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A Hurt Like Mine

Film A Hurt Like Mine Directed by Kahea Kiwaha A young boy, haunted by a child-like apparition, struggles to support his mom and baby sister as they…

A Rhythm of Our Own

Film A Rhythm of Our Own Directed by Zaynah Waseem A Rhythm of Our Own follows the journey of Pakistani-American Kathak artist, Farah Yasmeen Shaikh as she creates…

A Song for Gracie

Film A Song for Gracie Directed by David R. Liu Gracie and her injured lover Amir stop at a rundown gas station in the high desert. The lines…

After the Storm

Film After the Storm Directed by Sungbin Moon A filmmaker calls her now-sober mom, who lives halfway around the world, to confront their traumatic past.

Awit Natin (Our Song)

Film Awit Natin (Our Song) Directed by Pacqui Pascual When their father dies during their mother's hospitalization, a Filipino family bands together to hide the truth.
Documentary Features

BETWEEN GOODBYES

Film BETWEEN GOODBYES Directed by Jota Mun When a queer Korean adoptee visits her original mother in Seoul, long-held regrets and cultural misunderstandings come to…
Narrative Features

Bitterroot

Film Bitterroot Directed by Vera Brunner-Sung Reeling from a failed marriage and seeking solace and a new perspective, a Hmong man cares for his…

Bobo in Bliss

Film Bobo in Bliss Directed by Vivian Ip Confronted with a visit by her traditional parents and younger sister to her boarding school, a Singaporean teenager…

Broken Mosaic

Film Broken Mosaic Directed by Alexandra "Lexie" Orr In this punk music video, two mixed Asian-American siblings are always the topic of gossip, but they decide…
Pacific Cinewaves

CHamoru A Lost Language

Film CHamoru A Lost Language Directed by Brian Muna Brian Muna discovers self-identity through CHamoru language revitalization efforts. 

Charlie Can Talk

Film Charlie Can Talk Directed by Oliver Evangelista A faith-healing debt collector crosses paths with a stutterer.

CHECK PLEASE

Film CHECK PLEASE Directed by Shane Chung Two headstrong Koreans can't agree on who's treating who to dinner, causing their casual restaurant outing to spiral…

Creatures of Chaos

Film Creatures of Chaos Directed by Asavari Kumar When emotional turmoil takes physical form, four strangers learn their new companions refuse to stay hidden

Daly City

Film Daly City Directed by Nick Hartanto An Indonesian boy and his mother attend a church potluck and lie about their dish.
Pacific Cinewaves

DEAR ALOHA

Film DEAR ALOHA Directed by CRIS ROMENTO Dear Aloha is a heartfelt story about the meaning of aloha through the lives of Diasporic Hawaiians in…

Dear Watsonville

Film Dear Watsonville Directed by Sondy Lucille “Dear Watsonville” is a mixed-media documentary offering an intimate glimpse into the lives of the manong generation, the…

Eighth Dimension

Film Eighth Dimension Directed by Haneol Lee Preparing for the mandatory Korean military service, Joseph, a Korean-American, stores his belongings in a church attic with…

Empathy

Film Empathy Directed by Ty Sanga After one young man’s choices lead him to years of incarceration, Tien Nguyen discovers meditation to confront his…

Endling

Film Endling Directed by Kelly Yu A documentary crew interviews the man in charge of taking care of the last goldfish on earth.

FLIGHT 182

Film FLIGHT 182 Directed by Rippin Sindher Amid rising political tensions, a devoted wife fights to protect her husband from boarding a flight that could…
Documentary Features

FROM OKINAWA WITH LOVE

Film FROM OKINAWA WITH LOVE Directed by Hiroshi Sunairi In the 1970s, Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa worked as a barmaid for African American GIs and published an…

Fruit Tart

Film Fruit Tart Directed by Caitlyn Phu While embarking on a lonely journey home after missing her train, a girl's insecurities manifest in the form…

Gaku: One Last Round

Film Gaku: One Last Round Directed by Taige Shi Gaku Takahashi, a veteran professional Japanese boxer, is fighting to get back into the ring after a horrendous…

God & Buddha Are Friends

Film God & Buddha Are Friends Directed by Anthony Ma A young Taiwanese American boy falls into an existential crisis when a charismatic Christian pastor comes between him…

Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites

Film Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites Directed by Chheangkea During her chaotic family’s Qingming visit, dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her peaceful afterlife after overhearing that…

Grandpa’s Beef Stew

Film Grandpa’s Beef Stew Directed by HaiTao Wu Grandpa's Beef Stew follows a young protagonist's emotional journey as he grapples with his grandfather's Alzheimer's, uncovering the…
Documentary Features, VC Archives Presents

Grassroots Rising

Film Grassroots Rising Directed by Robert C. Winn GRASSROOTS RISING, directed by Robert C. Winn, explores the re-emergence of Asian Pacific American labor activism in Los…

Growing Up

Film Growing Up Directed by Ann Sun We all have that moment when we suddenly realize: we're the same age as our parents when they…

GYOPO

Film GYOPO Directed by Christina YR Lim A family goes to great lengths to protect a 10-year-old aspiring violinist from discovering the truth about her…

Hail, A Taxi Home

Film Hail, A Taxi Home Directed by Jay Liu Against the erosion of culture in Hong Kong, a Hong Konger filmmaker questions why a 1.5-generation Hong Konger-American…
Pacific Cinewaves

Healing Lahaina

Film Healing Lahaina Directed by Laurel Tamayo After losing their multigenerational home in the 2023 Lahaina wildfire, a family recounts a year of healing following…
Shorts Programs

Home-land: Hmong American Women

Film Home-land: Hmong American Women Directed by Pader Xiong This short film explores the identities, pursuits, and making of Home-land across various Hmong American Women.
Documentary Features, VC Archives Presents

Kites and Other Tales (4K Restoration)

Film Kites and Other Tales (4K Restoration) Directed by Alan Ohashi Kites and Other Tales showcases modern kitemaker Tom Joe's efforts to preserve the traditional craft of kite making and…
Pacific Cinewaves

KÜĪ

Film KÜĪ Directed by Kahu Kaiha In the face of her mother's absence and her father's alcoholism, 12 year old girl, Küī, rises above…

KUMAR KUMAR

Film KUMAR KUMAR Directed by Kiran Koshy ‘Kumar Kumar’ is a dark comedy about loneliness in a hyper-connected world.
Documentary Features, Special Presentations

Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop

Film Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop Directed by Ting Poo From the traditional town of Jeonju, South Korea came the man that changed the world with music. Lee…
Documentary Features

Light of the Setting Sun

Film Light of the Setting Sun Directed by Vicky Du A Taiwanese-American filmmaker questions her family's silence around the cycles of violence that have persisted since the Chinese…
Pacific Cinewaves, Shorts Programs

MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter

Film MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter Directed by Lisette Marie Flanary MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter is a short documentary about an innovative theater production by master hula teacher, Kumu…
Documentary Features

Making Waves: The Rise of Asian America

Film Making Waves: The Rise of Asian America Directed by Jon Osaki, Josh Chuck Making Waves documents stories of Asian American activism and efforts to lift-up ethnic studies as a strategy to…

Mannequin

Film Mannequin Directed by Mark Tran A sleep-deprived father forms an eerie bond with a mannequin, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy.

Maybe It’s Just the Rain

Film Maybe It’s Just the Rain Directed by Reina Bonta In their debut, an underdog group of young women become the first Filipino team in history to win…

Memory Palace

Film Memory Palace Directed by Steven Gong After college, Steven revisits the places that defined each era of his life: early adolescence in the suburbs,…
Narrative Features

Molokaʻi Bound

Film Molokaʻi Bound Directed by Alika Tengan A Hawaiian man recently released from prison, struggles to reconnect and reconcile with his son and heritage.

Mr. Corruption

Film Mr. Corruption Directed by Simeon Hu Father and son chase buried millions in Ojai's wilderness. One needs escape from Chinese authorities, the other from…

My Only Friend is a Robot Named Beans

Film My Only Friend is a Robot Named Beans Directed by Anika Kan Grevstad Ruby finds her lonesome routines disrupted when she makes an unlikely new friend: a mail-order robot.

