Austin Asian American Film Festival 2009

Texas Premiere! Director Eric Byler in person! This timely, explosive documentary is set in Prince William County, Virginia, where police are required by law to question anyone who they suspect is an undocumented immigrant. 9500 Liberty tells the story of what happens when residents decide that they have had enough. Fed up with being intimated by a national Internet-based anti-immigration network determined to have local lawmakers and citizens bend to their will, residents fight back through the creation of the groundbreaking YouTube channel, 9500 Liberty. A micro view of a national issue, filmmakers Annabel Park and Eric Byler provide viewers with a front seat to the immigration battles being waged in townhalls, on the Internet and on the street.

Austin Premiere! Filmmaker Mark Tran was a 19-year-old San Jose State University student when he wrote the screenplay for his feature debut All About Dad (Audience Award winner, Cinequest FF), which is modeled on his experiences growing up in a large Vietnamese family in California. The main character, Ty, is based loosely upon himself – a biology major about to give up his studies to pursue filmmaking (i.e., the worst thing a Vietnamese father could ever hear from a son). Newcomer Chi Pham steals the show as the patriarch of the Do family, a man who views hard work, Catholicism, higher education, and loyalty to family as the only way to happiness and success in life. But, Mr. Do's world is about to unravel as he is confronted by the inner passions and dreams of his four children, forcing him to realize that he must learn to accept his children as they truly are or risk losing them. An intense family drama that is also hilarious and touching, Tran’s first film is a fine portrait of a Vietnamese American family just trying to keep up with the times. – Mye Hoang

Missing his mother, a young boy goes on an adventure to find her in this testament to the strong attachment that often exists between a mother and her son.

100 days, 100 songs, 100 locations, and 100 dances. A hip playlist and a director not afraid to bust a move, however ridiculous. 100 Songs: 001. Heart of Glass / Blondie 002. Jimmy / M.I.A. 003. Deceptacon / Le Tigre 004. Im on Fire / 5000 Volts 005. Je Veux Te Voir / YELLE 006. The Way I Are / Timbaland 007. Too Young / Phoenix 008. Over And Over / Hot Chip 009. Stick It To The Pimp / Peaches 010. Say My Name / Destiny's Child 011. Pin / Yeah Yeah Yeahs 012. Geremia / Bonde Do Role 013. Let Me Clear My Throat / DJ Kool 014. Point Of No Return / Expose 015. Bubble Sex / The Seebach Band 016. Pump Up the Jam / Technotronic 017. Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above / CSS 018. Hella Nervous / Gravy Train 019. Me Plus One / Annie 020. Don't Go / Yaz 021. Bootylicious / Destiny's Child 022. Electric Feel / MGMT 023. Boys Don't Cry / The Cure 024. Lose Control / Missy Elliott 025. Ride The Lightning / Evans And Eagles 026. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough / Michael Jackson 027. Hearts On Fire / Cut Copy 028. Tainted Love / Soft Cell 029. Between Us & Them / Moving Units 030. It Feels Good / Tony Toni Tone 031. Polaris (Club Mix) / Cyber People 032. You Never Can Tell / Chuck Berry 033. Huddle Formation / The Go! Team 034. Pump That / FannyPack 035. My Love / Justin Timberlake 036. Hung Up / Madonna 037. Justice - D.A.N.C.E (MSTRKRFT Remix) / Justice 038. Cybernetic Love / Casco 039. Creep / TLC 040. When I Hear Music / Debbie Deb 041. B.O.B. / Outkast 042. Bubble Pop Electric / Gwen Stefani 043. Miss You Much / Janet Jackson 044. You Spin Me Round / Dead Or Alive 045. Slide In / Goldfrapp 046. Kelly / Van She 047. Mine Fore Life / The Sounds 048. Disco Heat / Calvin Harris 049. Nighttiming / Coconut Records 050. Club Action / Yo Majesty 051. Pogo / Digitalism 052. Lip Gloss / Lil Mama 053. Heartbeats / The Knife 054. Enola Gay / OMD 055. Goodbye Girls / Broadcast 056. Kids In America / Kim Wilde 057. Kiss / Prince 058. Tenderness / General Public 059. Push It / Salt N Pepa 060. Circle, Square, Triangle / Test Icicles 061. Day 'N' Nite (Crookers Remix) / Kid Cudi 062. Shadows / Midnight Juggernauts 063. Paris (Aeroplane Remix) / Friendly Fires 064. Out At The Pictures / Hot Chip 065. Me Myself and I / De La Soul 066. AudioTrack 10 / Diplo 067. Girls & Boys / Blur 068. Heater / Samim 069. I Wanna Dance With Somebody / Whitney Houston 070. Hands In The Air / Girl Talk 071. Limited Edition OJ Slammer / Cadence Weapon 072. Meeting In The Ladys Room / Mary Jane Girls 073. NY Lipps / Soulwax 074. Lex / Ratatat 075. Gravity's Rainbow (Soulwax Remix) / Steve Aoki 076. Once In A Lifetime / Talking Heads 077. Leave It Alone / Operator Please 078. Half Mast / Empire Of The Sun 079. Hardcore Girls / Count and Sinden feat. Rye Rye 080. Dance, Dance, Dance / Lykke Li 081. Never Gonna Get It / En Vogue 082. Blue Monday / New Order 083. Crazy In Love (Featuring Jay-Z) / Beyoncé 084. 10 Dollar / M.I.A. 085. Love To Love You Baby / Donna Summer 086. Steppin' Out / Lo-Fi-Fnk 087. Karle Pyar Karle / Asha Bhosle 088. Love Will Tear Us Apart / Joy Division 089. Straight Up / Paula Abdul 090. My Drive Thru / Santogold, Casablancas, NERD 091. Like A Prayer / Madonna 092. Freedom 90 / George Michael 093. Black & Gold / Sam Sparro 094. B-O-O-T-A-Y / Spank Rock and Benny Blanco 095. Great Dj / The Ting Tings 096. In A Dream / Rockell 097. Don't Stop the Music / Rihanna 098. Hong Kong Garden / Siouxsie & The Banshees 099. It's Tricky / D.M.C. 100. Bizarre Love Triangle / New Order

