CAAMFest 2021 will be taking place May 13-23, 2021 for 11 days of exciting Asian American storytelling, with programs you can enjoy at the drive-in or in your living room! During opening weekend, CAAM will present three evenings of drive-in presentations at Fort Mason Flix. Opening with two screenings of Try Harder!, director Debbie Lum s documentary about San Francisco s Lowell High School, the weekend also highlights the diverse Filipino American experience, with Dante Basco s feature film directorial debut The Fabulous Filipino Brothers and Lumpia With a Vengeance, directed by Patricio Ginelsa. Other highlights include Hong Kong films The Way We Keep Dancing by Adam Wong and an archival screening of Wong Kar-Wai s Happy Together.
Mariecar Mendoza May 5, 2021Updated: May 5, 2021, 8:56 am
Dante Basco Photo: Chris Shintani
Fans often recognize Dante Basco for his role as Rufio in the 1991 Steven Spielberg film “Hook.”
“If I’m in public, yeah I get some people goin’ ‘Rufio! Rufio!’ still several times a week. I’ve got my own chant, like I’m a WWF wrestler,” he said, with a laugh. “It’s cool to have a character with a following like that.”
But don’t put this Filipino American heartthrob in a box.
The Pittsburg native makes his directorial debut with “The Fabulous Filipino Brothers,” which gets its California premiere at the 34th annual CAAMFest on Friday, May 14. The film, starring his real-life siblings (Derek, Darion, Dionysio and Arianna), serves as a celebration of his Filipino heritage and his Bay Area roots but also aims to simply showcase an American experience.
Pam Grady May 5, 2021Updated: May 5, 2021, 9:48 am
Salena Qureshi in “Americanish,” screening virtually Sunday, May 23, at CAAMFest. Photo: CAAMFest
CAAMFest Festival and Exhibitions Director Masashi Niwano admits to mixed feelings as he counts down to the annual event that celebrates Asian American and world cinema that launches on Thursday, May 13. Hopes for an in-person festival were dashed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, a virtual event along with three nights at the Fort Mason Flix Drive-in will have to do for the film festival’s 39th edition.
“It’s been a unique year for all of us. But we’re happy we can at least pull this festival off,” he says. “Ultimately having the filmmakers’ voices heard is the most important thing.”