Movies

Here's something you might not know: Asian actors can be funny on film.

Sure, there have been plenty of comic-action figures, such as Jackie Chan in the Rush Hour films or Stephen Chow in Kung Fu Hustle . But the majority of the time, Asian films that play on our shores are confined to the horror, martial arts or drama genres. It's rare that we see an Asian actor playing a part that doesn't involve some degree of stoicism.

Ping Pong Playa hopes to change that pattern. The film, which opens this year's Asian Film Festival of Dallas tonight at 7 at the Magnolia Theatre, focuses on Christopher (Jimmy Tsai), known as "C-Dub" to his friends. The twentysomething son of Chinese immigrants, he's yet to find his way in the world. While his older brother followed his parents' wishes and became a doctor, C-Dub would rather complain that his genetics are holding him back from his true calling as an NBA star.

A wisecracker who uses his mouth to keep people at arm's length, C-Dub eventually is stuck taking over his mother's pingpong class at the Chinese community center. It's there where his nerdy young students give life a little meaning, and a lot of laughs.

"We've all been to Asian-American film festivals, and there's always good dramas, but I think we felt like it was time for lighter comedy," says Ping Pong Playa director Jessica Yu. "Personally, I feel it's a sign of progress when we can have an obnoxious main character in an Asian-American film."

Advancing films by Asian-Americans is one of the main goals of the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, and part of that advancement is showing audiences a different side of the culture. And to bring these films to a larger stage, it's important that they are exposed to more than just an Asian audience.

Ping Pong Playa is "not something that people are used to seeing in terms of so-called Asian film. It's not a martial-arts action flick or a horror movie that people are used to," says Chiho Mori, executive director of the festival. "It's lighthearted and something that everyone can enjoy."

The film also represents a departure for its director, Ms. Yu. An Oscar winner for the 1996 short-subject documentary Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien, Ms. Yu is known primarily for nonfiction films as well as for directing television shows such as The West Wing and Grey's Anatomy. Ping Pong Playa marks her feature-film debut, combining two areas of film she had longed to explore.

"I had always wanted to make an Asian-American- themed film, and when this opportunity came up with Cherry Sky Films and they wanted to do a comedy, it seemed so perfect," she says. "I've always wanted to do a comedy as well, and I never really thought of combining the two."

Christopher Lim

Jimmy Tsai plays C-Dub in Ping Pong Playa.

Ms. Yu and Ms. Mori see a distinction between Asian films and Asian-American films. The latter deal with issues concerning what Ms. Mori terms Generation 0.5, Asian-Americans who were either born in the United States or moved here at a very young age and were raised in the shadow of dual cultures.

C-Dub certainly fits that category, talking like a rapper while trying to understand his father's obsession with pingpong. At times, he plays both sides of the race card, defending his background to outsiders one minute while blaming it for his lot in life the next. Ms. Yu says that she and the rest of the film's crew could relate to the struggles that their protagonist faces.

"One goal we had in creating the characters was to make them recognizable and more nuanced than some of the portrayals we've seen in films of Asian-American families," she says. "A lot of times, the father figure is so remote, so unreachable, the heart-of-stone kind of guy. And our guy has a bit of a soft spot for his younger son. We just wanted to make sure that everyone was a little more fleshed out, a little more recognizable in terms of our own experience."

With more than 13 million Asian-Americans living in the United States, according to the Census Bureau, it seems likely that this audience is awaiting films that understand where they are coming from. Plan your life

The 2008 Asian Film Festival of Dallas runs tonight through Aug. 21 at the Magnolia Theatre, 3699 McKinney Ave.; Crow Collection of Asian Art, 2010 Flora St.; and Studio Movie Grill, 11170 N. Central Expressway (at Royal Lane). For a schedule and to purchase tickets, go to www.affd.org.The best of the fest

Asian Film Festival of Dallas executive director Chiho Mori is, of course, fond of all the films in her festival. But when pressed for a few recom- mendations, here is what she chose and why:

•Saturday at 12:20 p.m.

"It's a play on words on an old movie, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and it talks about the origins of Chinese cookies. It's very funny, and it's something that people can relate to because a lot of people like Chinese food. You get cookies at the end of the meal – have you wondered where they came from or who started that? No one really knows, and it's a very fun way of exploring that question."

•Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.

"It's our closing-night film, and we're very, very excited to have the filmmaker from Japan attending. Tak Sakaguchi has a huge following overseas after he made his debut with Versus. We've been approached by our audiences asking if we're ever going to get him over here, and finally we were able to do it this year. The film is based on a popular comic book in Japan."

•Sunday at 5:10 p.m.

"It's a very funny, satirical look at Indian culture and the Indian community in the United States. It's a family film – I wouldn't recommend it for kids, but teenagers would probably find it funny."