Asian Arts Initiative | 62 mins In today’s society, technology increasingly impacts how we live our lives from simple things like ordering food and taxis to finding our dating partners. Perhaps those most impacted by the omnipresence of digital technology are the post-millennial youth. This block of four narrative and one doc short explore a …
East Coast Premiere Director: Susann Wentzlaff & Jörg Junge 90 mins | Documentary | Tonga | German & English Being Bruno Banani tells the unique story of the first and only Tongan luger who managed to qualify in an amazingly short amount of time for the Sochi 2014: XXII Olympic Winter Games. Through his name, …
East Coast Premiere Director: Jean Lee 75 mins | Drama, Comedy, Romance | USA | Spanish Pecado Original is an absurdist Spanish language rom com about Eva, a sexually frustrated housewife, her uptight husband, and a freewheeling artist who form an unlikely love triangle with unpredictable results. From “accidentally” purchasing an erotic painting, to fellating …
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 | 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 »
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, …
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 …
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 »
