Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Sets New Dates With Premieres For ‘The Girl Who Left Home’ And ‘The Paper Tigers’
EXCLUSIVE: After postponing its in-person festival that was originally slated for May, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) is ready to return — virtually, of course. Visual Communications (VC) will present the 36th Annual LAAPFF from September 24 to October 31.
“Visual Communications is grateful for these storytellers who believe in the power of media to build and connect communities,” said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications. He added, “VC thanks these artists and community members for utilizing their creative powers to oppose racism and amplify change.”
The fest will include the World Premiere of Mallorie Ortega’s musical dramedy The Girl Who Left Home as well as the U.S. Premiere of Bao Tran’s martial arts action-comedy The Paper Tigers.
LAAPFF will also include special screenings of Ursula Liang’s Down A Dark Stairwell, Iram Parveen Bilal’s I’ll Meet You There as well as Ramona S. Diaz’s acclaimed docu A Thousand Cuts and SXSW Special Jury Award Winner Finding Yingying from Jiayan “Jenny” Shi
The virtual fest will also include One Meal, Accept The Call, Because We Are Girls, Death of Nintendo, Patutiki: The Guardians of Marquesan Tattoo, Far East Deep South, Curtain Up!, When We Walk and The Celine Archive.
The fest will also premiere the winners of this year’s HBO APA Visionaries Short Film Competition including Tiffany So’s Fine China, Johnson Cheng’s Lonely Blue Night and Thomas Percy Kim’s SI. With the theme of “Breaking Barriers,” the competition drew a record number of film submissions that provided a unique lens into the challenges and victories of overcoming obstacles. The evening of these premieres will have appearances from 2020 HBO APA Visionaries Ambassador Shannon Lee, performing artist NIKI, and more.
LAAPFF will debut the works of VC’s “Armed With A Camera” Fellows and “Digital Histories” artists. The fest will also spotlight the next volume of “Pacific Cinewaves, reflecting experiences of Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders.
“I am proud to continue VC’s legacy with this Festival,” said Eseel Borlasa, Programmer & Festival Operations Director of Visual Communications. “As we navigate through this unprecedented year, we utilize new tools and resources to keep uplifting stories that reflect our diverse AAPI perspectives and the many talents in our communities. I’m especially proud that we can align these stories to amplify the work of our partner organizations in the community.”
The annual C3: Conference will be virtual this year as well, giving a space for artists to connect.
Little Tokyo has long served as the home for LAAPFF and since the fest is virtual this year, attendees will not be able to celebrate these stories in person as they normally would. That said, LAAPFF will present “LT@Home”, a series bringing stories of Little Tokyo to viewers’ homes. The series kicks off with the world premiere of The Atomic Cafe: The Nosiest Corner in J-Town from directors Akira Boch & Tadashi Nakamura.
The full LAAPFF schedule will be unveiled, September 15.
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