needless to say, we had a blast at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival representing Shiro's Head. Special thanks to Abe Ferrer, Anderson Le and Shinae Yoon for making our experience as enjoyable as can be.

We'll be posting up a daily video diary here on the blog (which can also be found at www.guamology.com) throughout the week.

We also posted up some pics on our Flickr page: CHECK IT OUT HERE

LA Showtime and "Hafa Adai Hollywood" After - Party

There's been a lot of folks asking about it, so please be advised that because the festival has booked "SHIRO'S HEAD" in a theater that seats only 155, we're urging everyone to get their tickets early! We hear that people may be coming in from as far as Houston to check it out. Anywho, we're proud to bring you the official screening time for "SHIRO'S HEAD" in LA as well as info on the "Hafa Adai Hollywood" After-Party.

Please join us for the screening of "SHIRO'S HEAD" at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival along with our "HAFA ADAI HOLLYWOOD" After-Party courtesy of fellow filmmaker Alex Munoz. Here are the dates and times:

SHIRO'S HEAD L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival SCREENING:
May 1st, 2009, FRIDAY - 10:00PM
Director's Guild of America, Theater 2
7920 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

Get tickets online here: CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE
or you can get tickets as well as discounted group rates from the Festival Box Office by calling: (213) 680-4462 ext. 59 CLICK HERE FOR MORE TICKET INFO

and immediately after the screening, join us for the after-party!

"HAFA ADAI HOLLYWOOD" After-Party
12 midnight - 2:00am
SUSHI DAN
8000 Sunset Blvd. #A202 Upstairs (less than 3 blocks away from the DGA theaters)
www.sushidanla.com | 323-848-8583

It'll be a night of fun, and since Don and I love talking about anything indie/DIY filmmaking and anything Guam, we'd love it if you'd come by and hang out with us. We hope to see you all there!

Shiro's Head Nominated for the Grand Jury Award in Los Angeles

We're extremely pleased to announce that Shiro's Head is an official nominee for the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative at the Silver Anniversary of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival!

In the official letter from Anderson Le, Program Coordinator of the Festival, Le states:

“In reviewing the entries that composed the final Festival program schedule, our program committee was excited to include your production into the final Festival schedule, and further felt that it deserved to be nominated for this special award. Your film will be judged by our grand jury that is comprised of film industry professionals. On behalf of Visual Communications and the Festival organizing committee, I congratulate you for this great honor. I look forward to meeting you (and viewing your nominated work with an enthusiastic audience) at the Festival.”

There are only 8 films nominated for this honor, and from what I've seen, the other 7 look great. On behalf of Don and myself, we'd like to send our heartfelt thanks to everyone that has supported us and "Shiro's Head" during the course of this crazy journey. We'll be posting up the festival showtime and ticket info soon!

For more info on the 25th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, check out their site: The Silver Anniversary 2009 25th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Shiro's Head is an Official Selection of the 25th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival!

Shiro's Head is an Official Selection of the largest Asian American film festival, the 25th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival! This is great, great news! We consider ourselves blessed with such a great beginning to 2009, on the heels of the 1st ever Philadephia Asian American and the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International and the Silver Ace Award in Las Vegas, not to mention the rejections from other fests as well. So, this did come at a great time.

Anderson Le (Program Coordinator) and Abraham Ferrer (Festival Co-Director) state in their official acceptance letter: "Congratulations! On behalf of the program committee of The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, we are excited to inform you that SHIRO’S HEAD is invited to participate in the 25th annual Festival, set for April 30 - May 7, 2009 at the Directors Guild of America, Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theatre and Aratani/Japan America Theatre. This year’s Festival will feature an exciting lineup of nearly 150 film and video productions by Asian Pacific American and Asian international artists, in addition to panels, workshops and artist/audience dialogues. We are excited by the inclusion of your production, and trust that it will find a warm and receptive audience here."

Visual Communications will present the 25th anniversary edition of The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival April 30 through May 7, 2009 at the Directors Guild of America, Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatre, and Aratani/Japan America Theatre, among others. The Film Festival will include the latest new works by established and emerging filmmakers and video artists; a slate of provocative and highly entertaining feature-length productions showcasing the talents of Asian American acting and producing talents; new works by Asian international artists; and filmmaker seminars, panel discussions and symposiums on topics relevant to Asian Pacific cinema.

The Film Festival continues and expands its commitment to nurturing new talent and promoting the development of Asian Pacific Americans both behind and front of the camera through presentation of the annual Grand Jury Awards and Special Jury Awards (feature-length narrative and non-fiction film), Festival Golden Reel and Linda Mabalot New Director/New Visions Awards (short film), and Festival Audience Awards for favorite feature-length narrative and documentary film.

For more info on the 25th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, check out their site: The Silver Anniversary 2009 25th Annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival