Selections from Asian American film festival to be screened

Cornell Cinema presents a selection of films from last year's Asian American International Film Festival, as well as the Ithaca premiere of "I'm the One That I Want" starring comedian Margaret Cho. The weekend of events is co-sponsored with the Asian American Studies Program, the Asian American Playhouse and the Hong Kong Student Association. All screenings are in Willard Straight Theatre. Admission to evenings shows is $4.50 general/$4 students and seniors. Admission to the Saturday and Sunday matinees is $3.50.

Now in its 24th year, the Asian American International Film Festival is the nation's oldest and longest-running festival devoted to the works of Asian and Asian American filmmakers. Drawing entries from a wide variety of filmmakers, the festival has premiered works by filmmakers including Ang Lee, Wayne Wang and Mira Nair. Last year's event, held in Manhattan, was the most popular in the program's history, and Cornell Cinema offers three programs of short films from the festival.

This weekend Cornell Cinema presents highlights from the 23rd annual Asian American International Film Festival, including Anna Kang's documentary "Not Black or White," an irreverent look at representations of Asian American women. The short film is part of Program 1, which will be shown Friday, Feb. 2, at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre. The remaining two programs will be shown Saturday, Feb. 3, and Sunday, Feb. 4, both shows at 5 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre.

Program 1, to be shown Friday, Feb. 2, at 7:15 p.m., celebrates work by and about Asian American women and begins with Ann Marie Fleming's acclaimed hand-drawn animated shorts series, "The Continuing Adventures of Stickgirl." Shown in six mini-installments, the series follows the stick girl heroine through her adventures in Greek myths, work, dysfunctional relationships and gender politics(12.5 minutes). Anna Kang's documentary "Not Black or White" (19.5 minutes) takes an irreverent look at the traditional ways Asian women are portrayed in the media and how three women are working to make a change. A young cartoonist, Lela Lee (creator of the Angry Little Asian Girl), writer/comedian Amy Hill ("All American Girl") and TV/film actress Ming Na Wen ("Joy Luck Club," "ER") share their experiences growing up Asian American and how these experiences influence their work today. "Umbilical Cord" (27 minutes) is Angel Shaw's experimental documentary reflecting on 100 years of Philippine history and women. The program ends with three episodes from writer/performance artist Jessica Hagedorn's hip "Pink Palace" animated television series about the adventures of teen-aged Baby and her friends (24 minutes).

Program 2 highlights work focusing on Asian American identity issues and begins with "Sweet & Spicy" (7 minutes), Kip Fulbeck's short narrative about a Korean-American guy who's never been kissed. The video combines autobiographical dating stories and hypnotic visuals of multicolored koi in its exploration of Hapa and Asian American sexuality in popular culture. "AOAA (Avenue of the Asian Americans)" (30 minutes) is an anthology film made up of 10 three-minute shorts that take the viewer on a quirky trip down the side streets of the Asian experience in New York City. Including work by Rea Tajiri and Greg Pak, the shorts are as varied as the city itself, representing a broad range of genres, themes and characters (30 minutes). The program ends with Anita Chang's "Imagining Place" (35 minutes), an experimental documentary that asks, "What does belonging feel like in America?" Program 2 will be shown Saturday, Feb. 3, at 5 p.m.

Program 3 deals with Asian American family and history and begins with "Mother/Land" (25 minutes), Ming-Yuen S. Ma's documentary that uses motherhood as a metaphor for nationalism. The piece includes interviews with his mother before and after her departure from Hong Kong in 1996, and it ultimately portrays both the demise and dispersal of a traditional, heterosexual, Chinese family and the formation of new diasporic relationships that are queer, transnational but no less Chinese. It will be followed by "When You're Smiling" (60 minutes), Janice Tanaka's autobiographical documentary exploration of the postwar, post-camp resettlement of Japanese Americans in Los Angeles. The program will be shown Sunday, Feb. 4, at 5 p.m.

In conjunction with the festival program, Cornell Cinema also will offer the Ithaca premiere of "I'm the One That I Want." Comedian Margaret Cho, former star of "All-American Girl," tells the hilarious and heartbreaking story of the sitcom's rise and fall and of her experiences as an Asian American working in Hollywood in this film version of her one-woman show. From network executives' complaints that the show was either "too Asian" or "not Asian enough" to her own troubles with weight loss, drinking and loutish boyfriends, everything is fodder for her ruthless humor. The film will be shown Friday, Feb. 2, at 9:20 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 3, at 9:45 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m.