Featured Stories

Film Reviews

  • ‘Asians Were Killed. Nobody Cared. We’re Fighting Back.’ January 30, 2024 by Charlotte Wittmann A film by the community, for the community “I’m Not An Activist” takes an inside look at the Dragon Combat Club (DCC), “an NYC-based volunteer initiative for community self-defense.” The club was formed in 2020. They offer free, self-defense classes in NYC.  I was able to speak with the short’s director, Dan Chen, and producer,…
  • Creating an Elite Match January 28, 2024 by Christson Luigi Asuncion A Personal Look Into Finding a Character’s Desires In many ways, filmmaking is a personal outlet for filmmakers. Since graduating from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Kathy Meng has aimed to tell stories through the medium that are personal and familiar. Her latest short film, "Elite Match,” follows single mother Lily (Rachel Lu), who…
  • Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death January 25, 2024 by Helen He The reflections on mortality and mother-daughter relationship of Siyi Chen Siyi Chen wrote and directed the documentary “Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death (我们在黑夜的海上)” about the effects of her mother’s post-cancer treatment and aftermath on her (Siyi Chen) relationship with her Chinese mother (Shengmei Shen), backdropped against a society’s perspective on mortality, doctors,…

Features

  • ‘Past Lives and Present Screens’ March 1, 2024 by Charlotte Wittmann A conversation between Celine Song and Jeff Yang On January 23rd, the Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium at the Asia Society was packed with people who had come to hear a conversation between author Jeff Yang and director Celine Song. Just that morning, Song’s directorial debut feature, “Past Lives,” had been nominated for Best Picture, and…
  • When, Where, and Why We Danced February 21, 2024 by Shay Santos An Immigrant’s Story Told Through Dance Even the editing feels like a slow and perfectly punctuated tango in Ryan Moore’s award-winning short film “When We Danced” (2023). The flow of the opening and the magnificent visuals move together gracefully, transitions morphing and masking into the next shot and the camera movement so smooth and silky…
  • ‘Asians Were Killed. Nobody Cared. We’re Fighting Back.’ January 30, 2024 by Charlotte Wittmann A film by the community, for the community “I’m Not An Activist” takes an inside look at the Dragon Combat Club (DCC), “an NYC-based volunteer initiative for community self-defense.” The club was formed in 2020. They offer free, self-defense classes in NYC.  I was able to speak with the short’s director, Dan Chen, and producer,…

Retrospectives

  • ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’: 20 Years Later December 13, 2022 by Nathan Liu Tackling the legacy of the greatest Asian American filmThis article contains spoilers.On October 4, 2019, the LA Times’ released an article titled “The 20 best Asian American films of the last 20 years.” And number one on their list was the 2002 crime drama, “Better Luck Tomorrow.” If you’re under a certain age, that name might…
  • ‘Freckled Rice’: Postscript by Yuet-fung Ho August 13, 2022 by Asian CineVision Written by: Yuet-fung Ho Editor's Note: “Freckled Rice” originally screened at AAIFF83. It is an ACV Classic that re-screened at AAIFF45. Yuet-fung Ho produced the film alongside her husband, Steven C. Ning. This postscript originally appeared in the AAIFF45 program book. “Freckled Rice” was the first film I worked on in America, and it opened…
  • Miyoshi Umeki: Forgotten APA icon May 11, 2020 by Nathan Liu For this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we are looking back at Miyoshi Umeki's legacy as the only Asian actress to win an Academy Award.