In an effort to shatter Asian American male stereotypes in film, the 24th annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival will be featuring a wide array of films that depict Asian American men in roles that reveal their romantic side.

When the festival first started in 1982 as part of a traveling film festival across the country, it was a modest event featuring 13 films over the course of three days. This year, the festival will present more than 126 feature-length and short films from 21 countries. It is now the largest annual film festival in North America dedicated to showcasing Asian American cinema, according to Taro Goto, the film festival’s assistant director.

The film festival will take place from March 16 to March 26, at the Kabuki 8 Theatres and Castro Theatre in San Francisco, the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and the Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose.

The festival is sponsored by the Center for Asian American Media (formerly known as the National Asian American Telecommunications Organization), a nonprofit organization dedicated to projecting Asian American media. Through funding, producing, distributing and screening Asian American films and videos on television and the big screen, the center strives to increase the presence of Asian Americans and their accurate portrayal in mainstream media.

“Asian American men suffered, and still do suffer from stereotypes,” said Goto. “They tend to be emasculated or asexual, usually playing the part of a bookish nerd.”

Even when playing the hero, there is no romantic component to Asian American males’ characters. “Romeo Must Die,” a modern-day version of “Romeo and Juliet,” is a film that Goto used as an example. Even though Jet Li was the hero of the film, he only hugs co-star Aaliyah rather than kissing her at the end.

This year’s festival will feature many films that explore Asian American masculinity through characters that are in touch with emotion and sexuality. Some of the festival’s highlights include:

Spotlight on James Shigeta: Shigeta is the first, and arguably the only Asian American male actor groomed to play a romantic lead in classic Hollywood cinema. Three of his key works – “The Crimson Kimono,” “Walk Like a Dragon,” and “Bridge to the Sun” – will be screened, and there will be live on-stage conversations after each show between Shigeta and award-winning filmmaker Arthur Dong. The "The Crimson Kimono," will play on March 18 at 3 p.m. at Castro Theatre. "Bridge to the Sun" will play on March 19 at 12 p.m. at Castro Theatre. "Walk like a Dragon" will play on March 19 at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive.

“Americanese”: This year’s opening-night film depicts the long-marginalized love lives of Asian American men in a provocative confrontation with the issues of sex and race. It is based on Shawn Wong’s groundbreaking 1995 novel “American Knees,” about a Chinese American professor struggling with his breakup with a half-Japanese woman. The screening will take place on March 16 at 7 p.m. at Castro Theatre. There will be a reception afterward at 9:30 p.m. at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

“Water”: The conclusion to Deepa Mehta’s “Elemental Trilogy.” While “Fire” and “Earth” explore desire and nationalism, respectively, “Water” takes on religion and the resilient power of the human spirit. Set during the birth of modern India, the film depicts the coming-of-age tale of two widows and an 8-year-old girl, who learn to chart their own destinies. It will be screened on March 19 at 6 p.m. at Castro Theatre.

“Journey from the Fall”: Director Ham Tran’s directorial debut dramatizes the traumatic aftermath of the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective. This is the festival’s closing-night film, which will be screened on March 23 at 7 p.m. at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

The festival will also feature short films and videos, one of which is directed by SF State graduate student, Jeffery Lei. His piece, “Dick Ho: Asian Male Porn Star,” delves into the untold mystery of whether an Asian male existed in the world of American pornography.

Advanced tickets can be purchased online at www.asianamericanfilmfestival.org, by phone at 1(800) 225-2277, or at participating theatres.

:: Breakout Box ::
Tickets: General admission – $10, Student, seniors (65+) and disabled adults – $8, Center for Asian American Media members – $7.
Participating theatres: Kabuki 8 Theatres and Castro Theatre in San Francisco, Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose.
Film Schedule: Available online at www.asianamericanfilmfestival.org.