The spring celluloid interlude launched by the Hawaii International Film Festival a decade ago is now a 38-film visual logjam scrunched into a week.

It's the chance to finally see films you may have read about in national newspapers and magazines over the past year, such as "The Cats of Mirikitani," which last year won the Japanese Eyes best film award at the Tokyo International Film Festival and the audience award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

"It is a little bit of everything, a bit more eclectic," says HIFF programmer Andersen Le from Los Angeles, where he is temporarily based. "The whole goal is to be populous, have something for everyone, and we chose artier films to push the envelope, to remind people that we're a film festival." He urges people to "go outside your box."

"If you're a fan of Japanese or Korean films, check out one or two other selections — be a little more adventurous." Le is especially excited about Hal Hartley's "Fay Grim," a follow-up to his 1998 film "Henry Fool," starring Parker Posey; and David Lynch's "Inland Empire," which spurred headlines when Lynch promoted it by sitting on the corner of Hollywood and Sunset boulevards with a cow. Lynch's first film shot in digital video, "Inland Empire" took the digital award at last year's Venice Film Festival.

(The selection of "Waitress" adds a tragic twist to the festival. The movie is the directorial debut of Adrienne Shelly, the longtime indie muse of Hartley. In November, Shelly was murdered in her office by a disgruntled construction worker.)

In contrast to the moody, experimental work of Lynch is "Udon," a box-office hit in Japan. Hailed as the new "Tampopo," "Udon," while also about a staple food, is much more slick, with high-tech dream sequences, slapstick humor and a feel-good weepy ending. Does it indicate a new direction for Japanese cinema?

"Last year was a record year for domestic film in Japan," says Le. "The age-old adage that Japanese people don't watch Japanese film wasn't the case. It could be indicative of the fact that the look of the production is a little more slick now, (Japanese films) can compete against Hollywood imports. Or it could also mean that Hollywood films suck."

Le notes that the production team behind "Udon" is the one that put out Japan's hugely successful "Bayside Shakedown" franchise, the biggest live-action film of all time.

Other Asian films include the Indian hit "Guru," starring subcontinental superstar Aishwarya Rai (the film already can be rented at India Market on Beretania Street), South Korea's "200 Pounds Beauty" (shades of Gwyneth Paltrow's "Shallow Hal") and the Hong Kong gangster film "Exiled."

One film that may particularly strike a chord with O'ahu residents is "The Cats of Mirikitani." In 2001, New York filmmaker Linda Hattendorf befriends Jimmy Mirikitani, a homeless man who calls himself "grand master artist." He obsessively draws cats, of course, but also scenes from the internment camp where he spent time as a young man. When the World Trade Center falls, Hattendorf seeks out Mirikitani, finding him in the dark, coughing from the fouled air just one mile from Ground Zero. She brings him home. As Hattendorf films him, the parallels between the aftermath of 9/11 and the internment camps emerge, as well as a beautiful relationship. The changes Hattendorf altruistically brings to the proud, sometimes gruff Mirikitani's life have a profound effect on the viewer and everyone in the film. Technically underwhelming, "The Cats of Mirikitani" is a quietly transforming work that's masterful in its humanity.

Reach Lesa Griffith at lgriffith@honoluluadvertiser.com.