In its 11th year, The Korean American Film Fest’s Infinite Cinema, headed up by Chung Tsang and Mark Anthony Singh, was held this past Saturday, October 14th in the Wythe Hotel Screening Room (80 Wythe Ave).
A passage on the fest’s website reads, “Embracing the motto of CONNECT. FUSE. REPEAT. KAFFNY Infinite Cinema challenges its audience to discard notions of cultures as separate, discrete and insular, instead exploring the infinite possibilities of contact, fusion, and creation born from the mixing of different backgrounds.”
True to that directive, KAFFNY’s collection of films, which crossed multiple genres and mediums, maintained an impressive cohesiveness in its focus on shared experience, exploring distinct cultural backgrounds within the global context. Cleverly divided into five thematic segments, the fest included 25 short films and two feature length films, as well as moderated panel discussions with many of the filmmakers and actors. Continue reading →
After the Fyre Festival of pizzas, Brooklyn is very close to reaching peak festival—but The Korean American Film Fest, now in its 11th year (so you know it’s legit), is happening this weekend in Williamsburg on Saturday, October 14th and it’s set to be a full day of fascinating and entertaining cultural talks and film screenings. From 1pm till midnight the fest will take over the Wythe Hotel Screening Room (80 Wythe Ave) and is digging into the topic of Infinite Culture through specific lenses: Food, Fashion, Worldwide Korean Connection, Migration, and Crazy, Rich Asian Americans (yes, that’s a real category!). In addition to screening 25 short films and 2 feature length films, the audience will also get the opportunities to engage in meaningful discussions with the filmmakers during moderated panel discussions. Plus free food samples following the food film screening at 1pm! Tickets are only $15 for the entire day, when you use the 50% off code WEB50.
Last Tuesday, Nitehawk Cinema (136 Metropolitan Ave) celebrated Korean National Liberation Day with a spectacular Film Feast. The Nitehawk team collaborated with Yooeating?! and Tokki Soju to turn Chan-wook Park’s Old Boy (2003) into a multi-sensory, totally immersive thrill ride.
Old Boy is a neo-noir mystery thriller that critics have called “a dazzling work of pop-culture artistry…[that] makes us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves.” With praise like that, I knew I was in for a good time, but add to it Yooeating?!’s evocative and delicious dishes, and Tokki Soju’s imaginative pours made with Soju, a traditional Korean distilled spirit, delivered at precisely the moment of the film which inspired their creation, and Tuesday’s Film Feast was one of the most exciting and satisfying experiences I’ve had at the movies. Continue reading →
Little Dokebi (85 Driggs Ave) has been open for just over a month and already it’s a huge hit. So popular, in fact, that when we recently tried to go for a mid-week dinner the wait was over an hour-long. Fortunately, when we returned for Saturday brunch it was much easier to get a seat, though this may have had something to do with the fact that it was the snowiest day of winter so far! Continue reading →
The corner of Driggs & Monitor has seen a slew of passable but not extraordinary restaurants come and go over the years, including the most recent closing of Donia, which had good food occassionally. There’s been talk of a Korean restaurant taking over and today I saw they put up a sign that says: “Little Dokebi, Korean Street Food, June!” Greenpoint has almost no Korean food, excluding Mrs. Kim’s way on the other side of Greenpoint and hipster hotdogs that have kimchi, so I am very excited to see this. They’ve totally gutted the inside except the tile floor, so it looks like they aren’t half-assing it, so let’s hope it’s really good and sticks around for a while. Otherwise it should go back to what it was seven years ago when it was just a coffee shop open three hours a day that also sold pot.
