Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

World Premiere of Jess Dang’s ‘Surrender’ to Open 41st LA Asian Pacific Film Festival Lineup

Surrender, written and directed by Jess Dang (courtesy LAAPFF)

The 41st Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) taking place from May 1 to May 7, 2025 will open with the world premiere of Surrender, Jess Dang’s feature directorial debut, starring Andrea Bang and Keiko Agena. Also screening on opening night May 1 is the world premiere of the short documentary, Māhū: A Trans-Pacific Love Story. Directed by Lisette Marie Flanary, the film explores the Native Hawaiian concept of gender fluidity as it follows an innovative theater production by Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne.

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39th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Announces Lineup

Big Fight In Little Chinatown directed By Karen Cho

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival announced the lineup for the 39th edition of the annual showcase of Asian American, Native Hawaian, Pacific Islander, diasporic and Asian international cinema taking place May 4 to May 13, 2023.

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37th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival to Screen Over 139 films

The Fabulous Filipino Brothers

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) announced the complete lineup over 139 films for the 37th edition of the Festival, which is set to take place September 23 to October 2, 2021.

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Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2021 to Open with ‘Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust’

Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) returns for the 37th edition of the Festival taking place from September 23 to October 2, 2021. Due to COVID, the festival will be a hybrid event, taking place both virtually and in person at select cinemas.

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Coronavirus Forces Film Festivals Cancellations and Postponements (LIST)

San Francisco International Film Festival

The coronavirus, (COVID-19) pandemic is having a devastating impact on film festivals with many postponing or cancelling outright. Major festivals such as San Francisco International Film Festival and RiverRun International Film Festival have canceled, while others such as Richmond International Film Festival and Florida Film Festival have been postponed until the Summer or Fall.

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Watch EXCLUSIVE Clip from Indie Film IN A NEW YORK MINUTE at LA Asian Pacific Film Festival

Here is an exclusive clip from IN A NEW YORK MINUTE from first time writer/director Ximan Li. IN A NEW YORK MINUTE stars Celia Au, Amy Chang, Yi Liu, with Ludi Lin, along with Cheng Pei Pei, and will be in the Narrative Feature Competition at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on Tuesday, May 7, 2019.

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Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee’s Immigrant Indie Drama HAPPY CLEANERS to World Premiere at LA Asian Pacific Film Festival

HAPPY CLEANERS

Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee wrote and directed Happy Cleaners, a true independent film, funded via Kickstarter with the support of KoreanAmericanStory that tackles the subject of growing up in an immigrant household. Happy Cleaners, starring Charles Ryu, Hyanghwa Lim, Yeena Sung, and Yun Jeong, will have its World Premiere at the 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and is also screening at the 2019 CAAMFest in San Francisco.

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World Premiere of YELLOW ROSE to Open 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Still from Diane Paragas’s “Yellow Rose” with Eva Noblezada and Dale Watson – Photo by August Thurmer

This year’s 35th edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) returns May 2-10, and will kick off with the World Premiere of Yellow Rose, written and directed by first time feature female filmmaker Diane Paragas. The film stars Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada, Tony Award winning actress and Grammy nominee Lea Salonga, country music star Dale Watson, Liam Booth, Gustavo Gomez (“The Walking Dead”), Libby Villari (“Boyhood”), and Princess Punzalan (“Mula Sa Puso”), and features original songs written by Watson, Paragas, Noblezada and cast.

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‘SEARCHING’ ‘MINDING THE GAP’ ‘IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC’ Win Audience Awards at 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_29286" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] John Cho stars in the LAAPFF Audience Award Winning film SEARCHING – directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems[/caption] The 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) came to a close this past weekend and announced their audience awards for best films at this year’s film extravaganza that began on May 3 and ended on May 12, 2018. The thriller, mystery film “SEARCHING” – directed by first time feature filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty – won the LAAPFF Audience Award for Outstanding North American Narrative Feature Film. The film, starring John Cho and Debra Messing, was a double award winner at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, as well. Audiences at LAAPFF were impressed by the cast, the screenplay, and the direction of the film that centered on a father’s search for his missing teenage daughter and has to turn to the Internet to try and find her. Audiences were abuzz about the film throughout the eight-day festival. “SEARCHING” will open nationally in August in theaters through Screen Gems. The personal documentary “MINDING THE GAP” – directed by Bing Liu – won the LAAPFF Audience Award for Outstanding North American Documentary Feature. Audiences were moved by the filmmaker’s intimate story of three friends who come of age in their twenties and have to face growing up and possibly giving up their skateboarding days. The film also won the LAAPFF Special Jury Prize for Best Director and was an award winner at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, as well. In the International Narrative Feature category, the LAAPFF Audience Award went to “IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC” – directed by Caylee So and Visal Sok – for telling a powerful inter-generational tale that explores love, war, and a family’s relationship to the song Champa Battambang, made famous by Sinn Sisamouth, the King of Cambodian music. The film depicts the lives of people whose world is inevitably transformed by the emergence of the Khmer Rouge. The film also won the LAAPFF Special Jury Prize for Best Director in the International Narrative Feature category. In the International Documentary Feature category, the audience gave the award to “LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY” – directed by Frank W. Chen. This moving film chronicles the life of Taiwanese pro-baseball player Chien-Ming Wang, who was once so dominating on the mound that he was named New York Yankees’ starting pitcher for the inaugural game at New Yankee Stadium in 2009. But after a terrible ankle injury, Wang’s pitches lost their effectiveness, and he soon fell off major league rosters. LATE LIFE follows Wang through his grueling workout routines and unglamorous minor league pit stops as he mounts his remarkable comeback. He is helped along the way by his loyal agent, trainers, Yankees fans, and his family, creating a de-facto support network that keeps him going.
2018 LAAPFF AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS

