DC Asian Pacific American Film
Donate
2022 Films 2021 Films 2020 Films 2020 Winners
Become a Sponsor Become a Volunteer
Who We Are Board Members Staff Press Blog
PAST FESTIVALS 2022 Films 2021 Films 2020 Films 2020 Winners Get Involved Become a Sponsor Become a Volunteer About Who We Are Board Members Staff Press Blog
DC Asian Pacific American Film
Donate

2020 DC APA FILM FESTIVAL

 
Filter By Category
  • Action
  • Activism
  • Aging
  • Animation
  • Comedy
  • Coming of Age
  • Crime
  • Documentary
  • Drama
  • Family-friendly
  • Futurism
  • Inter-Generational
  • LGBTQ
  • Middle Eastern
  • Relationship
  • Retrospective
  • Thriller
  • Traditional Culture
 
Featured
A Childhood Story
coming of age
A Childhood Story
coming of age

A girl befriends a rabbit only to face the inevitable harsh reality that is her family business.

coming of age
A Separation
drama, relationship
A Separation
drama, relationship

After a four-year separation, Huixian, a Chinese woman, is reunited with her PhD husband in Florida, and is introduced to another side of American life.

drama, relationship
A Village Called Versailles
action, documentary, retrospective
A Village Called Versailles
action, documentary, retrospective

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Vietnamese American residents of Versailles returned and rebuilt their community, only to have their homes threatened by a new government-imposed urban redevelopment.

action, documentary, retrospective
Ahma & Alan (阿嬤與阿倫)
inter-generational, thriller
Ahma & Alan (阿嬤與阿倫)
inter-generational, thriller

A Taiwanese grandma has to travel from a rural town in central Taiwan to the capital city of Taipei to pull Alan, her American-born grandson, out of jail before he gets deported by a vindictive police officer.

inter-generational, thriller
Ai Baba (Love Dad)
coming of age, inter-generational
Ai Baba (Love Dad)
coming of age, inter-generational

An intimate recording between a mother and her 7-year-old daughter about divorce, as the daughter struggles with what she knows is right versus how she really feels.

coming of age, inter-generational
ASIAN AMERICANS
activism, crime, documentary
ASIAN AMERICANS
activism, crime, documentary

The five-part documentary series from PBS traces the epic story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration, racial politics, international relations and cultural innovation.

activism, crime, documentary
Atsuko's Story
comedy, coming of age
Atsuko's Story
comedy, coming of age

The surprisingly funny coming-of-age story of one Japanese-American undocumented immigrant.

comedy, coming of age
Becoming Eddie
comedy, coming of age
Becoming Eddie
comedy, coming of age

A Korean American boy, Yong, desperate to fit in at school makes a wish to become his idol, the world’s most famous foul-mouthed comedian!

comedy, coming of age
Black Ghost Son (黑鬼兒子)
coming of age, inter-generational
Black Ghost Son (黑鬼兒子)
coming of age, inter-generational

A father recognizes different racial stigmas and worries that he may not have all the tools to guide his son through the gauntlet of racism.

coming of age, inter-generational
Blessed Land
inter-generational, surrealism
Blessed Land
inter-generational, surrealism

A woman and her son visit her late husband’s grave - situated in a former fishing village that is now concealed somewhere underneath a new golf course.

inter-generational, surrealism
Captain's Hat
coming of age, documentary
Captain's Hat
coming of age, documentary

In the desert city of Mojave, an enthusiastic aerospace engineer named Grace flies her plane over the weekends.

coming of age, documentary
Cleaning House
action, comedy
Cleaning House
action, comedy

An 80's-driven action comedy revolving around a spirited maid and an overzealous secret agent.

action, comedy
Curtain Call
animation, comedy
Curtain Call
animation, comedy

All the moments I have been on stage in childhood and what they have taught me.

animation, comedy
Dante Falls
comedy, thriller
Dante Falls
comedy, thriller

Nova Dante has one job: caretaker to the Dante family cemetery and the ghosts that live within.

comedy, thriller
Daylight Savings
comedy, drama, relationship, retrospective
Daylight Savings
comedy, drama, relationship, retrospective

Released in 2012. “Daylight Savings” rejoins San Francisco musician Goh Nakamura one year after “Surrogate Valentine” left off.

