A children’s book written by Diana Wynne Jones is brought to life by Master Storyteller:
Hayao Miyazaki, through beautiful Japanese animation and imagery.
This is the man behind: My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Princess Mononoke (1997), and Spirited Away (2001).
If you haven’t seen at least one of his films, you must. They are beautiful tales from a rich imagination.
This film in particular is one of my favorites of his, because some of the scenes and visuals are so fresh and original that you won’t find them in any other film. (Example: The portrayal of the “Moving Castle”, shown below.)
A great deal of hardwork from many people goes into the making of a primarly handdrawn, animated film.
The heart of this film is the characters, a fascinatingly odd group:
A young girl trapped in an older woman’s body, a  silent scarecrow whom she calls “Turnip Head”, a reclusive wizard with great power & great insecurity, a fast-talking fire, an incredibly obese witch…these are just a few.

Some come join in the magic of movies and take a ride on…

Howl’s Moving Castle

<Click Here to watch the trailer.>

At AFF, we’re going to celebrate American Thanksgiving the old-fashioned way:

by gathering together to enjoy fine food and good conversation,

while watching a NEW (just released on DVD) film.

It’s old-meets-new.

And what better film than Ratatouille, the latest feature from Pixar Animation,

a well told story which skillfully blends adventure, humor, cooking, talking rats,

beautiful French (Parisian) scenery, a terrific villain, and a dash of Rosemary.

mmmm….smells delicious, no?

Well, you could watch this teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYUjNQrokeg

(I prefer the teaser to the trailer, but you search for the longer trailer if you need more).

Let the film-feast begin!

I hereby invite you to join the characters of Sean, Ben, and Nolan in their journey into a world of dreams…

That’s right. After showing 5 of my favorite independent, hollywood, foreign, classic, and documentary films (plus several shorts), I have decided to show one of my own. It’s a bold and daring risk, but afterall, one of the original suggestions for creating “AFF” was to give people the chance to see more of my movies. (Thanks Lila!)

The film is called “Lucid Dreamers”  and it is the first feature length film (90 minutes) that I ever created. With a team of creative and supportive friends, I wrote, directed, and acted in this film. (So you can see a 15-year-old Andy in this film, taking his first steps towards a now highly successful acting career). It may sound like you’re being asked to watch something amateurish, but you should know that this film has some of the best special fx/visuals in all of my films, and I still believe it has one of the most creative and original storylines. To read more, click here. To watch the trailer, click here. For photos, click here. 

Special Thanks to: Joan Young, Christian Henderson, Alvin Pingol, Max Maksutovic, Dirk Van Loon, Joe Nuss, Katie Young, Zac Krohn, and Adam Thiesen. Without your help, this film would not have been possible.

Lucid Dreamers. Spellbinding Productions. Copyright 2003.

Beautiful music has the power to uplift the soul. Striking visual images can inspire our imaginations. But what happens when you put them both…together? Answer: Chen Kaige’s extraordinary film: Together 和你在一起 (2002).

This is a story about the power of music, the selfless compassion of a Father for his son, and one boy’s special gift. To watch a trailer, click here. 

See you at the movies! (Don’t forget to bring your violin) *wink*

Film can be performance art. The performances in this film showcase just that. So bring your ticket to the theatre, find your seat, and wait for the curtains to go up for a special screening of…

After much consideration, I’ve decided to show a film that is very unique and very special to me. It’s one of the films I grew up watching that managed to become a part of who I am: both as a filmmaker and as a person. Much of the style of humor in this film influenced my own brand of comedy. (I even wanted to remake it or redo some scenes in my own movies!) So if I’ve ever made you laugh, then you’ll probably laugh watching this film. It’s a classic film in my opinion, one of the first “genre-spoofs.” There’s singing, dancing, action, romance, and more. I don’t usually enjoy musicals or romantic comedies, so this certainly is an exception.

There’s only one way to see why I like it so much…. by watching it!
(To get a small taste, you can watch a good clip on Youtube by clicking here.) See you at the theatre!

Let’s take a break from reality…and journey into a fairy tale.

This is one of my favorite films by one of my favorite writer/director’s: M. Night Shyamalan.
The plot of the film comes from a Bedtime Story that he would tell to his daughters.
Unfortunately, many people are very critical of this director, and this film in particular.
Few can argue, however, that his films have a message and many creative ideas.
Many people also think of this director as a horror movie director.
This is certainly not true.
His films are not horror films. They are stories about real people in extraordinary situations.
They are part-fantasy, part-reality, part-comedy, part-thriller,
and all heart.
Lastly, I don’t recommend watching the long trailer/preview, as it makes it look like a scary movie.
Instead, watch the first trailer/teaser, which is more subtle, poetic, and interesting:
(Click Here to Watch)
Enjoy!

For the second film viewing of my tiny little film festival/weekly movie night, I will be showing this:

This is one of my favorite documentary films, both for the style of presentation and content.
To watch the trailer, click here.
I’ll also be showing a surpise short film before this, which I’m hoping to do more often,
to showcase some lesser known filmmakers (including myself).

I’ll conclude with some cool movie trivia about “The Corporation” (2003):
-It took three and a half years to raise the money to make the film, three years to shoot it, and a year and a half for post-production.
-The current running time (2 hours & 25 minutes) is edited down from 450 hours of footage and 100 hours of interviews. The first cut ran 33 hours!
-The film is based on a book by UBC law professor Joel Bakan, who helped on the film as well. The majority of the film’s crew is Canadian as well, I believe.

On a somewhat related note, I am quite happy to hear that UBC’s film production program major has re-opened! It is stated on their (website.) I am naturally planning to apply (one must apply for this competitive major) for September 2008, when it officially re-opens admissions. I’m sure many people will apply, and I know only a few will be selected. Please wish me luck and support me on this attempt to pursue my dreams.

Take Care All.
 

I’m beginning my own film festival (more like a small weekly movie night) with this film. It’s one of my favorite Peter Sellers’ films, which essentially launched him to stardom. For entertainment, you couldn’t ask for a more well-rounded film. It’s never too over-the-top, like so many comedies strive for these days, making it a nice breath of fresh air. So if you love films, here’s a recommendation from me to you: The Pink Panther (1963 Original).

Stay tuned until next week!