Highlights of the 2021 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
/After a year and a half of virtual presentations, we brought back the 37th annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, to in-person theatres and celebrated the works of seasoned and emerging artists from September 23 to October 2, 2021 at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center’s Aratani Theatre, the Tateuchi Democracy Forum at the Japanese American National Museum, and Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center.
The largest Festival of its kind in Southern California and an Academy Award® qualifying Festival for the Short Film Awards, LAAPFF was a 10-day Festival that recognized the works of more than 140 artists, 19 countries, and 34 languages.
“It means a lot to be acknowledged by the Asian film community and in my hometown. I’ve grown so much through Visual Communications’ support.”
Visual Communications opened the Festival with Ann Kaneko’s MANZANAR, DIVERTED: WHEN WATER BECOMES DUST. Manzanar has always been a place of convergence for our communities, and our Festival programs highlight the always-present Indigenous interconnections that we often make invisible. Following Opening Night, we showcased new works as part of Centerpiece Weekend, including the Los Angeles premieres of Iman Zawahry’s AMERICANISH, the first American Muslim rom-com directed by an American Muslim female filmmaker; Sujata Day’s comedy-drama DEFINITION PLEASE, which she also stars in; Christopher Makoto Yogi’s Sundance hit I WAS A SIMPLE MAN, starring Constance Wu; and Suzanne Kai’s LIKE A ROLLING STONE: THE LIFE & TIMES OF BEN FONG-TORRES, about the legendary Rolling Stone editor and writer Ben Fong-Torres.
We also presented Pacific Cinewaves, programming which represents LAAPFF’s commitment to amplify Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities from Hawai’i, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Guåhan (Guam), Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Samoa, and throughout the Pacific region. Featured programs included Anthony Banua-Simon’s CANE FIRE, which won the Festival’s Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature, and the panel conversation C3: Pasifika Power in Media, reflecting how filmmaking is utilized to preserve cultural traditions and stories in Oceania.
Always a must-see at LAAPFF, the films created in Visual Communications' Digital Histories program center the unique voices and perspectives of older adults, and proudly share their stories with the generations to come. This year, Digital Histories 2021 debuted works that highlighted their creativity, thoughtfulness, humor, and commitment to telling their stories. These films are testaments to a year of reflection and survival, informed by experience, and infused by the individual spirit of each of their creators.
Visual Communications hosted an encore presentation of the projects from last year’s Armed With a Camera (AWC) Fellowship, a program founded to guide the next generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander artists to connect communities through the power of our stories. From a visionary glimpse into the future, to a touching memory with a grandparent, each work in Armed With a Camera vol. 2020 is a stunning invitation into poignant reflections on family ties, cultural identities, and intimate portrait documentaries.
Previous editions of C3:Conference for Creative Content aimed to create spaces to converge during the Festival. This year, we hosted C3, a space for creators to converge and celebrate creative communities by engaging in virtual and in-person panels and conversations.
As part of an ongoing partnership with HBO® and their commitment to magnify emerging filmmakers, Visual Communications premiered the winners of this year's HBO APA Visionaries Short Film Competition at the Festival: Urvashi Pathania’s UNMOTHERED and Jesse Gi’s NEH.
Visual Communications is grateful for our storytellers and partners who believe in the power of media to build and connect communities. Our communities, while ever transforming, continue to act in solidarity and are empowered by your support. Thank you for your allyship.
“I wanted to personally thank Visual Communications for the opportunity to showcase my project, but in particular, the kind, generous, and welcoming efforts in all the attention to details you provided the filmmakers to make this Festival as special and safe given the constraints of the pandemic. I had a wonderful time.”
“I was enthralled by the films I saw at LAAPFF and felt honored that my film was able to play among them. So I just wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation of the programming team. I really appreciated the care that was evident in the curation and presentation of your programs, and I also loved the wide range of cinematic languages, techniques, and forms presented to the audience. ”
