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
Returning Words
Returning Words
Short
World Premiere
Zhang Zhe is a second-generation Chinese who grew up in Korea. For years, he resisted his father’s insistence that he learn Chinese, unable to understand the older man’s deep attachment to his homeland and language. To Zhang Zhe, Chinese was nothing more than a distant and irrelevant burden. After his father’s death, however, he unexpectedly receives a letter informing him that in order to claim his inheritance, he must deliver a eulogy—in Chinese.
Driven by financial pressure, Zhang Zhe reluctantly begins to relearn the language. Yet he soon realizes how little he actually knows. Hoping to meet the requirement, he enrolls in a language course, only to find the tuition far beyond his means. At the same time, overdue rent notices pile up. Cornered by circumstance, he makes a deal with his landlord, Xiao Mei: she will teach him Chinese, and he will repay the rent and an additional fee once he masters it. What begins as a cold, transactional arrangement—one in which Xiao Mei even tries to take advantage of him—slowly transforms through repeated lessons and shared moments into a fragile but genuine connection.
The process of learning Chinese becomes a journey of self-confrontation and remembrance. The words he once rejected begin to stir long-suppressed emotions toward his father. Through practice and reflection, Zhang Zhe gradually comes to understand the solitude and persistence behind his father’s will. When he finally stands before the grave and delivers the eulogy in halting Chinese, his imperfect pronunciation becomes the first bridge toward reconciliation.
Director: Liu Qinyuan
Producer: Huang Nan
Writer: Tao Jiaqi
Cast: 윤경호, Tan Qi, 안형주, 박준서, Shi Lifan
Cinematographer: He Cheng, Han Xiaoyi
Editor: Zhang Jingyi
The film was officially selected for the Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival 2026.
Instagram: @qinyuan.creates – Director's Instagram
Run
Short
World Premiere
After a frightening encounter during her practice run, a teenage girl named Maddie struggles with fear and self-doubt. She must find the courage to face her trauma and get back on her feet, ultimately deciding whether she is ready to run again.
Director: Hanissa Kartika
Producer: Jack Huang
Writer: Hanissa Kartika
Cast: Hannah Aronson, Ellie Donahue, Stanislaw Kowalski
Cinematographer: Eric Tang
Editor: Jack Huang
Instagram: instagram.com/hanissaayu
Sunhwan
Short
World Premiere
A new mother struggling with alcoholism faces her intergenerational trauma head-on.
Director: Ben Tedesco
Producer: Tara Jayn
Writer: Cecilia Kim and Theodore Newton
Cast: Cecilia Kim, Theodore Newton, Jennifer Soo, Richard Chiu, Angela Park, Joohun Lee, Eric Ha, Han Kim, Iris Newton, Richard Taylor
Cinematographer: Wey Wang
Editor: Alex Tedesco
Instagram: @sunhwan.shortfilm