The German word Urkontinent, coined back in 1929 by geophysicist Alfred Wegener, meant "one single large continent."
When the New Asia Film Festival's founders decided to reinvent the film festival in order to be more inclusive of all ethnicities, they came up with a twist on Urkontient - Kontinent.
"This continent of which Urkontinent came from, if it existed today, would contain a multitude of ethnicities and thus be considered a mosaic," said Ying Wang, director of the festival. "That is exactly what Richmond is all about."
Your Kontinent: Richmond International Film and Media Arts Festival, replaces the former New Asia Film Festival.
"After three years, we decided to rebrand ourselves to expand the festival from an Asian only festival to a multi-ethnic one," she said. "We want to be clear about our city's identity and to have a sense of belonging for everyone.
"The deliberate choice to use Your instead of Ur in the title is to represent one's individual perception of their continent or culture."
Wang said there are many opportunities over the weekend to take in full-length films from all over the world (22 in total), as well as multi-media performances, installations, projections, music and dance.
Friday night kicks off Theatre Under the Sky, with animation workshops live musical performances, free family activities, and a movie screening of a new award-winning Hong Kong kung fu comedy, Gallants, at the Richmond Cultural Center Plaza.
The movies being shown are as varied as the filmmakers, but the underlying theme is one of "exploring our diversity and inclusiveness."
Unique this year is the two large white metal storage containers on the grassy area of the plaza, which are being transformed into intimate movie theatres.
"People will be able to walk into these containers, at least 10 in the larger one, to watch short video clips," said Wang. "In one container we will show Fragments, written by a Turkish new immigrant. It's a film that deals with the loss of one's identity in a multicultural world."
One of the highlights of the festival is the tea ceremony titled Tea Into the Mist - A Ceremony of Soul, a solo performance with performance artist Sophi Liang and a Tea Show, a multi-media projection and collective show (Sunday).
"First of all, everybody knows tea but not everybody knows the properties of tea, its history and how it connects people all over the world," said Liang. "Tea originated in Asia and spread all over the world and we will tell that story in an artistic way with a visual projection, music and a Chinese tea ceremony."
During the festival, the Performance Hall will become a cinema café, with tables set up so that attendees can sit and enjoy tea and scones with jam, while watching a film.
The cultural centre's new media lab will also be used during the four-day festival.
"For example, people will be able to try their hand at animation, and create a film using a green screen," said Wang.
Your Kontinent: Richmond International Film and Media Arts Festival is on now through to Sunday, July 24 at the Richmond Cultural Centre, 7700 Minoru Gate.
Festival passes are $88 for general admission and $$70 for students and seniors over 55. Single event tickets are $8/ regular and $13 for special events. Seniors and students pay $2 less for each.
For a full listing of events, visit www. ykfestival.ca.
