CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2020 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS Audience Award - Narrative Feature The Paper Tigers Directed by Bao Tran Audience Award - Documentary Feature 76 Days Directed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous Audience Award - Narrative Short The Chef Directed by Hao Zheng Audience Award - Documentary Short But You're Not Black Directed by Danielle Ayow Audience Award - Animated Short Felt Love Directed by Angeline Vu & Arlene Bongco |
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Join us in celebrating Asian American films with our 12th annual Boston Asian American Film Festival, now completely virtual! Tune in with BAAFF on October 21-25, 2020 to enjoy a wide range of short films, feature films, documentaries, and panels while supporting your local Asian American Community! |
BAAFF'S MISSION The Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF), New England's Largest Asian American Film Festival, empowers Asian Americans through film by showcasing Asian American experiences and serving as a resource to filmmakers and the Greater Boston Community. BAAFF is a co-production of the Asian American Resource Workshop and ArtsEmerson. |
VIRTUAL EVENT ACCESS DETAILS
You will receive a confirmation email and the link to view your content can be found at the bottom of the email. All feature films are available to view within a designated viewing window of film start time through 10/25 at 10:00pm (except Opening Night, Definition Please). The content must be started within the designated viewing window. Once started, you have up to 24 hrs to finish playing the content or until the end of the viewing window - whichever comes first. All Shorts Program available on-demand worldwide from October 22, 12:00AM until Sunday, November 1, 2020, 10:00PM ET. (Available for viewing after 24 hours of purchase) |
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IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY TICKET OR STREAMING ISSUES, PLEASE CALL THE ARTSEMERSON BOX OFFICE
617-824-8400 OR EMAIL TICKETS@ARTSEMERSON.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.
617-824-8400 OR EMAIL TICKETS@ARTSEMERSON.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.
![]() OPENING NIGHT FILM
Definition Please Directed by Sujata Day Narrative | Drama/Comedy | 91 mins | USA A former Scribbs Spelling Bee champion, who lives at home with her ailing mother, must reconcile with her estranged brother in order to take the first steps in realizing her dreams and moving on with her life. Read More >> Followed by Q&A with Director Sujata Day and actors Ritesh Rajan and Anna Khaja, Moderated by Phil Yu. [Film Available in MA, RI, NH and ME only, One Night Only until tickets sell out] |
Ticket Details
$12 Special Presentations (Opening, Centerpiece, Closing Film) $10 Features Films* $10 Shorts Programs $30 Shorts Pass (All 5 Shorts Programs) $8 Student/Senior Discount 20% off for group sales of 10+, please call 617-824-8400 or email tickets@artsemerson.org for more information. *All feature films are available to view within a designated viewing window of film start time through 10/25 at 10:00pm (except Opening Night, Definition Please). Shorts Pass:
All 5 Film Shorts Programs for only $30! |
[Available to view on-demand from start time until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET]
Keep Saray Home
(Preceded by Ghost Mountain) Documentary | 71 mins | USA Keep Saray Home Directed by Brian Redondo Far from Mexico and the southern border, in the outskirts of Boston, Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees are facing their own battle against family separation. Read More >> Preceded by Ghost Mountain Directed by James Taing, Virginia Lynch Ghost Mountain is the story of Bunseng Taing, a Cambodian refugee who made his way to Connecticut in 1980 after surviving both the Killing Fields and a second horror never before documented. Read More >> Followed by a Q&A with Brian Redondo (Director, Keep Saray Home), and James Taing (Director, Ghost Mountain); Thao Ho (Organizing and Legal Fellow AARW/GBLS), Jassyran Kim (Keep Saray Home), and Hoa (Keep Saray Home); Moderated by Kevin Lam (AARW) [Film Available Worldwide until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET] |
SPECIAL EVENT
BAAFF Virtual Happy Hour Trivia To kick off this fun-filled and film-filled weekend, we have a fun happy hour trivia night planned so grab your drink of choice and join us for some fun! Come test your knowledge on all things Asian American Film related and see if you can come out on top! Honestly, what could possibly be better than sipping on a beverage in your pajamas and hanging out with amazing filmmakers and film fanatics? [Available Worldwide] |
[Available to view on-demand from start time until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET]
CENTERPIECE DOCUMENTARY
76 Days Directed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, Anonymous Documentary | 93 mins | USA Raw and intimate, this documentary captures the struggles of patients and frontline medical professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan. Read More >> Followed by Q&A Director Hao Wu. [Film Available in MA, RI, NH and ME until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET or until tickets sell out] |
[Available to view on-demand from start time until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET]
Take Out Girl
Directed by Hisonni Mustafa Johnson Narrative | Drama/Family | 100 mins | USA Tera Wong delivers Chinese food for her mother’s struggling restaurant located in the “Low Bottoms,” an infamous Los Angeles project. And everyone around her, including her unpredictable brother (Saren), are financially trapped in this crime and violence-ridden neighborhood. Read More >> Followed by Q&A with Director Hisonni Mustafa Johnson, Actress/Writer/Producer Hedy Wong, DP/Producer Alberto Triana, and Producer Melissa Del Rosario.. [Film Available in MA, RI, NH and ME until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET or until tickets sell out] |
[Available to view on-demand from start time until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET]
The Donut King
Directed by Alice Gu Documentary | 94 mins | USA/Cambodia The rise, fall, and rise again of a Cambodian refugee who escaped genocide and overcame poverty to build a life for himself and hundreds of other immigrant families by baking America’s favorite pastry and building an unlikely empire of donut shops. Read More >> Followed by Q&A with Director Alice Gu with Wayne Yeh, panelist. [Film Available in MA, RI, NH and ME until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET or until tickets sell out] |
Coming Home Again has an extended run! Tickets now also available through ArtsEmerson from Monday, October 26 to November 1, 2020! Click here to buy tickets.
