SHORTS PROGRAMS
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL [art and activism]
ANIMATED LIVES
BECOMING X [women]
BETWEEN YOU AND ME
FAMILY AFFAIR
FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH
IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES
IN AND OUT OF CHINA
KOREAN VOICES PROGRAM
MALAYSIAN STORIES
ODE TO NEW YORK
SINGAPORE SLINGS
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU
64 HOUR FILM SHOOTOUT

FEATURES
ASTIGmatism
CHINESE RESTAURANTS: ON THE ISLANDS
CRACK (FENG)
FEEDING BOYS, AYAYA (AYAYA, BU QURU)
FIRST TAKE, FINAL CUT (GAOSHEN MO CE)
HUNTER AND THE HUNTED, THE (YUDAN TAITEKI)
KEKA
LEST WE FORGET
A MOST UNLIKELY HERO
NIGHT PASSAGE
REWIND (VIDEOREUL BOEUN NAAMJA)
THE STRANGE KILLERS
TAKE OUT

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL [92 min] • RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD)
During these polemical and uncertain times, many find justice elusive and inaccessible. Thankfully, activism is very much alive, a shape-shifting hero that can match beats on a turntable or march to an anti-war beat. Whether the action is subtle or in-your-face, justice will be served.

ART AND ACTIVISM ON THE ONES AND TWOS
Dirs. Phuong Tang & Jenny Cho
USA | 2003 | 11mins | color | documentary
Two Asian American female DJs, Kuttin Kandi and Rekha, are NYC club scene pioneers, breaking down barriers of color and gender and furthering community activism through music.

MARCH RAIN
Dir. Tadashi Nakamura
USA | 2003 | 5mins | color | music video
On a rain-drenched March 15, 2003, Asian Pacific Americans in Los Angeles joined millions worldwide to protest the invasion of Iraq. This lyrical video shows the oft-overlooked Asian American contingent in the anti-war movement.

OUT OF STATUS
Dirs. Sanja Singh & Pia Sawhney
USA | 2003 | 11mins | color | English/Hindi/Urdu w/ ES | documentary
Changes to the immigration policy after 9/11 have created a climate of fear and silence among the Muslim community. But the communityÕs resilience and courage continue to shine through.

THE FIGHT TO FREE DAVID WONG THE QUESTION
Dir. Rex Chen
USA | 2004 | 35mins | color | documentary
The film documents the ongoing fight to overturn the sentencing of David Wong, a Chinese immigrant wrongly convicted for murder. It features a rare interview with Wong during his imprisonment.

THE QUESTION
Dir. Ramsel Ruiz
USA | 2003 | 4mins | b/w | experimental
Have you thought about guns? Have you thought about their power to take away life and your responsibility regarding that? The Suicide Kings would like an answer.

WELCOME TO AMERICA
Dir. Tae-Gon Yoon
USA | 2003 | 6mins | b/w | experimental
Is America the greatest country in the world? The answer differs, depending on whom you ask. It can prove to be as divisive as it is binding.

YELLOW BROTHERHOOD
Dir. Tadashi H. Nakamura
USA | 2003 | 19mins | color | documentary
An evocative look at the 30-year evolution of the Asian American self-help group Yellow Brotherhood, the film provides insight into the past and future while mixing nostalgia with a great soundtrack.

ANIMATED LIVES [75 min] • RENTAL COST: $175 (DVD)

KING OF FRUITS
Dir. Jon Yap & Kim Ong
Malaysia | 2003 | 5mins | color | animation
The carnage mounts as Fruits wrestle it out in the claymation style of MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch."

POINT OF VIEW
Dir. Il-Hyang Jang
USA | 2004 | 4mins | color | animation
A girl and a worm living in an apple learn to co-exist harmoniously in this heartwarming and humorous animation tale.

DOGGY POO
Dir. Oh-Sung Kwon
Korea | 2003 | 30mins | color | animation
Searching for his purpose in the world, Doggy Poo undergoes a trying period of self-doubt. But will his destiny finally be fulfilled by a lovely dandelion sprout?

3 FEET APART
Dir. Jason Lai
Singapore | 2003 | 6mins | color | animation
Han and Mei are a pair of star-crossed lovers. He was born with a cell phone on his head, and she with a pair of speakers. They have to keep three feet apart from each other Ð or the electrical interference will fry their brains.

