Tonight is Closing Night of the 25th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. If you've haven't already made your plans, it's time to get going. Man, where did the week go? It's been a whirlwind festival. Things wrap up this evening with a screening of Yojiro Takita's Departures at the Aratani/Japan American Theatre in Little Tokyo.
The surprise Academy Award winner this year for Best Foreign Language Film, Departures tells the story of a suddenly unemployed symphony musician who reluctantly takes on a job at a funeral home. He develops a deep respect for life in all its variations, and a profound empathy for people trying to make peace with the finality of death.
The evening will also feature the presentation of the Grand Jury Awards for Narrative and Documentary Feature; and the Festival Golden Reel Award for Best Short Film. As someone who watches a lot of festival films, it's always pretty cool to see which ones win. For more information about the Closing Night festivities, visit the festival website here. See you there!
