Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival

In the Life of Music

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

Opening Night Film, Narrative Program OPENING RECEPTION 9-11:00pm | Lightbox Film Center Director: Caylee So and Sok Visal 92 mins | Drama | Cambodia | Khmer, English Get Tickets The Life of Music is a story told in three chapters. It tells the story of how one song, “Champa Battambang,” a song made famous by …

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Narrative Program: Moving Parts

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

Philadelphia Premiere Director: Emilie Upczak 77 mins | Drama | Trinidad and Tobago | English After the death of her father, Zhenzhen leaves China to be with her brother, who works construction on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Although she gets a job at a restaurant, she is forced into a compromising position when …

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Documentary Program: Surviving Bokator

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

US Premiere Director: Mark Bochsler 91 mins | Documentary | Cambodia | Central Khmer, English What started as a genocide survivor’s dream to revive an ancient sport becomes an inspiring mission to heal a nation. Surviving Bokator is a heartfelt story about reclaiming cultural identity and building bridges between generations. Filmed over five years, the …

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Musical Showcase: Traditional & Hip Hop

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

Live Performance In this showcase we will be exploring the connections between traditional and contemporary, showing how the lineage of musical practice within multiple generations of diasporic communities has helped create innovative approaches to the wholly American genre of hip hop. As we struggle to define what Asian American music is, what better way of …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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