comedy, drama, relationship, retrospective
Devotion
drama, relationship
Devotion
drama, relationship

A young boy's devotion to his family is tested when he decides to tell his mother about his father's affair.

drama, relationship
ephemeral. (một thoáng qua)
documentary, traditional culture
ephemeral. (một thoáng qua)
documentary, traditional culture

“ephemeral.” is cinéma vérité reflecting on the experience that many refugees and undocumented immigrants go through because of war and bloodshed.

documentary, traditional culture
Family Rifts (母与女)
drama, inter-generational
Family Rifts (母与女)
drama, inter-generational

Conflict ensues between a first-generation Chinese mother and her ABC daughter when the latter gets pregnant.

drama, inter-generational
Farming Slowly
activism, documentary
Farming Slowly
activism, documentary

She farms as rebellion against industrialized food on her 2/3 acre.

activism, documentary
Fighting For Family
activism, documentary
Fighting For Family
activism, documentary

Chuh was deported to Vietnam, leaving Rex and their four daughters behind in the U.S. The family and their communities mobilize to fight for Chuh’s return to the U.S.

activism, documentary
Flat Echo
aging, relationship
Flat Echo
aging, relationship

A once celebrated pianist now crippled by the late-stages of Alzheimer's disease, Ruby decides to master piano piece hoping that the music will re-establish the connection with her husband.

aging, relationship
Forget Me Nots
thriller
Forget Me Nots
thriller

In the wake of their parent's untimely death, Leo starts exhibiting strange and oddly supernatural behavior.

thriller
Ghost Mountain
documentary, traditional culture
Ghost Mountain
documentary, traditional culture

Bunseng Taing, a Cambodian refugee in 1980 that survived the Killing Fields and other horrors, was among the 45,000 escapees that fled to what they thought was Thailand, only to be forced back over the landmine infested Cambodian border.

documentary, traditional culture
Hiko in Tonga: A Culture Almost Lost
documentary, traditional culture
Hiko in Tonga: A Culture Almost Lost
documentary, traditional culture

A multi-generational film of a unique, vanishing culture of Polynesian women jugglers in The Kingdom of Tonga.

documentary, traditional culture
I Am a Ghost
retrospective, thriller
I Am a Ghost
retrospective, thriller

Emily is a troubled spirit who haunts her own house every day and wonders why she can’t leave.

retrospective, thriller
I Will Make You Mine
comedy, drama, relationship
I Will Make You Mine
comedy, drama, relationship

Released in 2020. Three women who could not be more different have one thing in common: their flawed romantic history with singer-songwriter Goh Nakamura.

comedy, drama, relationship
Kneeling Sheep
crime, inter-generational
Kneeling Sheep
crime, inter-generational

A Mongolian single mother fights to save her son who is about to be executed, only to discover that the absence of justice is crushing her life.

crime, inter-generational
Magic Kingdom
coming of age, thriller
Magic Kingdom
coming of age, thriller

A middle-aged single parent, brings his son from Hong Kong to California under the pretense of visiting Disneyland. The son, Chun, comes to realize the real intention of the trip is for his own adoption.

coming of age, thriller
Make A Wish
comedy, relationship, thriller
Make A Wish
comedy, relationship, thriller

A dark comedy about a man who discovers that his fiancée has kidnapped his high school bully for his 30th birthday with the hope that he’ll take his revenge.

comedy, relationship, thriller
MIRROR
drama, traditional culture
MIRROR
drama, traditional culture

A Korean girl with a severely scarred face goes to a black market hospital in Queens for plastic surgery.

drama, traditional culture
Featured
Mother, Flower
drama
Mother, Flower
drama

Soo is forced to leave her work because of her depression and having a hard time to adjusting as a new mom.

drama
No Nukes
activism, documentary
No Nukes
activism, documentary

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants disaster resulted in a meltdown of nuclear reactors on March 11, 2011 in Japan.

activism, documentary
One Last Monster
action, animation
One Last Monster
action, animation

Empress Eura, ruler of the distant world of Adin, faces her greatest challenge when she is forced to choose between trusting or killing a mysterious monster who arrives with a warning that could save or destroy her people.

