Story 1 involves Mark Temonium, a writer  (punk legend John Stabb Schroeder) who dresses as a Ninja because ‘it’s something he wants to do.’ As you can imagine, it’s not easy for a Ninja to find love. Schroeder takes the character seriously and it is ‘uncomfortable-funny’ to watch him go out on dates. (Try juggling dressed as a Ninja at your local diner) But just when you want him to give up and get real, he meets a young lady, Anne Powers, (Julia Stemper, a natural in front of the camera) who prefers her martial arts suits of the karate variety. Is this his soul mate? Can they get through a Chinese dinner without dropping political and philosophical plates all over the place? The result is poignant and funny and very realistic.

Story 2, ‘A Romantic Dinner for Three’, was my favorite because I have to admit, I found the characters and the premise sexy, sexy, sexy. Shervin Boloorian plays Kamal and Jennifer Blakemore is Sunshine, a hip, progressive couple in the most diverse region of the Americas, Washington DC. Sunshine wants to learn about Buddhism and meditation from her friend Rupa ,played well by Dele Williams, but she has an ulterior motive too and, ummm, it involves the number 3. What to do though when quantum physics gets in the way? All three actors are photogenic and have a genuine chemistry on screen and the writing really stands out. Although the actors in this one have slippery hands from desire, the plates fly.

Story 3 is the story of an ex-couple (Steve Lee as Stan and Kelly Ham as Julia) hanging out and rehashing the past (who hasn’t?) before deciding to drop the ex or at least to give coupling another chance . Ekanayake has cast very diverse actors (Washington “City of Love” DC) and it gives normal couple interaction an added dimension. Not that it stands out, say, like in a film akin to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, but it’s nice to see people coming together in spite of wearing ninja outfits or being Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, or being dark or light skinned. These are folks you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with, see them get together, understand each other.

I found Story 4, “Air Quotes Woman” a bit odd and jolting until the very end. Christine Lee is Andrea, very similar to the Ninja from Story 1 in her own strange way (she punctuates her conversation with air quotes) but that does not keep Rabutan (Fritz Flad) from really digging her. Honest? You bet. How many times have we had to overlook some bizarre behavior in others to really get to know them? Not to mention others overlooking our tics and oddities. The bookshop is the perfect place for this kind of encounter, with various folks browsing through books providing public intimacy and a languid atmosphere for Andrea and Rabutan to really speak to one another.

Story 5 wraps it up with a ‘Superdelicious French Lesson’. Subodh Samudre plays Ananda, a renaissance hipster and a helluva dancer, who we meet minding the tombs in Story 1, a spinner of lyrical yarns that charms the French out of Missy (Jewel Greenburg), the sweet-natured Sensei whose heart is open and enunciation perfect. Juggling-and film-doesn’t always turn out like this; but they should.

 “Date Number One” was screened as a rough-cut and still needs some sound work, music, and polished edits but the meat is there. Ekanayake has made a very good film, the standouts being the writing, the casting, and the direction of the actors. The film was exec- produced by Ekanayake, Stephen Jenner, Tim Nelson, and Don Ramsey. Ekanayake is distributing the film himself through Wild Diner Films so look for it in a city near you or on DVD.

- rev. by Jerry Brewington 5/30/06