L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 10

Today is the final day of the L.A. Film Fest with the awards ceremonies (SHIRO'S HEAD is a nominee for the GRAND JURY AWARD) and closing night celebration taking place. So, we drove five hours from the Bay Area back to L.A. just in time to get ready for the event. We were able to spread the word about Guam by talking with John Manal Castro, co-writer of the film “The Debut” (which I saw while it was making its rounds in Guam in the early 2000’s). John also lived on Guam for about three months and has some relatives on island, so we had lots to talk about.

He introduced us to Winston, who I believe is a publicist and works with HBO. Surprisingly, Winston had some knowledge about Guam. We had a fantastic time at the festival thanks to Abe Ferrer, Anderson Le, Chris in Marketing and Jeff! These folks were really cool and very down-to-earth, which is rare here in L.A.
And the award goes to...

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 09

We only have 2 full days of free time, so we cap off our road trip with an super-long 8 hour drive from Las Vegas to the Bay! Good times! We have to send a huge shout-out to Custom Limos for our free limousine tour of the Bay! Our bro-in-law Tony Garner of Custom Limo was kind enough to take some time out to give us a 1st class tour of San Francisco with a surprise visit to the grounds of the Lucasfilm Ltd., Industrial Light and Magic campus!

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 08

Time for some personal let-loose. We decided since the workshops at the fest are over, that we’d unwind with a banzai road trip to Las Vegas (a 4 hour drive from L.A.) and then to San Francisco (an 8 hour drive from Vegas).

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 07

The highlight of Day 07 was the seminar, “HO’OPUNIPUNI: THE MYTH OF STATEHOOD” held at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Downtown L.A. Because the focus of the seminar centered around Hawaii’s 50th Anniversary of statehood along with the issues of international law, cultural preservation and annexation, we knew that given the current situation of Guam, there was much that we could absorb.

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 06

Day 06 during the festival consisted of spending some quality time with Daniel Ferranti, (technical coordinator of "This Film is Not Yet Rated", who helped Shiro’s Head with its first ever critical screening before its final cut) and wife Darcy Harris. Also, getting some quality time in the karaoke bars to help recharge the ol' batteries!

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 05

After a successful Day 4, Day 5 was another big day for Guam cinema as "Under the American Sun" screened. The project is produced by Alex Munoz and Bernie Schumann and directed by Burt Sardoma, Jr. At almost 30 minutes, the project was not only entertaining, but informative and insightful. We also got the chance to check out "Double Happiness" and "Kung-Fu Granny", both crowd favorites!

L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 04

A long day starting with a brunch at the Director's Guild of America and then preparing for our big screening in which were glad to see so many familiar (and not familiar) faces. Folks came out from as far as Ft. Lauderdale Florida and Houston, Texas! It was a successful and amazing night and thank you to everyone who made the screening!

We also want to say thanks to Alex Munoz for hooking up the after party at Sushi Dan's! The night had a great, positive energy. We're so grateful to have made the trip out to L.A.

The L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival - Day 03

Our first day at the L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival was off to a great start. We picked up the 3rd Muna brother, Associate Producer Michael Muna, and were off to the Director’s Guild of America in West Hollywood for the filmmaker check-ins, interviews with Giant Robot’s Eric Nakamura, photos at the press wall, meeting up with festival director Abraham Ferrer and Andersen Le as well as other filmmakers.

We were surprised to discover how many people have heard of Shiro’s Head and Guam. We spent most of the night getting the word out to the crowd and spreading the word about Guam, the movie and the talented local artists.