action, animation
Out of Place
drama, relationship
Out of Place
drama, relationship

A young aspiring Chinese pianist and a Mexican house painter, unknowing neighbors, go through a day of disillusionment in symphony, a longing to belong.

drama, relationship
Over the Hill
drama, inter-generational
Over the Hill
drama, inter-generational

Attempting to reconnect their relationship, father and son share a hike up the mountain. When they reach the top, the son has one final question for him.

drama, inter-generational
PAY PHONE
drama, inter-generational
PAY PHONE
drama, inter-generational

Saki receives an unexpected phone call from her long lost father. They reunite to share stories and feelings of their separation.

drama, inter-generational
QUẬN 13
documentary, traditional culture
QUẬN 13
documentary, traditional culture

Quận 13 is home to the Parisian Asian Quarters, Gray's journey takes her all over Paris and into the kitchens of the Vietnamese keeping their cultural identity alive through food.

documentary, traditional culture
Raheel (راحیل)
middle eastern
Raheel (راحیل)
middle eastern

Raheel, an Afghan national, has illegally traveled to Iran to look for her husband, but there comes up some problems that leave her no hope to move ahead.

middle eastern
Ramadan
documentary, traditional culture
Ramadan
documentary, traditional culture

Three Cham American high school students chronicle their experiences during Ramadan, the Muslim Holy Month.

documentary, traditional culture
SOMA
documentary, traditional culture
SOMA
documentary, traditional culture

Chef Mutsuko Soma created the best soba noodles from scratch with buckwheat flour and water.

documentary, traditional culture
Split End
drama, relationship
Split End
drama, relationship

A young, single woman bored with her social life caters a party for a beautiful couple and finds the charismatic boyfriend also looking for something new.

drama, relationship
Surrogate Valentine
comedy, drama, relationship, retrospective
Surrogate Valentine
comedy, drama, relationship, retrospective

Released in 2011. Goh Nakamura is a San Francisco musician trying to break into the music scene. He agrees to do a favor for a filmmaker friend and teaches TV star Danny how to play the guitar for his upcoming movie role.

comedy, drama, relationship, retrospective
Table for Four
comedy, relationship
Table for Four
comedy, relationship

A beautiful lady goes to a high-class dating dinner, bringing a male secretary with her.

comedy, relationship
The Blessing
comedy, inter-generational
The Blessing
comedy, inter-generational

When a timid, mid-western boy decides to propose to his girlfriend, he has to go through her immigrant, Chinese mother first.

comedy, inter-generational
The Chef
drama, futurism
The Chef
drama, futurism

In the near future, when all labor works are replaced by humanoids, a Chinese chef is ordered to pass on his cooking skill to a humanoid robot in the midst of protests against AI replacing the human labor.

drama, futurism
The Empire of Lights
relationship, thriller
The Empire of Lights
relationship, thriller

A North-Korean spy, abandoned in South Korea for 20 years, suddenly receives the order to leave Seoul and his family.

relationship, thriller
The Hole
animation
The Hole
animation

A mother bird searching for her baby son that accidentally falls into a hole.

animation
The Rogers
documentary, LGBTQ
The Rogers
documentary, LGBTQ

An intimate glimpse into the lives of those who formed the first visible group of transgender men in the Pacific Islands.

documentary, LGBTQ
Who Killed Vincent Chin?
activism, crime, documentary, retrospective
Who Killed Vincent Chin?
activism, crime, documentary, retrospective

This Academy-Award nominated film is a powerful statement about racism in working-class America. It relates the stark facts of Vincent Chin's brutal murder.

activism, crime, documentary, retrospective
YAI NIN
documentary, traditional culture
YAI NIN
documentary, traditional culture

Ninlawan Pinyo is the matriarch of a Thai American family, who hustled for her fortune by founding a naem (pork sausage) factory in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

documentary, traditional culture
Yamasong
coming of age, family-friendly, relationship
Yamasong
coming of age, family-friendly, relationship

A patchwork girl chases a falling star and befriends a tortoise warrior to discover the star's secrets.

coming of age, family-friendly, relationship
(202)796-9680 info@apafilm.org
Hours
 

Subscribe

Thank you!

RAISING APA MEDIA & TALENT TO NEW HEIGHTS

Privacy Policy