The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) kicks off its 26th edition tonight at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas with the film "Forge." The 10-day festival will showcase 150 films from 30 countries. Here are a few top picks to get you started.
What I love about Brian Hu's programming for SDAFF is its wild diversity. So this year, I don't want to talk about the big titles that will sell out, but rather the little gems that might fly under the radar.
As I was watching advance screeners for the festival, the one I immediately fell in love with was "Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris, as Currently Cataloged" by Julian Castronovo. It defies categorization but blends Peter Greenaway's obsessive need to impose order on chaos with the tropes of film noir mysteries — yet renders the story in a way that is unique and beguiling.
It opens with an unseen narrator describing the story and events about to unfold as the objects of the title are presented against plain black backgrounds. It may not sound cinematic or riveting, but the way it plays with form is clever and engaging. Castronovo even employs miniature sets at one point, adding a layer of handcrafted care.
Hu previously screened Castronovo's short film at the festival and was intrigued when "he wrote me an email saying, 'Hey, just so you know, Asian film festivals don't really like playing my movies. They didn't play my short.' And for some reason, that immediately made me want to watch this new feature. So I took a look at it, and I, too, was not just, what is this? But who are you, Julian Castronovo? He plays a version of himself, and he's talked about how he made this during COVID. So it has a very handmade quality. A lot of it just feels like he's making this on his desktop, and proudly so. It goes in some really unusual places that are mysterious, but also just weirdly funny. There's a way in which a title like, 'Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris, as Currently Cataloged' just sounds like such a art school project. But you could tell he wants to have fun with this, and he's using every aspect of the medium to to engage us and to lead us down these weird rabbit holes."
This film has a definite art-house vibe, but Hu also makes space for films that are deliciously and unapologetically pop entertainment. One example is my absolute favorite annual part of the festival: Mystery Kung Fu Theater. You are bound to eternal secrecy, and you must place absolute faith in Hu to pick a film that will dazzle you. He has not let me down yet.
"You can't replicate that Mystery Kung Fu Theater experience at home," Hu said. "I mean, unless you have 20 people in your house and you've all been drinking and having a great time. Otherwise, the energy you get from that theatrical experience, especially for these rowdy movies that don't take themselves too seriously, but that have just this endless feeling of fun."
Another rowdy offering is the 4K restoration of the 1994 Bollywood film "Andaz Apna Apna."
"'Andaz Apna Apna,' when it first came out, it didn't do that great," Hu explained. "It was nominated for some of the Bollywood awards. But it was for having such huge stars like Aamir Khan in it, it was a bit of a disappointment. But since then, it's grown in stature. It's now considered one of the great cult comedies that is just orchestrated mayhem, the way like the Looney Tunes are and Three Stooges. There's art to that, too. And 'Andaz Apna Apna' is Bollywood at its Three Stooges finest."
The sound effects definitely have an over-the-top silliness ,and the plot, which traverses multiple genres, is equally ridiculous. But the energy and artistry in the musical production numbers can't be denied — whether they take place across vast exterior landscapes or in the aisle of a tiny bus.
"You get the sense that they're endlessly innovative," Hu added. "I know we both love '90s and '80s Hong Kong films where they were just churning these things out and they have to be extremely economical and inventive. Sometimes you just show up to the scene, you're like, 'all right, how are we going to do this?' And moments like that on the bus, you feel like they were just struck with ingenuity at this moment and they're going to turn into a musical number."
Hu also programs plenty of genre cinema, and my favorite so far is "Mag Mag," a Japanese ghost story that displays Sam Raimi's love of body horror and bodily fluids as well as his offbeat sense of humor.
"'Mag Mag' is directed by Yuriyan Retriever, who is one of the biggest comedians in Japan," Hu said. "She's somewhat well known in the United States, having appeared on 'America's Got Talent' a few times. But she's a very self-deprecating physical comedian. But for her first feature film, she decided to make a horror film — a ghost film in the classic Japanese mold. But she's also playing around the form a little bit and keeping us guessing. It's not just a standard 'our house is haunted' horror movie."
It is a ghost story tied to romance and revenge and one character has some of the weirdest, wildest art. And if you like supernatural tales, you need to check out "A Useful Ghost" from Thailand. It is about a woman who comes back as a ghost but takes the form of a vacuum cleaner. It is also Thailand's official Oscar submission.
And my final, bonkers recommendation is Annapurna Sriram’s “Fucktoys,” a 16mm, grindhouse-style raunchy comedy about a cursed sex worker and her efforts to raise the funds needed to lift her curse. The film is set in Trashtown, U.S.A., and feels like an homage to John Waters in its joyous embrace of things mainstream America generally finds offensive. It does not take the risks Waters did or go to his extremes, but it is a wild ride. Here's the trailer, which is surprisingly tame given the film's title — but proceed with caution:
SDAFF also has a section called Masters, and any film from it is worth your attention. Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice" is already sold out online and will only have standby tickets on Saturday. That speaks to the growing international popularity of Asian directors. But Philippine master Lav Diaz is not yet a household name, and his take on the explorer Magellan starring Gael García Bernal still has open seats. Diaz usually makes low-budget, contemporary, black-and-white, hourslong films about what Hu calls "the pain of the Filipino soul."
But "Magellan" will be a period historical film in color — with an international star.
"But boy, this film still goes to Lav Diaz places," Hu assured. "It is showing how the desire to conquer the world or to try to command the elements, the toll it takes on the soul. But it also brings to the fore the perspective of the Native people. So in this case, Lav Diaz is interested in the fact that Magellan, this is not really a spoiler, but he dies in the Philippines in trying to go around the world. And so Diaz is interested in the way that the Philippines has a symbolism in terms of the Western globalization, and he uses that premise as a way to get into the darkness of it all."
No matter what you're looking for, SDAFF will likely have it. It opens at La Paloma Theatre Thursday, then moves to UltraStar Mission Valley at Hazard Center and UC San Diego's Price Center.
