B-Ball Blunder: Racist NBA player yet to apologize (in National News) Equality for All: SFUSD plan targets racial disparities (in Bay Area News) Business in the Aftermath of Census 2000 (in Business) Asian American Oscar predictions (in A&E) Emil Amok: Roundball Asian Gals and the Census (in Opinion)

19th S.F. International Asian American Film Festival,
March 8-18, 2001

By kevinjamesgardner

• 97 Films and Videos
• 55 Screenings
• 21 World Premieres

Some of the NAATA folks behind the fab film fest: (top left to right) Judy Ma, Chris Schultz, Don Young, Toni Tabora, Shilpa Mankikar, Eddie Wong, Alina Hua, Taro Goto, Jim Choi, Joseph Flores, Lisa Mendiola, James Hou, Alyx Park. (bottom left to right) Linda Blackaby, Suyoung Yoo, Brandon Sugiyama, Sean Shodahl, Hieu Ho, Kevin Sun.

Thank you all for the best fest yet!!! See you next year!

Click an image thumbnail to see a large, full size image (opens new window)
Don Canady of the San Francisco Film & Video Arts Commission (left), Rod Pulido, director of The Flip Side (center), and Chi-Hui Yang, NAATA Festival Director (right), celebrate the SF City & County Proclamation of Filipino American Film Week. Ang Galing!	Chi-Wang Yang (left) watches Joanne Shen, maker of King of Kowloon, blow a kiss to guests on Opening Night, March 8.	Actors Conrad Cimarra, Rawlins Apilado, Jayson Schaal, and Bernadette Balagtas of The Debut, share a little love on Closing Night, March 15. Says Jayson: “Differences in race really don’t exist, it all comes down to class.”
Lee Ann Kim (left), exec. director of the San Diego Asian American Film Festival, and Ben Kim, director of the Chicago Asian American Showcase, talk best fest while John H. Lee, director of The Cut Runs Deep, judges.	Actress Maya Ruiz enjoys a special moment with Omz, director of Up the Hill.	Marisa and Andrea Centinaje excitedly get an autograph from entertainer Fe De Los Reyes of The Debut while husband and agent Mario Mendoza captivates.
NAATA-oid Hieu Ho male bonds with Tetsuaki Matsue, director of Annyong Kimchi, while translator/bodyguard/spy Atsushi Uchino keeps an eye on them.	Actors Mike Dorado of Silencio and Mark Marking of Up the Hill flash their stuff. “To find quality roles is very rare for an Asian,” remarks Mark. “But I think the problem is also that there needs to be more writers... mostly I’d like to just do a role just as an actor, as a good actor, and I just happen to be Filipino.”	DJ Qbert, turntable pioneer and creator of Wave Twisters, random NAATA volunteer Loy Lee and DJ Yoga Frog give everybody a "Wassup!"
Photos by kevinjamesgardner for AsianWeek Newspaper.