These are ten films you shouldn’t miss at the Asian American International Film Festival which will take place in cinemas (in New York City) and online from August 3 – 13, 2022.

– Selected Films –

In her debut film, Payal Kapadia deftly merges reality with fiction, weaving together archival footage with student protest videos to tell the story of L, a student at the Film and Television Institute of India, writing to her estranged lover while he is away. Gradually, we’re immersed in the drastic changes taking place at the school and in the lives of young people across the country. A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING is a vital tapestry of the personal and the political, an essential document of contemporary India and a nostalgic look at youth fighting the injustice of their time. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 7th, 2022 | Sunday | Asia Society | 12:00 pm

Trailer:

Ayame, a high school ethics teacher, and Tsugumi, who works as an actress while doing part-time jobs, have been friends since elementary school. Their daily routine on their days off is to go jogging together. For Ayame, who cannot get a boyfriend, Tsugumi invites her to go on a trip to a lake shore retreat so she can meet the supervisor Hayato, who is friends with Tsugumi’s boyfriend, Kota. Although reluctant, Ayame is looking forward to this short trip. However, when making introductions over their first meal at the lake, Kota has trouble understanding what Tsugumi does for work, making her angry in the process. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 6th, 2022 | Saturday | Asia Society | 3:30 pm
This film will be available online, please visit the festival’s website for more information.

Marius was only five years old when his mother suddenly left and moved back to her native country of Japan, never to return. For over 25 years, he knew her solely through photographs and the stories he was told. Over time, her absence would fill him with insecurity and doubt, forever souring the memories he created of her as a boy. Now, before it’s too late, Marius decides to track her down. Joining him is his creative partner and best friend, Fredrik S. Hana, with whom he has long shared a passion for filmmaking. This passion would become their vessel in the search for Marius’ long lost mother. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 13, 2022 | Saturday | Asia Society | 12:15 pm
This film will be available online, please visit the festival’s website for more information.

Trailer:

CROSSINGS is about a group of women activists who decide to change the course of peacemaking on the Korean peninsula. Thirty women, including renowned feminist Gloria Steinem, Nobel Peace laureates Leymah Gobowee and Mairead Maguire, and Korean American activist Christine Ahn, undertake a risky crossing of the DMZ from North to South Korea, calling for a formal end to the Korean War. The challenges the women face, the obstacles they overcome, and the solidarity and trust they build as they forge a path to peace with their Korean sisters, is an inspiring story of bridge building and collective action. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 4, 2022 | Thursday | Asia Society | 6:00 pm

Trailer:

A trauma therapist, Haejin Park, is forced to face her family’s darkest past after she returns to her childhood farm in the countryside to console her heartbroken younger sister. During Haejin’s visit, the family farm’s familiarity and haunting past begin to conjure up the trauma she had repressed for years in the forms of sleep paralysis, unexplainable nightmares, and disorienting memories. She heavily relies on prescribed medication to escape her experiences, but when her younger sister Soojin secretly trashes the medication, Haejin is forced to meet eye-to-eye with her past. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 7th, 2022 | Sunday | Asian Society | 9:15 pm
This film will be available online, please visit the festival’s website for more information.

Trailer:

Margaret Chang is rocked from her perfect alpha mom/corporate manager life when she has to go back to her hometown, along with her hapless older brother Roy, to deal with their overbearing dad Jialuo who’s usually an outspoken jerk but is now despondent. When they arrive home, they discover that their mom, Sophie, and youngest angry nerd brother, Larry, are happy with this situation, since their dad is so much more pleasant when depressed. The siblings struggle to find a solution and wonder if getting their dad better is worth it. Meanwhile, they reconnect as a family by bickering and reminiscing about the bad times with Dad, learning that their bond is stronger than they realize. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 13th, 2022 | Saturday | Asian Society | 4:00 pm

Trailer:

Living in Little Well Village on the barren mountaintop of Southwest China, Ping and Sheng are two idealist young Miaos that belong to an ethnic minority who lost almost everything—including their written language—during the painful migrations in history because of wars with the Han, Chinese majority. However, there was one thing that the Han couldn’t take away—the Miao took deep pride in singing for nature and spirituality, which is also their only oral history. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 7th, 2022 | Sunday | Asian Society | 4:15 pm

Trailer:

In Judy Lei’s directorial debut, we explore the angst of an NY Chinatown teenage loner who struggles to find real friendship, love, and acceptance. Lei, who also stars in the film, gives a powerful performance alongside Leonard Wu (Orus in the Netflix television drama series Marco Polo), who plays her brother. It’s an exclamation point on the quiet life of a teen, who just wants to get out of dodge. – Eseel Borsala from the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF)

Screening:
August 7th, 2022 | Sunday | Asia Society – Rose Room | 4:00 pm

From Chinese-Greek-American director Stefanos Tai, WE DON’T DANCE FOR NOTHING is a photomontage love letter to the Filipina domestic workers of Hong Kong. A recreation of the true memories of a community of 400,000 women, it follows one woman’s plan to run away. Captured on Super 16 amidst the Hong Kong protests, stills blend with motion to highlight the passionate dancing of these women and touch upon themes of LGBTQ+ identity, workers’ rights, and Hong Kong’s changing political landscape. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 6th, 2022 | Saturday | Asian Society | 5:15 pm
This film will be available online, please visit the festival’s website for more information.

Trailer:

Yuni is a teenage girl—smart with big dreams of attending university. When two men she barely knows ask to marry her, she rejects their proposals, sparking gossip about a myth that a woman who rejects three proposals will never marry. The pressure builds when a third man asks for her hand, and Yuni must choose between the myth of a final chance at marriage or her dream of future happiness. (AAIFF 2022)

Screening:
August 6th, 2022 | Saturday | Asian Society | 7:30 pm

Trailer:

For more information, please visit: https://www.aaiff.org/