Presenters of the Asian American International Film Festival
The Woman Who Penned 'Letters from Iwo Jima' Has Never Stopped Writing “If our children can sleep safely for one more day, it would be worth the one more day that we defend this island!” So declares General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, played by Ken Watanabe ...
Dreams, reality, folklore, and everything in between: “It’s a Mad Mad Multiverse” encompasses it all. The collection of shorts traverses unique universes but the themes are universal, covering guilt, trauma, grief, longing, nostalgia, and friendship. Here ...
The underdog congressional campaign of David Kim It has been said that the political identity of Korean Americans was forged in the fires of Sa-I-Gu (also known as the Los Angeles Riots). Following the Rodney King verdict and the sentencing of Soon Ja Du, ...
A movie about filmmaking dreams in its lowest tide This article may contain spoilers. New York City – a sight that gives optimism, especially when your point of view is from the outside looking in. “No New Wave,” the debut feature film by Ziwei Yao, open ...
An ode to the dignity of overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong They dance to celebrate. To remember. To forget. To take up space in a world that demands they give up their individuality in exchange for a meek, submissive existence. In Stefanos Tai’s film ...
It's a last glimpse at some familiar faces “A Father’s Son” is Chinatown’s breathing testament to the pandemic. Patrick Xi Hao Chen began filming in 2019. Sustained by community funds, he hurtled through film shoots like he was on a ticking clock. “It’s ...
A tender glance into the life of a teenager in rural Indonesia Written by: Patricia Kusumaningtyas As the title card rolls, we hear the sound of splashing water. The first frame of the film is a girl, slowly emerging from the bathroom, wearing an all-pur ...
In her first feature film, Judy Lei offers a cathartic reflection on life in Chinatown and her journey to finding herself Written By: Eve Golecruz It’s a film about firsts: the first time our protagonist Judy gets drunk, her first time having sex, her fir ...
Written By: Kano Umezaki Back in late June of 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with documentary filmmaker and activist, Renee Tajima-Peña, about the PBS “Asian Americans” series, the origins of the Asian/American political film movement, and the s ...