PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It’s the opening weekend of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. This year’s theme is “Reflection.”

“It is an opportunity for us to kind of look back and see where we have been, not only in our stories that have been told, but our heritage,” said Nani Shin, the festival’s executive director.

Shin says, when she was growing up, you didn’t often see people on screen who looked like her. “And when you did, most of the time, I would cringe.”

Well, if the 17th annual iteration of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival reflects anything, it’s how much representation has changed in the decades since.

“Now, I can say, and I’m very proud of the fact that there are many stories,” she said. “And I feel happy for the next generation, my children, to have that opportunity, to feel like they can connect.”

This year’s festival garnered some 600 submissions from around the world. Jurors whittled the selections down to just 100 films. Some will be screened in person for audiences and be the subject of post-show discussions at such locations as the Asian Arts Initiative or the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The whole slate of films can be rented on the festival’s website.

Taken as a whole, the films demonstrate the diversity of the nation’s Asian American communities. The submissions represent more than 25 countries. And the films’ topics run the gamut.

Nida Chowdhry’s first-ever feature, “Anxious,” ran Saturday night.

“‘Anxious’ is my ‘Eternal Sunshine’- and ‘Amelie’-inspired dark comedy,” Chowdhry said.

In the film, the main character, Ruby — played by Chowdhry — has an anxiety attack and falls into the rabbit hole of her mind to meet other versions of herself who sometimes take control of her life.

“I really wanted to make a colorful, fashion-heavy, exploratory piece about the interior life of a human being,” she said.

“I really just believe that if I were to show that, that it would tap into the universality of the human experience.”

The festival runs now through Nov. 17.