Opening night at the 10th Annual DC Asian Film Festival screens the critically-acclaimed 9500 Liberty! The 9500 Liberty documentary follows the ‘Immigration Resolution’ debate in Prince William County, VA and recently won the best documentary award at the Charlotte Film Festival! Tickets are selling out quickly, so I recommend that you BUY YOUR TICKET now!

According to the Festival’s website, there will be a reception immediately after the Opening Night Film presentation of 9500 Liberty on the rooftop terrace of 575 7th St, just a few blocks from E Street Cinema.

Hope to see you there!

63 Thoughts to “Award Winning 9500 Liberty Screening at Asian Film Festival”

  1. hello

    Again? Man, one would think your on the 9500 payroll or something…

  2. Last Best Hope

    Welcome back Alanna. We’ve missed you. Hello is right though, we already hashed this one out thanks to M-H. The verdict is that the Civil War references (even in the form of street signs named after Civil War generals) are off limits for liberal filmmakers but it’s right and good for right wing lobbyists and TV hosts to reference the Revolutionary War and obscure sexual practices in the titles of their protest movements.

  3. hello

    We have also learned that:

    Liberal film makers are awarded and celebrated

    Conservative filmmakers are sued and investigated

  4. Do you think Rick will buy a ticket? Heh heh.

    Nothing wrong with Civil War references, BTW. Who started it is another topic all together.

  5. I mean started out most recent un-Civil war…not the references. Those have been around forever.

  6. Last Best Hope

    All the media is liberal except for Fox News, and Fox News is insufferable. What are you gonna do?

  7. Moon-howler

    Insufferable is one word for it.

    My objection is twisting the truth. Millions of people hear the distortions and get all riled up. There are some things worthy of getting riled up over. Let’s keep it all in perspective rather than having people get riled up over EVERYTHING.

    Simple issues take on a life of their own. Give me the regular local news.

  8. Poor Richard

    The rapid rise of the immigrant population, a large portion
    undocumented, in parts of PWC and the two cities during the first
    part of this decade put tremendous stress on neighborhoods, schools,
    medical facilities, family services and public safety departments.
    This wave of people, most speaking another language, often uneducated
    and unskilled, poor and indifferent to local cultural
    values and standards created the origins of the crisis. This
    was aggravated by the complete lack of help from the Federal
    government who we once thought managed immigration.
    9500 Liberty ignores the core causes of the crisis and dwells
    on one portion of the result from a single viewpoint.
    There is a complex nuanced story with multiple sides here,
    an important story, but this film ignores it.
    FOX news of the left.

  9. Elena

    The issue is not that immigration doesn’t have it’s problems, the ISSUE is HOW the debate unfolded, it’s that basic to me. Hatred can never be allowed to flourish. Calling children parasites, referring to people like they are animals is NEVER acceptable.

  10. Moon-howler

    The problems have been documented over and over again. No one denies them.

    The documentation is in the film. ‘Lafayette’ provides much of the background information as she drives the filmakers around in her car and as she talks to them from within her home. I know I didn’t dream I saw her in the film. There are many other examples. That is just the one that jumped out at me.

    It isn’t a uni-dimensional issue as some people would like to make it.

  11. If you’re commenting on YouTube clips or a preliminary screening, then you’re not commenting on the final film that has won the Charlotte award.

    I have seen the final film, and I think it’s the same caliber as “Farmingville” (2006), which won seven awards for documenting the immigration issue in a New York town or “Crossing Arizona” (2004), which won three awards for documenting the same issue right at the border.

    What makes “9500 Liberty” unique, though, is the way the filmmakers challenged the process of making a documentary by opening up their work for comment on the Internet as they shot it, real time. That hasn’t been done before, and that alone is worth an award.

    You can see “Farmingville” for free at http://www.pbs.org/pov/farmingville/

    You can see “Crossing Arizona” next Tuesday night, Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at GMU’s Prince William Campus, Verizon Auditorium, 10900 University Blvd in Manassas. Free admission, pizza and popcorn. Facilitated discussion afterward.

  12. hello

    “I have seen the final film, and I think it’s the same caliber as “Farmingville” (2006), which won seven awards for documenting the immigration issue in a New York town or “Crossing Arizona” (2004), which won three awards for documenting the same issue right at the border.”

    So it looks like Eric is just cashing in on the right formula for winning awards huh… just do something on immigration and cha-ching!

  13. Emma

    Will they also be screening the film at the upcoming Caucasian Film Festival?

