There’s always something going on for the film lovers in the town of Austin, but come fall there are so many festivals, it can be hard to keep up. With Fantastic Fest, the Austin Film Festival, Austin Underground Film Festival, and the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (just to name a few), it’s a film lover’s paradise. One festival that is rapidly becoming a town favorite is the Austin Asian American Film Festival.

The 6th Annual Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF) runs from November 12th through November 15th at the Alamo Drafthouse, South Lamar and, with such an amazing festival line-up, there is much to be excited about.

The 2009 line-up includes 40 feature films and shorts from all over the world. Visit their website at www.aaaff.org to check out the schedule and don’t forget to RSVP for FREE admission to film fest parties.

Check out my top picks and their official synopses after the break.

SITA SINGS THE BLUES

“Creative” does not quite capture the ingenuity of this funny, lively animated feature. SITA SINGS THE BLUES utilizes three different styles of animation to tell four distinct, but parallel, stories. In the first, painted figures of characters in profile, resembling the eighteenth-century Indian tradition of Rajput painting, enact the Indian epic Ramayana. In the second, traditional Indian shadow puppets provide humorous, unscripted commentary on the Ramayana tale. In the third, the strikingly modern technique of vector animation is used to depict Sita as a singing performer of 1920′s Annette Hanshaw jazz classics. In the last, the rough, energetic Squigglevision technique of traditional animation is employed to tell a modern tale of Nina, an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. This delightful award-winning film more than earns its tagline as ‘The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told.’

WHITE ON RICE

Jimmy, a 40-year-old recent divorcee and all-around loveable loser, is spending his days mooching off his sister Aiko and brother in-law Tak, while at night he shares a bunk bed with his precocious 10-year-old nephew. One day, Tak’s gorgeous niece Ramona moves into the household and Jimmy falls head over heels. Much comedic mayhem ensues as Jimmy’s romantic intentions go hilariously awry. With an all-star cast that includes Hiroshi Watanabe (Letters from Iwo Jima), Lynn Chen (Saving Face), James Kyson Lee (Heroes) and Japanese Academy Award winner Nae, this indie charmer will have you leaving the theater with a smile on your face.

RAMCHAND PAKISTANI

Based on an extraordinary true story, RAMCHAND PAKISTANI depicts the imprisonment of a Pakistani-Hindu father and his eight-year-old son, Ramchand, after they accidentally cross the border into India, as well as the arduous life of the wife and mother they leave behind. Part of the ‘untouchable’ (Dalit) caste, Ramchand and his father struggle to endure the hostile environment of the Indian prison, while back home Ramchand’s mother, devastated by her loss, refuses to give up hope of seeing her family again, and against the odds fights a solitary battle for survival.

Created from a collaboration between India and Pakistan, and starring renowned Indian actress and filmmaker Nandita Das (Fire, Earth, Bawandar, Aamaar Bhuvan, Firaaq), RAMCHAND PAKISTANI depicts a family caught in the middle of political and social tensions between two neighboring countries. Director Mehreen Jabbar has constructed a provocative film with a profound sense of humanity and hope that deserves to be seen.

FRUIT FLY

H.P. Mendoza, screenwriter of the audience favorite COLMA: THE MUSICAL, is back with another film brimming with song, dance and lighthearted fun. Filipina performance artist, Bethesda, is searching for her biological parents while living in a colorful artist commune in San Francisco’s Castro district. Through song and dance we learn about the fears, hopes and dreams of Bethesda and her roommates as well as the fact that Bethesda just might be a closet “fag-hag.” Wildly inventive, highly entertaining and at-times irresistibly raunchy, FRUIT FLY will be sure to carry you away on its melodious wings.

OLD PARTNER

In a rural valley in a remote section of South Korea the charming, elderly Mr. Lee is living out his final years alongside his nagging wife and his loyal companion, a forty-year-old ox. Both in poor health, side-by-side Mr. Lee and his ox toil long, difficult days on the Lee farm, growing older in tandem. Although Mr. Lee is near-deaf, he can always hear the ox’s bell and he stubbornly refuses to spray insecticides or adopt modern farming technology for fear that his beloved ox may be harmed.

With breathtaking cinematography that masterfully captures the majesty and splendor of the South Korean countryside, first-time director Lee Chung-Ryoul has managed to not only tell a layered, heartbreaking narrative, but to encapsulate the beauty of South Korea in evocative images that range from an ox slowly sauntering past a picket line in the city to the elegance of snowfall against a mist-covered mountain. A gentle and deeply affecting story about friendship, nature and the cycle of life, OLD PARTNER is an enchanting and perspective-altering experience.

PERSEPOLIS

Marjane is a young girl coming of age during the Iranian revolution along with her idealistic family who yearns for a brighter future for their country. From young punk rebel to alienated Austrian expatriate to outspoken political dissident, we follow Marjane’s extraordinary life through the stunning and inventive animation of Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi (on whose life PERSEPOLIS is based). This winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival captures the optimism of a young girl who refuses to let even the most adverse of circumstances dampen her rebellious spirit.

And don’t forget the parties! Be sure to RSVP online for free drinks and go rub elbows with directors, actors, and film lovers!