Myself When I Am Real

Film Myself When I Am Real Directed by Angeline Gragasin Set in the year 2000, a single mother and her teenage daughter struggle to make friends and find…

NANI

Film NANI Directed by Mainak Dhar On her yearly trip home for Eid, Maisha rebels against family expectations to give her grandmother a fleeting…

Newbies

Film Newbies Directed by Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence, Megan Trufant Tillman Two broken strangers wrestling with their queer identities meet on the subway just after midnight. A poignant, poetic…
Pacific Cinewaves

Not A U.S. Citizen

Film Not A U.S. Citizen Directed by Gabby Alafagamalufilufi Faʻaiʻuaso, John Niko Pātū The film follows the perspectives of American Samoans, who navigate the complexities of being "non-citizen nationals" of the…

On My Road to Dharma

Film On My Road to Dharma Directed by Yihuan Zhang A documentary follows De Hong, a monk who has been teaching meditation in California prisons for ten years,…

ONLY IN THIS WORLD

Film ONLY IN THIS WORLD Directed by Dorothy Xiao When an empty nester loses her ability to summon her daughter back from the afterlife, she is forced…

Plane Crash

Film Plane Crash Directed by Isaac Kau Stuck in a windy dystopian field reminiscent of All About Lily-Chouchou, two girls are left with nothing but…

Prematho

Film Prematho Directed by Harshith S. Kotni When a perfectionist teenage Bharatanatyam dancer is denied her Arangayram (recital), she must realize that impeccable technique alone…

Puberty for Humans

Film Puberty for Humans Directed by Wester Demandante In an educational video preparing students for cybernetic bodily changes, Linus learns that everything will be okay... for…

RECOLLECTORS

Film RECOLLECTORS Directed by Ran Ran Wang Two strangers work to determine what is worth remembering while language, and memory, deteriorates. 

Rising

Film Rising Directed by Evelyn Hang Yin RISING traces the history of China Alley in Hanford, California and how four generations of the Wing family…

Rooftop Lempicka

Film Rooftop Lempicka Directed by Hang Luong Nguyen While her mother is expecting their second child, young Thi befriends club waitress Ngoc who has just moved…

Roots That Reach Toward The Sky

Film Roots That Reach Toward The Sky Directed by Jess X. Snow When her immigrant mother’s Chinese Traditional Medicine shop gets vandalized, Kai, a young botanist is thrust in between…

Ruya

Film Ruya Directed by Nicole Mairose Dizon When a T’boli dreamweaver goes into a coma, her anxious, insomniac daughter must dream and communicate with Fu…

Saint Vegas

Film Saint Vegas Directed by Samantha Herrera A young woman adopts a new life in Las Vegas following the loss of her mother.

Say to You

Film Say to You Directed by Nuodi A A sweet love story between two puppies.

Sex, Baseball, and All Pussibilities

Film Sex, Baseball, and All Pussibilities Directed by Aimee Pham, Kai Sampadian Two horny best friends, desperate to make a friday night count, go through all the sexual preparation for…
Narrative Features

Softshell

Film Softshell Directed by Jinho Myung Following the death of their mother, a Thai-American brother and sister from Queens navigate life in the city…
Documentary Features, Pacific Cinewaves

Standing Above the Clouds

Film Standing Above the Clouds Directed by Jalena Keane-Lee When the massive Thirty Meter Telescope is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi…

Sunchong

Film Sunchong Directed by Yoontaek Hong An 89-year-old Korean immigrant volunteers at a senior center and reflects on his life’s journey with his beloved…
Narrative Features

Surrender

Film Surrender Directed by Jess Dang Triggered and wanting to escape her past trauma, Naomi, a young Asian American female, falls into the world…

Surrija – Nothing Love

Film Surrija – Nothing Love Directed by Clarence Deng Music video for "Nothing Love" by Surrija, where the artist is trapped in a liminal space manifested from…

Swimming Lessons

Film Swimming Lessons Directed by Meloddy Gao Swimming Lessons is a personal, reflexive film that follows a daughter of Chinese immigrants who yearns to understand…

Tasting Heritage

Film Tasting Heritage Directed by Emily Strong Tasting Heritage is a nourishing coming of heritage story of a Korean-adopted woman named Emily Flynn.
Documentary Features, Pacific Cinewaves

Te Puna Ora (The Source of Life)

