** Co-presented by International Community Health Services (ICHS) and Musang **

SAAFF 2021 opens with a program of pandemic-produced shorts with an Asian American lens on the shared experience of COVID-19. These films also explore fights for racial justice and the necessity of economic support for small, local businesses in Seattle and beyond.

** Co-presented by Seattle Chinatown-International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) **
Please note: This program is accessible only to viewers in WA, OR, and ID states. There are limited tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. Recommended latest time to start the film is Mar. 6 at 10:10pm PT. If you want to watch the Q&A, do not start later than Mar. 6 at 9:30pm PT.

(Tran Quoc Bao, US, 2020, 108 min, in English, closed captions available)

Three childhood kung fu prodigies have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men, but when their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties, and overcome old grudges to avenge his death.

** Co-presented by Chinese American Citizens’ Alliance (C.A.C.A.) **
Please note: This program is accessible only to viewers in WA, OR, and ID states.

(Emily Feng, US, 2020, 77 min, in English with partial open captions)

When a Chinese-American family travels from California to Mississippi to visit the grave of their ancestors, they stumble upon surprising revelations.

** Co-presented by Women In Film Seattle **

(Mallorie Ortega, US, 2019, 100 min, in English)

The Girl Who Left Home is a live-action musical feature film that surrounds an Asian American working class family that faces tragedy at the height of Christine’s career. After her father suddenly passes away, Christine must choose to either save her family restaurant from getting shut down, or continuing to pursue her life’s dream.

(Content Warning: Death)

** Co-presented by Pork Filled Players **

(Hui Tong, Kelly Ng, US, 2019, 68 min, in English & Chinese with English subtitles)

Curtain Up! follows elementary school kids in New York’s Chinatown as they prepare for the musical production of “Frozen Kids” and begin to discover their identities. Behind the scenes, they face Asian stereotypes, their families’ expectations, and uncertainties post-graduation. But it is through rehearsing for this American favorite that these kids grapple with their Chinese roots. Will they have to let something go?

(Content Warning: Identity-Based Prejudice)

** Co-presented by Friends of Little Saigon **
Please note: This program is accessible only to viewers in WA, OR, and CA states.

(Trinh Dinh Le Minh, Vietnam, 2019, 106 min, in Vietnamese with English subtitles)

Van returns home with his boyfriend, Ian, on the anniversary of his father’s death. He’s come to help move the tomb, come out to his mother, and introduce Ian to his family. Unable to find the right moment as his relatives bombard him with questions about his future, he finds out one night that his mother is seriously ill.

(Content Warning: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence, Identity-Based Prejudice)

** Co-presented by Tasveer! **
Please note: This program is accessible only to viewers in WA state.

(Sujata Day, US, 2019, 91 min, in English)

Dramedy Definition Please follows a former spelling bee champ still struggling to make good on her childhood promise while contending with a complex family life.

(Content Warning: Sexual Situations, Mental Illness, Swearing, Death)

** Co-presented by International Community Health Services (ICHS) and Musang **

SAAFF 2021 opens with a program of pandemic-produced shorts with an Asian American lens on the shared experience of COVID-19. These films also explore fights for racial justice and the necessity of economic support for small, local businesses in Seattle and beyond.

** Co-presented by International Examiner **

Whether you’re watching with kids or reflecting on your inner child, this program brings imaginative stories about siblings, family relationships, and transformative moments together. Get swept up in the adventure of Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster, hum along to the music in Sliced Fruit, and laugh along to Salt. SAAFF is for kids and grown-ups alike!

Tickets for this program are by donation. (All paid tickets are still subject to a $2 administrative “virtual unlock” fee.)

** Co-presented by U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle and Hawaiian International Film Festival **

Increased accessibility to filmmaking tools because of digitization has allowed storytellers from marginalized communities to express their truths. This showcase allows us the privilege to see how the filmmaking community in Hawai’i has leveraged digital democratization in order to shatter the veneer of tourism and reveal the truths that affect the Nation of Hawai’i. These stories are spoken from the hearts and souls of Asian Pacific Americans with a tender ferocity that is true to native Hawai’i.

Ever imagined waking up somewhere and having no memory of how you ended up there? What about the feeling that someone — but you don’t know who — is after you? This collection of heart-racing shorts comprise a scary, suspenseful, and supernatural viewing experience. From the phone-line hypnosis in Receiver to the post-apocalyptic survivalists of Desperation, these films serve as inventive outlets for filmmakers that play with some of our deepest fears.

** Co-presented by Three Dollar Bill Cinema and Pride ASIA **

A collection of films that center the queer API experience. These short films show the process of growing up as a queer-identifying person, navigating family life through queer characters, and living authentically in Asian American LGBTQ+ communities.