[Available to view on-demand from start time until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET] CENTERPIECE NARRATIVE
Coming Home Again Directed by Wayne Wang 86 mins | Narrative | Drama | United States/South Korea | English Based on a personal essay by Chang-rae Lee published in The New Yorker, Coming Home Again is an intimate family drama about a mother, a son, and the burden of family expectations. Chang-rae, a first-generation Korean American, has returned to his family home in San Francisco to care for his ailing mother. Read More >> Followed by Q&A with Director Wayne Wang and Producer Donald Young. [Film Available in MA, RI, NH and ME until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET or until tickets sell out] |
[Available to view on-demand from start time until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET]
The Paper Tigers
Directed by Bao Tran Narrative | Drama/Family | 100 mins | USA Three childhood Kung Fu prodigies have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men – now one kick away from pulling their hamstrings. But when their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties, and overcome old grudges to avenge his death. Read More >> Followed by Q&A with Director Bao Tran and actors Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins (The Three Paper Tigers). [Film Available in USA except PA, CA, DE, NJ until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET or until tickets sell out] |
[Available to view on-demand from start time until Monday, October 26, 2020, 10:00PM ET]
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
A Thousand Cuts Directed by Ramona S. Diaz Documentary | 120 mins | USA/Philippines Nowhere is the worldwide erosion of democracy, fueled by social media disinformation campaigns, more starkly evident than in the authoritarian regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Journalist Maria Ressa places the tools of the free press—and her freedom—on the line in defense of truth and democracy. Read More >> [Film Available in MA, RI, NH and ME until Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10:00PM ET or until tickets sell out] Followed by Q&A with director Ramona S. Diaz. Join us for an additional livestream Q&A with filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz and Maria Ressa in conversation with Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated filmmaker. Presented in partnership with the Asian American Film Festival Collective. Link to Watch >> |
Shorts ProgramsAll Shorts Program available on-demand worldwide from October 22, 12:00AM until Sunday, November 1, 2020, 10:00PM ET. The content must be started within the designated viewing window. Once started, you have up to 24 hrs to finish playing the content or until the end of the viewing window - whichever comes first.
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SHORTS PROGRAM
Alternative Realities 113 mins | Filmmakers show us their vision of what our malleable realities can become and what possibilities we may evoke. Between shorts about love hypnosis, miscarriage signs, and robot chefs, Alternative Realities sets no barriers for what our world could look like. Read More >> Intelligentia by Ken Shinozaki Tina by Gayatri Bahl Kumquat by Meeni Hardart The Silent Fall by Helen Jung Searching for the None by Jean Louis Droulers In Sync by Eddie Shieh Make a Wish by Dinh Thai Brunch Wars by Kamran Khan The Chef by Hao Zheng Pussy Talk by Kim Tran Becoming Eddie by Lilan Bowden |
SHORTS PROGRAM
Queer & Here 94 mins | Queer & Here illustrates the multitude and depth of queer experiences and lives. Filmmakers bring us into queer individual’s stories at every stage and turn - from NYC nightclubs, to writing lessons in rural India and to Samoan cookouts - where being queer is just one part of our lives. Read More >> The Rogers by Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson About a Short Film by Kevin Yee U for Usha by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade Soba-chan’s Morning by Vlasov Sergey Safe Among Stars by Jess Snow Gentleman Spa by Jay Lin Dancing On My Own by Alexandra N Cuerdo |
SHORTS PROGRAM
Beneath The Surface 110 mins | Challenge your first perceptions and sink into the underlying truths and pasts. From recycling’s global underbelly to a punk café in J-Town LA, Beneath the Surface digs deeper into things that may not be all they seem. Read More >> Stranger by Chen Yang Detourning Asia/America with Valerie Soe by Mila Zuo Passage by Asavari Kumar Providence by Daniel Lee Deeper I Go by Michael P. Vidler Dirty Business by Yutao Chen Growing Pains by LIN, Po-Yu The Hole by Will Kim Atomic Cafe by Akira Boch, Tadashi Nakamura |
SHORTS PROGRAM
Ties That Bind 113 mins | Through friends, family, and community, we are all bound together in social fabrics spanning vibrant and complicated relationships. Ties that Bind traverses continents, languages, and cultures to explore the connections in between us all. Read More >> YAI NIN by Champ Ensminger Chicken by Emma Li Mo’o! by Anela Ling Felt Love by Angeline Vu + Arlene Bongco Keep in Touch by Memie Osuga WAVES by Jane Hae Kim Awaken by Leena Pendharkar Tri and Khanh by Daphne Xu Ahma & Alan by James Y. Shih Fugetsu-Do by Kaia Rose |
SHORTS PROGRAM
Finding Your Way 108 mins | Through navigating difficult situations, facing a hostile outside world, or reflecting on previous experiences, we deepen our understanding about ourselves. Finding Your Way showcases these experiences and how they become a catalyst for personal metamorphosis. Read More >> Black Ghost Son by Christopher Low Representation by Jj Querubin Papaya by Kayleb Lee the outcome by Lisa Lam Curtain Call by Angel Yau Big Happiness by Da Hee Kim Michelle by Kenya Gillespie Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster by Catherine Chen Extra Credit by Angel Yau But You’re Not Black by Danielle Ayow |
Boston Asian American Film Festival is a co-production of Asian American Resource Workshop and ArtsEmerson.
The information on this website is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF). BAAFF assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear on this website.
The information on this website is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF). BAAFF assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear on this website.
Graphic Illustration by Anna Zeng.