NORTH AMERICAN NARRATIVE FEATURE
SEARCHING Directed by Aneesh Chaganty
NORTH AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
MINDING THE GAP Directed by Bing Liu
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE
IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC Directed by Caylee So and Visal Sok
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY Directed by Frank W. Chen
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‘FOR IZZY,’ ‘CALL HER GANDA,’ ‘PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE’ ‘WARU’ Take Top Awards at 34th LA Asian Pacific Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_29067" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] FOR IZZY[/caption] The 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) announced their filmmaker awards, and “FOR IZZY,” written and directed by Alex Chu, was awarded the LAAPFF Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding North American Narrative Feature, while the Best Director honor for North American Narrative went to Joanne Park for her film “FISH BONES.” Actress Adelina Amosco was selected for a Special Jury prize for Breakout Performance for her work in “THE FEVER AND THE FRET.” A Special Jury prize for Best Cinematography was awarded to Eunsoo Cho for lensing “AUGUST AT AKIKO’S.” In the non-fiction feature section, “CALL HER GANDA” directed by PJ Raval took home the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding North American Documentary Feature, and Best Director was given to Bing Liu for his personal film “MINDING THE GAP.” The jury gave a Special Jury Mention to “ANOTE’S ARK” from director Matthieu Rytz and honored Nathan Fitch for Best Cinematography for his work on “ISLAND SOLDIER.” The jury awarded the Best Editing Award to Alejandro Valdes-Rochin and Tom Maroney for their outstanding work on “SCIENCE FAIR.” This year, LAAPFF also recognized outstanding international films. In the International Narrative Competition, the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding International Narrative Feature went to “WARU” co-directed by a group of all female directors – Chelsea Cohen, Ainsley Gardiner, Casey Kaa, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Briar Grace- Semith, Paula Whetu and Katie Wolfe. The Best Director Award went to Caylee So and Visal Sok for “IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC,” and a Special Jury Mention was awarded to “KISS & SPELL,” directed by the late Stephane Gauger. The Best Acting Award in this competition was given to Timothy Castillo for his performance in “NEOMANILA.” In the International Documentary Feature competition, the jury awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding International Documentary Feature to “PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE,” directed by Hao Wu. The Special Jury Prize for Best Director was bestowed on Jin Jeon and Moon Chang-Yang for their film “BECOMING WHO I WAS.” That same film and those filmmakers were also given the Best Cinematography Award, and the award for Best Editing was given to Hyewon Jee and Wongjung Bae for “SINGING WITH ANGRY BIRD.” This year, the jury created and gave a Special Jury Mention for Most Urgent and Cautionary Film to “THE CLEANERS,” directed by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck. LAAPFF is proud to be an Academy Award® qualifying Festival for the Short Film Awards. Recipient(s) of the Film Festival’s Golden Reel Award for Narrative Short Film will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live-Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards®. The film that won this year’s Golden Reel Award and is now eligible to qualify in the Animated Short Film/Live-Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards® is “SILENCE (MAUN),” directed by Priyanka Singh. The jury also gave out a Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Directing to Paris Zarcilla for “POMMEL.” The Golden Reel for Outstanding Documentary Short Film went to “THREE BOYS MANZANAR,” directed by Preeti Deb. The annual Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award went to director Georgia Fu for her film “MISS WORLD,” presented for demonstrating an innovative and creative use of cinematic language. “Our artists and their films were amazing this year,” said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications. “Their stories and their craftsmanship raised the bar. The dialogue, conversations, and resource-sharing that took place during our panels and presentations were on point and timely. This Festival is once again a great signifier of what is coming and our artists are ready and at the forefront of this sea of change with their films and projects. I’m grateful to them for making cultural connections with all of our communities.” The 34th LAAPFF continues on Friday, May 11 with a free outdoor screening of the Disney® classic animated film “MULAN” in the Park Center at Griffith Park. It will culminate with the Visual Communications Gala PAST//FORWARD: COMING HOME on Saturday, May 12, 2018 to celebrate the organization’s upcoming 50th anniversary in 2020, honoring Doug Aihara, Renee Tajima-Peña, and Comcast NBCUniversal.
34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Award Winners

