Presenters of the Asian American International Film Festival
Revisiting Early AAIFF Films and Their Modern Counterparts In curating this year's archival program, programmer Hai-Li Kong sought to explore the limitless possibilities of film as a medium, selecting works that push the boundaries of how film can be ...
The high stakes of Ashley Chea’s hoop dreams Through what was initially a project about the formation of Asian American basketball leagues, director Erica Tanamachi and producer Jenn Lee Smith found a contemporary story that they could intertwine with ...
KENJI TSUKAMOTO’S ‘ASHIMA’ AND HOLLY M. KAPLAN’S ‘SUNFLOWER GIRL’ As one might expect, all of our selections at the Asian-American International Film Festival cover a wide range of perspectives across various diaspora – from men and women, to the ver ...
Big Brother is Watching What must it be like, to live in constant fear of a government you escaped from but can never truly abandon? C35 Film’s Yi Chen explores that question in her latest film to grace the film festival circuit: “Dissidents.” Chen remar ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Decolonization, and the Power of Intercultural Alliances in Philadelphia The creative discussion at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, ‘The Fight For Our Communities: Save Chinatown,’ unveils a conversation that revolves around the ongoing gen ...
Discovering Myanmar’s struggle against the Myitsone Dam through grassroots activists and the lens of director Emily Hong Nestled between the Mali Hka and N’Mai Hka rivers lies a village once home to Hkawn Mai, Lu Ra, and Ja Hkawn. Emily Hong’s “Above an ...