Austin Premiere! A down on her luck single mom, Elaine Cheng, is desperately trying to provide for her two young children, Raymond and Tina, but nothing seems to be going her way. Recently evicted and squatting with her kids in an unfinished apartment building, Elaine gets involved in a dubious pyramid scheme. When she doesn’t return home one night, Raymond and Tina are forced to fend for themselves, and budding inventor Raymond realizes that it is up to him to look after his younger sister. This powerful and quietly affecting film is a testament to the resilience of children and the strength of will that can pull a family through even the toughest of times. Already a hit on the festival circuit and winner of more than ten festival awards (including the Grand Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival), Children of Invention was directed by Tze Chun, identified by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Cinema.”

One night at an art-house cinema, a brokenhearted young man waits for a date that never shows and a lonely projectionist mourns the past while dreaming of a better future. Together, they find that at the movies, anything can happen.

Director Curtis Choy in Attendance! After the Manongs (Filipino elders) give their lifeblood to build America, they find their San Francisco Manilatown community decimated by urban renewal, and 50 old-timers are forcibly evicted from the International Hotel by 300 cops in the dead of night. This classic documentary was in production for six years as Choy carefully constructed a passionate protest against injustice.

Centerpiece Film! Austin Premiere! Director H.P. Mendoza and Lead Actress L.A. Renigen in attendance! H.P. Mendoza, screenwriter of the audience favorite Colma: The Musical, is back with another film brimming with song, dance and lighthearted fun. Filipina performance artist, Bethesda, is searching for her biological parents while living in a colorful artist commune in San Francisco’s Castro district. Through song and dance we learn about the fears, hopes and dreams of Bethesda and her roommates as well as the fact that Bethesda just might be a closet “fag-hag.” Wildly inventive, highly entertaining and at-times irresistibly raunchy, Fruit Fly will be sure to carry you away on its melodious wings. This screening will be accompanied by a surprise that you won't want to miss! Co-sponsored by aGliff

Conversations between three very different tables at a local diner: a young Chinese boy and his workaholic parents; an elderly couple and their confusing new camera; and a pair of slackers in their mid-20's. Talking to strangers isn’t always such a bad idea.