The 27th San Diego Asian Film Festival opens Nov. 5 with Stephanie Hsu in an animated love story, and the lineup runs from Sundance winners to a Lifetime Achievement tribute.
Hilda Koronel will pick up a Lifetime Achievement Award in San Diego this November, and she won’t be short of company. The San Diego Asian Film Festival has booked a Cannes-premiered animation, two Sundance winners and a new film from Hirokazu Kore-eda into the same ten days.
The festival’s 27th edition runs Nov. 5 to 14 across seven venues. It is the biggest program SDAFF has ever assembled: 190 films from more than 30 countries, in 30 languages. Pacific Arts Movement, the San Diego nonprofit that presents it, uses the power of film to promote intercultural understanding, amplify diverse voices and connect communities. Its festival is already the city’s largest and one of the country’s leading showcases for Asian and Asian American film.
A skater, a surfer and Los Angeles
Opening night goes to In Waves, directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen and adapted from AJ Dungo’s autobiographical graphic memoir of the same name. Two teenagers fall into first love against an LA backdrop. AJ is a shy skateboarder, voiced by Will Sharpe. Kristen is an avid surfer, voiced by Stephanie Hsu.
A memoir that began on the page, an animated adaptation that played Cannes, and a festival of Asian and Asian American cinema as its launchpad: it’s a tidy route for a diaspora story. San Diego gets it first. Theatres follow on Nov. 27, and Netflix picks it up on Dec. 11.
The names to circle
The rest of the marquee is just as strong. Bedford Park and Take Me Home both took awards at Sundance and now make the trip south. Look Back, from the legendary Japanese filmmaker Kore-eda, is also on the schedule.
Then there’s the tribute. Filipina actress Hilda Koronel is being recognized with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to cinema. Festivals that spend their energy on what’s new don’t always stop to honor the people who built the road. This one does.
Alex Villafuerte, executive director of Pacific Arts Movement, said the festival is “a celebration of how far our community has come and the power of film to bring people together.” The goal, he added, is “creating space for an incredible range of stories, voices, and perspectives.” After nearly three decades, he said, what still inspires the team most is watching audiences come together to discover something new and connect with one another.
How to cut 190 films down to a plan
Nobody sees everything, so the festival sorts its slate into six strands. Asian American Panorama is the heart of the event, the best of Asian American cinema. Asian Pop! brings in films of all genres from across Asia. Masters gathers internationally recognized directors, while Unknown Pleasures follows the newest innovators working in Asian film.
Classics Restored puts restored works from cinema history back on screen. Shorts is the place for inventive storytelling, overlooked histories and compelling subjects, in smaller packages.
If you’re building a schedule, the strands suggest an obvious experiment: pair a Masters title with something from Unknown Pleasures and see which one sticks with you. Brian Hu, Pacific Arts Movement’s artistic director, describes the whole festival as a curated platform for “the most entertaining, provocative, and inspiring” films on offer, and says filmmakers from Asia and the diaspora bring perspectives many viewers are hungry to encounter.
A second screen
JoySauce is signed on as the festival’s media partner and digital companion. Select SDAFF films will stream on JoySauce’s networks, including JoySauce TV, and the outlet will run exclusive promotional coverage beginning Nov. 5.
“This partnership is about more than celebrating extraordinary storytelling—it’s about giving these talented filmmakers an even bigger stage,” said Jonathan Sposato, JoySauce’s founder and CEO. For anyone who can’t get to San Diego, that’s the useful part.
For those who can, the full schedule and ticket information are at sdaff.org.
Via JoySauce
