AAAFF Highlights
What else is playing at the Austin Asian American Film Festival
By Kimberley Jones, Fri., Nov. 13, 2009
Thursday, Nov. 12
7pm Speed of Life: See "Community Building," p.50, for an interview with director Ed Radtke. (Alamo South Lamar.)
Friday, Nov. 13
4pm Sita Sings the Blues: Nina Paley's wildly inventive animated feature, which screened at last year's Austin Film Festival, combines the Hindu epic The Ramayana with a modern (and autobiographical) look at a marriage in meltdown. (University of Texas Union Theatre.)
6pm Retrospective Series: Curtis Choy: Pioneering Asian-American filmmaker Curtis Choy will screen and discuss his landmark 1983 film, "The Fall of the I-Hotel," and a new short, "Manilatown Is in the Heart: Time Travel With Al Robles," featuring archival footage of the Filipino poet and community activist Al Robles, who passed away in May. (Alamo South Lamar.)
10pm Bollywood Blowout Party: Cue the sitar and the tabla. DJ Mel oversees. (Malverde.)
Saturday, Nov. 14
2pm White on Rice: Dave Boyle's likable comedy follows a doofy divorcé from Japan trying to find a new mate in America. (Alamo South Lamar.)
6pm Persepolis: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated retelling of Satrapi's coming-of-age during the Iranian revolution was one of the most memorable films of 2007. This outdoor screening is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Austin Film Society. (Mexican American Cultural Center.)
8pm Fruit Fly: H.P. Mendoza's energetic musical about the creative class in San Francisco suffers from spotty singing and stilted acting, but the thing's got moxie, all right. (Alamo South Lamar.)
Sunday, Nov. 15
2pm A Village Called Versailles: Documen-tarian S. Leo Chiang will be in attendance to discuss his film about the aftereffects of Katrina on New Orleans' Vietnamese community, which found itself the proposed home of the city's new landfill. (Alamo South Lamar.)
6pm Old Partner: The highest grossing Korean independent film ever, Old Partner documents the end-days of a farmer's ox, his 40-year companion. (Alamo South Lamar.)