A LIKELY TALE Ð SLEEPING BEAUTY REVISITED
Dir. Nur Hanie Mohammad
Malaysia | 2004 | 4mins | color | animation
A reworking in drawn animation of the fairy tales Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, but with a contemporary twist.

WANITA COSMOS
Dir. Diffan Sina
Malaysia | 2004 | 4mins | color | animation
Inspired by the government's announcement that the first Malaysian in space in 2005 could be an ordinary citizen, this animation plays on the possibility of a young Muslim woman being that astronaut.

WOMAN IN THE ATTIC
Dir. Chansoon Kim
USA | 2003 | 5mins | color | animation
An old woman confronts her younger self in the attic. Saddened by her remaining time on earth and burdened by memories of her youth, she must learn to face up to reality.

PHOTO BOOTH
Dir. Digant K. Vyas
India | 2003 | 1min | b/w | animation
A man tries to have his picture taken but a fly keeps getting in his way. He resorts to drastic measures.

ETERNAL GAZE
Dir. Sam Chen
USA | 2003 | 16mins | color | animation
Inspired by the life and torment of the legendary artist Alberto Giacometti, ETERNAL GAZE is a tribute to an artist, his art and love.

BECOMING X [85 min] • RENTAL COST: $175 (DVD)
What is the double X point of view? A mystery perhaps, but a closer look reveals that the fairer sex is not from another planet. They just want what most people want Ð and then some.

PENIS ENVY
Dir. Mina Park
USA | 2003 | 8mins | color | narrative
Ever wonder what women think about as they wait in line for the bathroom? Penis Envy pries open their thoughts and peeps into their innermost secrets.

THE PRACTICE
Dir. Songyi Kim
USA | 2003 | 6mins | color | experimental
A fascinating excerpt from a performance during which the director repeatedly draws and erases on a chalkboard mask attached to her face, exploring how one wants to be seen and how one presents oneself.

TREASURE
Dir. Fatimah Tobing Rony
USA | 2004 | 2mins | color | English/Indonesian w/ ES | experimental
This visual poem depicts a woman hiding in a cellar, grappling with sorrow but eventually finding liberation through her lifeÕs treasure Ð her daughter.

CHIKA'S BIRD
Dir. Adam Mars
Canada | 2003 | 15mins | color | narrative
Shy Chika's grandfather is her best friend. But when his signs of AlzheimerÕs become a source of embarrassment at school and family strife at home, she must learn to assert herself.

A RAINY DAY
Dir. Kit Hui
USA | 2004 | 12mins | color | Mandarin w/ ES | narrative
The day Katie finds out that she is pregnant is ironically the day of her motherÕs funeral. A bittersweet tale about the fragility of life and the importance of living.

DREAMAPPLE
Dir. Pei-Ying Lin
USA | 2003 | 5mins | b/w | experimental
A lyrical take on the freedom, passion and beauty we experience in our dreams and memories. We are taken on a journey that reacquaints us with the magical past.

GREEN STALK
Dirs. Desireena Almoradie & Christina Quisumbing Ramilo
USA | 2004 | 17mins | color | Tagalog w/ ES | narrative
Surrounded by trains, planes and a diversity of cultures that define Queens, a Filipina video store clerk is at once a part of it and completely removed from it. An encounter with a female customer adds a new dimension to her daily routine.

POINT OF VIEW
Dir. Il-Hyang Jang
USA | 2004 | 4mins | color | animation
A girl and a worm living in an apple learn to co-exist harmoniously in this heartwarming and humorous animation tale.

AMERICAN SEOUL
Dir. Jason Moore
USA | 2003 | 9mins | color | English/Korean w/ ES | narrative
Based on the winning script of the 2002 ACV screenplay competition, American Seoul gives us a biting and hilarious look into the lives of four young Asian American girls living in Los Angeles.

PERFECTION
Dir. Karen Lin
USA | 2004 | 7mins | b&w | experimental
From infancy, an Asian American woman's goal is to gain perfection. She strives to achieve success and get her parents' approval, but at what cost?

