Pacific Arts Spring Showcase kicks off tomorrow with a beautiful and deeply affecting documentary from San Diego-based filmmaker Benito Bautista, who’s also the founder of San Diego Filipino Cinema and the San Diego Filipino Film Festival.
Bautista's "The Road to Sydney" is both a personal journey for Bautista and a portrait of dance artist Sydney Loyola, who faced discrimination after gender-affirmation surgery. At a time when trans and queer rights are under attack, the documentary offers a compassionate portrait of one person's journey. Ultimately, the film celebrates the journeys of both Loyola and Bautista. Bautista and Emma Francisco will be on hand for a post-film Q&A.
In addition to shining a light on trans rights, Spring Showcase also hopes to encourage empathy with "Bashu, the Little Stranger," a landmark Iranian film that explores themes of war, displacement and identity. It reflects the festival’s commitment to showing not just new works but also bringing classics back to the big screen.
And speaking of new works, the festival will screen the latest film from iconoclastic indie director Gregg Araki — "I Want Your Sex." There were no screeners for the film, but there are some filmmakers that you just trust to always deliver something fresh, bold and audacious. Araki is one of those filmmakers. The film stars Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman and dives into Araki's favorite territory of sex, desire and identity.
There will also be new films from New Zealand ("Marama"), Taiwan ("A Foggy Tale") and a collaboration between Japan, China and France ("Bring Him Down to Portable Size").
This year's Spring Showcase really knocks it out of the park with its documentaries. In addition to "The Road to Sydney," there is the riveting "Diamond Diplomacy" on Saturday. Calling this a sports documentary would be an injustice because it goes far beyond just examining baseball and its players. Filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer enthralls us with a fascinating story about not just the popularity of baseball in Japan and the U.S. but also the role it has played in politics, diplomacy and the perception of Japan in America. The archival footage is great, the interviews are insightful, and it takes the viewer on a historical journey that is far richer than you might expect.
The closing-night feature is also a documentary, "Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon," about the composer whose music shaped early-1970s Saigon. The film is a kindred spirit to "Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll," a 2014 documentary about Cambodian rock music in the 1960s and 1970s, and how politics, the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian genocide impacted the music scene. "Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon" approaches the music scene from a more personal perspective, with Khoa Hà seeking to find any archival material about her grandfather, Y Vân, and his music. Politics also plays a role in his story. After watching the film, you will want to seek out his music.
Spring Showcase only runs three days, but it’s packed with a seductive array of films reflecting the rich and complex diversity of Asian and Asian American cinema.
