FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Denver Film Media Contacts: Ambriehl Turrentine: ambriehl@denverfilm.org, Marty Schechter: marty@schechterpr.com

Colorado Dragon Boat Media Contact: Sara Moore: sara@cdbf.org

ANNOUNCING THE COLORADO DRAGON BOAT FILM FESTIVAL LINE-UP 

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DENVER – Feb. 3, 2021 – Denver Film and Colorado Dragon Boat have announced the line-up for the 7th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival, opening March 3 and running through March 6 at the Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave. Festival passes are $55 for Denver Film Members/$65 Non-Member. Individual film tickets, on sale beginning Feb. 3 at 10 a.m., are $12 for Denver Film Members/$15 Non-Member and are available at denverfilm.org. 

Founded in 2016, this year’s Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival continues its third-year partnership with Denver Film. The four-day all Asian and Asian American Film Festival is programmed with the theme “Celebrating Our Resilience,” which honors individuals, organizations and films that focus on strength, compassion and resilience within AAPI communities.

Following an entirely virtual 2021 program, the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival returns to in-person screenings at the Sie FilmCenter beginning March 3 at 6 p.m. with an Opening Night Reception and presentation of the film, Listen Before You Sing. Based on the true story of Vox Nativa Taiwanese Foundation Choir, this uplifting drama follows an elementary school gym teacher, who, with no musical background, must prepare a children’s choir for a national competition. The Festival will conclude on March 6 with a Closing Night presentation of the documentary Free Chol Soo Lee, which recently premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and chronicles the Asian American-led movement to free a Korean immigrant after his wrongful conviction of a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gang murder. A reception will follow the screening.

“The beauty of our film festival is not just the fact that we are the only all Asian and Asian American film festival in Colorado, it is the fact that we give the AAPI community the opportunity to come together, in person, to celebrate our heritage and culture. We all have different stories to tell, we are able to share these stories through film, cinema, creative conversations, food, and more,” says Sara Moore, Colorado Dragon Boat executive director.  “Together, we celebrate our resilience.”

The festival will feature live Q&As, panels, and creative conversations with filmmakers and local community members. The Q&As will immediately follow the Short Film Showcase on Saturday, March 5 at noon and the Emerging Artist Showcase on Sunday, March 6 at noon, both of which will feature local filmmakers discussing their artistry and respective showcased works. 

Other highlights include:

A special performance by Mudra Dance Studio on Friday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m.

Creative Conversations with Colorado Asian Pacific United on Saturday, March 5 at 2 p.m. and with Asian Girls Ignite! on Sunday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m.

A Japanese culinary experience following the film The Pursuit of Perfection at 6:20 p.m. on Saturday, March 5

A Virtual Reality experience A Life in Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami

Click to see the full schedule and purchase tickets and passes.

“It’s an honor to present this program that highlights the vast array of talent and powerful storytelling from AAPI filmmakers across the globe. Film is a unifying force, and we’re excited to share stories that, being so rooted in strength and resilience, place AAPI perspectives front and center while also resonating with a variety of moviegoers,” said Ambriehl Turrentine, Denver Film’s programming coordinator. 

Denver Film will require all festival patrons, guests, media, sponsors and employees entering the Sie FilmCenter to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 with an FDA or WHO-approved vaccine. “Fully vaccinated” is defined as two weeks after a person’s second dose in a two-dose series and two weeks after a single-dose series. Face coverings will also be required inside the Sie FilmCenter unless actively eating or drinking.

Members of the press interested in covering the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival may contact Ambriehl Turrentine at ambriehl@denverfilm.org or Marty Schechter at marty@schechterpr.com.

FILMS IN PROGRAM:

LISTEN BEFORE YOU SING

Director: Yang Chih-lin – Opening Night – Thursday, March 3, 7 p.m.

Based on the uplifting true story of Vox Nativa Taiwanese Foundation choir, an elementary school is threatened with closure due to decreasing population. In order to avoid closure, the school’s gym teacher – with few resources and no musical background – prepares a group of children for a national choir contest.

KEEP RUNNING

Director: Sun Geting – Friday, March 4, 2 p.m.

In the city of GenHe, the coldest part of China, a group of adolescent students from underprivileged backgrounds run every day under extremely harsh circumstances. The sports school has provided them with joy and hope for a better life, which their parents couldn’t. Under the strict but kind guidance of their coach, they believe that if they train hard and keep improving, there is a future.

MANZANAR, DIVERTED: WHEN WATER BECOMES DUST

Directors: Ann Kaneko – Friday, March 4, 4:15 p.m.

From the majestic peaks of the snow-capped Sierras to the parched valley of Payahuunadü, “the land of flowing water,” this poetic documentary weaves together memories of intergenerational communities of women while exposing legacies of colonization, racism and social injustice. In an unexpected alliance, Native Americans, Japanese-American WWII incarcerees and environmentalists fight to preserve and defend their land, water, cultures and histories.