BETWEEN YOU AND ME [107 min] • RENTAL COST: $225 (DVD)
Navigating the search for self and acceptance is never easy. It is a constant struggle, as one confronts issues related to identity, racial heritage, discrimination or relationships. But these shorts help prove that though the journey may be long and arduous, it is ultimately rewarding.

DRAGON OF LOVE
Dir. Doan La
USA | 2003 | 12mins | color | narrative
Joel meets Sally, who perfectly fits his stereotypical fantasy of a Black chick. But soon the tables are turned on him, as Sally has other plans for her boy toy.

HELLO MANONG
Dir. Gary Gabisan
USA | 2003 | 3mins | color | experimental
A montage of tweaked-out '70s home movie footage set to Hawaiian Slack-key inspired music shows off an old Filipino man's bad-ass skill with a simple rattan stick.

EMPLOYEE DANG
Dir. Corey Fortune
USA | 2003 | 27mins | color | narrative
Dang finds himself powerless in molding his hip-hop daughter into the Vietnamese child he's always wanted. The tenuous bond becomes even more fragile when missing money throws Dang into a panic.

LILO & ME
Dir. Kip Fulbeck
USA | 2003 | 10mins | color | experimental
What celebrity do you most resemble? For artist Kip Fulbeck, this question starts a rollicking ride that is part autobiography, part family portrait, part pop-culture survey and all Disney all the time.

MEKONG INTERIOR
Dir. Vanessa Ly
USA | 2003 | 34mins | color | experimental
A French couple embarks on their first trip to Cambodia. But as their experiences diverge and divide, their relationship goes into a tailspin.

A LETTER TO APPA
Dir. Anna Sang Park
USA | 2004 | 3mins | color | documentary
A video homage to her late father, Park has crafted a visual essay poem, emblem of love and ode to the man who instilled courage in her to be an artist.

THE ARENA
Dir. Jae Woo Park
USA | 2003 | 18mins | color | narrative
On the tenth anniversary of the LA riots, a young Korean liquor store owner finds himself victimized by the local media, as did his late father.

FAMILY AFFAIR [90 min] • RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD)
Sometimes children may not be taken seriously, but often they can better see through the fog and more honestly intuit the truth than so-called adults. In this collection of shorts, children take center stage and tell their stories of birth, death, aging, pain and betrayal.

CHAPTER 2: HOW TO BREATHE
Dir. Hyung-Suk Lee
Korea | 2002 | 22mins | color | Korean w/ ES | narrative
Ji-su lives in a village near a shooting gallery and often peeps into his uncle's room to watch him and his wife practice prenatal breathing exercises. Ji-su tries the same exercises on his pregnant dog, but one day tragedy strikes.

CHIKA'S BIRD
Dir. Adam Mars
Canada | 2003 | 15mins | color | narrative
Shy Chika's grandfather is her best friend. But when his signs of Alzheimer's become a source of embarrassment at school and family strife at home, she must learn to assert herself.

GOD IS GOOD
Dir. Caryn Waechter
USA | 2004 | 23mins | color | English/Korean w/ ES | narrative
The philandering ways of Harold's father drive his mom to seek a drastic solution. One night, Harold unexpectedly finds her sitting in his father's beloved Corvette.

DOGGY POO
Dir. Oh-Sung Kwon
Korea | 2003 | 30mins | color | animation
Searching for his purpose in the world, Doggy Poo undergoes a trying period of self-doubt. But will his destiny finally be fulfilled by a lovely dandelion sprout?

FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH [94 min] • RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD)
Teens address racism, debunk stereotypes and protest prejudices through community activism. They not only tackle the definition of their own identities, but also look towards a more optimistic future amidst the questionable present by sharing their own stories and the histories of those who have been forgotten.

BROKEN PROMISES
Dirs. Michele Gutierrez & Christine Araquel
USA | 2004 | 12mins | color | documentary
The film captures the decades-long struggle to gain equity for Filipino veterans of WWW II. Intimate and candid interviews supplement footage of fiery speeches, hunger strikes and rallies.

HELENA: HELEN'S JOURNEY THROUGH MEXICO
Dir. Helen Cho
USA | 2003 | 16mins | color | documentary
As part of an international reporting assignment, Helen Cho visited remote sections of Mexico last summer, where she captured the lives of indigenous people.

