Whenever a film festival rolls around movie critics are faced with a dilemma.
Although there may be dozens of projects to screen - short films, documentaries, and full-length features - the truth of the matter is that the reviewers are hard-pressed to screen more than a dozen-or-so.
For example, journalists will have approximately 160 projects to zero in on when they attend the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival underway currently at three venues locally.
Some journalists rely on industry "buzz" - or word of mouth - to narrow the selections down to a solid few.
Others may throw up their hands in frustration and simply rely on slick the press clippings for guidance, by golly!
But, a smart promotional campaign is apt to manipulate the naive - and ultimately - seduce 'em in to the the plush environs of a movie theatre.
But, the proof is in "the pudding" folks.
As far as I am concerned - a "stinker" (a film that will ultimately bomb at the box office) - is tantamount to bad sex.
Eugh!
For good reason, I perfected my own festival style, which works for the most part.
Once I have selected a bumper-crop of flicks I am excited about screening, I offer up a list of the hopefuls that look promising for my readers at "The Tattler " to check out.
For example, I pen a snippet on each - with the ultimate aim - of piquing the curiosity of movie buffs.
In the final analysis?
Although I may not have been able to attend a worthwhile screening, the fledgling filmmaker will not be left out-in-the-cold (SOL).
Hopefully, my plug will rustle up some much-needed publicity - and buzz - to boost ticket sales.
Just maybe a review, too!
With that in mind, here are a few projects film-goers may want to take in at the LAAPFF.
Prescott Place
This short film was shot in black and white and is 23 minutes in duration.
And, it's not entirely a virgin on the film festival scene, either.
The producers have informed me that "Prescott Place" was pretty well-received at the CANNES FILM FESTIVAL in 2011.
One of the actresses - Alexis Iacono - has described the flick as an "homage" to Hollywood classics such as "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane", "Sunset Boulevard", and the "Twilight Zone".
According to the director, the writers have mixed the supernatural and the macabre, with intense surprising results.
Venue
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
DGA
Screening
May 13th
Balloons Go Pop
"Balloons Go Pop" is the intriguing tale about a man's unusual attempt to appease his desires and dark deep-rooted temptations.
According to the producers, the flick basically explores the life of a middle-aged loner with one surprise plot twist.
"Nothing is ever normal when your definitions of love, loss, and lust always blend together," warns the creative writing team who crafted this novel entry at the Festival.
Biker-Fox - who has been described by Variety as a "genuinely singular personality" (the BIKER FOX Documentary) - stars in this moody piece.
Venue
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
DGA
Screening
May 13th
GIVE UP TOMORROW
"This documentary is a piercing case study of political and judicial corruption among prominent and powerful families in the Philippines," according to filmmakers Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco.
The story focuses on a kidnapping-murder case which triggered a media circus in the late 1990's.
The lone suspect who was arrested and (wrongly?) accused currently languishes in a prison in spite of an outcry from Amnesty International, the government of Spain, Fair Trials International, and the United Nations who maintain he is innocent.
In a nutshell, it's a riveting tale about a young man's struggle to attain his freedom once again.
GIVE UP TOMORROW was a winner of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award and Special Jury Prize Winner for Best New Director.
Venue
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
DGA
Screening
May 12th
NICE GIRLS CREW
"Nice Girls Crew" is an original five-part series which has been described as a "raunchy Bridesmaids-meets-Arrested Development" no-holds-barred comedy.
Sophie (Lynn Chen) Leena (Sheetal Sheth) and Geraldine (Michelle Krusiec) play their roles to the hilt as childhood "frenemies" who have grown up to find themselves seeking refuge from their isolation in a book club where the subjects of interest are sex (natch!), cannibalism, drugs (and everything else under the sun in not-so-civilized society).
Created and written by Christine Kwon.
It should be a hoot, folks!
Venue
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
CGV 1
(Wilshire & Western)
Screening
May 14th
Yes, We're Open
A devoted married couple meet up with a free-spirited polyamorous wild twosome who are "hell-bent" on getting the objects of their affection in-between-the-sheets.
A sex comedy that allegedly romps in the romantic City by the Bay (San Francisco).
Venue
DGA
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Screening
May 12th
And, as Bugs Bunny would say:
That's all for now, folks!
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