Latest News
HBO Documentary Series – East of Main Street: Small Talk
May 1, 2012
PAAFF is proud to promote HBO’s “East of Main Street: Small Talk“, which premieres Tues, May 1st at 8:45pm on HBO Family® and will be available all May via HBO on Demand® & HBO GO®.
If you have ever been around small children, you know that they have a very uncensored view of things. They are wide-eyed, open, curious and completely unjaded by life. For the most part, they have not yet been exposed to the harsh realities of racism, sexism and discrimination.
In East of Main Street: Small Talk, 37 Asian American kids from diverse backgrounds and ranging in age from 4-12 give their opinions on a variety of topics – their heritage and what it means to be Asian American, what sets them apart from other kids and what makes them the same, how they relate to their families and their grandparents, the languages they speak, favorite foods, customs, and their hopes and dreams for the future. The piece is filled with humor, sweetness and poignancy, and helps highlight just how insightful and intelligent children really are.
HBO® celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with this endearing special about what it’s like to be Asian American.
Call for Entries – Final Postmark Deadline June 8th
March 16, 2012
The final postmark deadline to get your film in consideration for PAAFF’12 has been extended to Friday, June 8th!
For more info on submissions, please click here.
International Vision Awards & Lunar New Year Celebration – Fri. Jan. 27th
January 13, 2012
PAAFF is happy to announce that Festival Director Joe Kim (on behalf of PAAFF) along with four other community leaders including our friends Susan Jin Davis (Comcast) and Nina Ahmad (Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs) will be receiving the International Vision Award on Friday, January 27th 6-7:30pm at the International House Philadelphia (3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia).
We hope you can attend the ceremony. The price of admission includes food, open bar, and the 10th Annual Lunar New Year Celebration following the award ceremony.
(Please note you can also attend just the Lunar New Year Celebration at 7:30pm which promises to be an exciting fun filled evening with performances and samplings of food)
2011 Festival Wrap & Awards
November 12, 2011
The 2011 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Presented by HBO is a wrap!
Thanks to our staff, volunteers, attendees and sponsors for making this happen. Thanks also to our venue partners: International House, Asian Arts Initiative and Prince Music Theater.
Click to view photos
Festival Award Winners:
Best Narrative Feature Film: Saigon Electric
Best Documentary: Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes of David Choe
Best Short Film: Digital Antiquities
Emerging Filmmaker Award: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan
Audience Awards:
Narrative Feature Film: Saigon Electric
Documentary: I Am
Official Lineup for the 2011 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Presented by HBO
October 16, 2011
The 2011 Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Presented by HBO will run from Wednesday, November 2nd to Tuesday, November 8th at the Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut Street), the Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine Street) and the Prince Music Theater (1412 Chestnut Street). We are proud to announce our lineup and schedule.
Online Schedule & Ticketing – Tickets: $8 General Admission / $6 Students or Seniors
Interactive Festival Program Guide
List of 2011 PAAFF Films & Events
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011
LAUNCH NIGHT (FREE catered reception & B-boy demonstration)
Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine Street, Phila. 19107)
7PM – Among B-Boys – Get Tickets
Among B-Boys is a documentary film about a movement in the Hmong American youth demographic who love the Hip Hop art of Bboying or Breakdancing.
-Director Christopher Woon will be in attendance for Q&A
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011
OPENING NIGHT FILM & FREE catered reception with OPEN BAR
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
7PM – Wedding Palace – Get Tickets
Pressured to get married by family and friends, 29 year-old advertising executive Jason Kim finds the woman of his dreams in cyberspace, 9000 miles away in Seoul, Korea. But when Na Young arrives in Los Angeles, Jason soon discovers that a relationship can sometimes be deeper online than in real life.
-Director Christine Yoo will be in attendance for Q&A
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2011
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
7PM – Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe – Get Tickets
Dirty Hands chronicles the life and career of famed street artist David Choe from 2000 to 2007 as documented by his close friend and director, Harry Kim
-Director Harry Kim will be in attendance for Q&A
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
9:15PM – Saigon Electric – Get Tickets
Boldly fusing hip-hop dance battles, romance, and a cross-section of youth culture in contemporary Vietnam, Saigon Electric is a film bursting with energy, showcasing a strong, youthful artistic presence in the global metropolis of Saigon.
-Director Stephane Gauger will be in attendance for Q&A
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
2PM – Shorts Program 1 (FREE SCREENING!) – Get Tickets
Dark or quirky films with a modern feel
-Filmmakers will be in attendance for Q&A
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
5PM – Suite Suite Chinatown (FREE EVENT!) – Get Tickets
A collaboratively produced, multi-genre cinematic vision of Chinatown, where anything is possible and the unexpected is just the tip of the iceberg! (Panel discussion will follow)
-Featuring a live performance from Jason Min
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
7PM – Bang Bang – Get Tickets
Caught in the midst of teenage angst, gang life, and alienation, the two friends find themselves heading down two different paths of life. Bang Bang is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage life and crime in Los Angeles.
-Director Byron Q will be in attendance for Q&A
CENTERPIECE FILM
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
9:30PM – The Girl from the Naked Eye – Get Tickets
Non-stop action. Murder. Sex. Beautiful women. A bad-ass antihero. Mystery. All of these elements combine to make the ultimate Asian-American neo-noir thriller in director David Ren’s (Shanghai Kiss) second feature film, The Girl from the Naked Eye.
-Action star Jason Yee and producer Henry Mu will be in attendance for Q&A
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2011
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
1PM – Shorts Program 2 (FREE SCREENING!) – Get Tickets
These films are short in length and long in vision
-Filmmakers will be in attendance for Q&A
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
3:30PM – One Kine Day – Get Tickets
One Kine Day will take you on a journey to a side of paradise you’ve never seen.
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Hawaii International Film Festival.
-Star Ryan Greer will be in attendance for Q&A
CLOSING NIGHT FILM & FREE Catered Reception with OPEN BAR
Ibrahim Theater at the International House (3701 Chestnut St, Phila. 19104)
6PM – Almost Perfect – Get Tickets
A successful career woman meets an almost perfect man, but first has to contend with her not-so-perfect family in this winning romantic comedy starring Kelly Hu (X-Men 2), Edison Chen (Infernal Affairs), Roger Rees (The Prestige), Tina Chen (Golden Globe Nominee) and Ivan Shaw.
-Director Bertha Bay-Sa Pan and co-star Tina Chen will be in attendance for Q&A
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2011
Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine Street, Phila. 19107)
6:30PM – I Am (FREE Reception!) – Get Tickets
I Am is a personal and revealing film that journeys to a landscape where being gay was, until recently, a criminal and punishable offense.
-Director Sonali Gulati will take part in a video Q&A
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2011
Prince Music Theater (1412 Chestnut Street, Phila. 19110)
7PM – Enforcing the Silence (FREE SCREENING & RECEPTION!) – Get Tickets
Unlocking a thirty-year-old mystery surrounding the first Vietnamese American reportedly assassinated on U.S. soil, Enforcing the Silence explores how the Vietnam War continued in America.
-Director Tony Nguyen will be in attendance for Q&A