LIFE STORIES FROM WASHINGTON AVENUE
Dir. Asian American Youth Initiative
USA | 2004 | 30mins | color | documentary
Through a long time resident, a newcomer restaurant owner, a local college student and other unique personalities from Washington Avenue, we get a glimpse of the vitality of this thriving neighborhood.

THE RICE THEY CARRIED
Dir. Calvin Sun
USA | 2003 | 36mins | color | documentary
A docu-drama that addresses contemporary Asian American stereotypes commonly found in high school. Taking 3 case studies, the film addresses serious issues concerning stereotypes with an added sense of humor.

IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES [104 min] • RENTAL COST: $225 (DVD)
Through so many movies and songs, we have been trying to understand love. The brave souls in this shorts program attempt to make sense of the inscrutability and irrationality of it all. Will they succeed or will their hearts go on bleeding?

BICYCLES & RADIOS
Dir. O Nathapon
USA/Thailand | 2004 | 35mins | color | Thai w/ ES | narrative
Set in the Thai village of Ayuthaya, Bicycles and Radios follows two wounded souls who find solace in each other through a radio talk show.

IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS
Dir. Tom Huang
USA | 2003 | 25mins | color | narrative
Martin seems to have it all Ð a cushy job, a loving fiancŽ, a great future. But one fateful day he finds a deliveryman delivering more than his job requires. Can Martin pick up the pieces of his broken heart?

DOKI-DOKI
Dir. Chris Eska
US/Japan | 2003 | 29mins | b/w | Japanese w/ ES | narrative
Every day in suburban Tokyo, strangers wait at the same station for the same train, but they know nothing about each other. A girl decides to change the situation and starts prying into their lives. Before long, romance blossoms.

3 FEET APART
Dir. Jason Lai
Singapore | 2003 | 6mins | color | animation
Han and Mei are a pair of star-crossed lovers. He was born with a cell phone on his head, and she with a pair of speakers. It was love at first sight.

I'LL SHOOT THE MOON
Dir. Ron Domingo
USA |2004 | 9mins | color | narrative
A couple tries to start a family and experiences a roller-coaster ride of disappointment, pain, anger and finally acceptance.

IN AND OUT OF CHINA [100 min] • RENTAL COST: $225 (DVD)
Two films by Chinese students from the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Britain, and two films by students at the Chongqing Film Academy (CFA) in Sichuan province compare how Chinese film students deal with environments inside and outside China.

CHINESE HONEYMOON
Dir. Susan Shujun Xu
China | 2003 | 27mins | color | Mandarin w/ ES | documentary
"Living in China is like living at the bottom of the well" muses Liu Xiao Hu as he reflects on life in London with his younger second wife and successful daughter.

FAR AND NEAR
Dir. Xiaolu Guo
China | 2002 | 23mins | color | English/Mandarin w/ ES | narrative
Shot in the form of an experimental and personal documentary, Guo deals with cultural dislocation (Beijing to Wales) by remembering the poetry of Gu Cheng who left China to live on an isolated island.

THE MISSING HOUSE
Dir. Ying Liang
China | 28mins | color | Mandarin w/ ES | narrative
Given leave from a detention center to visit his family, Chen ends up spending Chinese New Year alone and experiences the social alienation and rejection that led to his delinquency in the first place.

A SUMMER IN AN ANCIENT CITY
Dir. Peng Shan
China | 2003 | 22mins | narrative
A boy hunts down a petty thief he watched pickpocket a young girl. Peng conjures early Truffaut in depicting a languid summer when youthful innocence succumbs to a realization of lifeÕs hard facts.

KOREAN VOICES PROGRAM [77 min] • RENTAL COST: $185 (DVD)

THE ARENA
Dir. Jae Woo Park
USA | 2003 | 18mins | color | narrative
On the tenth anniversary of the LA riots, a young Korean liquor store-owner finds himself victimized by the local media, as did his late father.

WET SANDS: VOICES FROM L.A.
Dir. Dai Sil Kim-Gibson
USA l 2003 l 59mins l color l narrative
Ten years after her documentary SA-I-GU told the anguished story of Korean Americans during the LA riots of 1992, Dai Sil Kim-Gibson returns to Los Angeles and finds racism and poverty persist in the inner city and the deeply rooted flaws of American Society still in plain view.

