The 44th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF44) announces its full lineup. “Filipinos in Focus: LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE and THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS,” will play as an in-person double feature Special Presentation event on Aug. 18. Cast and crew of both films will be attending the event. The Closing Night film will be BLUE BAYOU, with an in-person screening and reception on Aug. 22. AAIFF44 will take place from Aug. 11-22 as a hybrid festival.
Special Presentation – “Filipinos in Focus: A Double Feature of LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE and THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS”
- Aug. 18 at the Philippine Center New York (556 5th Ave, NY, NY 10036)
- 4:30 pm – Screening of LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE + Q&A
- 6:30 pm – Reception
- 7:30 pm – Screening of FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS + Q&A
- $30 for double feature + reception, $20 for single film + reception
- Get tickets at https://www.aaiff.org/aaiff44/filipinos-in-focus-a-double-feature
Closing Night – BLUE BAYOU
- Aug. 22 at Quad Cinema (34 W 13th Street, NY, NY 10011)
- 6:00 pm – Screening
- 8:00 pm – Reception
- $40 General Ticket
- Get tickets at https://www.aaiff.org/aaiff44/closing-night-screening-reception-blue-bayou
The full lineup consists of 25 International Films, 13 World Premieres, 14 East Coast Premieres, and 18 New York City Premieres. This year's program includes 92 directors and 15 returning AAIFF alums. More information on the full lineup can be found at https://www.aaiff.org/program.
Early Bird Gold and Cine Pass are currently on sale at https://www.aaiff.org/ticketing at $90 and $175. The early bird pricing will end on Aug. 4. Other ticket tiers are also available now:
- 3-Pack: Providing a pack of 3 tickets that can be used for any online screening at $25
- 5-Pack: Providing a pack of 5 tickets that can be used for any online screening at $40
- Regular Ticket: Providing admission for single viewer for the program specified on the ticket at $10
- Household Ticket: Providing admission for viewers living in the same household to view the program specified on the ticket together at $15
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
- SNAKEHEAD – Opening Night Screening – East Coast Premiere
Directed by Evan Jackson Leong – U.S. – English/Mandarin/Cantones
An immigrant gets caught up in an international crime ring of human smuggling while attempting to make a better life for her family.
- THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS – Special Presentation – New York City Premiere
Directed by Dante Basco – U.S./Philippines – English/Tagalog
From Northern California to the Philippines, four brothers confront their issues with love, family, and culture, surrounding a highly controversial Filipino wedding.
- LUMPIA WITH A VENGEANCE – Special Presentation – New York City Premiere
Directed by Patricio Ginelsa – U.S. – English/Tagalog
The LUMPIA-armed avenger reappears in Fogtown and teams up with high school student Rachel to prevent a crime syndicate from selling drugs masked as food in this crowdfunded action comedy.
- BLUE BAYOU – Closing Night Screening – New York City Premiere
Directed by Justin Chon – U.S. – English/Vietnamese
A Korean adoptee raised in a small Louisiana town works hard to care for his wife and stepdaughter until his life is derailed by the threat of deportation.
- THE TERRORIZERS – Retrospective
Directed by Edward Yang – Taiwan – Mandarin/Taiwanese
A metaphysical mystery about the lives of three couples in Taipei that continually intersect over a span of several weeks.
This screening is co-presented by MUBI
CUNY SHORTS SHOWCASE
Since 2004, the CUNY Asian American Film Festival (AAFF) has recognized and awarded over $13,500 in cash prizes to student filmmakers enrolled at the City University of New York, including City College, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Lehman College, College of Staten Island, and Queens College. The CUNY AAFF helps to promote the artistic visual talents and stimulate communication among CUNY students who are separated by the different campuses, and serve as a central location to display their creative works. Finalists screen at the Asian American International Film Festival.
- MORKOVCHA [KOREAN CARROT SALAD] (Морковча)
Directed by Lidiya Kan – U.S./Russia/Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan – Russian/English
This documentary tells the story of Lidiya Kan's Korean family's nearly century-long journey from the Russian Far East to their new home in the United States.
- SOCIAL ANXIETY
Directed by Philip Choi – South Korean – English
A young student from South Korea holds on to his last hope—his faith—while suffering social anxiety and a traumatic event in America.
- DEEPEST MEMORY
Directed by SiaoMin Loh – U.S – Mandarin
In this animated short, the filmmaker recalls their deepest memories and the atmosphere of celebrating Lunar New Year Eve with family in Malaysia as a child—something they haven't experienced since coming to the United States.