  14. @Emma
    Isn’t that like the Emmies or Oscars or something like that?

  15. Moon-howler

    Emma feel free to take a look at future screenings for yourself. It was posted on an earlier thread for everyone’s convenience.
    http://9500liberty.com/screenings.html

    Why does it matter? Would you prefer to view the film at a caucasian film theater? Oooopps something just showed.

  16. Emma

    OK, fine, I’ll just go on a hyperbole-free diet for the rest of this week, if you insist 😉

  17. Elena

    Emma :Will they also be screening the film at the upcoming Caucasian Film Festival?

    HUH? Why would you even say that Emma?

  18. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    The Asian film festival, huh? Will the words and the mouths be all off?

  19. Elena

    Emma,
    It wasn’t “hyperbole” and you know that. I expect more from you.

    How is Asian film festival hyperbole.

    definition:

    Hyperbole (pronounced /hʌɪˈpə:rbəli/[1], from ancient Greek “ὑπερβολή”, meaning excess or exaggeration) is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally.

  20. Elena

    Slow,
    You are irritating and you bug me and I don’t want to laugh at that, but I am having a vision of an old time Godzilla movie, dubbed in English, I watched when I was a kid.

    Having said that, a film of this magnitude may seem like it needs to be dubbed so you could get the deeper meaning 😉

  21. Emma

    Come on, seriously, you’re too smart for me to have to spell it out for you. “Caucasion film festival” = hyperbole, i.e. used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally.

    Or I suppose you could use this as an apportunity to prove to the world what a screaming racist you think I am.

    And how the heck did you get those Greek figures? I’ve never been able to get those to appear on my screen.

  22. Gainesville Resident

    And 9500 Liberty celebrates a sign that at times has had highly racist messages on it. Interesting they picked that title for their movie.

    LBH – I never said the words you put in my mouth regarding conservative filmmakers and references to Revolutionary War. I would have the same problem with that. I won’t even touch what you said about sexual stuff! Put your filthy words into someone else’s mouth – how about your own!!!! You should be ashamed of yourself for what you wrote. Then again, I guess it’s OK for liberals to put filthy words in other people’s mouths. Enough said. Go take your sexual garbage someplace else.

  23. Gainesville Resident

    Oh, and how about that Democratic congressman today that said: “Conservative’s Health Reform Plan = People should die quickly”! Very nice thing to say. I bet no one on the Democratic side or Obama calls him out for that.

  24. Moon-howler

    I have taken down a comment–again. I am not going to have that fight from another blog on this blog. We also do not out people here.

  25. Moon-howler

    Emma, in my opinion, that was a walk right up to the line. Insensitive at best, considering the film makers are Asian-Americans.

    I think everyone needs to take a few deep breaths. If the blog is making you that angry, shut down for the evening. Come back tomorrow.

    Gainesville, if we called out everyone who said something stupid, we would all drop dead of exhaustion. Reminder, this is not a Democrat blog.

    Slow, you are a devil. 😉

    You like cartoons so you should be used to things being just a little off.

  26. Gainesville Resident

    Posting As Pinko :
    Nothing wrong with Civil War references, BTW. Who started it is another topic all together.

    This was what I was commenting on. That comment should be taken down then too, since my comment was taken down. I actually quoted the wrong post in my removed comment.

  27. Moon-howler

    GR, I don’t think the film makers celebrate the sign any more than I do. The address of the property is 9500 Liberty Street. It was an epicenter of sorts. I can’t think of any others.

    It is a location. Nothing more, nothing less. Would it be more acceptable if the film were entitled McCoart Complex 1, Suerpvisors Chambers? 9700 Lafayette? Not really. Everyone for miles around knew about that address and the sign.

  28. Moon-howler

    What civil war references?

    If it was discussed on the blog, it is fine. Someone fill me in on whats going on. I didn’t want to see the national parks anyway.

  29. MH, This goes back to people being upset that the Battlefields were shown and discussed in 9500Liberty as part of the immigration debate. My only point was that using battlefields and war as metaphor is fairly standard in literature, history, the arts, politics, etc. No one knows who began using war as an image–probably the cave people.

    I have NO idea why this idea is so contentious.

  30. Gainesville Resident

    Then what made you say “Who started it is another topic all together.”?

  31. Gainesville Resident

    Just like you have no idea why certain other things are so contentious, either, I guess.

  32. Moon-howler

    It happened here so you guys just duke it out.

