Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival

Documentary Program: Drawn Together

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Free Screening Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity, and Stereotypes Director: Harleen Singh 40 mins | Documentary | USA | English Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity and Stereotypes follows the journey of three talented artists as they use comics and cartoons to challenge racial, religious, and gender stereotypes and inspire others to breakthrough socially and self-imposed limitations. Keith …

Documentary Program: Drawn Together Read More »

Documentary Program: Futbolistas 4 Life

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Free Screening Director: Jun Stinson 40 mins | Documentary | USA | English Futbolistas 4 Life is about Oakland teens from Latinx immigrant families and the healing power of soccer. The film takes you into the lives of two high schoolers: one is a college hopeful and DACA applicant navigating the reality of his immigration …

Documentary Program: Futbolistas 4 Life Read More »

Shorts Program: Musical Shorts

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Free Screening 75 mins What do a street dancer, violin virtuoso, keeper of sacred tradition, and femme-forward hip hop artist-activist all have in common? Their love of music. This mixed block of two narrative and two doc shorts explores a few of the many different relationships that people have with music, and the impact it …

Shorts Program: Musical Shorts Read More »

Music of Asian America Workshop: No-No Boy

University of Pennsylvania, ARCH Arch Building, 3601 Locust Walk, Room 108, Philadelphia, PA, United States

In partnership with Music of Asian America Research Center and University of Pennsylvania Asian American Studies Program, we present the third annual PAAFF Conference. This year’s three-day conference explores the Music of Asian America through a series of paper presentations and interactive workshops that will run parallel to festival film programming, punctuated by two live …

Music of Asian America Workshop: No-No Boy Read More »

Documentary Program: Havana Divas

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Free Screening Director: S. Louisa Wei 90 mins | Documentary | Hong Kong | Chinese Caridad Amaran and Georgina Wong learned the art of Cantonese opera in 1930s Havana. Caridad’s mentor was her foster father, Julian Fong, who immigrated to Cuba in the 1920s after his family forbade him from performing opera. Georgina’s father was …

Documentary Program: Havana Divas Read More »

Shorts Program: Never Again is Now

University of Pennsylvania, ARCH Arch Building, 3601 Locust Walk, Room 108, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Free Screening This mixed program of doc and narrative shorts explores the similarities and differences between anti-Japanese sentiment that led to the community’s mass incarceration during WWII and Islamophobic bigotry in the post-9/11 and Trump Era. The block of six shorts is evenly split between Japanese American and Muslim/Sikh/South Asian stories for an evocative program …

Shorts Program: Never Again is Now Read More »

Music of Asian America Workshop: Sining Kapuluan

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

In partnership with Music of Asian America Research Center and University of Pennsylvania Asian American Studies Program, we present the third annual PAAFF Conference. This year’s three-day conference explores the Music of Asian America through a series of paper presentations and interactive workshops that will run parallel to festival film programming, punctuated by two live …

Music of Asian America Workshop: Sining Kapuluan Read More »

Centerpiece Narrative: Fiction and Other Realities

Lightbox Film Center 3701 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Philadelphia Premiere Director: Bobby Choy and Steve Lee 85 mins | Drama | South Korea, USA | Korean, English Get Tickets Fiction and Other Realities is the story of Bobby Choy, a 20-something Korean American residing in New York City who feels like a stranger in the country in which he was born. After his …

Centerpiece Narrative: Fiction and Other Realities Read More »

Music of Asian America Conference: Militarism, Masculinity, and the Music of Asian America

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

CHAIR: Mandi Magnuson-Hung (Wells Fargo History Museum) One of the most enduring stereotypes in North America is the emasculated Asian male. Created in the late 19th century, this belief arose partly because early Chinese immigrants often had queues and wore silk gowns, and partly because they were forced to take jobs doing what many White …

Music of Asian America Conference: Militarism, Masculinity, and the Music of Asian America Read More »

Free

Music of Asian America Workshop: Activist Songbook

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Presented by Byron Au Yong and Aaron Jafferis CHAIR: Lei Ouyang Bryant (Swarthmore College) Join composer Byron Au Yong and writer Aaron Jafferis as they teach material from Activist Songbook, a collection of 53 songs and raps to counteract hate. Material for Activist Songbook is based on interviews of Asian American, immigrant, and refugee organizers.  …

Music of Asian America Workshop: Activist Songbook Read More »

