SFIAAFF 2008 rocks!

I've been following this festival for more than a decade, and I've never seen a more promising lineup. To begin with, a range from classic SFIAAFF fare like a Wayne Wang cross-generational Asian-American family drama (A Thousand Years of Good Prayers) to irreverent mass-appeal comedy (the SF premiere of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) is a dream come true. But there are so many other highlights in between.

- Mike (The Motel) Kang's West 32nd -- Grace Park in person!
- history and documentaries strong as ever, with the 1936 Whispering Sidewalks, as well as Long Story Short, about a midcentury nightclub act, and works about Anna May Wong, fortune cookies, kamikaze pilots, break dancers around the world, and more.
- multi-award-winning The Home Song Stories, Australia's Oscar submission for Best Foreign-Language Film
- a whole Wayne Wang retrospective, including another new feature, The Princess of Nebraska
- Music programs, including one featuring Goh Nakamura ... with a band
- Colma: The Musical director Rich Wong's new movie, Option 3
- Colma itself -- as a singalong!
- Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Flight of the Red Balloon

I'm not going to see all of these, but there's certainly something for everyone. If you'll be anywhere nearby, check it out!