** Co-presented by Khmer Health Board Seattle **

Southeast Asian Americans are an artistic force to be reckoned with in this collection of narrative and documentary shorts. Tales of perseverance, grit and forgiveness show us the diversity of what the road of recovery from imperialism can look like. From a refugee in Ghost Mountain recalling his past to the contemporary challenges with ICE covered in Keep Saray Home, this program highlights Southeast Asian Americans as a complex, hard-won identity.

** Co-presented by Kin On and Asian Counseling Referral Services (ACRS) **

Being part of any family comes with joys and heartaches. For the Asian American creators featured in this program, it might look like a young family reuniting across oceans, like in Hello from Taiwan or Magic Kingdom. It can also look like the journeys back in time featured in Herselves or Mango Baby, reflecting on those who came before. Across these narrative and documentary short films, characters come to terms with how their families have deeply shaped them.

** Co-presented by Seattle Film Summit and Seattle Black Film Festival **

Topics like mental health, racism, and sexual assault are hard to talk about. In many immigrant communities, we are told to keep our heads down and work hard without questioning the societal issues that affect our lives. In this shorts program, filmmakers confront a number of critical ideas that overlap in the lives of Asian Americans and across cultures. Even though it may be hard, these films demonstrate how urgently we need to talk about it.

** Co-presented by Grand Illusion Cinema **

Opportunities to slow down and turn inwards can be hard to come by. Especially in light of a year full of stress and uncertainty, let these atmospheric short films provide time to contemplate and soak in a thoughtful array of color, sound, and movement. For those seeking experimental artworks made by emerging Asian American creators or a respite from hectic everyday realities, this program has you covered.

Tickets for this program are by donation. (All paid tickets are still subject to a $2 administrative “virtual unlock” fee.)

** Co-presented by Kandelia (formerly Vietnamese Friendship Association) and Northwest Vietnamese News **

These contemporary stories tackle fraught family relationships, creating new livelihoods, collective memory and many other moments that shape Vietnamese American lives. No Crying at the Dinner Table meditatively breaks open family tensions in order to resolve them. Zooming out from individual to community heartbreak and healing, The Morning Passing on el Cajon Boulevard acknowledges the experience of losing loved ones from far away. Following two short films on the process of making a living in a new place, Upon Skin, Upon Stone rounds out the program by inviting the audience to look ahead to future possibilities.

** Co-presented by The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience and Seattle Taiwanese American Film Festival **

On account of reticence to rehash past struggles or simply the passage of time over generations, understandings of one’s heritage can be cloudy. This series of short films show how histories in Asia and America, as well as experiences throughout the lives of Asian Americans, are papered over, unearthed, and connected to the present moment. At its core, this program shows the irresistible allure of knowing one’s own origins and the unique journeys that subsequently take place. From the cross-continental exploration of Finding Dohi to the contemplative An Uninterrupted View of the Sea, these films document discoveries both surprising and resonant.

** Co-presented by Korean American Coalition Washington (KAC WA) **

Telling stories that span continents and decades, this program highlighting Korean American experiences touches on themes of immigration, memory, and familial relationships. These short films run the gamut of navigating transracial families shaped by adoption, to presenting darkly humorous perspectives on the history of Japanese colonialism. As a whole, this program examines how many meanings Korean American identity can contain, while addressing culturally defining ideas in inventive ways.

** Co-presented by TeenTix and Powerful Voices **

For those who are currently teenagers and everyone else who can recall those emotionally charged years in a heartbeat, this program brings a wide array of Asian American coming-of-age stories together. Grappling with issues such as belonging, friendships, and alienation, the characters in these films experience fiery frustration and arrive at time-tested realizations. Get in touch with the thrills of this time of life, when it feels like with every change, nothing will ever be the same again.

** Co-presented by International Community Health Services (ICHS) and Musang **

SAAFF 2021 opens with a program of pandemic-produced shorts with an Asian American lens on the shared experience of COVID-19. These films also explore fights for racial justice and the necessity of economic support for small, local businesses in Seattle and beyond.

** Co-presented by Seattle Film Summit and Seattle Black Film Festival **

Topics like mental health, racism, and sexual assault are hard to talk about. In many immigrant communities, we are told to keep our heads down and work hard without questioning the societal issues that affect our lives. In this shorts program, filmmakers confront a number of critical ideas that overlap in the lives of Asian Americans and across cultures. Even though it may be hard, these films demonstrate how urgently we need to talk about it.

** Co-presented by Seattle Chinatown-International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) **
Please note: This program is accessible only to viewers in WA, OR, and ID states. There are limited tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. Recommended latest time to start the film is Mar. 6 at 10:10pm PT. If you want to watch the Q&A, do not start later than Mar. 6 at 9:30pm PT.

(Tran Quoc Bao, US, 2020, 108 min, in English, closed captions available)

Three childhood kung fu prodigies have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men, but when their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties, and overcome old grudges to avenge his death.

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