San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
CAAMFest 2021 brings light to the COVID era.
CAAMFest Festival and Exhibitions Director Masashi Niwano admits to mixed feelings as he counts down to the annual event that celebrates Asian American and world cinema that launches on Thursday, May 13. Hopes for an inperson festival were dashed by the ongoing COVID19 pandemic. Instead, a virtual event — along with three nights at the Fort Mason Flix Drivein — will have to do for the film festival’s 39th edition.
“It’s been a unique year for all of us. But we’re happy we can at least pull this festival off,” he says. “Ultimately having the filmmakers’ voices heard is the most important thing.”
CAAMFest 2021 plans to host more than 50 events through May 23. In addition to 28 features and 13 shorts film programs, the festival includes panel discussions, conversations and a filmmakers’ summit. Most virtual screenings are available on demand throughout the festival, except for special, onetimeonly events. Here are this year’s highlights:
That’s entertainment
Born and raised in San Francisco, Margaret Cho stars in “Koreatown Ghost Story,” a short film she produced featured in CAAMFest’s “Don’t Scream Shorts” section. The horror film is based on a Korean ritual about a woman contemplating an offer that will fulfill her dreams.
Cho plans to discuss the film and her career during “In Conversation With Margaret Cho and Koreatown Ghost Story” on Sunday, May 16. It is a free talk that will be livestreamed, with audience members able to ask questions of the writer, actor and comedian.
But the event is just one of several that focus on filmmakers, musicians and other artists:
The careers of Hong Kong filmmakers Ann Hui (“A Simple Life”) and Wong KarWai are explored in the documentary “Keep Rolling” and a panel discussion, “Wong KarWai and His Cinematic Legacy,” respectively — both available on demand during the festival. (A 25th anniversary screening of his LGBTQ classic “Happy Together” screens at the drivein.)
“Who Is Lun*na Menoh?” limns the career of the Japaneseborn, Los Angelesbased musician, artist and fashion designer. The documentary screens on demand throughout the festival. Adam Wong’s drama “The Way We Keep Dancing” will energize drivein viewers on Saturday, May 15, with its depiction of musicians, dancers and artists fighting Hong Kong gentrification.
Palo Alto native Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of LinManuel Miranda’s Broadway musical “In the Heights” is one of the most anticipated films of the year.
Starring the pandemic
The pandemic has been distressing, but it also proved inspiring to filmmakers, and that’s reflected in CAAMFest’s programs. Among the films that confront the topics surrounding COVID19 are the following:
“Wuhan Wuhan,” an immersive documentary that takes place at the coronavirus’ ground zero.
“The Race Epidemic,” a documentary about the explosion of antiAsian violence during this era.
San Francisco filmmaker Valerie Soe’s short “Radical Care: The Auntie Sewing Squad,” celebrating an allvolunteer, maskmaking sewing circle.
San Francisco filmmaker Will Zang takes a personal and poetic approach to the pandemic with his short “The Leaf.” In a scant four minutes, he provides a vivid portrait of struggle as COVID leaves him jobless and contemplating returning to China.
“I felt like I needed to do something to make me feel I’m alive, because you had nothing and I cannot be in this depression,” Zang says. “I’m good at this. I have some skills that I’ve proud of, so I grabbed a camera.”
Locals at the drivein
There are a number of Bay Area filmmakers with movies in the festival beyond Soe and Zang:
San Francisco Debbie Lum’s effervescent feature “Try Harder!” opens the
festival at Fort Mason Flix on Thursday. Richmond District resident Evan Jackson Leong’s “Snakehead,” a drama about human smuggling, is CAAMFest’s centerpiece film, screening virtually on May 22.
The second night at Fort Mason Flix on Friday, May 14, is a celebration of Filipino American stories with distinct Bay Area flavors. Twenty years ago, Pittsburg native Dante Basco starred in the CAAMFest feature “The Debut” (which screens again this year). Now, he makes his directorial debut with “The Fabulous Filipino Brothers,” set in his hometown and starring Basco and his family as they prepare for a wedding.
In the other half of the May 14 double bill, Daly City native Patricio Ginelsa similarly sets his lunatic comedy, “Lumpia with a Vengeance,” on his home turf in the story of a high school kid who joins a lumpiawielding hero to take down drug dealers on the Peninsula. Darion Basco of “The Fabulous Filipino Brothers” also stars, along with Danny Trejo and Joy Bisco (“The Debut”).
An optimistic festival
CAAMFest ends on May 23 with a worldpremiere screening of Iman Zawahry’s “Americanish,” an exuberant story of Muslim women dealing with romance, culture, careers and family in Jackson Heights, N.Y.
Following that, local filmmaker and musician H.P. Mendoza brings the festival to a buoyant close, debuting his new album “FOLX” and leading a virtual dance party.
It’s an optimistic note to leave CAAMFest on and one that Niwano hopes is reflected throughout the festival.
As the pandemic lingers on, and Asian Americans face a rising tide of racism and violence, Niwano acknowledges that May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a time of celebration.
“We want a festival that can hopefully heal some of our community,” Niwano says, “and also hopefully bring some light to their lives.”