Are Asian American films finally breaking through? Writer/Director Eric Koyanagi believes so. He returned to the AAIFF with his feature debut "Hundred Percent" where its well-attended New York Premiere was a testament to the state of Asian American films. "The energy was much higher Saturday night and we were running on time," recalls Koyanagi who spoke to indieWIRE on the phone from his California home last week. "It was great to screen in Manhattan...It felt good."

Having screened at the LAIFF this past April, the film opened for the AAIFF in Los Angeles for its May jaunt at the DGA Theater. Since its screening and Q & A at the two major cities, Koyanagi was intrigued by the reactions from the East and West Coast audiences. He explains, "It wasn't a conscious thing for me, but I guess the film had this like West Coast flavor to it and I wondered when people started to see it in NY, they kinda brought that up. I didn't think it was like such an L.A. movie but I guess it was. No one really came to me in L.A. and said 'Hey! You made a really kinda West Coast flavored movie.'" In New York, Koyanagi continues, "They have a different kind of perspective. It's nice that they saw that about the movie because it's supposed to be kind of localized Asia America in Venice kind of fantasy land."

With a cast which consists of Tamlyn Tomita ("The Joy Luck Club"), Garrett Wang ("Star Trek: Voyager"), and Dustin Nguyen ("21 Jump Street"), the dichotomy of being an Asian American in the '90's is taken for a spin. The three main characters, Isaac (Nguyen), Slim (Darion Basco), and Troy (Wang) explore the concepts of love, enlightenment, and self esteem amidst the backdrop of sunny Venice Beach, CA. Isaac encounters a beautiful and beguiling woman (played by Tomita) who has a passion for Bruce Lee's authentic nunchakus which she claims came from his last film "Enter The Dragon."

Slim sets off on a Rastafarian journey where life revolves around Bob Marley and a gangster's car, which he loses the next day. Slim's character is a melding of two cultures, where the film captures the true essence of youth in this decade and doesn't apologize for parodying pop culture.

Troy is an actor who is struggling to break free from Oriental typecasting. His agent (played by Dennis Lipscomb of "Union City") gives him a chance for a lead role in a major production. After auditioning and convincing himself that he's on the road to breaking down stereotypes, he finds a way to destroy his relationship with his girlfriend (played by Lindsay Price of the "Toys 'R Us" commercial fame).

At the start of the film, a comic homage is paid to Asian Americans in science fiction; an inside joke which viewers quickly locked onto. But behind the joke sits a strong realization about minority representation in Hollywood. "I think there are great strides being made," says Koyanagi, "but at the same time, who's calling the shots, who's portraying these roles, and just how responsible and how positive."

At the Q & A in New York, a bleary-eyed and drawn out Koyanagi warned the audience that the film was not a total representation of Asian Americans. "Yeah. There was that one guy who was saying that he didn't see himself in there. Any time a film comes out on a specific community, I think people hold it to higher...they kinda assume that the filmmaker should have these responsibilities that speaks for everybody. One, that wasn't my goal and two, I didn't set out to make a film that was going to speak for the entire community. That would have been impossible."

Koyanagi continued, "For anyone who kind of tries to undertake and do that for any kind of community, has to be really pretentious -- megalomaniac. But, that wasn't my goal at all. It was more of just to kind of present a really exaggerated Shangri-La. But within that Shangri-La, they bring up issues that are not just Asian American, but also issues with dignity and self-respect -- a quiet masculinity."

Another viewer asked how he was able to get such a well known cast. The filmmaker revealed that he and Wang have been friends for a long time, collaborating on his MFA thesis film "Angry Cafe," even before Wang became the smitten Ensign Kim of "Star Trek: Voyager."

F"I've watched him on it...I find it a little unbearable," smirks Koyanagi. "But, I made about three [short] films with Garrett before he got onto 'Star Trek: Voyager.' I had him in mind when I was writing the role. He was on his way up but he wasn't quite the personality that he is now." As for Tamlyn Tomita and Dustin Nguyen, they were mutual friends of the Producers Jusak Yang Bernhard and Paul G. Bens, Jr. of I Can Make It Myself Productions; while their Casting Director Patricia Noland provided more fuel to the film's star power.

Despite the fact that film festivals seem to be a safe haven for Asian American cinema, there are more Asian filmmakers who are getting the attention and grassroots response they deserve. "I think our time has come," says Koyanagi. "I think our time was probably a few years ago so I think we need to grab hold of the reins."

"Hundred Percent" will participate in the Vancouver Asian Festival where it's slated to open the fest. It currently does not have domestic distribution.

Atricle Taken From:IndieWire