Join Asia Society Texas Center and OCA Greater Houston to celebrate the opening of the 2019 Houston Asian American Pacific Islander (HAAPI) Film Festival with a screening of Omotenashi. A Q&A with the director Jay Chern and a VIP reception will follow the film screening.
Schedule
Thursday, June 20, 2019
6 p.m. | Film Screening
8:00 p.m. | Q&A with the director
8:30 p.m. | VIP Reception
For additional selections from HAAPI Film Festival, please visit: http://www.ocahouston.org/programs/haapifest-2019/films
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About the Film
The heir of a Taipei construction company takes on the renovation of an old Japanese hotel to win back his soon-to-be-married ex-girlfriend while clashing with the previous owner's daughter.
Film Reviews
"The film's commentary on breaking down boundaries — between tradition and modernity, as well as between cultures — proves timely and astute." — Screen Daily
"A breezy romantic drama boasting a photogenic cast, equally beautiful settings and poised storytelling, Taiwanese director Jay Chern has hardly put a step wrong in his feature debut." — The Hollywood Reporter
About the Director
Jay Chern is a writer, producer and director who grew up in Texas, but was made in Taiwan. In 2006, Chern graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Arlington, winning best film at the University’s annual film festival with his thesis short film. The following year, he returned to Taipei to become reacquainted with a culture he had long forgotten. He was accepted into the directing program at Taipei National University of the Arts, Graduate School of Filmmaking.
In Taiwan, he has crewed on many award-winning films and is proficient not only as a director, but also as a cinematographer, lighting director, editor, and assistant director. From 2011-2012 he directed and shot his thesis short Thief, which won Best Short Film at Golden Horse Awards, Best Director at Golden Bell Awards, and Best Asian Short at Tokyo’s Short Shorts Film Festival. In 2014 he wrote, directed and shot his first 90 min feature Dawn/Spring, which was nominated for Six Golden Bell Awards. Omotenashi is his latest feature work, which won the award at Hong Kong HAF2017.
About Houston Asian American and Pacific Islander Film Festival (HAAPI Fest)
The HAAPI Fest, started in 2004 by OCA (Organization of Chinese Americans) Greater Houston, was created to highlight and celebrate the diversity of culture, food, and stories of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, to support AAPI artists and filmmakers, and to share the messages, issues, hopes, and dreams of the AAPI experience for the Greater Houston metropolitan area through edutainment.
About OCA Greater Houston
Founded in 1973, OCA is a national organization of community advocates dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Established in 1979, the OCA Greater Houston Chapter is one of OCA’s 100+ chapters and affiliates and works to provide strong local programs that empower the AAPI community through advocacy, cultural awareness, professional development, economic empowerment, youth leadership training, civic engagement, community service, and education.
Major support for Performing Arts programs comes from Nancy C. Allen, Dr. Ellen Gritz and Milton Rosenau, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, and the Anchorage Foundation. Generous funding also provided by AARP, The Clayton Fund, Miller Theatre Advisory Board, New England Foundation for the Arts, the Wortham Foundation, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming and exhibitions to Asia Society Texas Center. This program is presented in collaboration with OCA Greater Houston and HAAPI Film Fest.
Program Sponsors
Presenting Partners
