Festival to feature Asian films1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhen one thinks of martial arts, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li may come to mind. But one performer who was key in the combat technique revolution in Asian cinema is Sonny Chiba, a pivotal karate and judo figure in the 1970s. This weekend, Chiba will be honored at Singafest, a film festival devoted to Asian cinema.
Over the course of four days, Bigfoot Entertainment, UCLA’s Asian Pacific Coalition and 31 other sponsors will be putting on the first Singafest film festival at three different venues in Westwood.
The festival will include a kickoff party tonight at the Whiskey Blue in the W Hotel, a luncheon at the Napa Valley Grille and screenings at the Bigfoot Crest Theater. An idea that was crafted in Singapore, Singafest is a way to honor and celebrate Asian filmmakers along with Asian culture. Many of the filmmakers use film and storytelling to pay homage to their backgrounds and where they came from.
“Originally, the festival was supposed to be in Singapore, but we realized we wanted to have it in the (United States) and have a coming together of Asia and America and an East-meets-West kind of feel to it,” said Chil Kong, social media coordinator of Singafest.
