Category Archives: 8mm Film Review

San Francisco International Film Festival Premiere of ‘Isle Child’: Review and post-screening Q&A

Posted on April 30, 2025 by John

Last year at the San Francisco International Film Festival, I got to see on opening night Sean Wang’s feature length directorial debut of Didi , which premiered at Sundance earlier in 2024. At this year’s 2025 festival, I got to … Continue reading →

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Black Box Diaries Opens Oct 25th in NYC (Plus Review & Post-Screening Q&A)

Posted on October 18, 2024 by John

The documentary Black Box Diaries: “… Japanese journalist Shiori Ito takes on the most compelling and traumatic assignment imaginable – investigating her own sexual assault. The nonfiction feature from MTV Documentary Films – an expected Oscar contender that has won … Continue reading →

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CAAMFest 2024: Smoking Tigers

Posted on May 28, 2024 by John

I wasn’t able to see an in person screening of Smoking Tigers at CAAMFest but given the topic, I thought I would be interested in the film and thought I’d watch the screener: “Hayoung, a Korean American teenager dealing with her … Continue reading →

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CAAMFest 2024: The Lyricist Wannabe – Mini-Review & Post-screening Q&A

Posted on May 24, 2024 by John

Earlier this year, I attended a Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office – San Francisco (HKETO-SF) event in Silicon Valley and had met the director Norris Wong. I subsequently got invited to CAAMFest supported Hong Kong films, including The Lyricist … Continue reading →

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CAAMFest 2024: Light of the Setting Sun

Posted on May 21, 2024 by John

Going into this film, I didn’t know much about Light of the Setting Sun except from the CAAMFest program description: “Candid conversations meet photographic scenes, as the details of violence begin to take shape, and we witness how deep the … Continue reading →

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CAAMFest 2024: “Home Court” – The Basketball Journey of Ashley Chea

Posted on May 17, 2024 by John

Director Erica Tanamachi, Producer Jenn Lee Smith, Executive Producer Diane Quon, and Writer/Editor Jean Kawahara Home Court was one of the CAAMFest 2024 films I was most excited to screen: “Ashley Chea is a Cambodian American basketball phenom. Home Court, … Continue reading →

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SF Film Festival Opening Night: Sean Wang’s ‘Dìdi (弟弟)’

Posted on May 10, 2024 by John

I had the great honor of meeting filmmaker Sean Wang back in December 2023 screening his documentary short Nai Nai and Wài Pó and again in February 2024 after the short was nominated for an Oscar.  Because of that experience, … Continue reading →

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SF Film Festival: A Tribute to Joan Chen + “Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl”

Posted on May 6, 2024 by John

I had the honor and pleasure of attending the 2024 San Francisco Film Festival and was excited to see iconic filmmaker Joan Chen being honored at this year’s festival. I most remember her in her roles in The Last Emperor … Continue reading →

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Review of Netflix Japan’s “Our Secret Diary”

Posted on April 13, 2024 by tinabot

Directed by Kentaro Takemura, the main character of Japanese teen romance movie Our Secret Diary, high schooler Nozomi Kuroda (Hiyori Sakurada), is your classic Japanese shy girl next door who also adorably happens to be a bit of a closet … Continue reading →

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8mm Review: The Last Repair Shop

Posted on February 29, 2024 by John

As I mentioned on my post on Nai Nai and Wài Pó, I also screened The Last Repair Shop. Although this 40 minute short documentary is not necessarily Asian American related, I did want to review it and give it … Continue reading →

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Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó: Review and Q&A with Oscar Nominated filmmaker Sean Wang

Posted on February 27, 2024 by John

One of the things I have loved about living in the San Francisco Bay Area since I had moved out here in 1999 has been attending CAAMFest, or what it was known previous, as the San Francisco International Asian American … Continue reading →

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Island in Between: Review and Q&A with Oscar-Nominated Director S. Leo Chiang

Posted on February 22, 2024 by John

I live in Silicon Valley, and one of the benefits is that I live about five miles from Stanford University, where are often quite a few events of interest to me that are open to the public. Recently, there was … Continue reading →

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