This past weekend, the Micheaux Film Festival celebrated independent films with exclusive premieres, informative panels, and awards ceremonies. We had the opportunity to screen The Interview, Flight 182, and I’m in Love, three very different films that had us on the edge of our seats in unique ways.
Continue reading “The Micheaux Film Festival Highlighted Impactful Independent Films”
I’ve been covering the Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) for several years for The Nerds of Color, yet haven’t attended its festival in-person since 2019. When I obtained many ticket vouchers from serving on the screening committee for its 45th iteration, I realized before me I had a really good excuse to actually travel back to Honolulu this year to attend it. Little did I expect at the time of starting in the committee back in March that by the time I flew out to O’ahu, I would also be attending this year’s festival as a new filmmaker.
Continue reading “Reflections on Watching Shorts at the Hawai’i International Film Festival as a New Filmmaker”
We interview Ritesh Gupta about directing the indie horror film The Red Mask and its meta commentary on the current state of Hollywood.
Continue reading “Director Ritesh Gupta on the Meta Horror of ‘The Red Mask’”
We’ve been celebrating horror all year as one of the few genres in Hollywood where original storytelling is, not only alive, but thriving significantly. This is honestly thanks to one of the biggest indie studios in the market: Neon. They have had several incredible horror hits in the past few months, from last year’s Longlegs to this week’s Together. To celebrate their strong slate of horror films, they took to the stages of Ballroom 20 at Comic-Con to discuss what’s coming next!
Continue reading “SDCC 2025: Neon Celebrates Horror with First Comic-Con Visit”
Stories based on or inspired by true events — that center Asians — are often ignored or given whitewashed treatment, as in the 2008 film 21. It takes an independent studio and team to tell these kinds of stories fully, like Justin Lin’s 2002 film Better Luck Tomorrow and now – Sing J. Lee’s The Accidental Getaway Driver.
Continue reading “True OC Abduction Case ‘The Accidental Getaway Driver’ Gets Limited Theatrical Release”
On the day before Christmas, I present to you all a rather intriguing horror short film I caught from filmmaker Ramone Menon. As a kid, Menon always thought the birth of Jesus must have been terrifying so he decided to make a horror film about it.
Continue reading “Ramone Menon’s ‘Virgin’ Infuses Horror in the Birth of Jesus”
Actress and producer Nhi Do has made a significant mark in Hollywood with major roles in Zack Snyder’s Watchmen and the Netflix hit, Maid. Now she’s breaking into the indie scene with a terrific performance in a thrilling short film called The Sorrow.
Continue reading “Actress/Producer Nhi Do on Her Indie Short ‘The Sorrow’”
The Micheaux Film Festival, named after revolutionary African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, geared up for its sixth annual celebration from Monday, October 21 to Sunday, October 27, 2024.
Continue reading “Talking Passion, Pride, and Promise with the Nominees of the 2024 Micheaux Film Festival”
Spooky season is upon us folks! And with it comes a flurry of wonderful indie cinema designed to bring nightmares to life on the big screen. That’s exactly what director E.L. Katz and writer Simon Barrett (You’re Next) sought out to do with a horror film like no other, in Azrael starring horror icon, Samara Weaving.
Continue reading “Director E.L. Katz on the Horrors of ‘Azrael’”
It’s been a few days since I’ve seen J.T. Mollner’s Strange Darling, and I simply cannot get it out of my head. This is a twisted thriller that will leave a lasting impact on you for days to come, and in a cinematic landscape such as this, that’s a huge deal!
Continue reading “NOC Review: J.T. Mollner’s ‘Strange Darling’ is Tense, Twisted, and Terrific”
Samara Weaving is the queen of survival horror! I don’t care if that’s a hot take, as everyone has their favorite scream queen/final girl, but after Ready or Not, she’s most definitely mine. Now she’s back with a film that has so far garnered amazing reception out of SXSW this year, Azrael.
Continue reading “Trailer for Samara Weaving Horror Film ‘Azrael’ Debuts”
It’s no exaggeration to say good horror is hard to come by these days. Though the definition of terrifying is entirely subjective, sometimes studio product can tend to be tired and predictable, being bogged down more by stale jump scares and lame ideas (see: evil pool water). But once in a while, indie studios like Neon will produce horror films that do what they’re supposed to: scare the crap out of you. Such is the case with Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Longlegs’ is the Most Disturbing Horror Film of the Year”
Visual Communications (VC) has announced a new Special Presentation program is being added to the VC FILM FEST lineup: the Los Angeles Premiere of the Narrative Feature DÌDI (弟弟). Directed by Sean Wang, the narrative feature follows an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. The film, which made its world premiere at Sundance, will be Wang’s fourth film at the fest.
