AAIFF 2025 Brings 90+ Asian And Asian American Films To NYC

Forbes

29-07-2025

The 48th Asian American International Film Festival will run from July 31 - August 10, 2025.
The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) returns to New York City this week for its 48th year, bringing 11 days of fresh and compelling storytelling from across the Asian diaspora. Starting July 31st, the festival will showcase more than 90 films, including documentaries, narrative features, shorts and music videos. Besides film screenings, it will also hold filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, special receptions and an awards ceremony.
Here's what you need to know about the 48th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF48).
What is the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF)?
The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is the oldest and longest running U.S. film festival dedicated to highlighting Asian and Asian American stories.
AAIFF47 Opening Night Screening
Who organizes AAIFF?
The annual festival is organized by Asian CineVision, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to 'the development, exhibition, promotion, and preservation of Asian and Asian American experiences through storytelling.' Since its launch in 1978 in New York City's Lower East Side, AAIFF has screened movies by emerging and established filmmakers from more than 20 countries. Past editions have featured U.S. premieres by iconic directors like Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club, Maid in Manhattan) and Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Brokeback Mountain).
A packed audience at the 47th Asian American International Film Festival
When is the 2025 Asian American International Film Festival (aka AAIFF48)?
AAIFF48 runs from from Thursday, July 31st through Sunday, August 10th, 2025.
Where is AAIFF48 taking place?
In-person screenings and other events at AAIFF48 will take place across five different venues in Manhattan.
The hybrid festival will feature both in-person and online film screenings, with most of the in-person screenings happening at Regal Union Square.
For more information, visit the AAIFF website.
Featured films at AAIFF48: Slanted, Transplant and more
With over 90 films being screened at this year's AAIFF, it would be impossible to list them all here, but here are a few highlights:
The festival will kick off on Thursday, July 31st with a red carpet and screening of Slanted, which won the narrative feature competition at SXSW. Written and directed by Chinese-Australian filmmaker Amy Wang in her feature debut, the satirical thriller follows a Chinese-American teen who undergoes experimental surgery to look white in an effort to be named prom queen—a decision that leads to drastic and unforeseen consequences. Slanted stars Shirley Chen (Didi, Beast Beast), Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Gifted) and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever, Freakier Friday). A Q&A and reception will follow the screening.
Shirley Chen stars as insecure Chinese-American teen Joan Huang in 'Slanted.'
Tamil filmmaker Chithra Jeyaram's Love Chaos Kin upends the traditional narrative around transracial adoptions. The documentary tells the story of half-white, half-Native American twins who are adopted into a South Asian immigrant family. Complex questions about race, identity and belonging arise when the twins reconnect with their white birth mother and their estranged Navajo father.
Decathlon: The CK Yang & Rafer Johnson Story, a documentary by Taiwanese-Canadian director Frank W. Chen, chronicles the real-life friendship and rivalry between C.K. Yang—the first Taiwanese athlete to win an Olympic medal—and American decathlete and Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson amidst the turbulent backdrop of the Cold War and the civil rights movement.
AAIFF48's Centerpiece Screening is Transplant, a gripping thriller about an ambitious and gifted surgical resident who gets more than he bargained for when he comes under the tutelage of a preeminent heart transplant surgeon. Co-produced by Forest Whitaker and starring Korean-American K-pop star and multi-hyphenate entertainer Eric Nam, Transplant is the feature directorial debut of Korean-American filmmaker Jason Park, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. A Q&A and reception will take place after the screening.
Eric Nam stars as Jonah Yoon in 'Transplant.'
The documentary Mistress Dispeller gives an intimate look into a bizarre profession that's burgeoning in China: the mistress dispeller. When a Chinese woman learns that her husband has been cheating on her with a younger woman, she enlists the help of Wang Zhenxi, a 'mistress dispeller' whose job it is to save their marriage and end the extramarital affair. Directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film, Mistress Dispeller had its world premiere at last year's Venice International Film Festival and boasts a 100% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing.
In Shook Saamer Usmani (3 Body Problem, Succession) plays Ashish, an aspiring writer who struggles to navigate his parents' divorce, a stalled writing career and his father's Parkinson's diagnosis. But a budding romance with the charming barista Claire leads him to discover that life can still offer joy and fulfillment, even if it doesn't always go as planned. Directed, co-written and co-produced by Indo-Canadian documentary filmmaker Amar Wala, Shook marks Wala's scripted feature debut and is partly based on his own personal experiences.
AAIFF48 will also feature a variety of short films grouped into 10 shorts showcases.
Additionally, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Asian CineVision, AAIFF48 will host a series of panels and special events, including a showing of Filipino-American filmmaker H.P. Mendoza's 2009 musical comedy Fruit Fly and a screening of the never-before-released director's cut of Captain America, the 1990 superhero film by the late auteur and cult favorite Albert Pyun.
For the full schedule of film screenings and other events, visit aaiff.org.
How to watch AAIFF48 films
Some films will be screened in-person only, while others will only be available to watch online as video-on-demand (VOD). There are also films that offer both in-person and online viewing options.
How to buy tickets for AAIFF48
General tickets are $18 for in-person screenings and $10 for VOD and can be purchased directly on the festival website. Discounted ticket packages are also available.
To purchase tickets for in-person and/or online screenings, visit aaiff.org and navigate to the Tickets tab. You can also buy tickets directly on each film's info page on the AAIFF website.
For more information on ticketing options, check out the FAQ section of the AAIFF website.