For a guy who had spent nearly a third of his life living abroad, it's still kinda strange to think that this was my first Chinese New Year spent out of Malaysia, the first time I didn't have the usual Steamboat CNY's Eve reunion dinner with family.
So my Chinese New Year's Eve was rather interesting. I started out seeing one of the Tiger Competition films by Iranian filmmaker Majid Barzegar called RAINY SEASONS. Then I ended up having lunch in a Chinese restaurant with Kiki, Hospitalite director Koji Fukada, and a pair of Koji's Japanese friends who live in Paris.
![Chinese New Year's Eve lunch with Japanese folks](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/5411697913_d3d53a0ddf.jpg)
At 9pm, most Chinese filmmakers and Malaysian Chinese filmmakers were already planning to have a massive dinner celebration in a Chinese restaurant nearby. But I honoured an earlier appointment by going to a Mexican restaurant with Thomas of Pucheon Film Festival, Filipino filmmakers Khavn De La Cruz (whom I met last December in Cinemanila Film Fest) and Raya Martin (whom I met last May in Cannes), fellow Malaysian-who-works-abroad Sherman Ong, and then agan, Hospitalite director Koji, with Kiki and Ono (one of EXHALATION's executive producers)
The food was yummy.
![Yummy Mexican food](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/5411669143_3a6119ac2d.jpg)
![Yummy mexican food](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5411674159_1189e51e9f.jpg)
![Yummy mexican food](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5412299278_cec7ecb215.jpg)
![My New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner 2011](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5260/5411681629_fb514cb535.jpg)
![CNY's Eve Reunion Dinner with filmmaking brethren](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5171/5411699771_25e7c381f8.jpg)
And then I headed off to the screening of Koji's HOSPITALITE, which Kiki also produced and starred in. Here's her before the screening.
![Kiki Sugino (with Koji Fukada) before the screening of HOSPITALITE in IFFR](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/5411694803_093fb5e873.jpg)
After all, it was going to be Chinese New Year, I wouldn't want to see a film of death and woe. I needed something light-hearted, and thus HOSPITALITE was one of them.
It was quite a good film that provided, among many other things, a satiric glimpse at Japanese xenophobia, I enjoyed it. Thanks.
By then it was almost midnight, I returned to the Water Tiger Inn, where a group of Chinese New Year-celebrating film people who had finished their aforementioned dinner had gathered.
![Chinese New Year gathering at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5017/5412381728_6bb80ecb00.jpg)
'Woman On Fire' herself, Fei Ling (star of WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER) was there too.
![Fei Ling at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5411761027_ef2f8e017f.jpg)
Chinese filmmaker Ying Liang.
![Ying Liang and Fei Ling at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5296/5411767473_05bfc03240.jpg)
![Late-night celebration of Chinese New Year at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/5411701847_4b3c23e7fe.jpg)
With Heather Keung, artistic director of the Toronto Reel Asian Film Fest. When I first met her a few days ago, I was shocked by how much she looked like Yuli, a friend of mine I met back in Tokyo (who had since gone back to Taipei):
![Kelly](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4307003348_72ba1ef966.jpg)
(Yuli, Jan 2010)
I guess my Chinese New Year's Eve of 2011 was spent with a slightly different sort of family, a vast, extended family united by films instead of by blood. As mundane as everything described here had sounded, I think it's quite memorable for me.
So my Chinese New Year's Eve was rather interesting. I started out seeing one of the Tiger Competition films by Iranian filmmaker Majid Barzegar called RAINY SEASONS. Then I ended up having lunch in a Chinese restaurant with Kiki, Hospitalite director Koji Fukada, and a pair of Koji's Japanese friends who live in Paris.
![Chinese New Year's Eve lunch with Japanese folks](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/5411697913_d3d53a0ddf.jpg)
At 9pm, most Chinese filmmakers and Malaysian Chinese filmmakers were already planning to have a massive dinner celebration in a Chinese restaurant nearby. But I honoured an earlier appointment by going to a Mexican restaurant with Thomas of Pucheon Film Festival, Filipino filmmakers Khavn De La Cruz (whom I met last December in Cinemanila Film Fest) and Raya Martin (whom I met last May in Cannes), fellow Malaysian-who-works-abroad Sherman Ong, and then agan, Hospitalite director Koji, with Kiki and Ono (one of EXHALATION's executive producers)
The food was yummy.
![Yummy Mexican food](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/5411669143_3a6119ac2d.jpg)
![Yummy mexican food](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5411674159_1189e51e9f.jpg)
![Yummy mexican food](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5412299278_cec7ecb215.jpg)
![My New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner 2011](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5260/5411681629_fb514cb535.jpg)
![CNY's Eve Reunion Dinner with filmmaking brethren](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5171/5411699771_25e7c381f8.jpg)
And then I headed off to the screening of Koji's HOSPITALITE, which Kiki also produced and starred in. Here's her before the screening.
![Kiki Sugino (with Koji Fukada) before the screening of HOSPITALITE in IFFR](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/5411694803_093fb5e873.jpg)
After all, it was going to be Chinese New Year, I wouldn't want to see a film of death and woe. I needed something light-hearted, and thus HOSPITALITE was one of them.
It was quite a good film that provided, among many other things, a satiric glimpse at Japanese xenophobia, I enjoyed it. Thanks.
By then it was almost midnight, I returned to the Water Tiger Inn, where a group of Chinese New Year-celebrating film people who had finished their aforementioned dinner had gathered.
![Chinese New Year gathering at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5017/5412381728_6bb80ecb00.jpg)
'Woman On Fire' herself, Fei Ling (star of WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER) was there too.
![Fei Ling at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5411761027_ef2f8e017f.jpg)
Chinese filmmaker Ying Liang.
![Ying Liang and Fei Ling at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5296/5411767473_05bfc03240.jpg)
![Late-night celebration of Chinese New Year at Water Tiger Inn](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/5411701847_4b3c23e7fe.jpg)
With Heather Keung, artistic director of the Toronto Reel Asian Film Fest. When I first met her a few days ago, I was shocked by how much she looked like Yuli, a friend of mine I met back in Tokyo (who had since gone back to Taipei):
![Kelly](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4307003348_72ba1ef966.jpg)
(Yuli, Jan 2010)
I guess my Chinese New Year's Eve of 2011 was spent with a slightly different sort of family, a vast, extended family united by films instead of by blood. As mundane as everything described here had sounded, I think it's quite memorable for me.