VAHMS Partnerships

explorASIAN at Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) – Dark Passage on November 7, 2014

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.


  1. My Red Guard film still

    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.


  2. Nighthawkes film still

    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


  3. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger film still

    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


  4. Eric film still

    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


  5. A Grand Canal film still

    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


  6. The Free Man film still

    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


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