The Asia Film Festival Aotearoa (AFFA), Auckland's inaugural pan-Asian film festival, kicks off on Friday 20 February and runs to Sunday 29 February at SKYCITY Theatre.The Asia Film Festival Aotearoa (AFFA), Auckland's inaugural pan-Asian film festival, kicks off on Friday 20 February and runs to Sunday 29 February at SKYCITY Theatre.It will showcase an exciting array of feature and short films from Asia and the Asian Diaspora that highlight the best of contemporary Asian cinema. Countries of focus for AFFA 2004 include: Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the Asian Diaspora. All movies will carry English subtitles.

AFFA is a community-focused initiative established in early 2003 by the Asia Film Festival Aotearoa Trust (AFFAT) with the purpose of connecting the overseas communities of Asia with those of Auckland through the imaginative medium of film.

"We want to bridge the barriers between Auckland's Asian and non-Asian communities and debunk some of the stereotypes that exist," says Alistair Kwun, AFFA Marketing and Communications Manager.

"Doing this can only help lead to greater economic, social and cultural stimulation for all Aucklanders. For this inaugural festival and the ones to come, we aim to promote community inclusion, but we also want to make people aware of the differences between the different Asian cultures, and film is an excellent way of doing this," he says.

"We've got some tremendous films from around Asia, and are really looking forward to being able to show them to Auckland audiences."

Ticketing, booking and press information are available from the AFFA website www.filmwoks.co.nz Festival programmes will be available from Thursday 29 January.

Key festival partners include SKYCITY Auckland, Cathay Pacific, Red_i, Telecom, Westpac, DHL, Val Morgan, EMA Northern, PDF Communications Ltd and Creative Communities NZ - Manukau City.
For further information contact:

Alistair Kwun
Marketing and Communications Manager
Asia Film Festival Aotearoa
ak698@free.net.nz 025 233 8680