Austin Asian Film Festival 2

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the wave of filmmaking coming out of Asia these days is chiefly composed of action, horror, or other genre smash-and-screamfests targeted to youth audiences or manga-mad salarymen run inexplicably amok. Even on the shelves of Austin's elite video stores, Takashi Miike and Chan-wook Park DVDs always seem to outweigh those of their more non-genre-specific contemporary brethren, a situation that the second annual Austin Asian Film Festival is doing its best to remedy this week.

Thirty films over four days from nearly a dozen countries, including playwright Lane Nishikawa's Only the Brave, which chronicles the exploits of the all-Nissei 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team, the megadecorated World War II U.S. Army outfit credited with the improbably dicey rescue of Texas' legendary "Lost Battalion."

In addition to this year's robust narrative lineup, AAFF2 boasts Brit documentary A State of Mind, which follows two tweenage gymnasts preparing for the North Korean Mass Games, "the biggest and most elaborate human performance on earth," and Bhutanese filmmaker Khyentse Norbu's (The Cup) engaging road movie Travellers and Magicians, a Bhuddist quasi-parable sporting breathtaking cinematography (courtesy of Alan Kozlowski) and a heady blend of love-struck monks on the run.

All that and a series of rarely seen short works imported from the Beijing Film Academy make this one of Austin's most unique fests ... even and especially if the only Asian film you're familiar with is still Akira.

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SCHEDULE | NOV. 3-6

General admission to individual screenings is $7 ($5 for Austin Film Society members and students); badges are available for $35 ($25/AFS and students) until Sunday, Oct. 30. For updates and more information, see www.cinemaasiaaustin.org.

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Venues

Texas Union Theatre (24th & Guadalupe)

Dobie Landmark Theatre (2025 Guadalupe)

Alamo Drafthouse Downtown (409 Colorado)

Hideout (617 Congress)

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Thursday, Nov. 3

Texas Union: Free Screenings

Beijing Film Academy Shorts (China), noon

"Snapdragon" (USA), 1:30pm

"Our Nation" (South Korea), 2pm

"The Laughing Club of India" (India), 3pm

"Day of Independence" (USA), 3:45pm

"Never Been Touched" (Singapore), 4:15pm

Alamo Drafthouse Downtown

A State of Mind (UK), 7pm

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Friday, Nov. 4

Texas Union: Free Screenings

Shock Jock Shorts Program, noon

"And Thereafter" (South Korea), 1pm

"Nanjing Nightmares" (China), 2pm

"Reunion" (China), 3pm

"To Be Memorized, or Forgotten" (Vietnam), 4pm

Dobie

Electric Shadows (China), 7pm

Travellers and Magicians (Bhutan), 9pm

ASTIG, (Philippines), 11pm

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Saturday, Nov. 5

Texas Union: Free Screenings

Krishna Dances Under Kedam Tree (India), 5pm

Charulata (India), 8:15pm

Dobie

"Doki-Doki" (Japan), noon

"North of Ojinaga" (USA), 12:45pm

Silent Waters (Pakistan), 2pm

*Balls Deep (USA), 4pm

Bride of Silence (Vietnam), 6pm

The World (China), 8:15pm

Pink Ludoos (USA), 10:45pm

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Sunday, Nov. 6

Hideout

Beijing Film Academy Shorts (China), 12pm

"Seoul Train" (South Korea), 2pm

"The Passing" (Hong Kong), 3pm

*"Guria, Gossip, and Globalization" (India), 4:15pm

Dobie

Bride of Silence (Vietnam), noon

Simply Fobulous (USA), 2:15pm

Pawns of the King (USA), 4:30pm

*Only the Brave (USA), 4:30pm

Pawns of The King (USA), 6:45pm

*Only the Brave (USA), 6:45pm

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* Denotes filmmakers in attendance