Free

Chef Demo

Reading Terminal Market 12th & Arch Streets, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Several market vendors will be adding limited quantities of Filipino dishes to their menus for one-day-only as part of our Filipino Food Sunday event. Vendors confirmed to date include Sang Kee (Seafood Palabok) and Flying Monkey Bakery (Ube Cupcakes)

Free

Documentary Program: Forbidden City, USA

Institute of Contemporary Art 118 S 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong’s documentary Forbidden City, USA takes you inside the glamorous world of Chinatown nightclubs in World War II San Francisco. You will meet the “Chinese Fred Astaire,” the “Chinese Sophie Tucker,” and the “Chinese Sally Rand.” Eighty years before the all-Asian cast of Crazy Rich Asians made box office headlines, the …

Documentary Program: Forbidden City, USA Read More »

Free

Documentary Program: Anote’s Ark

Lightbox Film Center 3701 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA, United States

The  low-lying  Pacific  nation  of  Kiribati  faces  a  daunting  challenge:  imminent  annihilation  from  sea-level  rise.  As  Anote  Tong,  Kiribati’s  President,  races  to  find  a  way  to  protect  his  nation’s  people  and  maintain  their  dignity,  many  iKiribati  are   seeking  safe  harbor  overseas.  Set  against  the  backdrop  of  international  climate  negotiations  and  the  fight  to  recognize …

Documentary Program: Anote’s Ark Read More »

Centerpiece Documentary—Ulam: Main Dish

Lightbox Film Center 3701 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Philadelphia Premiere Director: Alexandra Cuerdo 79 mins | Documentary | USA | English Get Tickets In this delicious new documentary, Filipino-American filmmaker Alexandra Cuerdo follows the rise of Filipino food via the award-winning chefs who are crossing over to the center of the American table. Watch Trailer Ulam: Main Dish stages this new culinary movement …

Centerpiece Documentary—Ulam: Main Dish Read More »

Keep Me Posted

InterAct Theater 302 S Hicks Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Live Performance Writer & Director: Stephanie Kyung-Sun Walters 90 mins | Live Performance Celeste Moon is new to internet fame. Followed on social media and IRL, this hyper-trendy insta-poet is no stranger to looking over her shoulder. But after a series of mysteriously specific packages falls into her hands, she is forced to face her …

Keep Me Posted Read More »

Documentary Program—Getting Lao’d: The Rise of Modern Lao Music & Films

Fleisher Art Memorial 719 Catharine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States

East Coast Premiere Director: Steve Arounsack 40 mins | Documentary | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | English, Lao After 25 years of silence, the private Lao music and film industries are reawakening. Filmed over 10 years, Getting Lao’d follows a new generation of young pioneers as they reimagine Lao media in a communist country. The …

Documentary Program—Getting Lao’d: The Rise of Modern Lao Music & Films Read More »

Free

Documentary Program: JIZOLIBIDO

US Premiere Director: Yoshiaki Kasatani 61 mins | Documentary | Japan | Japanese Atelier Yamanami is a care facility for the disabled located in Koka, Shiga Prefecture in Japan. Currently, 88 users are registered as artists, all of whom possess a unique way of expressing themselves through various media and whose works are highly valued …

Documentary Program: JIZOLIBIDO Read More »

Free

Live Performance: Voided

Lightbox Film Center 3701 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Writer, Director & Performer: Pratima Agrawal 80 mins | Live Performance What is it like to be an unconventional Indian woman trying to exist in a marginalizing world? Voided is a solo performance inspired by Pratima’s own experiences and the true story of Kalpana Chawla (the first Indian female astronaut in space and one of …

Live Performance: Voided Read More »

Free

WWII Anti-Japanese Propaganda & Hollywood

12 Gates Art Gallery 106 N 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Rob Buscher (University of Pennsylvania) Beginning with Thomas Edison’s 1898 documentary news reel footage of the Wreck of the Battleship Maine and subsequent coverage of the Spanish-American War, film has played an important role in the way that Americans understand and consume conflict. As the technology used to produce motion pictures improved and Hollywood became …

WWII Anti-Japanese Propaganda & Hollywood Read More »

Free

Shorts Program: Metamorphosis

Fleisher Art Memorial 719 Catharine St, Philadelphia, PA, United States

This program of seven shorts each deal with a major transition, literal or figurative, and each challenge conventional storytelling in their execution. Fleisher Art Memorial | 61 mins Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. Monster Me Director: Yeon Jin Lee | 13 mins | USA An ancient monster emerges from the “Old Faithful” geyser …

Shorts Program: Metamorphosis Read More »

Free