The second annual Asian Horror Film Festival was held in the CMI Theater in Milton Hall on Monday, Oct. 21. The event was put on by the Asian Pacific Islander Program, along with the support of many other organizations and clubs.
The festival was organized as a way to bring people together, socialize, and provide visibility for the API Program, which was founded last year.
“Part of it is to just spread awareness of our student organization and our program,” Tristan Tamez, President of API, said. “API Aggies, or Asian Pacific Islander Program, is a fairly new student program – or, fairly new diversity program — on campus. So, part of this is just to, kind of like, spread awareness.”
The API Program showcased two films — “Perfect Blue” and “Train to Busan”. The event started late at 7 p.m. instead of the announced 6 p.m. since there was a booking error with the CMI Theater, but many students still showed up to watch the films at the later showtimes.
“Perfect Blue” is a Japanese Anime horror film which focuses on a young singer who changes careers paths to acting, but is tormented by the decisions she makes as an actress. Her mental health starts deteriorating and she slowly loses sight of what is real and what isn’t.
“Train to Busan” is a Korean horror film which deals with a zombie outbreak in South Korea, where passengers on a train must survive from either being eaten or infected from Seoul to Busan. When deciding on showing this film, the organizations reached out to the K-Pop Club for support at the event.
Some attendees were there just to see the movies, while others went to hang out with friends. Student Joel Gonzalez, who is the president of the Men of Color Initiative, said he likes to support cultural groups here on campus.
“Well, I already watched one of the movies, ‘Perfect Blue’,” Gonzalez stated. “It’s been a few years, so I just saw it as a good opportunity to relax about my homework and re-watch the movie with fresh eyes.”
Another student, Abel Clegg, has friends who are part of LGBT+ Programs, and is an ally who came to the event because his friends asked him to join them. He mentioned that he probably would only see “Perfect Blue” again to study the storytelling aspect.
“I think that one [“Perfect Blue”] sounded pretty interesting,” student Abel Clegg said.
Tamez discussed how he likes that “Perfect Blue” had a concrete ending, as he doesn’t like when a film’s ending is left unclear. Overall, the festival was a great opportunity to highlight Asian Horror for the NMSU community.
“Asian horror is something known worldwide,” said Director of both the API Program and LGBT+ Programs, Dr. Sophia Sangwanthong. “It influences, shapes, and kind of pushes the genre of horror … It’s kind of a no brainer. No pun intended.”
