East Coast Premiere Director: Sky Wang 90 mins | Drama, Horror, Action, Thriller | China | Chinese Mystery unfolds as a group of individuals are confronted by undead forces outside of an abandoned factory but then go about their business as usual the next day. An unexplained virus suddenly breaks out and turns people into …
Asian Arts Initiative | 46 mins A serial dater-turned-killer, ghost children, and spiritually possessed painting are just a few of the topics in this year’s five-film Horror Genre Shorts program. Not for the faint of heart. Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. What’s That in the Ground? Director: Wally Chung | 2 mins | …
Asian Arts Initiative | 72 mins Told through visual poetry and narrative, and infused with stunning color and sound, these shorts recognize the trials and triumphs of family, explore the environmental traumas inflicted upon Oceania, and share the pride and resilience of these communities throughout history to the present. We would like to express our …
Shorts Program: Experimental Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Read More »
12-5pm | Asian Arts Initiative Lead Artists: Aizhanneya Carter and Claris Park Welcome to the Department of Judgement Zoning. We invite you to navigate the bizarrely familiar world of The Department of Judgement Zoning where identity rules and bureaucracy is not as mundane as it seems… Efficiency is valued at the DJZ, so please make …
East Coast Premiere Director: Steven de Castro 120 mins | Documentary | Philippines | English Revolution Selfie expands the horizons of documentary storytelling while broadening our understanding about the lesser-known fronts in the global “War on Terror.” Filmmaker Steven De Castro paints a portrait of the 48-year-old Maoist guerilla army in the Philippine hinterlands. But …
Documentary Program—Revolution Selfie: The Red Battalion Read More »
Get Tickets Things are changing on the Tibetan Plateau. With diminishing grasslands, falling livestock prices, smaller families, and a rise in the number of children going to school, the nomads are finding it increasingly hard to continue their traditional way of life. Many are leaving the grasslands, struggling at this time of transition to keep …
Curators: Sara Zia Ebrahimi & Lila Yomtoob Asian Arts Initiative | 64 mins Having a hyphenated identity is more than just being between worlds and fixed identities. It includes the active process of forging a new cultural space—a cultural remix. It is often the work of the first generation after a significant migration to begin …
Shorts Program—Iran Hyphenated: Short Films of the Iranian Diaspora Read More »
East Coast Premiere Director: Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu 70 mins | Documentary | Tonga | English Leitis in Waiting is the story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga Leitis, an intrepid group of native transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and intolerance in their South Pacific Kingdom. The …
US premiere Director: Kenichi Omori 91 mins | Documentary | Japan | Japanese As part of the celebrations to commemorate the 450th anniversary of Mihara Castle’s construction, the youth from the Yassa Daruman neighborhood have undertaken a glorious project: to spread the popularity of Yassa Daruman, Mihara City’s official mascot, around the country. Inspired by …
Director: Henry Koster 133 min | Musical, Comedy, Romance | USA | English In this adaptation of the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, Chinese immigrant Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) is betrothed to nightclub boss Sammy Fong (Jack Soo), but he wants to marry showgirl Linda Low (Nancy Kwan). To get out of the arrangement, …
Asian Arts Initiative | 81 mins This program of six narrative shorts explores a variety of perspectives on queer-ness, coming out, and embracing one’s identity both overseas and amongst the Asian immigrant generation in the US. Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. Hoài (Ongoing/Memory) Director: Quyen Nguyen Le | 11 mins | USA A …
Shorts Program: Intergenerational & Overseas Perspectives on Queer Idenitity Read More »
Director: Prakash Angdembe 105 mins | Documentary | Bhutan, India, Nepal | Nepali Desh Khojdai Janda’s film documents the more than 120,000 forgotten Nepali-speaking Bhutanese citizens from Bhutan who spent two decades in refugee camps (some of whom are still living there) in Jhapa and Morang, Nepal. Their years of repatriation struggle to their homeland …
East Coast Premiere Director: Kulap Vilaysack 106 mins | Documentary | Laos | English, Lao In her directorial debut, actor/writer/podcaster Kulap Vilaysack explores her tangled family tree to find out who she is. When Vilaysack was 14, she took her father’s side in an argument and her mother replied, “Why are you defending him? He’s …
Director: Stephen Tringali 81 mins | Documentary | USA | English Get Tickets The image of the American hero is challenged in this heartfelt portrait of 9/11 Pentagon first-responder Isaac Ho’opi’i. A nationally recognized K9 Unit Officer, Isaac Ho’opi’i was responsible for saving numerous people from the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on September 11, …
Philadelphia Premiere Director: Dianne Fukami 60 mins | Documentary | USA | English Get Tickets A son of immigrants forced into a U.S. World War II concentration camp as a child, Norman Mineta became the first Asian American mayor of a major city (San Jose, California); enjoyed a distinguished 20-year career in Congress; was the …
Closing Night Documentary—An American Story: Norman Mineta & His Legacy Read More »
You are cordially invited to PAAFF Dine-In Theater, our newest virtual fundraiser. Join us for dinner and a movie, PAAFF style! We’ve paired the ultimate all ages, feel-good documentary with your choice of Dinner for 2 from two of Philadelphia’s acclaimed Asian-owned restaurants. Choose a curated meal from either bāo•logy or Hardena/Waroeng Surabaya. Bao-logy showcases …
Dine-In Theater featuring Go Grandriders, Bao-logy, and Hardena Read More »
This year PAAFF will be livestreaming our Preview Party, and you’re invited! So kick off your shoes, slip into your sweats, pour yourself a glass of something special, and tune into our Facebook, Youtube, or Twitch channels on Thursday October 8, at 6:30PM ET for an exclusive sneak peek at our festival lineup. If you’re …
PAAFF is hosting this brunch with our Queer Asian family: Queer Asian Social Club, Philly Asian and Queer, hotpot! Philly, and Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists Continuing our new tradition of Queer Brunch-ing during our festival, we are inviting everyone in our queer-identifying, Asian diasporic, film-loving community to join us in this virtual space to connect …
Join us for the inaugural meeting of our new PAAFF Film Club. We'll be discussing Wayne Wang’s feature debut Chan is Missing (1982).
For our April meeting, we will be discussing Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989). Vietnamese-born Trinh T. Minh-ha's profoundly personal documentary explores the role of Vietnamese women both historically and in contemporary society. Using dance, printed texts, folk poetry, and the words and experiences of Vietnamese women in Vietnam—from both North and South—and the United …
