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“Nurse Unseen” and “The Glassworker” are both set to screen at the inaugural Napa Valley Asian American Film Festival in the Northern California wine country city.

The festival celebrates Asian and Asian American excellence in storytelling and highlights the creativity and innovation at the forefront of contemporary American cinema.

This partnership was inspired, in part, by Iw Group, a creative multicultural agency aligned with Interpublic Group and its founder, Bill Imada, in conversation with Napa Valley College, filmmakers, producers and community leaders.

“Napa Valley is a place where cultures thrive,” said Imada. “The region attracts people of all interests, from artists to agronomists and from entrepreneurs to high-tech innovators. And like many diverse communities that have thrived in Napa for years, Asian Americans are also making a positive impact here. One way to showcase the richness of Asian American stories is through films, and Napa Valley College’s Performing Arts...

There have been funny male stripper movies (The Full Monty), auteur-directed male stripper movies (Magic Mike), Black male stripper movies (three Chocolate City films). Now comes Back on the Strip, yet another attempt to wrest humor and drama from the spectacle of scantily clad men gyrating to audiences of wildly appreciative women. The independent film receiving a wide release definitely leans toward the funnier end of the spectrum, with its overqualified cast including many formidable comedic talents. But despite some amusing moments, it never really takes off, burdened by a tiresome romantic subplot that periodically stops the movie dead in its tracks.

The story revolves around Merlin (Spence Moore II), whose name stems from his lifelong desire to pursue a career as a magician. His supportive single mother Verna (Tiffany Haddish), who narrates the proceedings, encourages him in his dreams and roots for him when he makes an appearance at a local talent contest.

It would come as no surprise to learn that “Back on the Strip” started out as a “Magic Mike” parody. I’m not saying that it did. But what else could explain the bizarrely literal premise of an ensemble indie comedy in which our hero is a wannabe magician who heads to Vegas hoping to be the next David Copperfield, only to wind up shaking his wand for a Chippendales-style male dance revue instead?

What makes “Strip” so consistently funny for most of its too-long two-hour running time isn’t Merlin’s lame prestidigi-dream (that part feels like co-writers Chris Spencer and Eric Daniel have been watching too many Nickelodeon movies) but the sorry state of his fellow dancers: a has-been crew called the Chocolate Chips. That fairly original hook allowed the filmmakers to round up an A-list lineup for this C-grade endeavor. The movie features everyone from Tiffany Haddish...