When the American Dream is a Calvino dreamed by the whole world, respectively. In Mandarin, “Yi” means “one,” and “Nan” means “man.” “Many people think that my name has something to do with the one-child policy, but my mom said the name was given by a ...
‘Asians Were Killed. Nobody Cared. We’re Fighting Back.’
A film by the community, for the community “I’m Not An Activist” takes an inside look at the Dragon Combat Club (DCC), “an NYC-based volunteer initiative for community self-defense.” The club was formed in 2020. They offer free, self-defense classes in N ...
Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death
The reflections on mortality and mother-daughter relationship of Siyi Chen Siyi Chen wrote and directed the documentary “Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death (我们在黑夜的海上)” about the effects of her mother’s post-cancer treatment and aftermath o ...
More AAPI Stories We Can Still Enjoy in 2024
The Asian American International Film Festival is now open for submissions for its 47th annual run in August 2024! We already covered some of the gems we showed at our film festival in 2023. Here are some more from that year, to get a glimpse of the ki ...
Transforming Identity through ‘Metamorphosis’
Would you change races if you could? Confucius says, “honor thy mother,” but at what cost? Asian identity is constantly changing, whether it is the questioning of gender norms in the motherland or grappling with racism in the diaspora. Here are some of t ...
This Music Video is a Motion Ride Through Time
An Interview with the Creator of "Attack, Decay, Release" H.P. Mendoza’s musical triumph, “Attack, Decay, Release,” is not just a movie. It is a family get-together with the strangers you experience it with. Created by a Filipino director based in San Fra ...
Remembering how a Life is Made – and Forgotten
Memorable Shorts Make a Lasting Impression at AAIFF Like an open journal with the hearts of the filmmakers on display, these animated shorts often explore the creator’s history and their ongoing creation of an identity. At times moving, transformative, an ...
Mama Knows Best
Think! Chinatown Shorts Showing at DCTV theater Listen to mama. Why? Because. No ifs, ands, or buts. A grassroots non-profit organization by the name of Think! Chinatown (T!C) produced a set of films for the purpose of passing down oral histories from Ne ...
Familiar Stories Told Differently
This year’s showcase gives 21-and-under filmmakers of Asian descent a chance to reach a wider audience. In the midst of exams and extracurriculars, it is a feat for any student to crank out a short film, let alone ones with high production value. The seve ...