48th Asian American International Film Festival: Infidelity, Identity, & Adventure

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 31 July 2025 10:40

Written by Brad Balfour

Now in its 48th edition, the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) brings bold and exciting voices from across the Asian diaspora to theaters in NYC from July 31st to August 10th. From medical dramas, to family stories, to classic super heroes, the AAIFF features an exciting mix of stories with documentaries, shorts, features, and special screenings.

Derided for decades as one of the lesser superhero movies, Albert Pyun’s (Cyborg) director's cut of his 1990 Captain America film has been uncovered so his true vision can be shown to the world. Mistress Dispeller is a documentary that follows a real, unfolding case of infidelity as Teacher Wang, the titular Mistress Dispeller whose job it is to repair marriages, attempts to bring a couple back from the edge of crisis. Their story shifts our sympathies between husband, wife, and mistress to explore the ways emotion, pragmatism, and cultural norms collide to shape romantic relationships in contemporary China. Moloka’i Bound, directed by Alika Tengan, is the closing film of the festival and follows Kainoa De Silva, a wayward Hawaiian man, who is on parole and committed to reconnecting with his family. Most important to Kainoa is rebuilding his relationship with his adolescent son, Jonathan, after years of being incarcerated. But acclimating to a normal life in Hawai’i is harder than it seems and Kainoa tends to do all the wrong things for the right reasons. In trying to prove himself worthy of his family and his native heritage, Kainoa’s journey is a story of both reconciliation and redemption. Following the screening will be a reception at Downtown Social (149 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003). 

The festival also includes panels and workshops on screenwriting, navigating mental health in creative fields, documentary distribution, and more.

Established in 1978 by Asian CineVision, the Asian American International Film Festival is the nation’s first and longest running festival of its kind and the premier showcase for the best independent Asian, Asian diaspora and Pacific Islander cinema. AAIFF is committed to film and media as a tool for social change and to supporting diversity and inclusion in the media arts.

To learn more, go to: https://www.aaiff.org/

Asian American International Film Festival
July 31 - August 10, 2025

Various Venues in NYC

New York Asian Film Festival 2025: “Cinema as Disruption”

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 07 July 2025 14:43

Written by Brad Balfour

Now in its 24th installment, the New York Asian Film Festival brings innovative cinema from Japan, Korea, Vietnam, the Philipines, Hong Kong, and more from throughout Asia. Running July 11th to the 27th, screenings take place at Lincoln Center, LOOK Cinema, and other venues, with the theme of this year’s festival being “Cinema as Disruption”, spotlighting films that challenge, provoke, and reimagine. 

The festival opens with the World Premiere of Korean action-comedy Informant, with Director Kim Seok and actor Heo Sung-tae (Squid Game) in attendance. In the Informant a bungling cop and a slick informant have their lives upended by a botched sting operation. Now this chaotic duo must team up to take down a smuggling ring  and survive each other. Tadanobu Asano (Shōgun) will also attend the festival for Ravens, alongside the 4K restoration of horror classic Shutter and Thailand’s Attack 13 with the cast and director present. The closing night film is the International Premiere of Flower Girl from the Philippines, starring Sue Ramirez. In Flower Girl vapid transphobic celebrity Ena mysteriously wakes up minus her vagina, she must find true love before a magic flower wilts or lose her "Poochy" forever. The festival has multiple sections each with a different theme, such as Diasporic Discoveries, Horrorscope, Japnorama, Queer Unbound, Korean Horizons, and more.

Since 2002 the NYAFF has brought over bold and exciting films from throughout Asia from the likes of Bong Joon Ho and introduced viewers in the US to vibrant works.

To learn more, go to: https://www.nyaff.org/

New York Asian Film Festival
July 11 - 27, 2025

Various venues in NYC

25th New York Indian Film Festival

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 05 June 2025 15:04

Written by Brad Balfour

Now in its prestigious 25th year, the New York Indian Film Festival returns June 20 to 22 at the Village East by Angelika theater. The festival is the longest running fest for independent Indian cinema, spotlighting bold new voices, storied auteurs, and urgent narratives from the global Indian diaspora. This year’s NYIFF has more than 45 features, documentaries and short films - spanning more than a dozen languages and regions across India.

The festival opens with The Fable from director Raam Reddy, a dreamlike family drama that explores post-colonial India. Films include Kennedy, directed by Anurag Kashyap. Presumed dead for years, Kennedy is an insomniac former cop who continues to officiate for a corrupt system while seeking redemption. In Little Thomas from Kaushal Oza, seven year old Thomas, the only child of his parents, desperately wants a little brother, but must find a way to make his quarreling parents reconcile.

This is just a sampling of the films at the NYIFF!

To learn more, go to: https://www.nyiff.us/

25th New York Indian Film Festival
June 20 - 22, 2025

Village East by Angelika
181-189 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003