MALAYSIAN STORIES [94 min] • RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD)
Malaysian filmmakers from the Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia (KSFM) are fast laying the foundation for interesting developments in Southeast Asian independent filmmaking. These films give a sample of the talent and diversity of a multi-cultural society transitioning from rural tradition to urban modernity.

KING OF FRUITS
Dirs. Jon Yap & Kim Ong
Malaysia | 2003 | 5mins | color | animation
The carnage mounts as Fruits wrestle it out in the claymation style of MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch."

A TEACHER'S DIARY
Dir. Darrel Chia Chee Sum
Malaysia | 2003 | 10mins | color | Malay w/ ES | docudrama
A docu-drama about a city teacher who goes to teach indigenous children in the country and does her best to win their acceptance.

RAAGA MOOD
Dir. Sylvia Ong
Malaysia | 2003 | 16mins | color | Tamil w/ ES | narrative
A widow realizes her ambition to see her daughter succeed as a dancer in Bharanthanatyam style, a popular Southern Indian dance with a spiritual consciousness.

A LIKELY TALE Ð SLEEPING BEAUTY REVISITED
Dir. Nur Hanie Mohammad
Malaysia | 2004 | 4mins | color | animation
A reworking in drawn animation of the fairy tales Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, but with a contemporary twist.

LOVE FOR DOGS
Dir. Ming Jin Woo
Malaysia | 2003 | 23mins | color | Cantonese/Mandarin w/ ES | narrative
Two intertwined stories about the underside of societyÑa construction worker who returns to his homeland years after abandoning his family, and a young girl trying to reconcile her mundane and unfulfilled life.

WANITA COSMOS
Dir. Diffan Sina
Malaysia | 2004 | 4mins | color | animation
Inspired by the governmentÕs announcement that the first Malaysian in space in 2005 could be an ordinary citizen, this animation plays on the possibility of a young Muslim woman being that astronaut.

WAIT
Dir. Amir Muhammad
Malaysia | 2004 | 3mins | experimental
Shot in ShibuyaÕs Hachiko Square (TokyoÕs top hang-out place), Muhammad's witty film uses an economy of means and prop to tell a concise tale of a failed relationship.

FREE
Dir. Idora Alhabshi
Malaysia | 2004 | 3mins | color | narrative
A story about breaking free from a relationship, shot in reverse. Memento in miniature.

1979
Dir. Albert Hue
Malaysia | 2003 | 26mins | color | Cantonese w/ ES | narrative
Set across three hours, Lum Wai Sum deals with the recent death of his father, sister and lover. Stylishly shot, this film catches the suffocating mood of a tragic afternoon in 1979.

ODE TO NEW YORK [97 min] • RENTAL COST: $225
No matter how you look at New York, it is undeniably the greatest city in the world. In this shorts program, filmmakers pay tribute to their beloved city by exploring the sights and sounds that we hold near and dear but also drive us away, even if for a hot New York second.

EAST BROADWAY
Dirs. Kevin Lee & Karin Chien
USA | 2002 | 8mins | color | experimental
The rhythm and spaces of New York City's east Chinatown are explored by following a man and woman who cross paths morning, noon and night.

FISH
Dir. Kim Spurlock
USA |2003 | 4mins | b/w | narrative
A boyÕs desire to free a fish from the fish market is realized by an old man.

THE BAKERY
Dirs. Rosanne Ma & Rio Puertollano
USA | 2003 | 5mins | color | English/Cantonese/Mandarin | narrative
Joy is forced to question her own pre-conceived notions regarding race and appearance when a Cantonese-speaking Caucasian man comes to her aid in a Chinatown bakery.

SANGAM
Dir. Prashant Bhargava
USA | 2004 | 24mins | color | English/Hindi w/ ES | narrative
Raj, a recent immigrant from India, and Vivek, a disillusioned Indian American, cross paths. As they long for what the other takes for granted, they must confront the currents that bind and divide them.

AT NIGHT
Dir. Hyoe Yamamoto
USA | 2003 | 18mins | color | narrative
On the streets of New York City, a chance encounter brings two strangers together for a brief period of time.

