USA199565 minEnglishArchive PresentationDocumentary
Cambodian-born Sokly “Don Bonus” Ny takes a Hi8 camcorder into his final year of high school in the San Francisco Bay Area, documenting intersecting events happening at school, at home, and amongst friends and family. Filmed and released in 1995, the film can be seen as a forerunner of the now-popular diary or vlog documentary format, featuring raw footage and voiceover from Don Bonus.
Although made in the 1990s, the beats of the film are familiar and still relevant, moving through issues of low-income housing, gang violence, academic struggle, and family fractures, while also featuring communal celebration, youthful camaraderie and intimate family life. These scenes are simultaneously casual and intentional, recontextualized and given resonance through Don Bonus’ frank, teenage monologic reflections.
A.K.A Don Bonus highlights how the stories that came before us, although constructed from their time and space, can continue to speak powerfully into our present.
– Jasmine Gui
Sokly Ny
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Berlin International Film Festival, 1996
San Francisco Film Festival, 1995
AWARDS
National Emmy Award, 1996
Golden Gate Award, San Francisco Film Festival, 1995
Spencer Nakasako
Spencer Nakasako has over three decades of experience as an independent filmmaker and is the founder of the groundbreaking Media Lab at the Vietnamese Youth Development Center in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. Nakasako is a member of the Writers Guild of America, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
12 Nov, 2020 10:00 am
to 19 Nov, 2020 11:59 pm
Deep dive into narrative construction with director Spencer Nakasako & filmmaker Miko Revereza! ASL interpretation will be made available thanks to Toronto Sign Language Interpreter Services.
November 17, 2020 at 6:30PM
A retired hitman, telephone counselor, Ronggeng dancer, and pug take the lead in these four cult-worthy shorts that are bound to make you question everything you thought you knew.
12 Nov. 10:00 am - 19 Nov. 11:59 pm
This conversation invites emerging thinkers, artists and community cultural workers to consider digital futures for those without access to the city arts landscape, and by extension, digital opportunities. This event is part of the Reel Ideas Symposium.
19 Nov. 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Unfolding over a tumultuous three days, Dust And Ashes is a quiet thriller following a grieving Hae-su, forced to learn and navigate the system in order to collect insurance after the death of her mother. Overworked, underpaid, and facing eviction, Hae-su takes desperate measures in order to escape impoverishment.
12 Nov. 10:00 am - 19 Nov. 11:59 pm
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora. Works include films and videos by East, South and Southeast Asian artists in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world. As Canada’s largest Asian film festival, Reel Asian provides a public forum for Asian media artists and their work, and fuels the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