  33. Emma

    Was this an Asian-filmakers-only-may enter type of film festival? Just imagine a European-American-entry-only event in this day and age. The SPLC would label the organizers a hate group!

  34. Emma

    I didn’t realize Eric and Annabel were Asian. I thought they were American. My bad.

  35. @Gainesville Resident
    Meaning, who began this “second Civil War” over immigration. We can duke it out about who started it all night, but the real point is, it did indeed start. And the debate over immigration has indeed been called “the second Civil War” by more people than little ole insignificant me.

    Emma, aren’t there things like British film festivals?

  36. @Moon-howler
    Thanks, MH, but there’s really nothing to duke IMO.

  37. Elena

    I believe they used to call that the Academy Awards Emma. Now it is clearly more diverse, but I still remember when Denzel Washington won the Oscar for best actor, he was the first black man to have won that title. The reality is that we aren’t color blind yet.

    Eric and Annabel are American Emma. They also happen to be Asian. I don’t know about you, but where your heritage is from is a common topic of conversation. Unless you are a Native Amercian, we ALL harken back to different ancestry. Also, don’t forget, Annabel is first generation from South Korea.

    But really, give me a break. We still have “little Italy”, “China Town”, “St. Patty’s Irish Parade” etc etc. It’s a beautiful thing to celebrate the salad bowl that constitutes the United States of America. That is why this country is so awesome. We can celebrate our uniqueness while still being proud to the collective America, truly a special feat for such a large country.

  38. Diversity Gal

    Emma,

    The Asian Pacific American Film Festival is open for film submissions “made by and/or about Americans of Asian Pacific Islander descent and other Asian Diasporic groups from around the world” according to their society’s mission statement. This is NOT an Asian only entry event.

    Also, upon a little internet research, I found the following film festivals held annually in the United States (I’m sure more research would yield more results):

    New York Italian Film Festival (dedicated to Italian and Italian-American film/filmmakers)

    San Francisco Irish Film Festival (with other Irish/Irish-American film festivals held in L.A. and Seattle)

    Los Angeles Greek Film Festival

    Polish Film Festival in America (in its 21st year, held in Chicago)

    Russian American Foundation Film Festival (in NYC)

    If one wants a film festival highlighting film or filmmakers of European heritage, one can definitely find them in the US. Cool!

  39. Diversity Gal

    BTW…Alanna, I can’t wait to see you there! I hope that Elena, Moonhowler, and other Anti-bvbl bloggers will be in attendance, too:)

  40. Last Best Hope

    Thank God the screening is tomorrow. People are running out of things to complain about. I will see it in Woodbridge on the 9th, and then I will file my complaints as well. I can assure you that a shot of the Manassas Battlefield or the Asian heritage of its makers will not be among them.

  41. Starryflights

    9500 Liberty was an excellent documentary about our community’s immigration debate. I’m glad it will be showing again. I would urge everybody to see it if you haven’t already, or see it again if you have..

  42. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    Elena :
    Slow,
    You are irritating and you bug me

    Yeah, Yeah, Yeah…..I married a girl just like you!

  43. Elena

    Well, then you are one lucky man Slow 😉 !

  44. Moon-howler

    And Slow, you need to listen to your wife!

  45. Rick Bentley

    “but I still remember when Denzel Washington won the Oscar for best actor, he was the first black man to have won that title”

    WRONG. Sidney Poitier won in 1963 for Lillies of the Field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_black_Academy_Award_winners_and_nominees#Best_Actor_in_a_Leading_Role

    You’re confusing this with Halle Berry who was the first black actress to win for her performance in the unusual pornographic fantasy “Monsters Ball”.

  46. Elena

    I knew Syndeny Poitier had won, I thought though that Denzel was first to win the coveted best actor and not supporting actor. I stand corrected! I think the underlying premise of my point remains the same though, and Hally Berry winning for the first time, not too long ago, demonstrates my point even better. Thank you for the correct info Rick.

  47. Poor Richard

    Think you ladies are far too enamored of the ponytail guy to see
    this film objectively.

  48. Elena

    Poor Richard,
    Exactly HOW is the film biased and who is the “ponytail” guy? Please be specific in how the film is biased.

  49. Moon-howler

    Afraid I don’t know Mr. Ponytail. Not my type 😉

    No one has yet given a specific example of why this film is ‘biased.’

    Like Elena, I await specifics. I found it documented many different ‘sides’ of the issue. More importantly, it documented the evolution of the Immigration Resolution from inception to the present and the various battles that ensued.

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