The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society is proud to be community partners with the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF). Please join us on November 7, 2014 5:00PM at the Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas as we co-present the program DARK PASSAGE, six filmmakers shine a light onto what happens when tragic and unforseeable circumstances test the limits of the human soul.
From a reinterpreted Greek tragedy played out on China’s waterways in “A Grand Canal,” to a woman’s final wish to her own rapist and would-be murderer in “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger,” these films explore six very different interpretations of Invictus (Latin, for “unconquered” – from a poem by William Ernest Henley): Out of the night that covers me…I thank whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul.” Tickets can be purchased online here or at the Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas at the festival.
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My Red Guard
LUCAS LI / PROGRAM 2: DARK PASSAGE / AUSTRALIA / 2014 / HYBRID DOCUMENTARY / 7 MINS
An intimate story about the enduring legacy of Mao’s Cultural revolution, the challenging relationship between mothers and daughters, and the transformative power of music.
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Nighthawks
GIANPAOLO LUPORI / PROGRAM 2: DARK PASSAGE / CHINA / 2013 / FILM NOIR / 15 MINS
A pajama clad pensioner walks into a desolate Shanghai noodle bar. Fourteen minutes later, 100,000 people have blood on their hands – Social Justice, or Social Network gone too far?
Preceded by: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
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What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
KIYOUNG KANG / PROGRAM 2: DARK PASSAGE / SOUTH KOREA / 2014 / DRAMA / 15 MINS
Yongsu, who makes a living from taking pictures and drawing, becomes a serial killer at night; he believes that too is a form of art. One night he goes out looking for prey, kidnaps Heejung, then rapes her, as he would do to any of his other victims. Following his routine, Yongsu asks Heejung for her very last wish and plays a song on his piano, giving her some time to think. When the music ends, Heejung tells him she’d like to call to her boyfriend….
Preceded by: Eric
Precedes: Nighthawks
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Eric
ANDREW LEE / PROGRAM 2: DARK PASSAGE / AUSTRALIA / 2014 / DRAMA / 15 MINS
Tucked away in a forgotten and isolated motel, a “lad” encounters a returning solider coping with post-traumatic stress disorder. The brief encounter is a soft collision of two characters both lost and trying to find themselves within each other.
Preceded by: The Free Man
Precedes: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
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A Grand Canal
JOHNNY MA / PROGRAM 2: DARK PASSAGE / CHINA / 2013 / MELODRAMA / 19..5 MINS
“A Greek tragedy told in a Chinese pop song” that outlines the tragic events of a boat Captain who must collect a debt to save his fleet of boats, as remembered by his ten year old son.
Precedes: The Free Man
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The Free Man
SAM QUAH / PROGRAM 2: DARK PASSAGE / TAIWAN / 2014 / CRIME, DRAMA / 30 MINS
“Except for the freedom to breathe, I have nothing.”
Preceded by: A Grand Canal
Precedes: Eric
