#37 – Preview of The Redhouse’s Asian Shorts Film Festival Tomorrow night the multi-arts venue in Armory Square, The Redhouse, opens their first & what they hope will be their annual Asian Shorts Film Festival. The Redhouse’s film programmer, JT Lee, a maker of shorts himself, is excited that he was able to put together this 118 minutes collection, which will show on Friday & Saturday nights this week-end at 7 p.m., on Sunday at 2 p.m., & the again on the 14th, 26th & 28th, with a talk-back discussion after the screening on the 28th. My thanks to JT for letting me take a look at this collection, which he hand-picked from the New York City-based Asian CineVision 2005-06 National Tour. This selection includes a number of films that have won major international festival prizes & we would not be able to see in Central New York otherwise. The Asian Shorts Film festival includes eleven films from China, Indian, Australia, Cambodia, & Asian filmmakers now living & working in the US. “The Little Terrorist” is a parable that was Oscar-nominated for best live-action short. Two animations are among my favorites, with really exciting graphic design & execution of movement; “The Way” turns already graceful Asian watercolor three-dimensional. A satire about dictator Pol Pot’s birthday party stays with you long after seeing it. Kevin Lee’s 13-minute documentary, “Dastaar,” presents the social difficulties that the Sikhs religious sect encounters in a post 911 New York when wearing their turbans. Two films by women, Kit Hui’s dramatic, blue-toned “Missing” & Geeta Malik’s droll comedy, “Aunty G,” are well worth the trip to this festival. The Asian Shorts Film festival illustrates the wide range of filmmaking tastes & styles & the cosmopolitan experiences of a group of largely young filmmakers not easily categorized. And the Redhouse announced yesterday that Syracuse university students with an ID card can get discounted tickets to their film & stage events at the Schine Student Center Box Office. The Redhouse is now scheduling its films well in advance & there are some real treats coming up in the months ahead. During March they’ll screen “Rory O’Shea” was here, a brand new film that’s another take on “My Left Foot” themes, in conjunction with their stage production of Brian Friel’s play “Molly Sweeney.” Nancy Keefe Rhodes Broadcast 2/9/06 on Women’s Voices Radio, WAER Syracuse 88.3 FM