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| No. | Title | Description |
| 490 | Being Osama | Being Osama is an intimate exploration of six men with highly diverse backgrounds, interests and personalities, united by their first names and their experiences as Arabs living in Canada in the post-9/11 world. Shot against the cultural backdrop of Montreal, the film follows the six Osamas from the time of the American invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 to the anti-WTO demonstrations in late July of the same year. Touching on subjects as diverse as Arab names, rock-n-roll, religion, Middle East politics, weddings, funerals and the meaning of identity, Being Osama is a sensitive and thoughtful portrait of six unique individuals and of the new Canada in which they live. |
| 484 | Bend It Like Beckham | A comedy about bending the rules to reach your goal, Bend It Like Beckham explores the world of women's football, from kick-abouts in the park to freekicks in the Final. Set in Hounslow, West London and Hamburg, the film follows two 18 year olds with their hearts set on a future in professional soccer. Heart-stopping talent doesn't seem to be enough when your parents want you to hang up your football boots, find a nice boyfriend and learn to cook the perfect chapatti. |
| 462 | Better Luck Tomorrow (2003) | Ben is a perfectionist and overachiever whose tunnel vision leads to nothing less than graduating at the top of his class. As he struggles to achieve social success, he discovers his darker side. He and his friends: Virgil, Daric and Han lead a double life of mischief and petty crimes to alleviate the pressures of perfection. As their adopted identity grows, the gang tumbles into a downward spiral of excitement, excess and fun. |
| 108 | Beyond Rangoon | Laura is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after the murder of her husband and son, and goes on vacation with her sister to Burma. After losing her passport at a political rally, she is left on her own for a few days, during which time she falls in with students fighting for democracy. She and their leader, U Aung Ko, travel through Burma, whilst witnessing many bloody acts of repression by the dictatorship, in an attempt to escape to Thailand. Based on a true story. |
| 15 | Bittersweet Survival | The experiences of Southeast Asian refugees is described. Events such as the fall of Saigon cause refugee populations to form. In repines, refugee programs have been set up in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia. Refugees who make it to the U.S. describe their hardhsips as refugees in contrast to their new lives in the states. |
| 26 | Bittersweet Survival | This film examines resettlement problems of Southeast Asian refugees, including the hostilities and frustration they experience. Immigration policy as it relates to political policy over the past decade is also explored. |
| 121 | Bittersweet: Asian-Indian Experience in the USA | Focuses on Asian-Indian immigrants in the U.S. who discuss the complex social and personal issues involved in dealing with their dual cultural influences. To most outsiders, the idea of immigrating to America suggest the opportunity to get rich and lead the "good life," but those who undertake this journey, leaving behind their native communities for another culture, are often faced with larger issues than material well being. Interviews with a variety of Asian-Indian immigrants residing in the U.S.--including such notables as Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and painter Mohan Samant--are combined with dramatic voice-overs and self-reflexive passages, all of which illuminate issues of cultural identity and the problems of defining community in an adopted land. |
| 38 | Blue Collar and Buddha | This documentary explores the arrival of one group of Laotian refugees into a small Midwestern blue-collar town. Heartland America witnesses the confrontation of two groups: townspeople frustrated by economic depression and angry about having lost the Vietnam war, and proud immigrants intent on preserving their culture and Buddhist religion. A suspenseful rendering of East meets West, Blue Collar Buddha is a rare look at one Southeast Asian American community’s acclimation to American life in an environment laced with hostility and racism. |
| 500 | Bride and Prejudice | A Bollywood update of Jane Austen's classic tale, in which Mrs. Bakshi is eager to find suitable husbands for her four unmarried daughters. When the rich single gentlemen Balraj and Darcy come to visit, the Bakshis have high hopes, though circumstance and boorish opinions threaten to get in the way of romance. |
