NYAFF: Opening Night

NYAFF Part 3: We made it to the theater in the nick of time, snagging two seats together in the first 10 rows. Two minutes later and we would have been looking for separate seats somewhere in the back. Whew.

Although Ip Man 2 was quite the disappointment for me (Chef K enjoyed the action but really, I haven't watched such bad acting by white guys in an Asian film since... well, since a long time ago), the whole opening night experience was still totally worth it because director Simon Yam and choreographer/co-star/Hong Kong kung fu legend Sammo Hung made brief appearances to address the audience in Cantonese. (Yam is on the left and Hung on the right in these pictures, and that's festival producer Grady Hendrix in his trademark pink tux.)

I love the NYAFF. I remember trudging to the Anthology Film Archives on 2nd and 2nd when they first started out, standing in line in the summer heat to walk into a theater with no AC (!!). The seats were horrifically uncomfortable and the producers still personally sold concessions like shrimp chips outside. I'm so proud of them now -- they really made it into the big leagues. :)