Film Te Puna Ora (The Source of Life) Directed by Virginie Tetoofa As privatization threatens the very fabric of Moorea Island, three Tahitian women embark on a sacred journey to…

The Grocery List Show Ep 1: Seafood City

Film The Grocery List Show Ep 1: Seafood City Directed by Emily Strong Host Chrissy Camba, former Top Chef contender, and guests visit international grocery stores across the U.S. and cook…

The Grocery List Show Ep 2: Labay Market

Film The Grocery List Show Ep 2: Labay Market Directed by Emily Strong Host Chrissy Camba, former Top Chef contender, and guests visit international grocery stores across the U.S. and cook…

The Grocery List Show Ep 3: La Placita de Brooklyn

Film The Grocery List Show Ep 3: La Placita de Brooklyn Directed by Emily Strong Host Chrissy Camba, former Top Chef contender, and guests visit international grocery stores across the U.S. and cook…
Documentary Features

Third Act

Film Third Act Directed by Tadashi Nakamura Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “the godfather of Asian American media,” but filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura calls…

Timeless Voices

Film Timeless Voices Directed by Christine An In the deep mountains of Southern China, the indigenous Dong chorus sings the struggles, resilience, and spiritual healing…

To Dance Again

Film To Dance Again Directed by MG Evangelista After an unprecedented tragedy for the Asian American community of Monterey Park, ballroom dancing offers an unexpected path…
Narrative Features

Transplant

Film Transplant Directed by Jason Park A motivated surgical resident pushes himself to extreme lengths while training under a legendary heart transplant surgeon obsessed…

U-turn

Film U-turn Directed by Mahin Sadri It's about a middle aged woman who wants to try another shape of life but she is a…
Pacific Cinewaves

Vahaʻa | The Distance Between

Film Vahaʻa | The Distance Between Directed by Pingi Moli After his mother’s death, a boxer struggles with grief and a strained relationship with his father, who coaches…

Vic and His Nanay

Film Vic and His Nanay Directed by Jillian Janairo While he’s trapped in his apartment recovering from COVID, an exasperated Vic tries to evade a nosy apparition of his late mother.
Documentary Features

Voices of Deoli

Film Voices of Deoli Directed by Lulu Men Voices of Deoli is a poignant documentary that follows the lives of survivors of the Deoli internment camp,…

Vox Humana

Film Vox Humana Directed by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan An eccentric biologist interrogates a wild man who was found in the forest after an earthquake hit a…
Pacific Cinewaves

Waters of Puʻuloa

Film Waters of Puʻuloa Directed by Tiare Ribeaux Waters of Puʻuloa chronicles the transformation of the ʻEwa District on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, and the area now known…

We Were The Scenery

Film We Were The Scenery Directed by Christopher Radcliff The story of Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che, who, in 1975, after fleeing the Vietnam War…

Who Are You, Nanu?

Film Who Are You, Nanu? Directed by Anjini Taneja Azhar After her Nanu's (meaning 'grandfather' in Hindi) ceremonial cremation brings her to the Holy Ganges River in India…

Wild Animal

Film Wild Animal Directed by Tianyun Lyu In the Mongolian wilds, a hunter's heir,
With his father, a bond so rare.
Kindness within, 'midst nature's…

Witness

Film Witness Directed by Radha Mehta, Saif Jaan A revered small-town imam faces a crisis of faith when he must choose between upholding the values of…

Words of Her

Film Words of Her Directed by Charlene Xu A distressed woman’s soliloquy. 
“That woman” comes to her city for a short stay, bringing her the rain season…

Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way

Film Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way Directed by Hao Zhou Having built a colorful queer life in Iowa, an aspiring costume designer visits their island homeland of Guam…
Documentary Features

Year of the Cat

Film Year of the Cat Directed by Tony Nguyen YEAR OF THE CAT follows filmmaker Tony Nguyen on an extraordinary quest to solve the mystery of his…

Yú Cì (Fish Bones)

Film Yú Cì (Fish Bones) Directed by Kevin Xian Ming Yu Bowen, a nonbinary Asian-American from Queens, tries to connect with their estranged father and help him deal with…

Zari

Film Zari Directed by Shruti Parekh Amidst preparations for her sister’s wedding in India, young American Neelu forges an unexpected connection with Zeyb, a…