| 465 | Broken Blossoms | One of Griffith’s most widely acclaimed films uses a new style of lighting and photography to stress intimate character relationships rather than spectacle. A young Chinese man in London’s squalid Limehouse district hopes to spread the peaceful philosophy of his Eastern religion. He befriends a pitiful street waif who is mistreated by her brutal father. Tragedy results. |
| 74 | Bui Doi: Life Like Dust (1994) | Life, for most young Vietnamese gang members in the U.S., is in Bui Doi, “a life like dust.” This film brings us inside the mind of Ricky Phan, currently serving an 11-year sentence for armed robbery in a California State prison. Through the integration of memories and recent experiences, we are forced to ask ourselves which is more violent: fleeing from a war-ravaged country or trying to survive in an alien western culture? Bui Doi is an expansion of the award winning short film, Giang Ho: Crazy Life. 1994 Golden Gate Award, Certificate of Merit, Biography category. |
| 129 | Canadian Films: Escapades of the one Particular Mr. Noodle; Roger Ina's Utopia; The Last Harvest; Hong Kong or Hay River | Escapades of the One Particular Mr. Noodle (1990): Humorous and personal take on the assimilation question, this comic film concerns a second-generation Chinese-Canadian who recalls her childhood in white middle-class. Roger Ing's Utopia (1998): Gain insights into the phenomenon of Roger Ing, a prolific Canadian artist, philanthropist and former restauranteur of the New Utopia Cafe, through this documentative exploration and how he has combined eastern and western painting styles. The Last Harvest (1993): Linda Ohama's haunting portrait of displacement symbolized by the final harvest of her family's potato farm. In 1992, farm foreclosure uprooted the family, who joined thousands of North Americans caught in the economic crisis of farming. Hong Kong or Hay River (1995): Unique exploration of the immigrant experience through the documentary of Wu Meihua, a bright 30 year-old woman who has just received her Canadian citizenship. This is the story of her journey to the Hay River in the Northwest Territories and the discovery that takes place. |
| 48 | CAPSU Picnic (Spring, 1991) | Highlights from the picnic sponsored by the Cornell Asian Pacific Student Union (CAPSU) in Spring 1991. |
| 189 | CAPSU-"Eyes On US" Show- Fall '99 (1 of 2) | |
| 190 | CAPSU-"Eyes On US" Show- Fall '99 (2 of 2) | |
| 33 | Carved in Silence | This docudrama reveals the story of Angel Island, the “Ellis Island of the West.” From 1882-1943, most Chinese were excluded from entering the U.S.; the few who could were heavily interrogated and scrutinized on Angel Island before being granted entry into the country. Chinese were detained in desolate barracks, sometimes for years on this small island in San Francisco Bay. This film captures the high-intensity drama of the times. |
| 548 | Carved in Silence | This is the dramatic story of Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West. After the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), potential immigrants suffered detainment and vigorous interrogation for up to three years on this small island within sight of San Francisco. Features scenes recreated in the actual barracks and interviews with former detainees. |
| 172 | Catfish in Black Bean Sauce | Dwayne and his older sister Mai are adults: Mai is married to Vinh, Dwayne is about to propose to Nina. Twenty-two years ago, when Mai was 10, she and Dwayne were refugees in Vietnam, adopted by Harold and Dee Williams, African-Americans from Los Angeles. Now, they remain close, especially Dwayne and his parents. Mai drops a bomb: she's located their birth mother, Thahn, and she's flying her to LA. Dee takes the news hard: she sees herself being replaced. Harold is more sanguine, and Dwayne pretends to be indifferent. When Thahn arrives, tensions reach the breaking point between Mai and Dee, between Nina and Dwayne, and even between Dee and Harold. Can we all get along? |
| 111 | Chan is Missing | Two cabbies search San Francisco's Chinatown for a mysterious character who has disappeared with their $4000. Their quest leads them on a humorous, if mundane, journey which illuminates the many problems experienced by Chinese-Americans trying to assimilate into contemporary American society. |
| 158 | Charlie's Angels | Based on the popular 70's TV show, three cute chicks work for the mysterious "Charlie". They are the female 'James Bonds'' of our time. They get to blow stuff up, kick the cr*p out of people, and wear really tight clothing, all whilst trying to retrieve stolen software and balance in high heels. |
Video Listing
Available in the Asian American Resource Center