Far East Film Festival Frenzy!

OK, I'm on my fourth hard drive in less than a year--my second in two weeks!--and the laptop is still acting strange. Let's see if I can get a post in before it goes back to the shop.

The Japan Film Festival starts tomorrow at the Imaginasian Center downtown, close to Little Tokyo, through April 17. Then it moves to Orange County, at the Starplex Cinemas in Irvine, April 18-20.

Highlights include contemporary offerings from Japan, anime, Kurosawa classics, and "Hula Girls," Japan's official entry for the 2007 Foreign Language Academy Awards and one of my favorite movies of last year. Everything is subtitled. $20 buys you a pass good for three screenings; individual tickets are $10.

Right after the Japan Film Festival ends, the Indian Film Festival begins. Held at the Arclight Hollywood, IFFLA runs April 22-27. The largest Indian film festival in North America, it will include four world premieres, five U.S. premieres, and nine features making their L.A. debut, as well as Bollywood musicals, documentaries and English-language films.

Purchase tickets from the Arclight box office or online.

You have a few days to catch your breath, and then the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival begins. Hosted by the Directors' Guild of America, it runs May 1-8, with additional screenings at the Laemmle on Sunset, the Aratani/Japan America Theater and the Imaginasian Center.

In addition to screenings of films from around the globe, there will be special events and seminars. Unfortunately, the website is difficult to navigate, and some links, as of this posting, are broken. I wasn't able to find any specifics on this event, mentioned in the official press release, but believe me, I'll be there:

TOKE 2: THE HAROLD & KUMAR STORY – join the writers/directors of HAROLD & KUMAR: ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY – Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Scholossberg - along with actor John Cho, as they discuss the films and its franchise which has now achieved "classic" status amongst a new generation.