By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Kelly Huang, American and of Laotian heritage, recently finished her short film “A Refugee Story: Khamsay Huang,” a portrait of her elderly uncle, Khamsay, and his story of leaving Laos during wartime and coming to America. The film went online recently courtesy of the SEARAC (Southeast Resource Action Center) […]
Hand-drawn ‘Princess’ stands apart from other Oscar nominees
By Yuri Kageyama Associated Press TOKYO (AP) —The princess laughs and floats in sumie-brush sketches of faint pastel, a lush landscape that animated film director Isao Takahata has painstakingly depicted to relay his gentle message of faith in this world. But his Oscar-nominated work stands as a stylistic challenge to Hollywood’s computer-graphics cartoons, where 3D […]
Sakura-Con costumed invaders land in downtown Seattle!
By John Liu Northwest Asian Weekly Super Mario was jumping around Seattle downtown and yes, Batman was eating at Subway among thousands of interesting and strange characters flooding last weekend.<!–more–> Sakura-Con estimates more than 20,000 people attended this year’s conference on April 18 through April 20 at the Washington State Convention Center. This is the […]
Life of Fukushima nuke worker recorded in comic-book style
By Yuri Kageyama Associated Press TOKYO (AP) – First off, no one who works at Japan’s wrecked nuclear power plant calls it Fukushima Dai-ichi, comic-book artist Kazuto Tatsuta says in his book about his time on the job. It’s ichi efu, or 1F.
How 8 Asians exemplify (or defy!) their snake traits
By Nina Huang Northwest Asian Weekly According to ancient Chinese wisdom, having a snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your loved ones
SIFF celebrates Studio Ghibli in “Castles in the Sky” series
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly In 1985, Japanese anime directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata joined forces to create a new studio for anime films. The studio’s name, Studio Ghibli, was named after an Arabic word meaning “Mediterranean wind,” with the hope that their works would blow a new wind through the world of […]
“Ponyo” is not just underwater fun for kids, but for all ages
“Ponyo,” the new film from Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, opens with a shot of the sky on a sunny day. It’s only a short shot. Unlike Miyazaki’s earlier film “Porco Rosso,” “Ponyo” concerns itself with the sea, not the sky.