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shareIn 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 SWIM IN THE DESERT is a meditation on the construction and collapse of a California Dream. The…
Hugs & Kisses
Directed by Alexandra “Lexie” Orr
A daughter in the womb hears her mother sing to her. She starts to wonder what their life…
My Father was a Footballer
Directed by Matthew Yae Kim
“Matthew Kim’s father was a footballer. In 1985, he led the South Korean National team to their first world cup appearance in 32 years. Weeks before the world cup, he tore his meniscus and never got to play at the world’s stage. Kim’s father never got over his unfulfilled dream, and from when Kim was 7 to 16, his father was absent from his life — pursuing a career as a football agent and scout.
Kim asks the question: Where do your dreams end and mine begin? This film is a means of reconciling with his dad — learning about him through spoken interview, archival footage, and their love for football, coming to terms and understanding their strained relationship and who they are.”
Ramen Western
Directed by Meloddy Gao
Mabel is a young Chinese American girl living in Chicago’s Chinatown. Unsure of what to write in her…
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…
Tuimaseve: A High Chief Story
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.
Dates & Times
Village East by Angelika
August 9, 2026
12:00 pm
