FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Ming Lai: 626-372-1301, minglai@pawnsoftheking.com
Michael Blair: 310-909-3548, mike@mikeblair.com
“PAWNS OF THE KING” WINS “BEST IN SHOW” AWARD
AT THE FORT LEE ASIAN-AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Los Angeles, CA, April 27, 2006—“Pawns of the King,” a short film by Ming Lai (Producer/Writer/ Director) and Michael Blair (Producer/Director of Photography/Editor), won the “Best in Show” Award at the Fort Lee Asian-American Film Festival.
In “Pawns of the King” (pawnsoftheking.com), a World War II Zero fighter pilot (Sab Shimono), haunted by the past, is forced to confront his fears when he meets an old enemy, a U.S. Army 442nd soldier (Michael Yama), and plays a fateful game of chess. Imperial Japanese Navy Zero fighter pilots are legendary for their battles in the Pacific. The U.S. Army 442nd Regimental Combat Team is the most decorated unit in U.S. military history and composed almost entirely of Japanese Americans. (Super 16mm/Color/Running Time: 17 Minutes)
The Fort Lee Asian-American Film Festival, organized by the Fort Lee Film Commission (fortleefilm.org), seeks to inspire young Korean-American students, and students of all nationalities, in Fort Lee to pursue a career in films. The mission of the Fort Lee Film Commission is threefold: to entice filmmakers to use Fort Lee as a location for their productions, in order to bring revenue to the local business community and to the Boroughs; to preserve and promote films made in Fort Lee; and to secure Fort Lee’s role as the birthplace of the motion picture industry.
“On behalf of our cast and crew, we’d like to thank the Fort Lee Asian American Film Festival and the Fort Lee Film Commission for this ‘Best in Show’ Award,” says Lai. “We’re deeply honored by this prestigious award.” The short film has been selected by 26 national and international film festivals and won the “Audience Award-Best Short Film” at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival as well as the “Best Narrative Short” at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. Blair explains, “Our good fortune is due to the talent of our ensemble cast—Sab Shimono, Michael Yama, Jim Ishida, Rodney Kageyama, Emily Kuroda, and Ken Takemoto—and the dedication and hard work of our crew.
Lai comments, “We deeply appreciate the Fort Lee Film Commission’s commitment to both preserving film history and inspiring young filmmakers.” Blair adds, “We’re indebted to important organizations like the Fort Lee Film Commission for showcasing our work and helping us to reach our audience.”
ABOUT FILMMAKERS MING LAI AND MICHAEL BLAIR:
Ming Lai is a Producer/Writer/Director, and Michael Blair is a Producer/Director of Photography/Editor. Currently, Lai and Blair are developing a feature film that Lai wrote, entitled “Wall of Nanking.” Exploring similar themes to “Pawns of the King,” the film is about a Japanese lawyer, who takes on the case of an 81-year-old Chinese woman, who claims that she was raped by a Japanese soldier during the Nanking Massacre. |
