Screen Asia: QFest’s "Spa Night"
VIEW EVENT DETAILSIn partnership with QFest, Asia Society Texas Center presents a special screening of the film Spa Night, directed by Andrew Ahn.
Asia Society Members receive discounted admission to this program. Learn more about membership here.
Schedule
7:00 pm | Opening remarks by dignitaries
7:15 pm | Spa Night Screening
8:50 pm | Q&A with Andrew Ahn, director of Spa Night
About the Film
Spa Night
Director: Andrew Ahn, 2016, 1 hour 33 minutes
A Korean-American teenager takes a job at a Korean spa to help his struggling family, only to discover an underground world of gay sex at the spa that both scares and excites him.
About the Director, Andrew Ahn
Andrew Ahn is a Korean-American filmmaker born and raised in Los Angeles. His debut feature film Spa Night premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in the US Dramatic Competition. Ahn participated in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the Film Independent Screenwriting Lab, and the Film Independent Directing Lab for the project. With his producing team, Ahn raised over $62,000 on Kickstarter to fund production. The project also received a Sundance Institute Cinereach Feature Film Fellow grant, Panavision New Filmmaker grant, and FilmLA grant.
Ahn's short film Dol (First Birthday) premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and has screened at numerous other festivals and venues around the world, including the Lincoln Center, REDCAT, and the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film received the Outfest Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Short Film and the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival Jury Award for Best Narrative Short.
Ahn is an alum of Film Independent’s Project Involve and has promoted diversity in the arts by mentoring youth filmmakers through programs like Pacific Arts Movement’s Reel Voices and Outfest’s OutSet. He is also a board member of Los Angeles Performance Practice. He graduated from Brown University and received an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
About Qfest
QFest commemorates its 20th anniversary, becoming the second longest running LGBTQ film festival in Texas, and the second longest running film festival of any kind in Houston. A five-day citywide event, QFest is a curated, international festival celebrating the best of contemporary queer Cinema. For more information, please visit www.q-fest.org.
Related Links
Sundance: Meet the Artist '16: Andrew Ahn
NPR: Spa Hookups, Korean Parents, And Coming Out on Screen: Q&A with Filmmaker Andrew Ahn
Jetspace Magazine: Andrew Ahn is Pushing the Queer Film Genre Forward
Kollaboration: Director Andrew Ahn on the Making of Sundance Hit, "Spa Night"
Bank of America is the presenting sponsor of performing arts and cultural programs, with generous support from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, the Hearst Foundations, and Mickey Rosenau & Dr. Ellen Gritz. Lead support is provided by the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, The Clayton Fund, the Favrot Fund, and the Wortham Foundation. Support is also provided by Friends of Performing Arts & Culutre at Asia Society, a premier group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming to Houston. This program is presented in collaboration with QFest.
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Program Sponsors
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