San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase

A week-long presentation of Asian cinema
A Production of Pacific Arts Movement, presenters of the San Diego Asian Film Festival

Schedule of Events:

6:30 pm - 100 mins - Soldier of Love

To the beats of the classic Kazakh rock band A’Studio comes director Farkhat Sharipov’s lavish moral tale of Beybut, a lead singer caught up in the seductions of fame. First comes the promise of going solo. Then comes the youthful dancer who catches his eye. With everything on the line, he takes the plunge into the limelight.

What sounds like a Kazakh “making the band” is actually a full-blown musical extravaganza, with the entire city of Almaty coming alive in color, dance, and spectacle. The 80s and 90s songs get a contemporary twist, and the choreography keeps pace with Beybut’s rise with the ease of a music video and the inventive contemporary flair of La La Land.

8:40 pm - 113 mins - Baby Assassins: Nice Days

Look, girls just want to have fun. Even our favorite teenage hitwomen Chisato and Mahiro deserve a beach holiday and a nice steak dinner. But things get complicated when they show up for a job at the seaside town of Miyazaki and they are met by an uninvited guest: a freelance assassin who is trying to get to their target first. Reluctantly teaming up with a no-nonsense squad leader (former AKB48 star Atsuko Maeda) and a bumbling beefcake (former taekwondo athlete Mondo Otani), Chisato and Mahiro go on the hunt for the mysterious party crasher.

But these are the famed Baby Assassins, meaning as bloody as their fists get, there is still room for laughs. With their signature casual cool and anime twinkle, Chisato and Mahiro seem to be on permanent vacation, shooting bestie glances at each other even while shooting up bad guys. As they square off against their most formidable villain yet, they make us wonder who we should fear more: the deranged madman or the kawaii Gen-Z assassins too nonchalant to count their kills? The most action-packed entry into the Baby Assassins franchise manages to still feel like the nicest of days, with sea breeze, instant noodles, and friends.

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