Changing Directions Podcast Series: Ema Ryan Yamazaki - Director of Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams

Director Ema Ryan Yamazaki joins the Changing Directions podcast series to talk about her documentary Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams. Yamazaki hits a home run with this highly entertaining documentary about the annual high school baseball tournament that is considered to be the biggest sporting even in Japan.

Nobody - Movie Review

The Movie: Nobody

The Director: Ilya Naishuller

The Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Alexey Serebryakov, Christopher Lloyd

The Story: A bystander who intervenes to help a woman being harassed by a group of men becomes the target of a vengeful drug lord.

See You Then - Movie Review

The Movie: See You Then

The Director: Mari Walker

The Cast: Pooya Mohseni, Lynn Chen, Nican Robinson, Danny Jacobs

The Story: A decade after abruptly breaking up with Naomi, Kris invites her to a dinner to catch-up on their complicated lives, relationships, and Kris' transition. Over the course of their one night encounter, they engage in a series of increasingly intimate and vulnerable conversations, before a shocking secret is revealed.

Cosmoball - Movie Review

The Movie: Cosmoball

The Director: Dzhanik Fayziev

The Cast: Evgeniy Mironov, Evgeniy Romantsov, Viktoriya Agalakova, Maria Lisovaya, Ivan Ivanovich

The Story: An enormous spaceship hovers over Earth-this is a stadium, which hosts sports events that resemble soccer but at mind-boggling speeds. The name of the game is cosmoball.

Changing Directions Podcast Series: Sabrina Doyle - Director of Lorelei

Director Sabrina Doyle joins the Changing Directions podcast series to talk about Lorelei, her award winning debut feature film. Lorelei is one of those movies that sneaks up on you with emotionally powerful performances and a relatable story that steers far away from any type of Hollywood story telling or fairy tale endings.

The Courier (2021) - Movie Review

The Movie: The Courier

The Director: Dominic Cooke

The Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan, Jessie Buckley

The Story: A true-life spy thriller, the story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history.

Nomadland - Movie Review

The Movie: Nomadland

The Director: Chloé Zhao

The Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Swankie

The Story: Follows a woman in her sixties who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.

Changing Directions Podcast Series: Mallorie Ortega - Director of The Girl Who Left Home

Director Mallorie Ortega joins the Changing Directions podcast series to talk about her debut film, The Girl Who Left Home. Mallorie's debut feature film is filled with promise and entertaining performances. Job well done all the way around.

Cosmic Sin - Movie Review

The Movie: Cosmic Sin

The Director: Edward Drake

The Cast: Frank Grillo, Bruce Willis, Brandon Thomas Lee, Corey Large, Perrey Reeves, CJ Perry, Lochlyn Munro, Costas Mandylor, Adelaide Kane

The Story: Seven rogue soldiers launch a preemptive strike against a newly discovered alien civilization in the hopes of ending an interstellar war before it starts.

Underplayed: Documentary Review

The Documentary: Underplayed

The Director: Stacey Lee

The Story: Filmed over the summer festival season, Underplayed presents a portrait of the current status of the gender, ethnic, and sexuality equality issues in dance music.

The Devil Below - Movie Review

The Movie: The Devil Below

The Director: Bradley Parker

The Cast: Alicia Sanz, Adan Canto, Zach Avery, Chinaza Uche, Jesse Latourette, with Jonathan Sadowski, Will Patton

The Story: There is an abandoned place nestled deep in Appalachian country where underground coal mines have been ablaze for decades. When a team of researchers try to find out how the fires started, they soon discover something more startling than the mystery that sent them there: they’re not alone.

Changing Directions Podcast Series: Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu - Far East Deep South

Director Larissa Lam and Producer Baldwin Chiu join the Changing Directions podcast series to talk about their documentary, Far East Deep South. The documentary is heart wrenching because of the generations of history the Chiu family has lost and it is also filled with hope because of how much of that history has been recovered for future generations to learn from and appreciate.

The Girl Who Left Home - SAAFF 2021 Movie Review

The Movie: The Girl Who Left Home

The Director: Mallorie Ortega

The Cast: Haven Everly, Emy Coligado, Paolo Montalban, Lora Nicolas, Liz Casasola, Russwin Francisco, Mitch Poulos

The Story: A musical dramedy about a Filpino-American female who must put her dreams aside to keep her family restaurant from eviction.

Raya and the Last Dragon - Movie Review

The Movie: Raya and the Last Dragon

The Directors: Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada

The Co-Directors: Paul Briggs and John Ripa

The Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Benedict Wong, Izaac Wang, Thalia Tran, Alan Tudyk, Lucille Soong, Patti Harrison and Ross Butler

The Story: In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.

Far East Deep South - 2021 SAAFF Documentary Review

The Documentary: Far East Deep South

The Director: Larissa Lam

The Story: When a Chinese-American family travels from California to Mississippi to visit the grave of their ancestors, they stumble upon surprising revelations.

Changing Directions Podcast Series: Chelsea Christer - Director of Bleeding Audio

Director Chelsea Christer joins the Changing Directions podcast series to talk about her documentary, Bleeding Audio. Bleeding Audio is an inspiring documentary and an intriguing look into the realities of being in a band, dealing with the music business, and learning some valuable life lessons along the way.

Chaos Walking - Movie review

The Movie: Chaos Walking

The Director: Doug Liman

The Cast: Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas, Kurt Sutter, David Oyelowo

The Story: A dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise.

And Then - 2021 SAAFF Short Film Review

The Short Film: And Then

The Director: Jenn Ravenna Tran

The Cast: Erika Ishii, Rina Hoshino

The Story: A short film about two women who meet and grow closer to each other through insomnia, exploring a new city, and art.

Pixie (2021) - Movie Review

The Movie: Pixie

The Director: Barnaby Thompson

The Cast: Olivia Cooke, Ben Hardy, Daryl McCormack, Colm Meaney, Alec Baldwin

The Story: On a path to avenge her mother’s death, Pixie Hardy attempts a heist that will give her the means to leave her small town life behind.  When the plan goes horribly wrong she’s forced to team up with a pair of misfits who are clearly in over their heads.

Boogie - Movie Review

The Movie: Boogie

The Director: Eddie Huang

The Cast: Taylor Takahashi, Pamelyn Chee, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Taylour Paige, Perry Yung, Mike Moh, Domenick Lombardozzi

The Story: Coming-of-age story of Alfred "Boogie" Chin, a basketball phenom living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA. While his parents pressure him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college, Boogie must find a way to navigate a new girlfriend, high school, on-court rivals and the burden of expectation.

TwoOhSix Picks - 2021 Seattle Asian American Film Festival

The Seattle Asian American Film Festival is back for another year although this time with a virtual setup that will allow people within certain geo locked regions to enjoy the festival from the comfort of their own homes. The festival will begin on Thursday March 4th with an Opening Night program and will conclude on Sunday March 14th. Below you will find the six films, five features and one short, that I have selected as this year's TwoOhSix Picks.

The Vigil - Movie Review

The Movie: The Vigil

The Director: Keith Thomas

The Cast: Dave Davis, Malky Goldman, Menashe Lustig, Lynn Cohen

The Story: A man providing overnight watch to a deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community finds himself opposite a malevolent entity, in writer-director Keith Thomas' electrifying feature debut.