2020 Seattle Asian American Film Festival
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Language
English
LGBTQ
,
Documentary
A Big Fat Taiwanese Same-Sex Wedding Banquet
Film
A Big Fat Taiwanese Same-Sex Wedding Banquet
Directed by Larry Tung
LGBTQIA history is made in Taiwan! A traditional Taiwanese banquet takes place in front of the Presidential Office…
Drama
Ahma & Alan
Film
Ahma & Alan
Directed by James Y. Shih
Alan is a Taiwanese American who teaches English to Kindergartners in Taiwan and helps Ahma (grandmother) manage her…
Drama
Awaken
Film
Awaken
Directed by Leena Pendharkar
Parminder Nagra (Bend It Like Beckham, ER, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) stars as Rahki Singh, a high-powered executive who…
Documentary
,
Feature-Length Films
Between Tides
Film
Between Tides
Directed by Masa Fox
The multi-ethnic Bonin Islanders grew up on an island in the Pacific Ocean as Japanese nationals under a…
Documentary
Big Scissors, Small Scissors
Film
Big Scissors, Small Scissors
Directed by Sarah Choi
Zhao Meiling is a renowned paper cutting artist practicing a 5000 year old artform passed down to her…
Drama
Bitter Melons
Film
Bitter Melons
Directed by Thavary Krouch
Sophia is a line cook who recognizes the power of a family recipe. The vital connection she has…
LGBTQ
,
Documentary
,
Feature-Length Films
Born to Be
Film
Born to Be
Directed by Tania Cypriano
"Born to Be" follows the work of Dr. Jess Ting, a plastic surgeon at the groundbreaking Mount Sinai…
Drama
Breakaway
Film
Breakaway
Directed by Jenny Lee-Gilmore
Growing up in the 1970’s Vancouver, Sammy dreams of playing ice hockey. Despite economic barriers, Sammy's resourcefulness and…
Comedy
,
Thriller
Brunch Wars
Film
Brunch Wars
Directed by Kamran Khan
Kel, Mal and Billie become frenemies when it's time to compete in their monthly brunch showdown of culinary…
LGBTQ
,
Drama
,
Comedy
Bubble
Film
Bubble
Directed by Alyssa Lerner
Frances is a sixteen year old at the intersection of her emerging queer identity and the 2008 subprime…
Drama
,
Animation
Centaur Hunter
Film
Centaur Hunter
Directed by David Chai
When a girl witnesses a centaur murder her father, she is blinded by hatred. She seeks vengeance, but…
LGBTQ
,
Documentary
COVER/AGE
Film
COVER/AGE
Directed by Set Hernandez Rongkilyo
The Affordable Care Act explicitly denies undocumented immigrants access to healthcare. While laws in California have now made…
Documentary
Dancing In Silk
Film
Dancing In Silk
Directed by Magali An Berthon
Khannia Ok, Associate Artistic Director of Khmer Arts Academy, is a young Cambodian American woman who teaches Khmer…
Detourning Asia/America with Valerie Soe
Film
Detourning Asia/America with Valerie Soe
Directed by Mila Zuo
This cyberpunk academic dive explores how Valerie Soe has used detournement (hijacking and reappropriation of propaganda) as a…
Drama
Dive Bar
Film
Dive Bar
Directed by Dorothy Xiao
Having lost her husband two years prior, Leena is stuck in an unending ritual of drinking to excess…
Drama
Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki
Film
Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki
Directed by Justyn Ah Chong
Keali'i is a soft-spoken janitor who cleans up after the careless onslaught of the tourism industry in downtown…
Drama
,
Feature-Length Films
Empty By Design
Film
Empty By Design
Directed by Andrea A. Walter
Two people find themselves back in the Philippines after years of being away. Feeling isolated their friendship helps…
Drama
End of Summer
Film
End of Summer
Directed by Serena C Kuo
Dawn is driving to her first semester of college with her parents, Jian-Cherng and Marianne. Moving to the…
LGBTQ
,
Comedy
Engaged
Film
Engaged
Directed by David Scala
A grotesque comedy of errors seems to always get in the way of Darren’s perfect proposal to Elliot.…
Documentary
Fallen Star Rising Sun
Film
Fallen Star Rising Sun
Directed by Bake Phouikham
Ko Chandetka’s family fled Laos in 1975 to seek asylum in Elgin, Illinois. Bodybuilding becomes an escape from…
Documentary
,
Feature-Length Films
,
Centerpiece Films
Geographies of Kinship
Film
Geographies of Kinship
Directed by Deann Borshay Liem
In this powerful tale about the rise of Korea’s global adoption program, four adult adoptees return to their…
Thriller
Go To Sleep: A Lao Ghost Story
Film
Go To Sleep: A Lao Ghost Story
Directed by Phet Mahathongdy
Khon is a Laotian American man torn between the pressures of his professional life and the supernatural reminders…
Comedy
Grandma’s 80th Surprise
Film
Grandma’s 80th Surprise
Directed by Curtis Lum, Fola Evans-Akingbola
Curtis has to confront his family’s colorism when he brings his black girlfriend, Ella, to dinner. Tensions run…
Drama
Hae Hawai’i
Film
Hae Hawai’i
Directed by Ty Sanga
Set at the time of the illegal overthrow of the Hawai’ian monarchy in 1893, the unseated monarchy finds…
LGBTQ
,
Drama
Halwa
Film
Halwa
Directed by Gayatri Bajpai, Nirav Bhakta
One friend's idle gossip shakes Sujata Chopra out of the domestic stupor she has felt pressured to live…
Drama
,
Feature-Length Films
,
Centerpiece Films
Happy Cleaners
Film
Happy Cleaners
Directed by Julian Kim, Peter S. Lee
Mr. and Mrs. Choi own and operate Happy Cleaners, the family dry cleaning business. Mr. Choi has been…
