02 February 2004

Media Release For Immediate Publication

Auckland To Host Asia Film Festival Aotearoa
(20th February – 29th February 2004)

Auckland’s first-ever pan-Asian film festival will launch next month. The Asia Film Festival Aotearoa (AFFA) will open on Friday 20th February and run to Sunday 29th February at SKYCITY Theatre.

It will showcase an exciting array of feature and short films from Asia and the Asian Diaspora that highlight the best of contemporary Asian cinema. Countries of focus for AFFA 2004 include: Hong Kong/China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the Asian Diaspora.

AFFA is a community-focused initiative established in early 2003 by the Asia Film Festival Aotearoa Trust (AFFAT) with the purpose of connecting the overseas communities of Asia with those of Auckland through the imaginative medium of film.

“We want to bridge the barriers between Auckland’s Asian and non-Asian communities and debunk some of the stereotypes that exist,” says Alistair Kwun, AFFA Marketing and Communications Manager.

“Doing this can only help lead to greater economic, social and cultural stimulation for all Aucklanders. For this inaugural festival and the ones to come, we aim to promote community inclusion, but we also want to make people aware of the differences between the different Asian cultures, and film is an excellent way of doing this,” he says.

“We’ve got some tremendous films from around Asia, and are really looking forward to being able to show them to Auckland audiences.”

Ticketing, booking and press information are available from the AFFA website www.filmwoks.co.nz. Festival programmes will be available from Thursday 29 January.

Key festival partners include SKYCITY Auckland, Cathay Pacific, Red_i, Telecom, Westpac, DHL, Val Morgan, EMA Northern and PDF Communications Ltd.

Ends

© Scoop Media

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