Film Events

Great Turnout at the US Hollywood International Film Festival Awards Party
By Ellexia Nguyen | 12.20.15

Krystle McGill

On the night of December 15th, 2015, the US Hollywood International Film Festival (USHIFF) held its Golden Film Awards dinner party at the Taglyan Cultural Complex in Hollywood, California. The event was organized by the USHIFF Committee and IFSM Fashion Production.

The USHIFF Committee Chairman, Michael Tse along with Co-Chairs, Dr. Jimmy Jiang (Chairman of Big Screen Entertainment Group and Producer of Hollywood International Film Exchange) and Kimberly Kates (CEO of Big Screen Entertainment Group/Actress/Producer), came to celebrate a new generation of filmmakers .

All fashionably dressed, the attendees walked down the red carpet amidst a flurry of flashbulbs. Some of the early arrivals were Krystle McGill, an actress who has a project that she is pitching for a TV show, and Grace F. Yang, the proud author of a book called “It’s a Long Way from China to Hollywood.” Yang was accompanied by Zhen Jixian, China’s top makeup artist for famous film stars and performing artists.

Soon after, a steady stream of filmmakers hit the red carpet as photographers snapped their photos. Among the new generation of indie filmmakers was Queen Kim, director of the road movie "3,000". One of his cast members, Danovich Han, got nominated for the "Up and Comer Best Actor" category.

When asked how Queen Kim heard about the USHIFF, he cheerfully answered, “I just search on the website. I submitted my film. Luckily, my film got selected.” His film tells the story of an undocumented, elderly woman who must travel from New York to L.A. to find her son.

Actor Hoyt Richards was also there to represent two films. “I’m here for ‘Intersection’ which is a romantic thriller. I’m up for four awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Editing," said Richards. "And then I have a film called 'Dumbbells’ which is a buddy comedy set in a gym. And we’ve got two of the actors in supporting roles that are up for awards. So I’m here to represent the team of both movies. I star in both movies. I produced both movies,” Richards said, beaming with pride. Richards got his films submitted to the USHIFF through Film Freeway, an online, one-stop shop where filmmakers can submit their films to many film festivals.

LJ Rivera

Sporting a fedora, producer LJ Rivera arrived with his friends, Beryl Huang and Bruno J.F. Cavelier, the two founders of Bruber Enterprise. When asked to share some thoughts on movie genres that are hot, Rivera stated, “Horror’s been hot for a while. And now, it seems to me, it’s sci-fi's turn.”

Beryl Huang also talked a bit about one of her company's latest projects. "We are working on 'The Bombing' with actor Bruce Willis. We bring Bruce Willis and his daughter to China to work with China’s biggest film," said Huang. "Our company is more on distribution, introducing the East to the West and the West to the East."

“It’s not easy, because you have to fill a humongous gap between China, the culture, the way they do business, and Hollywood, the culture and the way they do business. And that’s what we do," said Mr. Cavelier, who was there to present an award for the evening.

Also in attendance was screenwriter Wu Lin, who penned a feature animation script called “A Jewish Girl in Shanghai: The Mystery of the Necklace.” The project got nominated for Outstanding Animated Feature Film.

According to Wu Lin, he was inspired to write the story after reading an article in the newspaper about Jewish refugees who fled from German-occupied Europe to settle in Shanghai. The animated feature film was produced by Shanghai Film Group Corporation and Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

USHIFF Chair Michael Tse successfully coordinated the award ceremony, getting support from various media and film associations. The supporters included WCETV , CCTV, New Area TV, 8sian TV, AICEF and HIFEX.

Hoyt Richards

Actor Morgan Benoit, who worked on "The Forbidden Kingdom" with Jackie Chan and Jet Li, also attended the event. With a background in martial arts, Benoit's early credits include stunt doubling for Keanu Reeves in “47 Ronin.” “I have a really great indie film called ‘Brutal’ that just got distribution through Inception,” Benoit said. “I’ve done several other films since then here in Hollywood. I’m working on a TV show called ‘Into the Bad Lands’. That’s on AMC, Sunday nights at 10 o’clock,” Benoit added.

Wu Lin