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shareThis program will be screened in-person and online. Click the BUY TICKETS button to proceed.
Following the in-person screening will be a Q&A moderated by AAIFF programmer Charlotte Wittmann with the following filmmakers:
- A Swim in the Desert: Coffee Kang (Director)
- My Father was a Footballer: Matthew Kim (Director), Patrick Le (Producer)
- Somewhere to be: Libby Chun (Director), Jacqueline Cheng (Production Designer), Claire Bae (Key Cast)
- Tuimaseve: A High Chief Story: Benjamin Pola (Director), Tia Kaiulani Kanaeholo (Producer)
Note: not all shorts are available online. Check the list below to see if a short will play in-person, online, or both.
In this collection of deeply personal films, cameras become tools of inquiry. Through documentary, animation and hybrid storytelling, these filmmakers trace family histories, inherited wounds, cultural legacies and landscapes shaped by memory, using cinema not just to observe the world, but to understand their place within it.
In this program
A Swim in the Desert
Directed by Coffee Kang
A spectacular vision leaves K unable to close her eyes. In search of a cure, she sets out on a haunting journey tracing the presence and absence of water through California’s landscapes.
This film will be available both in-person and online.
Hugs & Kisses
Directed by Alexandra “Lexie” Orr
A soon to be born daughter feels her mom give her hugs & kisses and reminisces on what their future life would be like together. Will this love and feeling last?
This film will be available both in-person and online.
My Father was a Footballer
Directed by Matthew Yae Kim
Through a blend of archival footage and spoken interview, Matthew Kim investigates the intersection of football, ambition, and responsibility as it relates to his relationship with his Father.
This film will be screened in-person only.
Ramen Western
Directed by Meloddy Gao
A young Chinese American girl sets off to uncover the secrets of the American West with an unexpected sidekick: a sentient bowl of ramen.
This film will be screened in-person only.
Somewhere to be
Directed by Libby Chun
A young woman makes her way to the States in search of her runaway younger sister. Over the course of night, the two search–for each other, for themselves, for some steady ground–in an unfamiliar city.
This film will be screened in-person only.
Tuimaseve: A High Chief Story
Directed by Benjamin Pola
As two generations of Sāmoan high chiefs reflect on their experiences becoming familial leaders, we get a glimpse into how the fa’amatai (high chief) system and traditions continues to evolve across the diaspora.
This film will be screened in-person only.
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