LAST FILM SHOW

Director: Pan Nalin – Friday, March 4, 7 p.m.

Set in western India as cinemas transition from celluloid to digital, a mischievous nine-year-old boy’s heart is conquered by the magic of movies. He moves heaven and earth in pursuit of his 35mm dreams, unaware of heartbreaking times that await him. Director Pan Nalin’s semi-autobiographical Last Film Show is a love letter to cinema and the artistry that lies behind the lens.

SHORT FILM SHOWCASE

Saturday, March 5, 12 p.m.

Films and presentations include Bruce Tetsuya’s In Wake of the Crashing Dawn and Projections, Lava Buckley’s Charlie and Desert Lotus, Terry Ngo and Nick Stofocik’s good enough, Dewi Marquis’ Ara, Untamed and My Name is Not Amy, and Asian American Documentary Network’s #AsianAmResilience series.

Includes post-film Q&As

MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE

Director: Kate Tsang – Saturday, March 5, 2:15 p.m.

A teenage delinquent befriends a surly magician who helps the teen navigate her inner demons and dysfunctional family with a sleight hand of magic. Kate Tsang makes an impressive feature debut in this charming coming-of-age comedy that touches on unlikely friendships, grief, and finding hope in the darkest moments.

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

Director: Toshimichi Saito – Saturday, March 5, 4 p.m.

Focusing on four of the leading chefs in Japan today, this documentary explores the truth behind Japan’s unique and sophisticated food culture. Each takes meticulous care of their own dishes in pursuit of perfection, but their approaches are quite different, even contrasting. With different sets of roots and beliefs, some pursue spiritual cultivation or aesthetic creativity, while the others seek high-quality ingredients by building close relationships with local suppliers. How do their personalities and struggles result in their masterpieces? World-renowned food experts and gastronomists also guide the audience into the further depths of the stories behind the chefs’ endless pursuit. Through these four chefs, you’ll learn that Tokyo is one of the world’s greatest food cities.

LOVE AFTER LOVE

Director: Ann Hui – Saturday, March 5, 7 p.m.

Veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui delivers a rousing romantic drama with Love After Love, an adaptation of revered writer Eileen Chang’s short story Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier. Set shortly before the Second World War, Ge Weilong, a young girl from Shanghai travels to Hong Kong in pursuit of her education. In order to pay for her studies, she asks her aunt for help…  and gradually becomes her aunt’s puppet in the game of luring rich and powerful men.

EMERGING ARTIST SHOWCASE 

Sunday, March 6, 12 p.m.

Films and presentations include Marin Lepore’s All Mine, CU Professor Dr. Cecilia Wu’s Heart Sutra: An Augmented Reality Installation, Myles Aquino’s Sino Ako,  CU Professor Jessica McGaugh’s Core, CU Professor Roma Sur’s Maa, and Zhuolin Hong’s Winter Glass Glare.

Includes post-film Q&As

YUNI

Director: Kamila Andini – Sunday, March 6, 2 p.m.

Yuni, a determined teenage girl, sees her dreams of attending university under threat following two marriage proposals by men she barely knows. The pressure builds when a third man asks for her hand, and Yuni must choose between the myth of a final chance at marriage or her dream of future happiness. With Yuni, Andini’s candid, sharp and unflinching exploration of gender constraint and traditionalism further establishes her as an indispensable talent in contemporary Indonesian cinema.

FREE CHOL SOO LEE

Directors: Eugene Yi, Julie Ha – Closing Night – Sunday, March 6, 4 p.m.

Fresh off its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Free Chol Soo Lee chronicles a Korean immigrant’s wrongful conviction of a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gang murder and the landmark movement led by Asian Americans to free Chol Soo Lee. But once released from prison, he self-destructs, threatening the movement’s legacy and the man himself.

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Sponsors 

College of Arts & Media (CAM) – University of Colorado Denver, Colorado Creative Industries, Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media, Disney, Elevate Yoga, International School of Denver, MolsonCoors, National Endowment for the Arts, Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), TECO Denver (駐丹佛台北經濟文化辦事處 Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Denver), Tito’s Vodka

About Denver Film

Founded in 1978, Denver Film is a membership-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural institution that produces film events throughout the year, including the award-winning Denver Film Festival and the popular, summertime series Film on the Rocks. With a vision to cultivate community and transform lives through film, Denver Film provides opportunities for diverse audiences to discover film through creative, thought-provoking experiences.

The permanent home of Denver Film, the Sie FilmCenter is Denver’s only year-round cinematheque, presenting a weekly-changing calendar of first-run exclusives and arthouse revivals both domestic and foreign, narrative and documentary – over 600 per year, all shown in their original language and format. Denver Film’s one-of-a-kind programs annually reach more than 200,000 film lovers and film lovers-in-training.

About Colorado Dragon Boat 

Colorado Dragon Boat is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization advocates for the Asian American Pacific Islander communities through our three programs: the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival, and the AAPI Emerging Leaders Program. For more information visit our website at www.cdbf.org.