ODE TO MARGARET CHO
Dirs. Greg Pak & Susie Lee
USA | 2004 | 4mins | color | narrative
Two older siblings repeat lines from Margaret Cho's stand-up to alleviate the ennui of Korean American suburbia and annoy their youngest brother.

FATE
Dir. Peter Wang
USA | 2003 | 27mins | b/w | narrative
An angel helps the bored folks of an office find their true love.

FLIGHT SAFETY
Dir. Christine Simpson
USA | 2002 | 7mins | Ccolor | carrative
Frank is easy to find on Tuesday. He's at JFK at 7am sharp, not in the terminal; he's out in the parking lot, rain or shine, with a stopwatch and a clip-board, rating the big jets.

SINGAPORE SLINGS [87 min] • RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD)
Recent years have seen Singapore make a concentrated effort to become a player in Asian regional cinema with a film commission that supports features, shorts, technology initiatives, and co-productions with Hong Kong and other neighbors. Offering an opportunity to view daring and lively works not normally associated with the republic's more "corporate" image, this selection offers many films shown outside Singapore for the first time.

3 FEET APART
Dir. Jason Lai
Singapore | 2003 | 6mins | color | animations
Han and Mei are a pair of star-crossed lovers. He was born with a cell phone on his head, and she with a pair of speakers. They have to keep three feet apart from each otherÑor the electrical interference will fry their brains.

CRAMMED
Dir. Ellery Ngiam
Singapore | 2003 | 11mins | color | narrative
Pressured by his mother to excel in his studies, a young boy turns to everyday medication to relieve his headache, but with disastrous results.

CUT
Dir. Royston Tan
Singapore | 2004 | 13mins | color | narrative
Inspired to make this satire after the local Board of Censors cut his feature "15" by ten minutes, Tan strives for the outrageous while expressing outrage through musical farce.

EXODUS
Dir. Sherman Ong
Indonesia/Singapore | 2003 | 32mins | color | narrative
An encounter between a lower class Chinese shampoo girl and a Javanese court dancer sets off a cinematic dance, subtle emotions and hidden desires between two women.

LIM POH HUAT
Dir. Lee Wong
Singapore | 2003 | 22mins | color | documentary
A portrait about security guard Lim who lives alone and has no car, washing machine, refrigerator or girlfriend. But his innate humor and optimism emerges when he plays an extra in movies and dreams of greater success.

LOCUST
Dir. Victric Thng
Singapore | 2003 | 3mins | color | Cantonese w/ ES | experimental
A lyrical film poem about the memory of a momentary encounter that conjures fondness and bitterness.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME [98 min] • RENTAL COST: $225 (DVD)
The heart longs for home until change causes the familiar to become strange and unnerving. In these five stories, filmmakers explore the reasons why we leave, return, explore and forget our homes Ð and also reasons why we stay.

HOMEBOUND
Dirs. Larilyn Sanchez & Riza Manalo
USA/Philippines | 2003 | 5mins | color | Tagalog w/ ES | experimental
A migrant worker sends her mother back home. She brings with her a taste of a "better" life at all costs, showing the absurdity of mixing consumerism and tradition.

SLOWLY SILENTLY
Dir. Jinoh Park
USA/Korea | 2003 | 14mins | b/w | silent | experimental
What is essential is invisible to the eyes.

STRANGE>NERVE<FAMILIAR
Dir. Kin-Hoon Kim
South Korea | 2003 | 4mins | color | experimental
This film explores perceptions of old and new during a walk through Pusan's central district. Overlapping images form a mirror for changes in both the city and my own feelings of identification.

RETURN OF THE DIVAS
Dir. Angel Ma Argudin
Cuba | 2004 | 13mins | color | Spanish w/ ES | documentary
Five Cuban Chinese former actresses hold a reunion in Chinatown, Havana, and try to resurrect the Chinese Theater of which they had been a part half a century ago.

DAY OF INDEPENDENCE
Dir. Chris Tashima
USA l 2003 l 26mins l color l narrative
Inspired by actual events, DAY OF INDEPENDENCE tells the story of an American family in an internment camp and a decision that challenges a son to find strength.

7 TO 11, INDIAN
dir. Nilesh C. Patel
Canada | 2003 | 35mins | color | narrative
In Vancouver, two struggling Indo-Canadian actors enter the only profession that their acting careers have prepared them forÑconvenience store clerks.

