The Inaugural Austin Asian Film Festival

Flying With One Wing

Mention the words Asian cinema to most people these days, and you're likely to discover that fans of John Woo and Jet Li abound, not to mention those of everyone's favorite new strain of Far East moviemaking, the Japanese horror film boomlet epitomized by the likes of Hideo Nakata's wildly popular Ringu series. That wasn't the case a little more than a decade ago, when the late, lamented University of Texas Student Film Program began showcasing the new wave of Asian cult cinema on campus at the Union and Hogg Auditorium. Back then, simply mastering the correct pronunciation of UT alum and maverick Hong Kong director Tsui Hark's name was an adventure in itself, and renting The Killer at Vulcan Video made for an extremely satisfying Friday night.

Those halcyon days are long gone now, but there's more to the Pacific theatre than cordite ballets and eerie, diffusion-drenched spook shows, and Daniel Reyes, executive director of CinemaAsia's first Austin Asian Film Festival wants to make sure you know about it.

"When people come to the fest," says Reyes, "they're going to be leaving with a better understanding of not just Asian cinema, but also of Asian culture. We're going to have professors and people who understand the culture to do Q&As after the screenings to discuss both the films and Asia in general."

Held at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, as well as at the Texas Union Theatre and the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex, the festival collects 32-plus shorts, narrative features, and documentaries from Korea, China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, and the USA, none of which feature Chow Yun Fat pointing a gun at anyone. Instead, films like Flying With One Wing, described as "a Sri Lankan Boys Don't Cry mixed with Fassbinder," head the nontraditional bill and reveal the other side of the Asian film market, one that's as much about narrative drama as it is about Asian culture.

In addition to their slate of film screenings, Reyes and CinemaAsia aim to "make the fest a little more interactive," and to that end they're including crash courses on Asia, documentary films meant to help viewers cultivate a deeper understanding of Asian culture.

You want animé? Go to Ushicon. You want the best new unadulterated Asian cinema? Hit up CinemaAsia.

CinemaAsia's inaugural Austin Asian Film Festival runs April 14-18 at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, the Texas Union Theatre, and the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex. For schedule, ticket information, and more, visit www.cinemaasiaaustin.org.