NORTH AMERICAN NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION AWARDS
Grand Jury Award: FOR IZZY, Directed by Alex Chu Best Director: Joanne Park, FISHBONES Breakout Performance: Adelina Amosco, THE FEVER & THE FRET Best Cinematography: Eunsoo Cho, AUGUST AT AKIKO’S
NORTH AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION AWARDS
[caption id="attachment_29069" align="aligncenter" width="975"] CALL HER GANDA[/caption] Grand Jury Award: CALL HER GANDA, Directed by PJ Raval Best Director: Bing Liu, MINDING THE GAP Special Mention: ANOTE’S ARK, Directed by Matthieu Rytz Best Editing: Alejandro Valdes-Rochin & Tom Maroney, SCIENCE FAIR Best Cinematography: Nathan Fitch, ISLAND SOLDIER
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION AWARDS
Grand Jury Award: PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE, Directed by Hao Wu Best Director: Jin Jeon & Moon Chang-Yong, BECOMING WHO I WAS Best Editing: Hyewon Jee & Wonjung Bae, SINGING WITH ANGRY BIRD Best Cinematography: Jeon Jin & Moon Chang-yong, BECOMING WHO I WAS Special Jury Mention – Most Urgent and Cautionary Film: THE CLEANERS, Directed by Hans Block & Moritz Riesewieck
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION AWARDS
Grand Jury Award WARU, Directed by Chelsea Cohen, Ainsley Gardiner, Casey Kaa, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Briar Grace-Smith, Paula Whetu & Katie Wolfe Best Director: Caylee So & Visal Sok, IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC Best Actor: Timothy Castillo, NEOMANILA Special Mention: KISS & SPELL, Directed by Stephane Gauger
SHORTS NARRATIVE COMPETITION AWARDS
Golden Reel Award (Excellence in Narrative/Animated Short Film): SILENCE (MAUN), Directed by Priyanka Singh Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Directing: Paris Zarcilla, POMMEL
SHORTS DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS
Golden Reel Award (Excellence in Documentary Short Film): THREE BOYS MANZANAR, Directed by Preeti Deb
LINDA MABALOT NEW DIRECTORS/NEW VISIONS AWARD
Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions Award (Innovative Use of Cinematic Language): MISS WORLD, Directed by Georgia Fu
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‘The House of Suh’ and ‘Living In Seduced Circumstances’ Took Top Jury Honors at 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_1304" align="alignnone" width="560"]LIVING IN SEDUCED CIRCUMSTANCES[/caption]

The 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival celebrated the closing night of their 27th Anniversary edition on Thursday night with the screening of the Taiwanese romantic comedy “LOVE IN DISGUISE” by Leehom Wang and the announcement of this year’s jury prizes.

Filmmaker Ian Gamazon took home both the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Fiction Film and Outstanding Director award for his film “LIVING IN SEDUCED CIRCUMSTANCES,” while actors Eric Mabius, Fernando Noriega, Will Yun Lee and Luke Brandon Field were singled out with a Best Ensemble Acting Award for their performances in “WHERE THE ROAD MEETS THE SUN” directed by Mun Chee Yong.

Other narrative film awards given out included Outstanding Screenplay to writer/director Stephane Gauger for “SAIGON ELECTRIC;” Outstanding Cinematography to Gavin Kelly for “WHERE THE ROAD MEETS THE SUN;” and a Special Jury Award for Breakout Performance by a New Actor to Ryan Greene for his role in “ONE KINE DAY.”

First time filmmaker Byron Q received the Best First Film Award for his dramatic “BANG BANG.”

The winning audience favorite awards went to “RAKENROL” from Quark Henares for fave fiction film and to “AMONG B-BOYS” from Christopher Woon for favorite documentary.

In the documentary jury competition, “THE HOUSE OF SUH” from Iris K. Shim received both the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Non-Fiction Film and the Outstanding Director Award.

“ONE BIG HAPA FAMILY” directed by Jeff Chiba Stearns also took home two awards for Outstanding Cinematography to Jason Woodford and for Outstanding Editing to Chiba Stearns.

The jury awarded a Special Jury Prize for Human Rights to “FINDING FACE” directed by Skye Fitzgerald and Patti Duncan which chronicles the details of the controversial case of rising star Tat Marina who was attacked with acid in Cambodia in 1999.

Short films this year were in abundance with 148 shorts being screened at the festival. The film “TEAMWORK” from Hong Seo Yun was the recipient of the Golden Reel Award, while Soham Mehta was honored with the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions award for his film “FIRECRACKER.”

The 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival kicked off on April 28 with the Justin Lin action film “FAST FIVE” and has seen record-breaking attendance and multiple sold out shows throughout the past seven days. The Fest will conclude May 6 and May 7 with encore screenings of award winners along with the Los Angeles premiere of “BANGKOK KNOCKOUT” from Thailand and the Sundance/Berlin Film Festival favorite “BOY” from Taika Waititi at the CGV Cinemas in KoreaTown, Los Angeles. CGV Cinemas are located at 621 S. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90005. This amazing venue is situated north of Wilshire Boulevard in K-Town.

[via LAAPFF]
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