Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF), a production of the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW), includes a program of independent cinema highlighting recent, significant works by and/or about Asian Americans and the Asian diaspora. BAAFF is New England's largest Asian American film festival. The festival takes place in the month of October in Boston at Emerson College's Bright Family Screening Room in the Paramount Center and opening night in Cambridge at the Brattle Theatre. The 4-day film festival features special premieres, exclusive Q&As with filmmakers and various co-sponsored events around Boston.

History

BAAFF has been around for over few decades under Asian American Resource Workshop, but finally established its name in 2008 by Susan Chinsen. In 2018, the festival hit its 10-year anniversary, commemorated by 10 days of screenings.

Previous Screenings

Notable films that have screened at BAAFF starting from 2010 include

Bertha Bay-Sa Pan Bertha Bay-Sa Pan is a Taiwanese-American Director, Writer and Producer. Born in New Jersey and raised in Taiwan, Pan was educated at Boston University (B.A. in Film & Art) and the Columbia University Graduate Film School receiving a Masters of ...

's ''

Almost Perfect ''Almost Perfect'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1995, until December 11, 1996. The series focused on the professional life of the female executive producer of a television cop show, her witty, zany ...

'',

Quentin Lee Quentin Lee (; born 1971) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian-American film writer, director, and producer. He is most notable for the television series ''Comedy InvAsian'' and feature films ''The People I've Slept With'' (2009), ''Ethan Mao'' (2004), ...

's ''

White Frog ''White Frog'' is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Quentin Lee and written by Fabienne Wen. The film's plot follows neglected 16-year-old Nick Young, played by Booboo Stewart, a teenager with autism spectrum disorder whose life is chan ...

'' and ''

The People I've Slept With ''The People I've Slept With'' is a 2009 American sex comedy film directed by Quentin Lee. Plot Angela Yang ( Karin Anna Cheung) is a young woman who enjoys sex and has had a number of partners. As mementos, she photographs her lovers and gives ...

'', Michael Kang's ''Knots'',

Byron Q George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

's ''Bang Bang'', Minh Duc Nguyen's ''Touch'', Jeff Chiba Stearns's ''One Big Hapa Family'', and a special event honoring veteran actor

James Hong James Hong (; born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, portraying a variety of roles. With more than 650 film and television credits as of 20 ...

entitled "James Hong, Behind the Scenes Secrets of Hollywood."Boston Asian American Film Festival, Previous Screening Schedules,

2018, October 18–28

Opening Night Retrospective screening for the 25th anniversary of The Joy Luck Club directed by

Wayne Wang Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong Americans, Hong Kong–American Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese Americans, ...

Centerpiece Deported directed by Sahra V Nguyen. Post screening Q&A with director Sahra V Nguyen. Centerpiece Fiction & Other Realities directed by Bobby Choy. Closing For Izzy directed by Alex Chu.

2017, October 19–22

Opening Night The Jade Pendant directed by Po-Chih Leung. Post screening Q&A with author/producer L.P. Leung and actor Brian Yang Centerpiece Resistance at Tule Lake directed by Konrad Aderer. Post screening Q&A with director/producer Konrad Aderer Closing Night

Gook Gook ( or ) is a derogatory term for people of East and Southeast Asian descent. Its origin is unclear, but it may have originated among U.S. Marines during the Philippine–American War (1899–1902) and Korean War. Historically, U.S. military p ...

directed by

Justin Chon Justin Jitae Chon (born May 29, 1981) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has directed three films, ''Gook'' (2017), '' Ms. Purple'' (2019), & ''Blue Bayou'' (2021). He is also known for portraying Eric Yorkie in '' The Twilight Saga'' film ...

. Post screening Q&A with producer Alex Chi

2016, October 20–23

Opening Night Tyrus directed by

Pamela Tom Pamela Tom is a 5th generation Chinese American producer, director, and screenwriter. Her films often explore the Chinese experience in the Western world, social justice, feminism, and religion. Early life Tom's family immigrated to the U.S. ...

. Post screening Q&A with director

. Centerpiece Comfort directed by William Lu. Post screening Q&A with director William Lu and actor Chris Dinh Closing NIght

The Tiger Hunter ''The Tiger Hunter'' is a 2016 American comedy film directed by Lena Khan, written by Khan and Sameer Gardezi, and starring Danny Pudi, Jon Heder, Rizwan Manji, Karen David, Iqbal Theba, Samuel Page, Parvesh Cheena, Michael McMillian, and Kevin Po ...

directed by Lena Khan.

2015, October 22–25

Opening Night

Seoul Searching ''Seoul Searching'' is a 2016 South Korean comedy-drama film written and directed by Benson Lee and starring Justin Chon, Jessika Van, Cha In-Pyo and Teo Yoo. Premise Seoul, 1986. A raucous gaggle of Korean teenagers spill out of the Gimpo air ...

directed by Benson Lee Centerpiece The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor directed by

Arthur Dong Arthur Dong is an American filmmaker and author whose work centers on Asia America and anti-gay prejudice. He was raised in San Francisco, California, graduating from Galileo High School in June 1971. He received his BA in film from San Francis ...

