Official Selections: LA Asian Film Festival
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film
Chinese Takeout
Short
World Premiere
Åge (70), a retired man set in his ways, has his world shaken - and his prejudices challenged - when an Asian restaurant opens on the floor beneath his apartment.
Director, producer, writer and editor: Hoang Larsen
Co-producer: Aleksander Knudsen
Cast: Peter Grindem, Philip Nguyen, Mike Hoang, Trine Beathe Solberg, Pål Erik Helgerud, Guro Strand Heum.
Cinematographer: Knut Svanes Lunde
Co-editor: Fabian Engesæth
Website: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28306331/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hoanglarsen
Dear Upstairs Neighbors
Animation
LA premiere
A young woman desperate for a good night’s sleep is kept awake by her exceedingly noisy neighbors. As she struggles to imagine what could be causing the cacophony upstairs, reality drifts into fantasy, and an epic battle for peace and sanity ensues.
Director: Connie He
Producer: Márcia Mayer
Writer: Connie He
Cast: Márcia Mayer
Cinematographer: Connie He
Editor: Sarah Affleck
Check out the behind of the scene: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/dear-upstairs-neighbors/
Website: [https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/dear-upstairs-neighbors/]
Instagram: [@connie_he]
Falling Into Silence
Feature
US Premiere
In a quiet rural town in Gifu, Minoru Okura is haunted by his mother’s death from mental illness and burdened by an absent father and a reclusive sister. As the Bon festival nears, his fascination with the afterlife leads him to a psychic and to drugs said to mimic near-death experiences, pulling him into a dangerous spiral of curiosity and rebellion. When he meets Juri, an older girl whose warmth begins to fill his emotional void, Minoru’s fragile world is shaken again by sudden tragedy. Confronting his deepening fear of death and the darkness within, he slowly discovers—through the support of those who care for him—the courage to cherish life and the people around him. This is the story of a boy’s turbulent summer and his search for meaning, connection, and acceptance.
Director: Yuto Shimizu
Producer: Ken Ochiai
Writer: Yuto Shimizu
Cast: Iori Abe, Utano Aoi, Masaya Kato, Kokona Sumi
Cinematographer: Rui Arichika
Editor: Takumi Wada
https://bokuhana.ayapro.ne.jp/
https://www.instagram.com/bokuhanamovie/
https://twitter.com/bokuhanamovie
F*ck Feelings
short
F*ck Feelings follows a talented Vietnamese painter preparing for her huge debut at an art gallery, only to be welcomed by a dark past that she fought hard to forget.
Linh is a healthy and successful 26 year old who is forced to face her past traumas when she learns her ex-abuser got engaged. As she spirals and reaches her breaking point, she struggles to rely on her best friends and loving boyfriend for support. F*ck Feelings paints the importance of consent and that healing is not linear.
Director: Samantha K. Tan
Executive Producer: Fiorella Vescovi
Producer: Kemi Jackson, AJ Starzak, Les Krone
Writer: Samantha K. Tan
Cast: Shirley Kim Nguyen, Reagan Gift, Alyssa Leanne So, Lawrence Sharma, Ray Raymundo, Jeannie Elise Mai, Jon Harris
Director of Photography: Isabel Mazzolini
Editor: Samantha K. Tan
Production Designer: Tim Molina
Costume Designer: Molly Martin
Hair and Makeup: Sarah Monares
Composer: Evan Wright
Awards: Bronze Award for Best First-Time Female Director and Honorable Mention for Best Women Short at Independent Shorts Awards,
Nominations: Best Short Film (USA) at the Asian Film Festival in Los Angeles, Best First-Time Female Director and Best Actress at Indie Short Fest, Best Actress at the Studio City International Film Festival
Instagram: @fckfeelings.short
Forever is a Delicate Thing
Short
Los Angeles Premiere
When a visit from the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services interrupts the humble, kindred lifestyle of a Vietnam War immigrant and the grandson in his custody, the two spend their last days together braving what will soon become the broken pieces on which they built their lives.
Director: Cally Nguyen
Producer: Karyn Lopez
Writer: Cally Nguyen
Cast: Orion Tran, Huynh Cao Nguyen
Cinematographer: Cameron J. Schulz
Editor: Kyle Wang
2025 Independent Shorts Awards- (Gold) Best Student Female Director & (Silver) Best Drama Short
Website: callynguyen.com
Instagram: @ih8film @foreverisadelicatething