blog posts

• AsiaLENS Screening @ Spurlock Museum - February 14th

  Feb 14, 2017 7:00 pm |  1 View

  AsiaLENS Presents:
  PUNCH
  Directed by Lee Han
  2011. 107 minutes. Korea. Korean with English subtitles.

  Film Description:
  PUNCH is a coming of age film set in an impoverished Seoul neighborhood. One of Korea’s most popular films of 2011, it follows the life of a high school student who is more talented at fighting than at studying. His homeroom teacher seems to enjoy tormenting him. His disabled father struggles to support him. He doesn’t know anything about his mother, but discovers that she isn’t even Korean. The movie succeeds through its interesting and sympathetic portrayals of a diverse set of characters.

  Presented as part of “South Korean Millennials: Coming of Age in the Twenty-first Century” co-sponsored by Indiana University

  AsiaLENS is a series of free public film screenings and lecture / discussion programs -- organized by AEMS and CEAPS in collaboration with Spurlock Museum -- presenting recent documentary and independent films on issues reflecting contemporary life in Asia.

  All AsiaLENS screenings are FREE and open to the public.
  http://aems.illinois.edu/

• CALL FOR FILMS - AAS Film Expo 2017

  Oct 14, 2016 8:00 am |  310  Views

  The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) annually hosts the premier North American conference of Asia scholars devoted to scheduled programs of scholarly papers, roundtable discussions, workshops, and panel sessions on a wide range of issues in research and teaching, and on Asian affairs in general. The upcoming AAS conference is scheduled for March 16 -19, 2017 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

  AAS Film Expo was established as a conference program in 2011 by the Asian Educational Media Service (AEMS), an outreach program of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Documentary and independent films on issues reflecting contemporary life in Asia are projected in a dedicated screening room with a schedule running from Thursday through Saturday. An “on demand” screening area allows additional viewing opportunities for attendees who miss scheduled screening times.

  We welcome the submission of films related to Asia produced by scholars and independent filmmakers. Criteria utilized in the selection process include timeliness, broad appeal to the scholarly community, and examples of new field work. All films presented in the conference are promoted in a special AAS Film Expo booklet which includes contact information for distributors or filmmakers who self-distribute.

  In addition to the Film Expo booklet distributed to conference attendees, film listings are included in the AAS Annual Conference Program Addendum and on the AEMS website: http://aems.illinois.edu. When possible, short post-screening Q&A’s are arranged with filmmakers or film representatives in attendance or via online video conferencing.

  For more information, please download the AAS Film Expo Submission Form.

  *** DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS NOVEMBER 28, 2016 ***

   

• AsiaLENS screening @ Spurlock museum - October 18

  Oct 13, 2016 7:00 pm |  1 View

  Threads: The Art and Life of Surayia Rahman
  Directed by Cathy Stevulak. Produced by Cathy Stevulak and Leonard Hill.
  2015. 30 minutes. In Bengali and English with English subtitles.
  
  Tuesday, October 18, 2016 - 7:00 pm
  Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana IL
  
  A special pre-screening introduction by co-producer Leonard Hill will be presented by the Spurlock Museum Guild Lecture and Performance Series. Madhu Viswanathan, the Diane and Steven N. Miller Centennial Chair in Business, will lead a post-screening discussion with Leonard Hill.
  
  Special Engagement: Join a discussion with co-producer Leonard Hill earlier in the day at the Asian American Cultural Center's (1210 West Nevada Street, Urbana, IL) Food for Thought program at 12:00 pm.
  
  A self-trained and passionate artist, Surayia Rahman is an unconventional Bengali woman who frees herself, other women and families from poverty and social hardships, by guiding hundreds of underprivileged women in Bangladesh to create masterworks of exquisitely hand-embroidered art that has been gifted to dignitaries and admired in collections throughout the world.
  
  For more information on this and future events: http://www.aems.illinois.edu/events/asialens.html

• New Location!

  Oct 12, 2016 8:00 am |  1 View

  Our Asian Educational Media Service Library has moved to a new location! Please come and visit us at: 505 E. Green St., Champaign, IL 61820 We look forward to better serving the community!