Closing Night Miss India America directed by Ravi Kapoor

2014, October 23–26

2013, October 24–27

Opening Night 20th Anniversary of Wedding Banquet with director

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

Linsanity Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the N ...

with producer Brian Yang Centerpiece Innocent Blood with producer Trip Hope Closing Night

The Way We Dance ''The Way We Dance'' (狂舞派) is a 2013 Hong Kong film directed by Adam Wong Sau Ping and produced by Saville Chan. Cast and roles *Cherry Ngan: Fleur *Babyjohn Choi: Alan *Lokman Yeung: Dave *Janice Fan: Rebecca *Tommy "Guns" Ly: Stormy * ...

with director

Adam Wong Adam Wong (born 29 March 1985) is a Canadian male artistic gymnast, representing his nation at international competitions. He participated at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. In the 2006 ...

2012, October 25–28

Opening Night

drama feature directed by Ellie Wen. Guest Appearance and Q&A with Actor

Booboo Stewart Nils Allen "Booboo" Stewart Jr. (born January 21, 1994) is an American actor. He is known for playing Seth Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'', Warpath in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', Jay in the Disney television film franchise '' Descenda ...

, Producer/Writer Ellie Wen and Executive Producer

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...

. Special Lion Dance Performance by Wah Lum Martial Arts Academy Centerpiece Sunset Stories drama feature directed by Ernesto Foronda, Silas Howard. Wedding Palace Comedy feature directed by Christine Yoo

I Am A Ghost ''I Am a Ghost'', is a 2012 American horror film directed by H.P. Mendoza. It debuted at the 2012 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. Plot During an indeterminable time period, Emily (Anna Ishida), a troubled ghost who die ...

(Boston Premiere) Horror feature directed by H.P Mendoza. Screened at

Somerville Theatre The Somerville Theatre is an independent movie theater and concert venue in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. Over one hundred years old, the Somerville Theatre started off as a vaudeville house and movie ...

. Fear Buffet: A Shorts Program Featuring DUMPLING (dir. Wesley Du), HOW WAR ENDS (dir. Scott Eriksson), FORTUNE COOKIE MAGIC TRICK (dir. Alex Chu), MR. NAKAMURA’S ADDICTION (dir. Scott Eriksson), BLOODTRAFFICK (dir. Jennifer Thym) and DOWN UNDER (dir. Ray Arthur Wang) Pui Chan: Kung Fu Pioneer (New England Premiere) documentary directed by Mimi Chan

Model Minority A model minority is a minority demographic (whether based on ethnicity, race or religion) whose members are perceived as achieving a higher degree of socioeconomic success than the population average, thus serving as a reference group to outgroup ...

(New England Premiere) Directed by Lily Mariye Mr. Cao Goes To Washington (Boston Premiere) Directed by S. Leo Chiang Yes, We're Open (Boston Premiere) Directed by Richard Wong Reel Food: A Shorts Program Featuring WONDER BOY (dir. Corrie Chen), PEOPLE AREN’T ALL BAD (dir. Matthew Hashiguchi), THE COMMITMENT (dir. Albert M. Chan), BLEACHED (dir. Jessica Dela Merced), CAFÉ ELEVE (dir. Kelly Li), MY 2009 EXPERIENCE (dir. Henry Ho), COMMITMENT (dir. Raahul Singh) and NANI (dir. Justin Tipping) A showcase of some of the finest short films by up-and-coming filmmakers who make cinematic forays into personal identity, family crises and everything else in life. Special Appearance by filmmakers Henry Ho (dir. My 2009 Experience),

Albert Chan Albert Chan Wai-yip (born 3 March 1955, Hong Kong) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the New Territories West constituency. He has served as a legislator from 1991 to 2016 except for the periods 1997–2 ...

(dir. The Commitment), and Kelly Li (dir, Café Eleve) Closing Night

Shanghai Calling ''Shanghai Calling'' is a 2012 American romantic-comedy film written and directed by Daniel Hsia and produced by Janet Yang. Starring Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe, and Bill Paxton, ''Shanghai Calling'' is a story about a group of Americans from diff ...

(Boston Premiere) Directed by

Daniel Hsia Daniel Hsia is a filmmaker, director, screenwriter and producer. He is most known for his first feature, ''Shanghai Calling'' which stars Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe and Bill Paxton, and which Hsia won a Best Screenwriter Award for from the 2012 S ...

2011, November 10–13

Opening Night 7:00PM

(Boston Premiere) Post-screening Q&A with director

, actor

Tina Chen Tina Chen (Traditional Chinese: 陳婷, Hanyu Pinyin: Chén Tíng) (born November 2, 1943) is a Chinese-American stage, film, and television actress who starred in the films ''Alice's Restaurant'', '' Three Days of the Condor'', and '' The Hawa ...

