If you have seen the artwork from Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation (PAAFF) promoting their annual film festival, you might have connected the stylized birds and delicate stars and arrows to migration, the theme chosen for their 19th annual film festival.
“I think you could interpret it, and that’s the beauty of the theme,” says Nani Shin, PAAFF’s executive director. “We try to be broad and somewhat elusive. Whether it is an immigrant story or you’re migrating from the East Coast to the West Coast, or wherever it may be, that storyline is at the core of it, who we are from ancestral or just our own personal experiences, whatever it is that carries throughout this whole journey of life.”
Nine venues will host 75 films plus several special events celebrating and honoring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander storytellers during the festival, November 5 through November 15. The lineup includes narrative and documentary features and live action and animated shorts in curated blocks, highlighting LGBTQ+, Iranian and Filipino stories, and local filmmakers. Festivalgoers will be treated to five world premieres, nine East Coast premieres, and 30 Philadelphia premieres. The Citizen is a media sponsor of the festival this year.
Among the highlights are Sgt. Haane, a New Zealand documentary-drama about World War II hero Lance Sergeant Haane Manahi, a Māori soldier. An afternoon short film block titled Welcome to the Zoo features characters intertwined with animals in a … variety of ways. Levitating, in its Philadelphia debut, tells the story of Bayu, who hopes to save his village, its sacred spring, and its trance-party spiritual tradition.
Shin describes the festival’s film selection process as, “long” and “arduous” but ultimately “collaborative.” Submissions start coming in February. This year they had more than 600. Because the core team of PAAFF is very small (just four people), they rely on a dedicated group of volunteers and interns to screen films and run the festival.
Like many nonprofits, especially in the arts, PAAFF has recently worked exceptionally hard to raise funds and maintain programming. Their Spring Showcase and the REEL Vision Capital Campaign kickoff event, both held during AANHPI Heritage Month (May), were big boosts.
“We had a very challenging year,” says Shin. “So it’s so rewarding to be at this place, you know, to be able to say: Okay, we could do this. We’re gonna keep chugging along, and make sure we reach 20 and beyond.”
Beyond cinema
This year the festival program includes the inaugural Storyteller Summit, a half-day professional development conference for creatives looking for guidance on building careers in film and media. It grew, says Shin, from the industry brunch held during last year’s festival, which received such enthusiastic positive feedback. The new expo aims to reach industry professionals: filmmakers, writers, producers, other creatives.
Festival goers can attend the Storyteller Spotlight, an intimate conversation with Danny Chung, the singer, songwriter, and actor (and Philadelphia native), moderated by 6abc’s Nydia Han. He’ll also receive the festival’s Trailblazer Award in recognition of his unconventional creative contributions to storytelling that, as PAAFF’s program puts it, “paves the way for future generations to see themselves not as outsiders, but as the very heart of the story.”
The other award recipients are the directors and producers of Kiyoshi, a film about the life of Philadelphia-based civil rights activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya. The Vijay Mohan Social Change Award is named in memory for the activist, artist, musician, author, and PAAFF staff member.
The festival’s What We Carry/What We Create Panel at FRIEDAcommunity will bring together a multigenerational group of women and femme-presenting artists for a conversation about cultural inheritance. There’s also a concurrent virtual festival program, the Eighth Annual Contemporary Experimental Video Art Exhibition at Twelve Gates Arts, the awards presentations, opening and closing parties, and community screenings. Almost the entire festival calendar takes place around two weekends, to make it easier for more attendees to enjoy more screenings and events.
“We work with so many community partners, and we’re very proud of that,” says Shin. “We do think about it like, What is our programming, and who is the right organization to represent that? It’s important to recognize all the community partners that are part of our collective.”
The 19th Annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival runs from Thursday, November 5, to Sunday, November 15 across multiple venues. Passes are available for individual events, weekend bundles, and all access.
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