Moving Pictures: Asian Pacific American Film Festival Offers Something for Everyone

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THE D.C. ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL begins on Thursday night, and it's not all kung fu, "The Ring" knockoffs and anime. Now in its 10th year, the festival runs through next weekend, and there's something for everyone.

"We try to represent the diversity of Asian Americans," says DC Asian Pacific American Film president Anna Petrillo. "There are a lot of films about immigration and family, generational issues." The volunteer-run organization has watched the festival triple in size; this year it features more than 70 films. Here's what not to miss.

Love, Hawaiian Style: "Honokaa Boy"
The festival's centerpiece film follows Leo, a Japanese college student, as he spends a year in the Hawaiian city of Honokaa. It's a coming-of-age film — Leo tries to fit in and falls in love with the local hottie, who just happens to have a boyfriend.
» E Street Cinema, Thu., Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m., $12-$15; 202-452-7672. (Metro Center)

Awash in Change: "A Village Called Versailles"
Housing one of the nation's largest populations of Vietnamese Americans, this documentary follows the citizens of Versailles, La., as they struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
» U.S. Navy Memorial, Burke Theatre, 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW;
Sun., Oct. 11, 4 p.m., $8-$10; 202-737-2300. (Archives-Navy Memorial)

For Would-Be Kung Fu Masters: "The Real Shaolin"
Think you've got what it takes to be Bruce Lee? "The Real Shaolin" shows how kung fu is often misrepresented in movies. Director Alexander Sebastien Lee shoots footage of four students in training at a Chinese temple to argue that it's not as flashy — or as easy — as many moviegoers imagine.
» Goethe Institut, 812 7th St. NW; Wed., Oct. 7, 9 p.m., $8-$10; 202-289-1200. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

For Hollywood Star Power: "Formosa Betrayed"
In Adam Kane's drama, James Van Der Beek (late of television's "Dawson’s Creek") stars as an FBI agent tasked with tracking down the killer of an outspoken Taiwanese-American professor. It's an FBI thriller with an international-relations twist as Van Der Beek's character encounters cultural and bureaucratic obstacles.
» U.S. Navy Memorial, Burke Theatre; Sat., Oct. 10, 8:30 p.m., $8-$10; 202-737-2300. (Archives-Navy Memorial)

For a Horror Fix: "Machines, Dreams, And Screams"
This composite feature is made up of 10 shorts with a focus on horror. Don't expect creepy Japanese children or any of the same old gimmicks. "A lot of the films are very dark, but they're not stereotypical Asian horror films," Petrillo says. "There's a distinctly American spin to a lot of these." We're frightened already.
» Goethe Institut; Fri., Oct. 9, 9 p.m., $8-$10; 202-289-1200. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

A Timely Lesson: "Children of Invention"
The festival's closing night feature follows a struggling mother as she tries to get out from under a pyramid scheme. The film has plenty of buzz — it was shown at Sundance earlier this year and won the grand prize at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
» Goethe Institut; Sat., Oct. 10, 7 p.m., $18-$20 including reception; 202-289-1200. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

For Those on a Budget: "Li Tong"
In one of four free movies playing at the Freer Gallery, director Nian Liu explores the rapidly changing city of Beijing through the eyes of a young girl. As Li Tong wanders home from school, she discovers something new at every turn.
» Freer Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW; Oct. 9, 7 p.m., free; 202-633-4880. (Smithsonian)

» For festival listings, prices and showtimes, see Apafilm.org/festival-2009. Discounted multi-film passes are available online.

» The Price of Popularity: Local Doc '9500 Liberty' takes on immigration policy.

Written by Express contributor Jason Koebler
Photos courtesy Apafilm.org