Opening Performance by The Genki Spark: Taiko Projects with Attitude 7:00PM Spotlight Event:

, Behind the Scenes Secrets of Hollywood Actor James Hong has a prolific film and television career that spans 57 years with more than 500 roles. In this spotlight event, Mr. Hong will speak about his career and reveal secrets about the magic and realities of Hollywood. Co-presented by MIT Asian American Association,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

Inventing Our Future,

WGBH WGBH may refer to: * WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States ** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation ** WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...

and Chinese Historical Society of New England ( CHSNE) 9:15PM Potluck Shorts: Art of Love Shorts program includes: The Potential Wives of Norman Mao, Angel Island Profile: Tyrus Wong, Asian American Jesus, Wear I Fit, The Bus Pass, Brides Wanted, Room #11, Lunchtime, and Mother. Co-presented by MIT Asian American Association, MIT Inventing Our Future, Queer East, Boston LGBT Film Festival, and

Channel APA Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

. 2:00PM ,

One Big Hapa Family ''One Big Hapa Family'' is a 2010 live-action/animated documentary film directed by Canadian director Jeff Chiba Stearns. The documentary explores aspects that influence most Japanese-Canadians to marry inter-racially and how the mixed Japanese gen ...

(documentary directed by

Jeff Chiba Stearns Jeff Chiba Stearns is a Canadian independent animation and documentary filmmaker who works in traditional and computer-based techniques. Biography Chiba Stearns was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, of European and Japanese heritage. He is a ...

) Post-screening Q&A with director Jeff Chiba Stearns Co-presented by New England Japanese American Citizens League and Discover Roxbury. Screened at

AMC Loews AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...

Boston Common. 6:30PM , Touch (Drama feature directed by Minh Duc Nguyen) Post-screening Q&A with director Minh Duc Nguyen. Co-presented by Viet AID and Intercollegiate Vietnamese Students Association. Preceded by short, Heart by

Erick Oh The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Screened at AMC Loews Boston Common. 9:00PM , Bang Bang (Drama feature directed by

Post-screening Q&A with director Byron Q. Co-presented by The Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth. Screened at

Boston Common. 1:00PM , Potluck Shorts: Passion & Courage The film program presents a collection of ten evocative shorts that explore themes of perseverance, heart, and ambition. Shorts program includes: Fatakra, A Tree Falls in Forest, Ballet of Unhatched Chicks, Boys and Girls, The First Draft of

Yao Ming Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associat ...

's Retirement Speech, Memory of Forgotten War, My Name is Seven, N as in Name: Danh Nguyen, Rehearsing the Future, and Top Spin. Co-presented by MIT Asian American Association, MIT Inventing Our Future, Queer East, and Boston LGBT Film Festival. Screened at MIT. Closing Night 4:30PM , Knots (drama feature directed by Michael Kang Post-screening Q&A with Director Michael Kang and Writer/Actor

Kimberly-Rose Wolter Kimberly-Rose Wolter is an American actress, writer, producer and co-founder of VS Theatre company in Los Angeles, California. Film Wolter has written and starred in two feature films, 2003's ''Tre'' which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2007 ...

Co-presented by

Boston Korea Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

. Screened at

Boston Common.

2010, November 11–14

7:30pm Today's Special Co-presented by the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP)-Boston Opening Performance by The Genki Spark: Taiko Projects with Attitude 2009 , 99 mins , Comedy Stuart Street Playhouse 200 Stuart Street, Boston (T: Arlington) 7:00pm AOKI , Infamy Co-Presented by Discover Roxbury, Boston Center for Community and Justice, and New England Japanese American Citizen LeagueInfamy 2008 , 4 mins , Drama AOKI 2009 , 94 mins , Documentary Paramount Center, Bright Family Screening Room 559 Washington Street, Boston (T: Boylston/Downtown Crossing) 9:15pm Got Shorts? Co-Presented by Korean Student Association at UMASS Boston, Boston Progress, and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC), and the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP)- Boston 2009-2010 , 100 mins , 8 shorts When Five Fell , Humberville Poetry Slam , Clap Clap , Andy , Topi , Master of His Domain , Space Cadet , Ajumma! Are you Krazy??? Paramount Center, Bright Family Screening Room 559 Washington Street, Boston 2:00pm Race, Acting, Sexuality, and Asian American Masculinities Co-Presented by Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth (CAPAY) and Institute for Asian American Studies at UMASS Boston Lead Actor Bee Vang of Gran Torino Hmong Media Expert, Louisa Schein Tufts Medical Center 800 Washington Street, Boston (T: Tufts Medical Center) 8:00pm The People I've Slept With Co-Presented by Harvard AAA, Boston Asian American Student Intercollegiate Conference (BAASIC), and the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP)- Boston 2009 , 89 mins , Comedy Harvard University, Science Center C 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge (T: Harvard Square) 3:00pm The Things We Carry , La Petite Salon Co-Presented by Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence (ASPIRE), The Asian American Center at Northeastern University, and Boston University's Asian Women's Health Initiative Project (AWSHIP) The Things We Carry 2009 , 77 mins , Drama La Petite Salon 2009 , 15 mins , Drama Brattle Theater 40 Brattle Street, Cambridge (T: Harvard Square)

References

{{reflist Asian-American culture in Boston Film festivals in Boston Asian-American film festivals