These are our ten recommended short films from the Seattle Asian American Film Festival, taking place in cinemas from February 22 – 25 and online from February 26 until March 3, 2024.

A Dire Strait by Liang-Chun Lin – Taiwan | 2022 – 21 minutes

Demi has been in bed for weeks due to the tradition “Zuo-Yue-Zi” (坐月子). Zuo-Yue-Zi (坐月子) is a Chinese tradition, where women stay home for one month to heal the “broken body” after labor, which will help produce the most nutritious milk. Although Demi tries to be as cooperative as possible, the weeks-long confinement and endless chicken soup push her to her limit. She desperately needs a break; however, just one misstep spirals into her worst nightmare… (SAAFF 2024)

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A Roadside Banquet by Peiqi Peng – China | 2022 – 16 minutes

Eleven year old Mai undergoes an unusual transformation at her baby brother’s first birthday party, soon after learning her parents only ever wanted a boy. (SAAFF 2024)

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At the Water’s Edge by Vivian Ip – Singapore | 2023 – 9 minutes

In a dystopian, anonymous city, a young woman negotiates with the ruthless local kingpin to escape her dehumanizing existence, as they both hide sinister intentions and secret connections. (SAAFF 2024)

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Eyecatcher by Jun Shimizu – US | 2023 – 13 minutes

In the heart of Koreatown, Los Angeles, a young woman must protect her ailing father from a sinister entity. (SAAFF 2024)

Happy Ending by Élodie Yung – US | 2023 – 16 minutes

A Cambodian woman carrying a tragic secret, comes to America to work in an illicit massage parlor hoping to build a better life for her family. (SAAFF 2024)

Here, Hopefully by Hao Zhou – US | 2023 – 11 minutes

Zee, a nonbinary aspiring nurse from China, strives to build a gender-affirming life in rural Iowa, US, while working to pass their licensure exam and obtain a work visa. (SAAFF 2024)

Motherland by Christina Yoon – US | 2022 – 18 minutes

Leah, a Korean adoptee raised in America, returns to Korea to search for her birth mother. She is met with secrecy from the adoption agency as well as her own family but remains relentless on her solo journey, driven by her longing to discover the truth of her origins. (SAAFF 2024)

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Nanitic by Carol Nguyen – Canada | 2022 – 15 minutes

na·nit·ic / adjective: “The first brood of worker ants produced by a queen ant using only the reserved nutrition in her body. Nanitics shoulder the initial fate of the colony and are often underfed due to the conditions in colony building. Thus, nanitics may be smaller in size from later workers ants to optimize the survival of the group…” — But what happens to the colony when the queen dies? Have the nanitics done enough? (SAAFF 2024)

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Singing in the Lifeboat by Grace Wijaya – US | 2023 – 15 minutes

Jin seeks solace in the woods of Pennsylvania amidst the Covid pandemic. Surrounded only by trees, her thoughts become increasingly fraught with desperation and danger. (SAAFF 2024)

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White Grass by Justin Kim WooSŏk – Mongolia | 2023 – 16 minutes

In the aftermath of a devastating cycle of extreme winters and dry summers that decimated their flock and threatened their way of life, Munkhjargal, a 10 year old female jockey, and her family of nomadic herders train to compete in Mongolia’s most important festival – Naadam.

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More information: https://saaff2024.eventive.org/