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU [88 min] • RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD) 
Unspoken desire and lust brews, the search for the perfect boy frustrates, healing through art inspires and a separation strengthens, as characters uncover who and what make them tick and make love.

FULL MOON
Dir. Anocha Mai Suwichakornpong
Thailand | 2003 | 15mins | Thai w/ ES | Narrative
Two boys, a girl and a carload of secrets on a road trip to the full moon festival.

GREEN STALK
Dir. Desireena Almoradie &Christina Quisumbling Ramilo
USA | 2004 | 17mins | color | Tagalog | narrative
Surrounded by trains, planes and a diversity of cultures that define Queens, a Filipina video store clerk is at once a part of it and completely removed from it.

GAME BOY
Dir. Kevin Choi
USA | 2003 | 14mins | color | narrative
Set in Brooklyn, GAME BOY is a story of Daniel, a gay Asian American video game designer who must grapple with that question as he designs the main character for his new video game.

SUNDANCE (SORT OF HATE HER LIFE)
Dir. Esther Hagedorn-Woo
USA | 2004 | 13mins | color | narrative
On a beautiful day, Sundance's parents pull her aside to tell her of their divorce. Watch as the once-perfect family crumbles under a separation that cannot be mended.

LOCUST
Dir. Victric Thng
Singapore | 2003 | 3mins | color | Cantonese w/ ES
A lyrical film poem about the memory of a momentary encounter that conjures fondness and bitterness.

1979
Dir. Albert Hue
Malaysia | 2003 | 26mins | color | Cantonese w/ ES | narrative
Set across three hours, Lum Wai Sum deals with the recent death of his father, sister and lover. Stylishly shot, this film catches the suffocating mood of a tragic afternoon in 1979.

In this first annual 64 Hour Film ShootOut, 15 winning teams showcase shorts written, shot, edited and produced in 64 hours around a central theme. Did pressure and time constraints get to them? Organized by the WorkSHOP: Asian American Filmmakers Collaborative.

ASTIGmatism
Dir. Jon Red
Philippines l 2003 l 75mins l color l narrative
ASTIG tells the story from the point of view and through the eyes of Bien, an assassin who suffers from astigmatism. Bien is assigned to terminate former gangmates and in the process questions himself on the kind of life he is living. RENTAL COST: $175 (DVD, Beta)

CHINESE RESTAURANTS: ON THE ISLANDS
Dir. Cheuk Kwan
Canada l 2004 l 79mins l color l documentary
Chinese Restaurants tells the stories of the Chinese Diaspora through its most enduring iconÑthe family run Chinese restaurant. Part of a thirteen-episode series, On the Islands, Chinese Restaurants explores the manifestly more hybridized communities on the islands of Trinidad, Mauritius and Cuba. RENTAL COST: $190 (DVD, Beta)

CRACK (FENG)
Dir. Wake Li
China l 2003 l 100mins l color l narrative
This dark comedy-cum-tragedy cuts freely between the Cultural Revolution years, democracy days of 1989, and the consumerist present as Wake Li presents a circular rather than linear account of his tragi-comic "hero", Xiang Yang. Developing a foot, sock and shoe fetish, young Xiang Yang endures a harsh life in Gansu province with his dysfunctional grandparents by peeping at the older girl next door. RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD, Beta)

FEEDING BOYS, AYAYA (AYAYA, BU QURU)
Dir. Cui Zi'en
China l 2003 l 83mins l color l narrative
In his latest work, Cui Zi'en turns away from relatively high-flown queer theory and towards the lives of street-level rent-boys. What makes a boy want to sell his body? The idea that men, like women, have a duty to fulfill their mammalian destiny by 'feeding' others drives a clean cut, middle-class young man to start renting his body for sex. RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD, Beta)

FIRST TAKE, FINAL CUT (GAO SHEN MO CE)
Dir. Tian Hann Ng
Malaysia l 2003 l 84mins l color l narrative
With the recent emergence of Malaysia's indie film scene, it was only a matter of time before the parody would appear. NgÕs first film about a first time filmmaker is a delightful comedy of errors and egos. RENTAL COST: $190 (DVD)