- IN LOVING MEMORY (OF WHO WE USED TO BE)
Directed by Vicky Lee – U.S. – English/Cantonese
IN LOVING MEMORY (OF WHO WE USED TO BE) is reminiscent of the growing pains and awkward tween years of a Chinese-American girl.
- THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US – International Premiere
Directed by Kainoa Presbitero – U.S. – English
After a miscarriage, Alex and Christina deal with the loneliness and hurt of the emotional distance that has come between them.
- The Film Lab's 2021 72 Hour Shootout TOP TEN: BE A HERO – World Premiere
Hosted by the Asian American Film Lab – U.S. – English
The 72 Hour Shootout filmmaking competition (the “Shootout”) is an annual global filmmaking competition celebrating diversity in front of and behind the camera.
NARRATIVE FEATURES
- AMERICANISH
Directed by Iman Zawahry – U.S. – English
In Jackson Heights, Queens, two sisters and their fresh-off-the-boat cousin try all the conventional ways to earn the love and respect of the matriarch of their family, only to learn that life works out in the most unconventional ways.
- DINNER PARTY – World Premiere
Directed by Chris Naoki Lee – U.S. – English
If you met your childhood friends today, would you still f*ck with them?
- IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE (もうひとつのことば) – East Coast Premiere
Directed by Masaya Tsutsumi – Japan – Japanese/English
Tokyo, Summer 2020. In a “One Coin English Cafe” where participants can enjoy English conversation for a small price, a man and a woman start playing a game in which they act like different people only when they speak English.
- INBETWEEN GIRL – New York City Premiere
Directed by Mei Makino – U.S. – English
After her parents' sudden divorce, teen artist Angie Chen turns to secret hookups with the heartthrob of her private school.
- MICKEY ON THE ROAD (迷走廣州) – East Coast Premiere
Directed by Mian Mian Lu – Taiwan/China – Mandarin/Taiwanese
Two young Taiwanese women travel to Guangzhou in pursuit of elusive dreams.
- SEE YOU THEN – East Coast Premiere
Directed by Mari Walker – U.S. – English
Kris, a transgender computer programmer, and Naomi, an Asian American performance artist, dated in college but haven't seen each other since Kris left town 15 years ago.
- TAIPEI SUICIDE STORY (安眠旅舍)
Directed by KEFF – Taiwan – Mandarin
Over the course of one night, a receptionist at a suicide hotel in Taipei, Taiwan forms a fleeting friendship with a guest who can't decide if she wants to live or die.
- THE KNOT (Uljhan)
Directed by Ashish Pant – India – Hindi
An upper middle class couple hits a rickshaw driver with their car and must face the moral implications of their actions when the driver's younger brother shows up at their doorstep informing them the injured man is fighting for his life.
- WAIKIKI
Directed by Christopher Kahunahana – Hawai'i – English/Hawaiian
In this cinematic allegory of love and loss, a hula dancer fights for survival and her sanity in the shadows of Waikiki.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
- A SEXPLANATION – New York City Premiere
Directed by Alex Liu – U.S., Canada – English
To right the wrongs of his all-American sex education, 36-year-old Alex Liu goes on a quest to uncover naked truths and hard facts—no matter how awkward it gets.
- A RIFLE AND A BAG
Directed by Cristina Hanes/Isabella Rinaldi/Arya Rothe (NoCut Film Collective) – India/Romania/Italy/Qatar – Hindi/Madia (tribal)/Gondi (tribal)
A young Indian couple of surrendered communist rebels, the Naxalites, is fighting for their children's future.
- BOOKMARK 14 (Juuyonsai no Shiori) – International Premiere
Directed by Ryo Takebayashi – Japan – Japanese
This is a documentary about youth that closely follows all of the students in a single second-year junior high school class.
- CANE FIRE
Directed by Anthony Banua-Simon – U.S. – English/Pidgin English/Olelo Hawaiian
CANE FIRE examines the past and present of the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi, creating a kaleidoscopic portrait of the economic and cultural forces that have cast indigenous and working-class residents as “extras” in their own story.
- FATHER (爷爷和父亲) – U.S. Premiere
Directed by Deng Wei – China – Chinese/Leiyang Dialect
This film captures the fraught relationship between the director's father, a property developer, and his grandfather, a blind fortune teller, as they negotiate past resentments and an uncertain future.
- WUHAN WUHAN – International Premiere
Directed by Yung Chang – China – Mandarin/Chinese Dialects
As the city of Wuhan, China locked down at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, filmmaker Yung Chang and a group of intrepid videographers were able to document life at the epicenter.
