These are our ten recommended feature films from the Asian American International Film Festival, which will take place in cinemas and online from August 1 – 11, 2024 in New York, USA.

A Great Divide by Jean Shim – USA | 2023 – 100 minutes

Seen through the eyes of a Korean American family that leaves the Bay Area for small-town Wyoming after experiencing devastating loss, A GREAT DIVIDE addresses the emotional and psychological impact of racism and xenophobia on Asian Americans, the loneliness and sacrifice of immigrant sojourners, and the generational burden of expectations that weigh on their children. But it’s also a story about a family repairing itself after tragedy, about a young man breaking out of his shell and finding love, about reconciliation and redemption. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening:
August 10, 2024 | Saturday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 14 | 4:45 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Trailer:

Ashima by Kenji Tsukamoto – USA | 2023 – 86 minutes

ASHIMA follows elite rock climber Ashima Shiraishi as she travels to South Africa, attempting to be the youngest climber to master one of the world’s most challenging climbs. Accompanying Ashima is her father and coach Poppo, a former avante-garde dancer who brings an eccentric, tough-love approach to Ashima’s training. The story examines the sacrifices required to achieve at the highest level and the complex relationship between immigrant parents and their children. ASHIMA is an intimate coming-of-age story about climbing, family, and the pursuit of the American Dream. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening:
August 2, 2024 | Friday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 15 | 6:15 pm

Trailer:

Eat Bitter by Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy – Central African Republic, China, USA, Canada, Kenya, The Netherlands | 2023 – 95 minutes

In one of the poorest nations on earth, the Central African Republic, native sand diver Thomas Boa and construction manager Jianmin Luan, a Chinese national, accept that struggle and risk are the price of tomorrow’s rest and reward: both are prepared to “Eat Bitter.” The eye-opening documentary raises the age-old question of what we are prepared to sacrifice for a better tomorrow, without a promise that it will ever arrive. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening:
August 10, 2024 | Saturday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 15 | 12:30 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Trailer:

Guián by Nicole Chi Amén – Costa Rica, China | 2023 – 76 minutes

As a consequence of Guián passing away, Nicole starts meeting with people who have known her grandma. Traveling to different parts of Costa Rica provides a glimpse of the Chinese-Costa Rican community, and she finds a poetic resemblance between these characters and her deceased grandma.

Nicole finds the need to go to Southern China to find the house Guián abandoned when she emigrated to Costa Rica. Having never learned Chinese, she confronts the reality of a country and culture she thought she knew.

This film is the first and last imagined conversation between a granddaughter and a grandmother who never shared a common language. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening Date:
August 9, 2024 | Friday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 15 | 8:00 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Trailer:

Home Court by Erica Tanamachi – USA, Cambodia | 2024 – 95 minutes

Ashley Chea is a Cambodian American basketball phenom. HOME COURT, filmed over three years, is a coming-of-age story that relays the highs and lows of her immigrant family, surmounting racial and class differences, as well as personal trials that include a devastating knee injury. Despite the intensity of basketball recruiting, Ashley’s humor shines through and her natural talent inspires the support of those around her. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening Date:
August 3, 2024 | Saturday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 15 | 4:15 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Inay (Mama) by Thea Loo – Canada, Philippines | 2024 – 56 minutes

With the desire to help answer unresolved questions and heal lingering wounds, INAY investigates flawed immigration pathways between the Philippines and Canada that kept so many Filipino children from their mothers.

INAY, which means “mama” in Tagalog, is an intimate and personal look at the experiences and trauma endured by many Filipino Canadians. Filmmaker Thea Loo and her husband Jeremiah Reyes, who is also the film’s cinematographer, explore the intersections of mental health and migrant labor and the effects that continue to be felt years later. Through intimate conversations, INAY aims to bridge the silences and disconnect between the first and second generations of the Filipino community. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening Date:
August 4, 2024 | Sunday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 15 | 2:15 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Madina by Aizhan Kassymbek – Kazakhstan, Pakistan, USA | 2023 – 73 minutes

The film tells the story of a single mother, Madina, who struggles through her life with a lack of confidence in the present and a lack of hope in the future. Her day-to-day routine is a battle for survival.

In trying to earn a living for her small family—an old grandmother, a withdrawn little brother, and a two-year-old daughter—Madina is ready to go against her moral principles. Her feelings are frozen by a cold winter inside her that seems to never end, until one day her brother makes a shocking revelation. The knowledge of the abuse to which he was subjected as a child changes everything for Madina and breaks the ice that covers her soul.

Screening Date:
August 9, 2024 | Friday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 15 | 6:00 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Trailer:

Paper Marriage by Jeff Man – USA | 2024 – 91 minutes

Fanny (Effy Han), a Chinese immigrant facing deportation, pins her last hopes on staying in the U.S. by paying Jeff (Jeff Man), an unemployed lost soul, to marry her. During this year-long charade, they tiptoe around each other’s differences. As quiet moments turn into clashes, they are forced to navigate through their awkwardness and learn to work together. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening Date:
August 3, 2024 | Saturday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 15 | 1:45 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Trailer:

Smoking Tigers by So Young Shelly Yo – USA | 2023 – 91 minutes

Set in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, SMOKING TIGERS is a portrait of a lonely Korean American teen named Hayoung who is taken under the wings of three wealthy students she meets at an elite academic boot camp. As she falls deeper into their world, Hayoung works harder to hide her insecurities about her problematic family and lower-income background, only to discover the bittersweet pains of adulthood that will forever shape her life. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening Date:
August 4, 2024 | Sunday | Regal Union Square | 7:00 pm
Available online from August 2 – 11, 2024

Trailer:

We’re All Gonna Die by Freddie Wong, Matthew Arnold – USA | 2024 – 110 minutes

In the near future, a towering alien “spike” materializes in Earth’s atmosphere, wreaking havoc. Years later, it’s still around. A struggling beekeeper (Ashly Burch, Mythic Quest) is forced to team up with an emotionally raw EMT (Jordan Rodrigues, National Treasure: Edge of History) on a roadtrip to retrieve her bees (and his car) after their stuff is suddenly teleported across the country by the alien spike. (AAIFF 2024)

Screening Date:
August 9, 2024 | Friday | Regal Union Square – Auditorium 14 | 8:00 pm

For more information, please visit: https://www.aaiff.org/