Documentary Features

THIRD ACT

Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “the godfather of Asian American media,” but filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. What begins as a documentary about his father’s career takes a turn with a Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis, and evolves into an exploration on art, activism, grief, and fatherhood.

Narrative Features, Pacific Cinewaves

MOLOKAʻI BOUND

A Hawaiian man recently released from prison, struggles to reconnect and reconcile with his son and heritage.

CINEMA MUSICA: FESTIVAL LAUNCH PARTY

Kickoff LAAPFF 2025 during our Opening Night Party, and come watch MTV – VC style! Dive into music videos that explore confusion, love, and the tug of war of feelings that linger for too long.

Pacific Cinewaves, Shorts Programs

Pacific Cinewaves: Sites of Memory in Oceania

For this year's LAAPFF’s Pacific Cinewaves program, we invite you on a journey to witness the cinematic narratives of six Pasifika storytellers as they grapple with themes of family, grief, identity, dispossession and memory.

Documentary Features, VC Archives Presents

GRASSROOTS RISING

GRASSROOTS RISING, directed by Robert C. Winn, explores the re-emergence of Asian Pacific American labor activism in Los Angeles among people from all walks of life.

Narrative Features

SURRENDER

Triggered and wanting to escape her past trauma, Naomi, a young Asian American female, falls into the world of blackjack to regain a sense of control but finds herself addicted to the game.

Shorts Programs

Indigenous NOW: Trees in the Wind

Films depicting indigenous peoples living in nations now known as China, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Guam confront their mortality in the face of modernization and systemic oppression, remaining steadfast in protecting their land and culture.

Shorts Programs

Helter Shelter

Storms threatening. Coming down fast. Bargain for salvation. These stories give grace and hold space, for those who have it and for those who need it.

Documentary Features, Special Presentations

LEE SOO MAN: KING OF K-POP

From the traditional town of Jeonju, South Korea came the man that changed the world with music. Lee Soo-Man, the artist who became an innovator, orchestrated one of the most viral global phenomena, K-Pop.

Shorts Programs

From Visions to Reel: Living Legacy

Welcome to your life: Google translate, pastries, dildos, suburbia, calls to your mom, kung fu, deceitful karaoke, and being the last of your kind. Reflect on what you have been given and what it means to leave a legacy of your own.

Pacific Cinewaves, Shorts Programs

Healing Water

These two filmmakers explore the inextricable links betweens climate change and colonialism, how the exploitation of the Native Hawaiian people has led to ineffective management of precious natural resources, through the lens of water and fire.

Narrative Features, Pacific Cinewaves

TINĀ

In the wake of the Christchurch earthquake, sassy Samoan mother Mareta mentors her newly formed children's choir to The Big Sing final.   

Documentary Features, Pacific Cinewaves

STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS

When the massive Thirty Meter Telescope is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) in Hawaiʻi and around the world dedicate their lives to protecting the sacred mountain from destruction. Through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiian families, Standing Above the…

Documentary Features

FOREVER WE ARE YOUNG

FOREVER WE ARE YOUNG delves into the heart, soul, and surprising evolution of one of the most passionate and complex global fandoms in pop music history: BTS ARMY.

Documentary Features

NEW WAVE

Mile-high hair. Synthesized sounds. Teenage rebellion. Elizabeth Ai was on a mission to excavate an untold story of rebellious punks in the chaotic world of 80s Vietnamese New Wave until she uncovers a hidden past.

Narrative Features

TRANSPLANT

A motivated surgical resident pushes himself to extreme lengths while training under a legendary heart transplant surgeon obsessed with protecting his perfect reputation.

Shorts Programs, Special Presentations

Color Congress presents Resistance & Joy: Reclaiming Power

From cultural preservation to political resistance, this block of films showcase the ways people organize, resist oppression, and work toward change.

Shorts Programs

LA Rebellion: Toward a More Perfect Rebellion — Conversations with Josslyn Luckett

Spanning generations of filmmakers shaped by the LA Rebellion and UCLA’s Ethno-Communications program, this program revisits the urgency, experimentation, and community-rooted vision that defined a movement

Shorts Programs, Special Presentations

Little Tokyo & Other Tales

Encounter stories and spaces rooted in community, featuring our home neighborhood of Little Tokyo, elders who create healing thorugh intergeneration connections, and our beloved Edmund Soohoo. In partnership with Little Tokyo Neighbors, API RISE, and LA Chinatown Firecracker Run.

Shorts Programs

MANZANAR + OUT OF THE DUST

Experience reflections of Manzanar through dance and moving images, in honor of the works by Janice Mirikatani and VC Founding Director Robert A. Nakamura.

Shorts Programs, Special Presentations

Scribe Video Center presents: PRIMARY SOURCE

Primary Source is an initiative of Scribe Video Center that was designed to create journalistic community produced media as a counter to the prevailing national political discourse that favors personalities instead of issues, and divisiveness instead of empathy.

Shorts Programs, Special Presentations

The Grocery List Show

“The Grocery List Show, hosted by former Top Chef contender, Chrissy Camba is an adventurous food, culture, and cooking show series that brings audiences on a fun-filled exploration in their own backyard through the lens of neighborhood cultural grocery stores, food enthusiasts, and the communities they serve.

C3

C3: CONNECTING WORLDS: A Fireside Chat with Henry Chan

This candid conversation with Henry Chan will focus on the intersectionality of his craft.

C3

C3: Fireside with Alika Maikau and Lisette Marie Kaualena Flanery

This dual fireside chat brings two filmmakers together who dedicated to honoring and bringing Hawaiian stories to screen.

C3

C3: The Cleaning Lady Tells All: Creating Grit and Grace for 4 Seasons

The panel features Elodie Yung and creatives from the hit FOX series as they pull back the curtain...

C3

C3: Fireside Duo: Reina Bonta and Anna Huix

Join us for a live chat reminiscent of our artist conversation series "21 & Over”, celebrating the creative partnerships and energies from artists in our communities.