Asian World Film Festival to Honor Tyrus Wong & Justin Chon

The 2nd Annual Asian World Film Festival, set to run in Culver City from October 24 to November 1, will honor a 105-year-old legendary Chinese-born American, Tyrus Wong, who was the lead artist on Disney's Bambi. He will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award on opening night. In addition, actor, writer, producer and director Justin Chon (The Twilight Saga series), will be recognized with the Rising Star Award.

Wong is the subject of Pamela Tom's 2015 documentary Tyrus, which will screen at the ArcLight Culver City as part of the festival at 6:30 p.m.on October 25 ? his 106th birthday. The screening is sponsored by the Art Directors Guild in honor of Tyrus Wong's artistic contributions.

Wong's art covers more than film. He is a renowned painter, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer, designer and kite maker. He worked at Disney from 1938 to 1941 where his lush panels formed the inspiration for Bambi. Later he worked as a production illustrator for Warner Bros. and was a Hallmark greeting card designer, where some of his cards sold more than a million copies.

Justin Chon is best known for portraying Eric Yorkie in The Twilight Saga film series (2008?2012). He is the star of the current independent filmMan Up, which he also produced and wrote and the '80s teen comedy/drama Seoul Searching. He is also one of the stars of the Yahoo basketball series Sin City Saints. This busy actor also just completed a starring role in the feature horror film Satanic. He can currently be seen in the Viki original series Dramaworld.

Last year, Chon starred with Ray Liotta in the Martin Scorsese executive-produced feature Revenge of the Green Dragons, and comedy fans will recognize him from his starring role in the comedy feature 21 & Over (from the creators of The Hangover). He was born and raised in Southern California, the son of South Korean parents.

Tickets:
To purchase festival passes or tickets, please go to asianworldfilmfest.org.

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