ANCHOR INTRO: KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando previews Pac-Arts’ fifth annual Spring Showcase that kicks off tonight. Pac-Arts uses film to challenge stereotypes and expand horizons. This year its Spring Showcase kicks off with In Football We Trust. The documentary explores why Polynesians are 28 times more likely to play in the NFL than any other ethnic group. CLIP We come from a line of warriors, our culture embodies what football is… You’ll be introduced to an Iranian cab driver, Chinese ping pong players, crazed anime fans, and a collection of films about the fall of Saigon. Sixteen films from 9 countries screen through April 23rd at the Ultrastar Mission Valley Theaters. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
Pac-Arts’ fifth annual Spring Showcase kicks off Thursday night with the documentary “In Football We Trust.”
The Spring Showcase is a mellower version of Pac-Arts’ major event, the San Diego Asian Film Festival that’s held in the fall.
Brian Hu is the event's artistic director.
“Our November festival is like five festivals in one, with something for every taste of film. Our Spring Showcase is smaller and more accessible, where you can take a chance on any film and look forward to being transformed,” he said.
And no hard choices to make with multiple films playing against each other every night. If you want, you could actually see everything at the Spring Showcase.
Pac-Arts does not see film merely as entertainment but rather as a means to challenge stereotypes and expand horizons. This year its Spring Showcase kicks off with “In Football We Trust,” a documentary that explores why Samoans and Tongans are 28 times more likely to play football in the NFL than any other ethnic group.
One man tells us, “We come from a line of warriors, our culture embodies what football is.” The film follows four young hopeful players as they test their warrior heritage on the gridiron.
Hu is very excited about the Cinema Little Saigon sidebar.
“It is a landmark series, one of the first in the country to focus on Vietnamese American voices, something that's so often lost in conversations about the Fall of Saigon,” Hu stated. “More importantly, it draws attention to City Heights and its Vietnamese population in an important way, which is why we are doing free screenings there.”
Hu added that there are “no San Diego films, but Cinema Little Saigon is as much about where the films are shown (City Heights) as much as it is about the films themselves.”
If you hunger for some Hong Kong action, you can find satisfaction with either Tsui Hark’s “The Taking of Tiger Mountain” or the ever delightful Mystery Kung Fu Theater (where you have to trust Hu to pick a surprise film that you’ll enjoy). The former provides an example of a new era of CGI action, while the latter is old school bliss.
Through the course of the next eight days Spring Showcase can introduce you to bandits, an Iranian cab driver, Chinese ping pong players, crazed anime fans, and a collection of films about the fall of Saigon. Even if some of these character types sound familiar, these films find nuance to suggest that not everything is always as it seems.
Sixteen films from nine countries will screen through April 23 at the UltraStar Mission Valley Theaters at Hazard Center. There will also be an encore of three of the films at Hoover High School on April 24 and 25.
