Reviewed by Alicia Glass
Deng Long
Directed by: Yu-Heng Chiang
Review Rating: 8
An adorable little Asian shopkeep fights a losing battle trying to light the pair of lamps outside his establishment.
Life on a Limb
Directed by: David Chai
Review Rating: 8
Done in a Dilbert-like style, this cartoon is about a lumberjack waiting for therapy who goes up against a surprisingly well-armed tree and learns a thing or two.
Unbelievable Four
Directed by: Sukwon Shin & In Pyo Hong
Review Rating: 7
George Bush and other government helpers try to save the world in a CGI style animated video to the tune of “Final Countdown” by Europe. There is almost always one political cartoon in this collection, this one wasn’t bad.
Deadline
Directed by: Bang-Yao Liu
Review Rating: 8
A funny and cheerful look at procrastinating on work, with Post-Its!
The Enlightened Monk
Directed by: Emily Tse
Review Rating: 7.5
The enlightened monk who goes out to save the village from a monster, told like a childrens story.
Shuttle T-42
Directed by: Joon Hyung Kim
Review Rating: 7
The story of a downed shuttle and a limited air supply, combined with a loving son and a doting mother. A little depressing for my tastes, but easy to watch.
Emotions
Directed by: Kun-L Chang
Review Rating: 6.5
Spoken poetry, kind of, with an African style tone and black and white accompanying animations.
Subconscious
Directed by: Jason Chen
Review Rating: 6
I honestly didn’t understand this one at all, it’s described as a newborn butterfly beginning a new life emerging from sadness in the program, but frankly that wasn’t what I saw.
Self-Portrait
Directed by: Will Kim
Review Rating: 6.5
An artists exploration of himself through watercolor paintings and various styles of animated medium.
The Soliloquist
Directed by: Kuang Pei Ma
Review Rating: 7
A cartoon that tells a story beautifully, but rather than trying to explain it to you, I just suggest watching it above!
The Veiled Commodity
Directed by: Dickson Chow
Review Rating: 7
A treatise on slavery through the ages, from feudal to modern, and why we should pay close attention and do something to stop it.
Fear of Change
Directed by: Kun-L Chang
Review Rating: 6
A woman speaking aloud views on apartheid (forced racial segregation), it got awfully loud until she was almost shouting.
Confine(s)
Directed by: Makoto Yabuki
Review Rating: 7
A kaleidoscopic trip through what appears to be a rather aquatic world to me.
Keep Right
Directed by: Sun-Woo Yang
Review Rating: 7
A bit of a strange style for a cartoon, a young boy is having fun with the signs in and along a subway, and gets tricked into singing/yodeling on the bus by an older woman.
Viola The Traveling Rooms of a Little Giant
Directed by: Shih-Ting Hung
Review Rating: 6
Done in a rather dreamlike sequence, as far as I could tell Viola is the story of a young girl attempting to reconcile her own loneliness inside herself.
Kudan
Directed by: Taku Kimura
Review Rating: 7
A father ventures into a bizarre world, a kind of cow really, to save his son. Anything other than that is impossible to describe, watch the video and maybe you can make more sense of it than I did.
Monster Coin
Directed by: Vance Yang
Review Rating: 8
Two naughty boys hiding out in school find a magic coin that has serious monstrous consequences on them!
Articles of War
Directed by: Daniel Kanemoto
Review Rating: 7
Done in a very Hannah-Barbera-like style, this is the story of the last possible letter a young fighter pilot may ever send to his stoic WWI father.
Tags: 2009, animation the illusion of life, articles of war, confines, deadline, deng long, emotions, fear of change, keep right, kudan, life on a limb, monster coin, san diego asian film festival, SDAFF, self-portrait, shuttle t-42, subconscious, the enlightened monk, the soliloquist, the veiled commodity, unbelievable four, viola
