Quiet Before the Storm

The festival front is rather calm before the storm of Cannes.

Los Angeles: VC FilmFest finishes with screenings of Sylvia Chang's 20:30:40 at the Aratani and two programs at the Disney/Cal Arts Theatre tonight before the closing night presentation of RED DOORS tomorrow night.

New York: Subway Cinema has announced the first 11 films that will be screened in the New York Asian Film Festival, which will be held June 17-30. Notable titles include the Korean horror flick R-POINT, the insane Japanese SURVIVE STYLE 5+, and the Filipino GAGAMBOY. More analysis will follow when the line-up is completed.

Seattle: Tomorrow the complete film line-up for the Seattle International Film Festival will be announced. Expect more than 200 titles, with a very healthy mix of Asian titles.

Cannes: The festival begins one week from today (Wednesday, May 11). Yesterday Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo joined the Official Competition with his latest, TALE OF CINEMA. Shinji Aoyama's ELI, ELI, LEMA SEBACHTANI? was added to Un Certain Regard.