HUNTER AND THE HUNTED, THE (YUDAN TAITEKI)
Dir. Masashi Okada
Japan l 2003 l 110mins l color l narrative
Described by Variety as "a crime thriller in the style of Yasujiro Ozu," Narushima's film is a sensitively observed relationship between Jin (Koji Yakusho), a small-town police detective and Neko (Akira Emoto), a seasoned cat burglar. NarushimaÕs contemplation on the bittersweet nature of life on both sides of the law is considerably bolstered by Yashuko and Emoto, two of Japan's popular leads who are known for their roles in films such as Shall We Dance, Eel and Doppelganger. Ð Excerpt from Hawaii International Film Festival 2003 RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD)

KEKA
Dir. Quark Henares
Philippines l 2003 l 93mins l color l narrative
Winner of the prestigious Palanca script writing award, young Quark Henares has established himself forcefully in Filipino cinema. A young call center operator named Keka seeks revenge for the murder of her boyfriend Jordan Herrera, who was killed by rival gang members. Keka decides to train under Jordan's best friend and proceeds to kill the fraternity gang one by one. On her rampage, she falls in love with Wendell Ramos, a policeman with psychosomatic asthma and a broken heart who's investigating the her cleverly committed murders. Second Place, ACV Emerging Director Award 2004 RENTAL COST: $350 (35mm)

LEST WE FORGET
Dir. Jason DaSilva
USA l 2003 l 57mins l color l documentary
LEST WE FORGET casts a critical look at how homeland security has crossed the line to unjustly treat innocent individuals on the basis of their skin color. Drawing parallels to the WWII Japanese internment, it raises questions about the rise of bias crimes and the detainment and deportations of many races, especially Muslims, South Asians and Arabs. Winner of Right To Know Award, One World International Film Festival, Prague (2004) RENTAL COST: $175 (DVD, Beta)

NIGHT PASSAGE
Dirs. Trinh Minh-ha & Jean-Paul Bourdier
USA l 2004 l 98mins l color l experimental
A tableaux-rich, transcultural essay film made in homage to Kenji Miyazawa's novel, MILKY WAY RAILROAD, this experimental narrative work from the multi-hyphenate Trinh Minh-ha (filmmaker-writer-composer-theorist), co-directed with Jean-Paul Bourdier, continues her knack for consistently unsettling audiences. She constantly shifts the ways in which she critically engages with the land of "awakened dreams." The netherworld between life and death, through which they navigate on a long night train ride, is viewed as a place of light, shadow, movement and uncertain ideas. RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD, Beta)

REWIND
Dir. Hak-Soon Kim
South Korea l 2003 l 98mins l color l narrative
Unlike Edward Yang's clinical dissection or Michaelangelo Antonioni's enigmatic detatchment, director Hak-Soon Kim's beguiling take on alienation and loneliness in a modern society is at heart a romantic urban tale. The unnamed and newly divorced protagonist (Hyun-Sung Chang) gave up a lucrative job as corporate lawyer to open a video store, where he's ready to settle into a solitude life with the tape rewinding machine as his only constant companion. But the cocooned nontony of his life is threatened one day when he receives an anonymous love letter in the video return box. Special Jury Award winner, Houston International Film Festival 2004 RENTAL COST: $200 (DVD)

THE STRANGE KILLERS
Dir. Shinsuke Yamamoto
Japan l 2002 l 66mins l color l narrative
Bumbling hit men who might get the sack, a raging zombie on a murderous rampage and a homocidal college girl square off in this hysterical debut from Shinsuke Yamamoto. Swathed in dizzying doses of grotesquerie and guillotine humor, the film leaves no stones unturned in sending up the Japanese police series of the '70s and '80s. RENTAL COST: $175 (DVD)

TAKE OUT
Dirs. Shih-Ching Tsou & Sean Baker
USA l 2003 l 87mins l color l narrative
Ming Ding, a recent immigrant, has one day to repay the loan shark who financed his illegal entry into the country. Working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take out restaurant, he cuts a deal with his friend/co-worker to make all that day's deliveries in hopes of earning the money he needs. Dreammaker Award, 2004 Nashville Film Festival; official selection, Slamdance Film Festival and many other film festivals around the globe RENTAL COST: $190 (DVD, Beta)