Press Release 2010
DISORIENT ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL OF OREGON CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
April 23-25, 2010 – Bijou Art Cinemas, Eugene, OR
EUGENE, OR – April 1, 2010 - The Chinese American Benevolent Association is pleased to announce the fifth anniversary of the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, a truly grassroots celebration of the art of filmmaking and community. Over the past four years, DisOrient has garnered a national reputation for organizing a unique and quality film festival amongst industry and filmmaking professionals.
Festival attendees can experience three days of films, workshops, parties, panels and special guests. Out of over 70 film submissions this year, our jury selected only the best new films. In his feature directorial debut, Patrick Epino is scheduled to attend and show MR. SADMAN for the opening night on Friday, April 23. The late Al No'mani stars in MR. SADMAN, the story of Mounir, a sheltered Saddam Hussein body-double who loses his job and moves to Los Angeles in search of a new start. Unfortunately, Mounir doesn't know how to be anyone else. The director of this year’s centerpiece film A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES, S. Leo Chiang, will lead a workshop on filmmaking and social justice on the University of Oregon campus before the screening of MR. SADMAN. After the film, soul/r&b singer Dawen is scheduled to perform at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum for the Opening Night reception.
DisOrient brings directors, actors and industry professionals to Eugene, Oregon, to present their new films not yet available in theaters. Filmmaker H.P. Mendoza (songwriter, screenwriter, “Rodel” of COLMA: THE MUSICAL) returns to DisOrient with FRUIT FLY for the Closing Night program on Sunday, April 25. The San Francisco Chronicle calls FRUIT FLY “another irresistible indie musical” from Mendoza. Local Eugene/Springfield middle school and high school Asian American filmmakers will also premiere their work. This year’s program has about six features and 22 short films. Some issues covered in this year’s films include transracial adoption, post-Katrina environmental activism, and resistance to the Iraq war, among other issues on Asian American identity and community. Check the DisOrient Web site for more updates.
DisOrient was started in 2005 by a group of Asian American educators and activists who dedicated themselves to bringing honest representations of Asians to the silver screen. We understand the power of the moving image to combat the rampant Hollywood stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans as kung fu fighting houseboys, hypersexual/asexual bodies, expendable villains, or nerdy and anti-social geeks. Film also allows us to tell compelling stories about our experiences such as war, immigration, identity, family, labor, globalization and other diasporic experiences. We use the W.E.B. DuBois standard of "for us, by us, or about us" when selecting new and exciting films for our festival.
If you want to review a film or interview a filmmaker, please contact Laura Fong, Publicity Chair, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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