The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) -- proudly known as "The First Home to Asian American Cinema” – kicks off this week its 41st annual festival in New York City, starting from July 25 to August 4, 2018. Acclaimed Filipino American director-screenwriter H.P. Mendoza’s Bitter Melon, a film project chosen last year for funding and support under Cinematografo Originals, is an official selection and will be shown by AAIFF at the prestigious Asia Society on Park Avenue on August 4.
Bitter Melon has been doing the festival route since debuting as a work in progress at the 2017 Cinematografo International Film Festival in San Francisco. It had its world premiere as a centerpiece film at CAAMFest in San Francisco in May, followed by a screening as a narrative feature in Outfest Los Angeles this July, before going to the East Coast for AAIFF in August.
Described by Variety as a “family dramedy” that “revolves around an eventful long Christmas weekend for members of a Filipino-American family with a history of abusive fathers”, Bitter Melon has been playing before enthusiastic festival audiences and winning rave reviews from film critics.
Mendoza is best known for his micro-budget work as screenwriter, composer, and lyricist on COLMA: THE MUSICAL (2007), as well as his award-winning directorial effort, I AM A GHOST (2014). In 2012, Mendoza was inducted into Essential SF by the San Francisco Film Society. Along with his feature films, Mendoza is known for his film scores, installations, and albums.
The AAIFF, produced by Asian CineVision, has been America’s first and longest-running festival of its kind and the premier showcase for the best Asian independent and Asian American cinema since 1978. It casts the spotlight on the moving image work by media artists of Asian descent, from any nationality, and about the Asian community to help answer a growing need for social understanding, cultural diversity in American life, and independent cinema. AAIFF is the first festival in the U.S. to showcase film and video work by artists of the Asian Diaspora.
The festival takes place in New York City, the second-largest Asian American market in the U.S. Every year, AAIFF attracts audiences from all five boroughs of New York City and the tri-state region. It has grown to include films and video from more than 30 countries, a variety of topical panels and workshops, industry mixers, staged readings, exclusive interviews, receptions and more.
AAIFF is committed to film and media as a tool for social change and to the support of diversity and inclusion in independent cinema and the Asian American media arts.
The 41st annual festival will hold screenings at Village East Cinema (181-189 2nd Avenue), Asia Society (725 Park Avenue), and CUNY AAARI (25 West 43rd Street).
AAIFF 2018 Official Selection Bitter Melon will be shown on August 4, 2018, Saturday, 3:30pm-5:30pm, at the Asia Society on 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY. A Q&A will follow with the filmmakers after the screening. Visit http://aaiff.org/2018/films/bitter-melon/ to buy tickets.
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