Asian American International Film Festival is calling for entries for 2009!

Held by Asian Cinevision (ACV), New York City’s longest running festival of Asian and Asian American films is looking for new talent. Films featured at last year’s festival included “Half-Life“, “Ping Pong Playa“, “Kissing Cousins”, “Princess of Nebraska“, and “Wings of Defeat“. (Click to see what Ningin had to say about those films!) More »

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Even tho Benson didn’t tell me to tell you this, I’m sure he’d like you to know that “Planet B-Boy”, the incredible documentary which sold out at film festivals and cool indie theaters nationwide, will be airing on MTV this Sunday, Jan 11, 11am & midnight, and again on Wednesday, Jan 14, 1:30am & 8:30am. Those are East Coast US times so you’ll have to check your local MTV for exact times wherever you are.

If you miss it on MTV or have seen it and know how much azz it kicks, you can buy a copy on DVD direct from Benson and Friends: http://planetbboy.com/dvd.html. He’ll throw in a free limited edition “Planet B-Boy” wristband cause you gotta keep that sweat out of your eyes when busting out windmills in the heat of B-Boy battle.

It’s only a few days away, so I’ll keep looking for that Evite from Benson to come over his place, chill with the Gamblers Crew, and watch “Planet B-Boy” on MTV.

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A few days ago I dropped by my local Block Buster store craving for an action packed movie. I went through the aisles till my eyes finally laid on a movie called The Rebel. The name in itself attracted me to it. It was from Dragon Dynasty and I have not been disappointed by any movies that I have watched from the company. So I decided that I would take this movie home and give it a try. More »

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Cape No. 7 (海角七號) is a Taiwanese comedic romance film written and directed by Wei Te-Sheng, his first full-length motion picture. The film is mainly in Mandarin Chinese but also contains significant lines in Taiwanese and Japanese. Before its commercial release, the film premiered world-wide on June 20, 2008 at the 2008 Taipei Film Festival as its opening film. The film later won 3 awards in this festival.

Prior to this film, the two leading actors Van Fan (范逸臣) and Chie Tanaka (田中千絵) only had minor acting experience while some of the supporting roles were filled by non-actors. Even without a strong promotional campaign, this movie has become so popular in Taiwan that on November 1, 2008 it became the 2nd top grossing film in the island’s cinematic history, behind Titanic. The film has been nominated for 9 awards in the 2008 Golden Horse Award and it is Taiwan’s entry to compete in the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. More »

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The responses have been great so far for Eddie Lebron’s Megaman Movie trailer and we want to thank everyone who was patient and watched the trailer right here on Ningin.com. Yea, apologies for the site slowdown. We had many, many spikes yesterday!

We want to give out some free Megaman stuff like the new Megaman 9 game (on your system of choice), free tickets to the Megaman movie screenings, and free Megaman DVDs. Unfortunately we don’t have enough for the tens of thousands of people who watched so here’s a simple little contest to determine the winner: More »

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Synopsis/Plot Or otherwise known in Korea as Babo (fool in Korean), the story takes place with the talented pianist Ji-Ho (Ha Ji Won) who returns home from Europe after she gets stage fright. When arriving in her home town, she is greeted by her childhood classmate, Sung-Ryong (Cha Tae-Hyon), who is mentally ill. While Ji Ho may have forgotten him, Sung-Ryong has always remembers and loved her. Along with Ji Ho, he also deeply cares for his sister Jee-In (who is completely ashamed of him; Park Ha-Seon) and Sang Soo (his best friend; Park Hee-Sun). As the story progresses, each of Sung-Ryong’s loved ones are approached with difficult situations where Sung-Ryong saves them in a surprising way. More »

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Get this: a director from Iceland films a story about a Filipina transgendered prostitute. How did that happen? Well, truth is stranger than fiction, and director Olaf de Fleur took many cues from real life in “The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela.” In fact, he created a new genre—a “visionmentary.” The unique way he filmed “Queen Raquela” shows how this subculture unfolds in the Philippines and beyond.

By happenstance, de Fleur ran into a couple of overdressed “ladyboys” on a trip to the Philippines. A ladyboy will sometimes describe herself as “a chick with a dick.” Crude, but hey, it gets the point across. These people have not undergone sex-change surgery—they believe they are female on the inside, male on the outside. They dress as girls, and often work as prostitutes, but dream of marrying straight men and having children like little girls anywhere.

De Fleur was fascinated by this “conundrum—it was like a snake eating its tail.” So he found Raquela Rios, one such transsexual, and allowed her to play “herself” in a story that was loosely based on her own life. This filming method gives “Queen Raquela” an engaging plot with the ring of realism. More »

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