Continue reading “‘DÌDI’ to Make its Los Angeles Premiere at the 40th VC Film Fest”
It Lives Inside, written and directed by Bishal Dutta, follows the life of young Samidha (Megan Suri) an Indian American Hindu teenager attempting to fit in her all-American high school. But when her childhood best friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan) begins acting strangely, Samidha finders herself at the center of a supernatural horror tale, rooted in her own culture. With the help of her family and friends, including her teacher Joyce (Betty Gabriel), she battles the supernatural threat while learning more about herself and her culture in the process.
Continue reading “Bishal Dutta and Betty Gabriel on the Making of ‘It Lives Inside’”
Sung Kang knows people call him the “Asian dude” from the Fast and Furious movies and has begun embracing the title.
Continue reading “Sung Kang on Directing ‘Shaky Shivers’ and Finally Being in the Driver’s Seat”
From director Sung Kang (star of Fast X), after finding herself bitten by a mysterious animal, Lucy (played by Brooke Markham) becomes convinced that she will transform into a fearsome werewolf. Joined by her best friend Karen (played by VyVy Nguyen), the two embark on a campy adventure filled with magic and mayhem, as they look to do battle with a throat-slashing creature ripped right out of an ’80s horror movie.
Continue reading “Sung Kang’s Werewolf Comedy ‘Shaky Shivers’ Exclusively in Theaters September 21”
During the early aughts, indie comics were the only place to find Asian American stories by Asian American cartoonists. One of the biggest books to come out in that period was Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine. Now, a decade and a half later, that indie comic has been turned into an indie movie at Sony Pictures Classics in Randall Park’s directorial debut.
Continue reading “Adrian Tomine’s Classic Graphic Novel is Brought to Life in ‘Shortcomings’ Trailer”
Director Robert Rodriguez has crafted some of the finest action films in the past 30 years, from the El Mariachi trilogy to Sin City, even becoming part of The Mandalorian team! His new film Hypnotic, hitting theaters this Friday, features a terrific ensemble of fantastic character actors, from Ben Affleck to William Fichtner, but none more charming than the incredible Alice Braga.
Continue reading “Getting ‘Hypnotic’ with the Alluring Alice Braga”
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 showed that real life had become more like a season of television than ever before. Two years into Joe Biden’s presidency — and in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection — our identity as citizens in this country has become increasingly fragmented from each other. What is best for our communities has fallen to the wayside as it has become harder to find common ground. So when The Hater — written, directed and acted by the multi-talented Joey Ally — finally ended and credits began to roll, I finally realized what had been missing in so many other pieces of media about politics in the world of Fake News and political team sports.
Continue reading “‘The Hater’ Has an Earnest Heart”
For the third consecutive year of its 42-year run, the Hawai’i International Film Festival has a large selection of films available to view virtually. With titles ranging from Hawaii, the mainland, the overall Asia-Pacific region, and other parts of the world, there are so many for viewers to watch from the comfort of home, each of which expressing voices and stories of all kinds.
Continue reading “Highlights from the 42nd Hawai’i International Film Festival’s Virtual Program”
Shelf Conscious returns with a special episode with the stars of the upcoming indie horror comedy, Retro Freaks — Craig from NotAnotherRetroChannel and Cincy Nerd, who makes his triumphant return to the show!
Patton Oswalt and Rachel Dratch play Chuck and Erica in I Love My Dad. The thrilling new comedy with an unexpected twist is currently in theaters. It will also be released On Demand on August 12.
Continue reading “Patton Oswalt and Rachel Dratch Reunite On-Screen for ‘I Love My Dad’”
Having a falling out with a family member you are close with can be difficult and the same can be said when you fall in love with a person you’ve never met online. Both experiences can leave you with the empty feeling of realizing you don’t really know them as well as you thought. In I Love My Dad, writer-director James Morosini crafts an endearingly funny and real film that displays that feeling honestly and cathartically.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘I Love My Dad’ is Endearingly Funny and Real”