March was an eventful month from Diasporic Disco Queer Prom to SXSW. Let’s get into it and debrief!
With A Brighter Summer Day playing at the AFS through this weekend (first week of April 2024), we’re resharing an article on the film written by AAAFF Special Programs & Film Programmer, Josh Martin, back in 2016.
Earlier this month we hosted an event at AFS Cinema called Art In Motion: Expressions Through Film with our friends at aGLIFF, Cine Las Americas, IndieMeme, and Austin Jewish Film Festival in collaboration with Big Medium’s Studio Tour. This showcase explores art in practice, expressionism, and performance through the medium of film.
The 30th edition of the Austin Film Festival kicks off their full day of programming on Thursday, and we are excited to share their Asian and AANHPI feature films!
We're sharing some of our fave Asian & AA/PI films of the year. Spoiler alert: it's filled with iconic ♀ energy.
The end of the year is here (how?!), and the AAAFF staff wanted to reflect on some of our favorite Asian and AA/PI films from 2022! This is by no means an exhaustive list—we are certain there are a bunch missing, including ones we haven’t seen ourselves! But be sure to add these movies to your list if you haven’t already. Happy Holidays, friends!
Need something to watch on Valentine's Day? AAAFF staff and programmers have some ideas for y’all whether you wanna watch a film with your gals, yourself, your partner, or any other person you can think of!
Film: AIR DOLL
Where: Rent via YouTube, Google Play
A sex doll (played by Bae Doona from The Host!) as the lead in a romance drama may sound like a farce, but this underseen gem by masterful director Hirokazu Koreeda (Shoplifters) is a profound statement about the experience of love and loss and how it ultimately shapes our humanity. - Ray
Film: ALL MY LIFE
Where: HBO Max, Hulu, Rent/Buy via Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu
Based on a true love story, Harry Shum Jr. stars as Solomon, an aspiring chef who meets Jenn at a bar with friends and they instantly hit it off. Their inspiring story is about unconditional love in sickness and in health. - Melody
Film: ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE
Where: Netflix
Comedy all-stars Ali Wong and Randall Park team up for a genre-changing rom-com with all Asian American leads with the likes of Daniel Dae Kim and Keanu Reeves making appearances. This is the rom-com Asian American Studies / Ethnic Studies nerds waited all their lives for. - Hanna
Film: THE BIG SICK
Where: Amazon Prime, Rent/Buy via YouTube, Google Play, Apple, Vudu
Based on the true love story of Kumail Nanjiani and his partner Emily, THE BIG SICK showcases how they dealt with cultural differences after Emily became ill. - Melody
Film: IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
Where: Criterion Channel, HBO Max, Kanopy
Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung being their sexy AF selves in this gorgeous Wong Kar Wai masterpiece filled with smouldering looks, longing and desire. - Hanna
Film: IL MARE
Where: Rent via Amazon Prime, Asian Crush
Before there was The Lake House, Il Mare swept hearts through a tiny mailbox that could deliver letters across time. One of my favorite cleansing things to do is to put on a classic Korean Rom-Dramedy and let the final act of the film totally obliterate my heart. The film stars Squid Games' leading man Lee Jung-jae as the film's central heartthrob, with the effervescent and lovely Jun Ji-hyun (who also stars in My Sassy Girl - mentioned as well on this list). There's something deeply romantic about two lovers finding each other through something as simple as a mailbox, and achingly tragic about the thought that they may never find each other in the present. - Jenny
Film: I WILL MAKE YOU MINE
Where: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Tubi, Vudu, Rent via Google Play, Apple TV, YouTube
The romantic misadventures of singer-songwriter Goh Nakamura (playing a fictionalized version of himself) continues in the third and final installment of the casual trilogy "Surrogate Valentine." The film marks Asian American indie darling Lynn Chen's directorial debut. - Hanna
Film: MONSOON WEDDING
Where: Rent via Apple, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu
Mira Nair’s masterpiece gives us romance, marigolds, and a multitude of secrets that culminate in you guessed it, a wedding. - Neha
Film: MY SASSY GIRL
Where: Rent via YouTube, Google Play
Bring out the tissues because this Korean rom-com pulls at your heart strings just as much as it makes you laugh. It's charming, smart, and incredible at stirring up ALL the emotions about what we perceive relationships to be. - Ray
Film: TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE
Where: Netflix
While this is a trilogy, the first film is my favorite. How can you not resist the fake dating to real relationship troupe? Come for the swoon and stay for Lara Jean’s (Lana Condor) hilarious scene-stealing sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) - Neha
Film: THE ROAD HOME
Where: Rent on Youtube, Google Play, Amazon, Apple TV, Vudu
In this film debut of Zhang Ziyi, a man returns to his small hometown after the death of his father, where the past love story between his parents unfold in a touching and heartfelt drama from the great film maker Zhang Yimou. - Yuxi
Film: THE WEDDING BANQUET
Where: Pluto TV, Tubi, Roku Channel, Prime Video
Part of Ang Lee's "Father Knows Best" trilogy, this fun 90s rom-com has it all from elaborate schemes to hide secret lovers from your nosy Asian parents to a surprise twist at the end. Also, where else can you find a secret lover that lets your parents and fake fiance take over their NY brownstone PLUS cooks for you? - Hanna
Film: US AND THEM
Where: Netflix
As previously mentioned, there's nothing I love more than a movie that makes me a puddle on the floor, and last year when I watched Us and Them for the first time, I melted. The film stars one of China's rising starlets, Zhou Dongyu (who also starred in the Oscar-nominated Hong Kong film Better Days), and her performance in René Liu's striking debut is breathtaking. It's a film as painful as a Mitski song, a story filled with strife, melancholy, and a touching depth of understanding and sympathy for its two characters who love is unlike any other, but doomed to fail because of circumstance and timing. - Jenny
