The 44th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF44) announced the award winners of this year. Sinophone – especially Taiwanese – films did especially well this year. The award of Emerging Director – Narrative Feature went to KEFF, director of “Taipei Suicide Story”, and the award of Emerging Director – Documentary Feature went to Wei Deng, director of “Father”. The full list of award winners and nominees is highlighted below. A hybrid festival combining in-person events with online screenings, AAIFF44 took place from Aug. 11-22.
AAIFF44 celebrated storytelling by the AAPI community with 102 feature and short films, in-person events such as Comedy Night Out and Music Video Showcase, as well as in-person and livestreamed panels including Americanish: A Case Study in American-Muslim Representation, 35 Years of Taipei Stories, and A Paradise Lost: Hollywood's Effect on Hawai'i. 13 jury prize award winners were determined by leading industry professionals including Isabel Sandoval, director/producer/screenwriter of “Lingua Franca”, Bao Tran, director/producer/screenwriter of “The Paper Tigers”, and more.
AWARD NOMINEES & WINNERS
- EMERGING DIRECTOR – NARRATIVE FEATURE
TAIPEI SUICIDE STORY, dir. KEFF – Taiwan
INBETWEEN GIRL, dir. Mei Makino – USA
WAIKIKI, dir. Chris Kahunahana – Hawai'i
- EMERGING DIRECTOR – DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
FATHER, dir. Wei Deng – China
BOOKMARK 14, dir. Ryo Takebayashi – Japan
CANE FIRE, dir. Anthony Banua-Simon – USA
- EXCELLENCE IN SHORT FILMMAKING – NARRATIVE
APART, TOGETHER, dir. Olivia Hang Zhou – USA
LEARNING TAGALOG WITH KAYLA, dir. Kayla Abuda Galang – USA
LITTLE SKY – dir. Jess X. Snow – USA
MAGIC KINGDOM, dir. Nelson Ng Chak-Hei – USA, Hong Kong
- EXCELLENCE IN SHORT FILMMAKING – DOCUMENTARY
MAHALANG: A LOVE LETTER TO GUAM, dir. Elliot de Bruyn, Nathaniel Brown, Caili Quan – Guam
3 CENTS A KILO, dir. Shao Min Chew Chia – Singapore
SỐNG Ở ĐÂY (TO LIVE HERE), dir. Melanie Ho – USA
- EXCELLENCE IN CINEMATOGRAPHY – FEATURE
BOOKMARK 14, Tatsuyuki Kozen, Kazuko Yonezawa – Japan
TAIPEI SUICIDE STORY, Tzu-Hao Kao – Taiwan (Honorable Mention)
MICKEY ON THE ROAD, Shen-Siang Fan – Taiwan
- EXCELLENCE IN CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHORT
LAST FERRY FROM GRASS LAND, Giorgos Valsamis – Hong Kong, USA
MAGIC KINGDOM, Taylor Mcintosh – Hong Kong, USA
WHO CAN PREDICT WHAT WILL MOVE YOU, Jack Davis – USA
- EXCELLENCE IN EDITING – FEATURE
THE KNOT, Vibhav Nigam – India
DINNER PARTY, Chris Naoki Lee – USA
IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE, Masaya Tsutsumi – Japan
- EXCELLENCE IN EDITING – SHORT
FISHBOWL, Jacqueline Chan – USA
FAMILY HEIRLOOM, William Pinke – USA
MAHÅLANG: A LOVE LETTER TO GUAM, Elliot Debruyn – Guam
- EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE
MICKEY ON THE ROAD, Yu-Ting Weng – Taiwan
AMERICANISH, Caley Bisson, Kait Murphy – USA
WAIKIKI, Analu Tomoso – USA
- EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN – SHORT
HELLO FROM TAIWAN, Shi Min Yong – USA, Taiwan
LADY APSARA, Lianne Arnold – USA
THE BLACK KITE, Hsuan Lee – Taiwan
- EXCELLENCE IN SCREENWRITING – FEATURE
INBETWEEN GIRL, Mei Makino – USA
IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE, Masaya Tsustumi – Japan
SEE YOU THEN, Kristen Uno, Mari Walker – USA
- EXCELLENCE IN SCREENWRITING – SHORT
APART, TOGETHER, Olivia Hang Zhou, Jess Kohs – USA
DISASTER PANTIES, Amanda Centeno – USA
GOOD NEWS, Osric Chau – Canada
- FOR YOUTH BY YOUTH ONE TO WATCH
THE GULL'S SHRIEK, Ava Ghahremanifar – Iran
BEYOND THE MODEL, Jessica Lin – USA
GERALD'S BAD JUJU, Sandeep Vadlamudi – USA
MY PUMPKIN, MY BOO, Marina Yap – Canada