• AsiaLENS screening @ Spurlock museum

  Apr 12, 2016 8:00 am |  1 View

  My Fair Wedding, a 2014 film by Jang Hee-sun. 94 minutes. Korean with English subtitles. Tuesday, April 12th, 7:00PM, Spurlock Museum, Knight Auditorium, 600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana, IL Introduction and post discussion TBD. In this intimate and candid film, we follow Gwang-Soo and Dave as they plan their gala wedding, the first same-sex marriage performed in South Korea. Held openly to the public at Kwangtong Bridge, this landmark wedding is not free from gay marriage opponents making their displeasure heard before and during the grooms’ special day. A light-hearted love story with strong undertones about marriage equality, My Fair Wedding offers a first-hand account on overcoming adversity and how a milestone event goes beyond just one couple. For more information on this and future events: http://www.aems.illinois.edu/events/asialens.htmI

• AsiaLENS screening @ Spurlock Museum - March 8

  Mar 8, 2016 8:00 am |  1 View

  I Am, a 2011 film by Sonali Gulati. 71 minutes. Hindi and English with English subtitles. Tuesday, March 8th, 7:00PM, Spurlock Museum, Knight Auditorium, 600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana, IL Introduction and post discussion TBD. After eleven years, an Indian lesbian filmmaker chronicles the journey home to finally confront the loss of her mother whom she never came out to. By meeting parents of other gay and lesbian Indians, she pieces together the fabric of what family truly means, in a landscape where being gay was, until recently, a criminal and punishable offense. For more information on this and future events: http://www.aems.illinois.edu/events/asialens.htmI

• AsiaLENS screening @ Spurlock Museum - February 9th

  Feb 9, 2016 8:00 am |  1 View

  Tales of the Waria, a 2011 film by Kathy Huang. 56 minutes. Tuesday, February 9th, 7:00PM, Spurlock Museum, Knight Auditorium, 600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana, IL Introduction and post discussion by Leslie Morrow, Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population. It is also home to a community of transgendered individuals known as warias, biological men who live openly as women. In this eye-opening PBS documentary, four warias search for romance and intimacy. Along the way, they encounter unique obstacles that force them to make extraordinary sacrifices to keep the ones they love. For more information on this and future events: http://www.aems.illinois.edu/events/asialens.htm

• AsiaLENS Screening @ Spurlock Museum - Nov 10

  Nov 10, 2015 11:00 am |  1 View

  

  Bitter Seeds
   by Micha X. Peled
  

  Tusday, November 10, 2015 - 7:00 pm
  Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana

  Description:
  Bitter Seeds examines the epidemic of suicides among India's cotton farmers who are deeply in debt after switching to genetically modified seeds.

  For more information, please visit the AsiaLENS Website.

  ---

• CALL FOR FILMS - AAS Film Expo 2016

  Oct 15, 2015 8:00 am |  300  Views

  The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) annually hosts the premier North American conference of Asia scholars devoted to scheduled programs of scholarly papers, roundtable discussions, workshops, and panel sessions on a wide range of issues in research and teaching, and on Asian affairs in general. The upcoming AAS conference is scheduled for March 31-April 3, 2016 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Washinton State Convention Center, WA.

  AAS Film Expo was established as a conference program in 2011 by the Asian Educational Media Service (AEMS), an outreach program of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Documentary and independent films on issues reflecting contemporary life in Asia are projected in a dedicated screening room with a schedule running from Thursday through Saturday. An “on demand” screening area allows additional viewing opportunities for attendees who miss scheduled screening times.

  We welcome the submission of films related to Asia produced by scholars and independent filmmakers. Criteria utilized in the selection process include timeliness, broad appeal to the scholarly community, and examples of new field work. All films presented in the conference are promoted in a special AAS Film Expo booklet which includes contact information for distributors or filmmakers who self-distribute.

  In addition to the Film Expo booklet distributed to conference attendees, film listings are included in the AAS Annual Conference Program Addendum and on the AEMS website: http://aems.illinois.edu. When possible, short post-screening Q&A’s are arranged with filmmakers or film representatives in attendance or via online video conferencing.
  
  For more information, please download the AAS Film Expo Submission Form.

  *** DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS DECEMBER 7, 2015 ***

• News and Reviews - Summer 2015, Issue #57

  Oct 6, 2015 8:00 am |  1 View

  The Summer 2016 issue of News and Reviews is available online here.

  Issue #57 features:

  Letter From The Editor

  Film Review: Golden Gate Girls

  Film Review: Mrs. Judo

  Film Review: Spilled Water

  Website: Digital Asia

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