AAPI Storytellers Fest
Join us for the 3rd annual AAPI Storytellers Fest
Share
In honor of AAPI Heritage Month in the U.S,, we are delighted to present the 3rd Annual AAPI/API Storytellers Fest on Kinema, a virtual film festival dedicated to showcasing movies on Kinema that are made by or featuring talented storytellers of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. This special film series aims to promote Asian and AAPI representation in media and highlight the diverse range of their stories.
The AAPI Storytellers Fest will feature a selection of films, available to watch throughout the remainder of May. Every watch supports API stories and the creators behind them.
While many of the events are free, we encourage you to donate to and support organizations The Asian American Foundation and Gold House.
Watch Now
Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV
Directed by Amanda Kim, Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV is the quixotic journey of one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today's world.
The untold story of a Filipina American-founded, California garage band that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny, the first all female band to release an LP with a major label. Adored by David Bowie, the band's groundbreaking impact in music has been lost in the mists of time... until now. Fifty years later, bandmates reunite with a new record deal and a second chance to right the wrongs of history.
To right the wrongs of his all-American sex education, 36-year-old Alex Liu goes on a quest to uncover naked truths and hard facts—no matter how awkward it gets. From neuroscience labs to church pews, 'A Sexplanation' features provocative conversations with psychologists, sex researchers—and even a Jesuit priest. With humor and grit, Alex takes audiences on a playful, heartfelt journey from a shame-filled past to a happier, healthier future.
Self-taught ramen master Masamoto Ueda and his wife Kazuko have run their Tokyo ramen shop, Bizentei for more than forty years. Together with their customers, they have created a welcoming place of community. On the weekends, they venture together across the Japanese countryside, harvesting pears, bamboo shoots, and wild mountain yams. An intimate portrait of Japan’s culture of food, community, and work, COME BACK ANYTIME features gorgeous scenery, mouth-watering dishes, and a delightful cast of regular customers. It’s a heartwarming reminder of life’s simplest pleasures: a delicious meal, relaxed conversations with friends, and a special place to call one’s own.
Watch Starting May 24th
Directed by Shuja Paul and produced by Yosh Yamanaka, “Waiting to Explode” shows the need for aid to innocent victims of war though the rehabilitation of two of the many victims wounded by cluster bombs that failed to explode when dropped over fifty years ago.
Southeast Asian Cinema - When the Rooster Crows
At one level, there are four subjects in this documentary: Brillante Mendoza – ultra neo-realist and pioneer in the regionalisation of Philippine Cinema; Pen-Ek Ratanaruang – American-educated “isolated man” and improvisational Thai New Wave auteur; Eric Khoo – an icon of Singaporean filmmaking and a food-loving, heat-hating lover of country and cinema; and Garin Nugroho – multicultural political filmmaker and magical realist extraordinaire. At another level, there are four other subjects – the lives of ordinary people in provisional Philippines, an increasingly divided Thailand, censorship in Singapore, and an Indonesia finding its way through messy democracy. Altogether, this is a wonderful celebration of the diversity and richness of Southeast Asian Cinema.
Celebrated Chinese couturier Guo Pei is perhaps best known for designing the brilliant gold gown Rihanna wore to the Met Ball in 2015. But Guo’s quest to be recognized by the gatekeepers of Paris haute couture goes beyond the red carpet and taps into global power dynamics and the perpetual tension between art and commerce.
Directed by Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee, Happy Cleaners is about the Choi Family living and surviving in Flushing, Queens. We observe the day-to-day lives of the Choi Family members as they navigate through their respective struggles, cultural clashes, inner angst, all while trying to keep the family dry cleaning business afloat.
Written and directed by Tusi Tamasese, The Orator (O Le Tulafale) is a contemporary drama about courage, forgiveness and love. Small in stature and humble, Saili lives a simple life with his beloved wife and daughter in an isolated, traditional village in the islands of Samoa. Forced to protect his land and family, Saili must face his fears and seek the right to speak up for those he loves.
An overeducated, disenchanted would-be civil servant fixates on another woman she sees as ideal, in South Korean director Han Ka-ram’s critical look at society, employment, and conformity.