Two films at the upcoming SF International Asian American Film Festival (March 10-20) will be co-presented by IBFF: Summer Pasture, a documentary filmed on location in eastern Tibet, and Abraxas, a new dramatic feature from Japan.
Summer Pasture, by directors Lynn True, Nelson Walker III and Tsering Perlo, is a compelling portrayal of the life of a nomadic family on the Tibetan plateau at a time of profound historic change. This will be its Bay Area premiere, and all three directors are expected to attend. Official website.
For venues, screening times and tickets visit CAAM.
Abraxas, by Naoki Kato, is the story of Jonen, a punk rock veteran, now a young married Buddhist monk (i.e., a priest), with an identity crisis of sorts. Touches on karma, self, compassion, community, impermanence, a dog, fathers and sons, relative and absolute, noise and music… weaving bravely between heartfelt emotion and borderline jaunty farce. A soft spot for thrash punk (and Leonard Cohen!) will add to the pleasure. Something of a glimpse perhaps into the place of Buddhism in contemporary Japan…a not-too-distant kin to Juzo Itami’s The Funeral (1984) and Yojiro Katika’s Departures (2008)….
For venues, screening times and tickets visit CAAM.