Documentary
Ikebana
Film
Ikebana
Directed by Alejandro Yoshizawa
Kaz Takahashi shares her experience as a Japanese Canadian, and how she continues to reclaim culture and community…
Documentary
,
Feature-Length Films
Jeronimo
Film
Jeronimo
Directed by Joseph Juhn
In 1905, 1033 Koreans were sold as indentured servants to landlords in Yucatán, Mexico. Some of them moved…
LGBTQ
,
Drama
Kama’aina Child of the Land
Film
Kama’aina Child of the Land
Directed by Kimi Howl Lee
First-time actor, Malia Kamalani Soon, delivers an unflinching performance as newly-homeless Mahina. Kama’aina is an uncompromising and intimate…
Drama
Last Taxi Dance
Film
Last Taxi Dance
Directed by Brayden Yoder
In post-WWII Hawai’i, the minimum wage is 40 cents a day, or 4 dance tickets. Mahea is a…
Drama
Leotard
Film
Leotard
Directed by Stephanie Cheng
Alice has a sexual awakening before ballet class. With heightened senses, she experiences the world anew in the…
Thriller
Loop
Film
Loop
Directed by Matt Dy
Local filmmaker, Matt Dy, brings visuals evocative of “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Paranoia Agent” to the suburbs. This horror…
Documentary
,
Feature-Length Films
Love Boat Taiwan
Film
Love Boat Taiwan
Directed by Valerie Soe
Love Boat: Taiwan, a feature-length documentary, looks into of one of the longest running summer programs in the…
Drama
Mauka to Makai
Film
Mauka to Makai
Directed by Alika Maikau, Jonah Okano
Mauka to Makai offers an unfiltered window into a day in the lives of two cousins, who, while…
Drama
Mo’o!
Film
Mo’o!
Directed by Anela Ling
Grief manifests in conflict for two cousins growing up in O’ahu. Kekoa’s teenage cynicism gives way to hope…
Documentary
No One Ever Really Dies
Film
No One Ever Really Dies
Directed by Anika Kan Grevstad, Mari Young
Jun Takahashi is an 84 year old Japanese man and maverick with an irreverent perspective on life. His…
Drama
,
Comedy
,
Free Programs
,
Feature-Length Films
normal. (FREE)
Film
normal. (FREE)
Directed by Mragendra Singh
After having their first child, an interracial couple struggles to hold onto their marriage while dealing with temptations…
Documentary
,
Free Programs
,
Feature-Length Films
On the Brink (FREE)
Film
On the Brink (FREE)
Directed by Jeff Shulman, Steven Fong
Seattle’s Central District was the largest enclave of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest. The once-thriving community now…
Drama
Papaya
Film
Papaya
Directed by Kayleb Lee
The impact of warfare and trauma is diffused through the generations, as a Cambodian family’s papaya salad recipe…
Drama
Passage
Film
Passage
Directed by Asavari Kumar
Asavari is an Indian animator who responded to the 2016 election by bringing together collaborators and artists from…
Comedy
Pussy Talk
Film
Pussy Talk
Directed by Kim Tran
Kate's date is going well. Until her vagina ruins it.
Documentary
,
Feature-Length Films
,
Centerpiece Films
Seadrift
Film
Seadrift
Directed by Tim Tsai
In 1979, a Vietnamese refugee shoots and kills a white crab fisherman at the public town docks in…
Animation
Shell Yeah
Film
Shell Yeah
Directed by Ridge Hirano
It’s freshman year of college and Brandon, a turtle, meets his new dorm mate, Trevor, a dolphin. Even…
Thriller
Signal
Film
Signal
Directed by Chloe Hung
Amy and Evan have discovered a new radio signal after a cataclysmic event. Evan isn’t convinced that there…
Drama
SIN-SFO
Film
SIN-SFO
Directed by Leon Cheo
Angie and Danny are a Singaporean couple who are taking the last step in the naturalization process. Years…
Animation
Taku and Mama
Film
Taku and Mama
Directed by Clarisse Chua
Taku makes masks from the hinoki (cypress) planks that Mama sells in her wood shop. Although it comes…
Drama
,
Feature-Length Films
The Illegal
Film
The Illegal
Directed by Danish Renzu
A gritty realistic story about a young film school student from middle class India who's forced to drop…
Drama
The Mask from Home
Film
The Mask from Home
Directed by Jordan Hwang
The first day of school in a new city is hard for any 13 year old, but April…
Drama
The Pit Where We Were Born
Film
The Pit Where We Were Born
Directed by Alexander Bocchieri
Rudy Boy returns a day early from his prison release to the family farm in Wai’anae to find…
Thriller
The Visit
Film
The Visit
Directed by Roxy Shih
Yi-Hua and Ah Jun are a young pregnant couple with ambitious careers in Taipei. When they go to…
LGBTQ
,
Documentary
Unspoken
Film
Unspoken
Directed by Patrick G. Lee
A chosen family of six queer and trans Asian Americans come together to share what they would love…
Documentary
Vanishing Chinatown: The World of The May’s Photo Studio
Film
Vanishing Chinatown: The World of The May’s Photo Studio
Directed by Emiko Omori
Vanishing Chinatown: The World of The May's Photo Studio brings families together: in the past by splicing together…
Drama
WAVES
Film
WAVES
Directed by Jane Hae Kim
Jamie goes back home for Thanksgiving and experiences an incomplete connection with her Korean American family. Despite being…
Drama
Zoetic
Film
Zoetic
Directed by Julie Zhan, Wesley Chan
Emma’s mother, Jackie, is always looking out for the well-being of everyone besides herself. When Emma urges Jackie…
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