LVHIFF Kicks Off

Korean cutie Lee Ki-woo at LVHIFF's Opening Night Party

The Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival officially started last night, but it actually started Wednesday night with "A Night with Zhang Yimou." A screening of Zhang's excellent "Not One Less" (1999), about education and poverty in rural China, was followed by a reception and Q&A with the director. I somehow miraculously managed to spit out in broken Chinese my question about what he thinks of all the American and foreign film productions shooting in China because of its cheap factor. His answer: it's a good thing because it will allow Chinese people to develop their skills and aid in the country's progress.

Last night, the fest officially opened with the world premiere of "Sad Movie," being billed as the Korean version of "Love Actually." I actually think it's the Korean version of the Chinese version of "Love Actually" that screened at last year's LVHIFF, "Sound of Colors." That's 'cause the Chinese film had a blind woman and a guy with a matchmaking service, and the Korean one had a deaf woman and a guy with a break-up service, and both were scored with eclectic swelling music. One of the film's stars, Lee Ki-woo, and director Kwon Jong-kwan were there to present "Sad Movie." The night ended with a shindig at Gordon Biersch, but to my dismay, garlic fries were nowhere to be found.

>> Photos from LVHIFF Opening Night Party

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