Official Selections: 2nd-8th LA Asian Film Festivals
Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film
Undercover
In "Undercover", Jake Frost gets personal on what it feels like to fall in love with his straight best friend. The pain of unrequited love exacerbates as Frost emanates the harsh reality of being in the closet.
Director: Razieme Iborra
Producer: Rebel Motion
Writer: Kai Wang
Cast: Kai Wang, Marquise Hitchcock
Cinematographer: Danyal Niazi
Editor: Marcus Wei
So far, Undercover has won, been selected, and screened in over 30 festivals around the world, generating over 100K views on Youtube, and had been covered in a variety of press including NewNowNext, Gay Star News, and more.
Valley
It's ditch day in the San Gabriel Valley as two high school seniors realize they might be on very different paths.
Director/Writer: Allan Zhang Tran
Producer: Matthew P. Higgins, Michelle Okawa
Cast: Bloom Li, Ray Yamamoto, Michelle Park, Gloria Ho, Jocelyn May
Cinematographer: Sonny Wong
Editor: Allan Zhang Tran
Valley had its world premiere at the 21st Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival and took home the Filmmakers Awards for "Outstanding Short Film, Drama" and "Outstanding Cast, Drama" at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival.
What They Left Behind
Animated Short
A young woman dreams about her earliest memory of her great-grandfather’s death. While walking home, she recalls her teenage self attending her paternal grandfather’s wake. She goes further back to her memories with her grandfathers as a child. Seeing her grandmothers mourning for her grandfathers in present day, she starts to let go and make peace with her past.
Director: Vicky Xingyu Gu
Producer: Vicky Xingyu Gu
Writer: Vicky Xingyu Gu
Cast: Vicky Xingyu Gu, Moka, Wenze Fan, Vera Tin
Editor: Vicky Xingyu Gu
City of Angels Women's Film Festival - Best Animated Short
DOC LA. Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival - Best Student Film
CU International Film Festival - Best Animation
16a edición del certamen audiovisual PROYECTA - First Price in Fiction
Los Angeles Animation Festival - Student Mixed-Media Winner & PERFECT COMBO Award for Excellence
Hollywood Screenings Film Festival - Best Animation
Website: xingyugu.com/whattheyleftbehind
Young Oak Tree
Short
Marathoner Sohn Kee Chung’s undying spirit made him the first Korean to win Olympic gold, but the horrors of Japanese imperialism during his life would keep his true origins hidden at Hitler’s 1936 games.
Director: Aiden Choi
Writer: Aiden Choi
Cast: Sohn Kee Jeong, Nam Sung Lyong
Editor: Aiden Choi
- Winner of the Los Angeles Short Film & Script Festival
Instagram: @aiden.j.c
Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster
Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster is an animated short film that was Semi-finalist for the Student Academy Awards. It is inspired by the director’s experience during Hurricane Katrina, and growing up with her little sister. The main character is Jackie her little sister. Eight-year-old Jackie is determined to protect her newest pet, a tiny turtle named Lucy, at all costs. Even if it means chasing down a massive hurricane called the Hollow Monster.
Director: Catherine Chen
Producer: Catherine Chen
Writer: Catherine Chen
Cast: Rosaline Chen, Ming Chen, and Raina Zhao
Editor: Diego Yanez
Yuan Yuan and the Hollow Monster has accumulated many awards, including Best Animation for Kids at Animation Block Party in NYC, competing with worldwide professional studios and their pilot films. It was also the Best Student Film at Lady Filmmakers Festival, Best Animation Winner at VAIFF and won Outstanding Film Animation at Tallgrass Film Festival. After the release of this short film, Catherine has started her own animation studio called Yuan Yuan Animation.
Instagram: @yy.animation
Facebook: fb.com/yuananim
UNDIAGNOSED
World Premiere
Documentary
UNDIAGNOSED is a feature-length documentary film that brings forward remarkable cutting-edge science and compelling human drama to shine a light on a widespread but little-known issue devastating families across the world: undiagnosed illnesses.
Told through the captivating stories of 4 different families, the film explores why the medical system is failing this population and how studying these patients will advance medicine for all of humanity. Combining genetic technology, the power of community, and unwavering parental love, these families push against the ticking clock of rapid degeneration to find answers.
Director: Dr. Katia Moritz & Nicholas Miller
Producer: Crystal Shearman
Cinematographer: Nicholas Miller
Editor: Renata Terra, Guili Minkovicius, Yuri Amaral
Website: https://undiagnosedfilm.com/
Twitter: @UndiagnosedFilm
Facebook: fb.com/undiagnosedfilm
Velvet Sky
World Premiere
A young naive filmmaker on the verge of making his first feature film agrees to be mentored by a director he idolizes but realizes too late that his jealous mentor is only out to sabotage him for his own personal gain, so he must break away from this toxic relationship and find the story he was meant to tell before his chances of success are tarnished.
Director: Charles Gray
Producer: Leon Pierce, Jr.
Writer: Charles Gray
Cast: Reuben Uy, Jasper Capalad, Kelsey Tuma, Darren Lee Campbell, Cynthia San Luis, Iya Baclagan, Arlyn Dela Pena, Brad Jenkins, Destiny Young
Cinematographer: Alvin Octoman
Editor: Charles Gray, Seth Dacio
Winner Best Film at the LA FEEDBACK Film Festival (virtual festival)
Instagram: @velvetskyfilm
When You Leave
A young Japanese American must confront his past and learn the price of freedom when given the opportunity to leave the WWII internment camp where he is imprisoned.
Director: Jason Yamamoto
Producer: Tamlyn Doll
Cast: Aoi Takeya, Julia Ekwall, Brent Yoshida, Ariel Labasan
Cinematographer: Sean Thomson
Editor: Parker Jue
ndependent Shorts Awards Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
LA Shorts International Film Festival Official Selection
Los Angeles Film Awards Winner Best Student Film
DTLA Film Festival Official Selection
Venice Shorts Winner Best Composer
Instagram: @whenyouleavefilm
Your Love
Music Video
Your Love is a Queer South Asian love story about two young women who are forced apart only to be reunited years later with the help of an unexpected soul and given a second chance at love. Set to Vancouver-based Producer Khanvict's re-mixed imagining of the iconic Panjabi folk song Ik Tera Pyaar by Noor Jahan. The classic lyrics ring true as we see that our "one true love" can carry us through life, and it's never too late for love.
Director: Sundeep Morrison
Producer: Tarun Nayar, Bhavani Rao, Mohammad Shah,
Writer: Sundeep Morrison
Cast: Anjali Khurana, Someya Bagai, Suni M, Mona Sishodia, Ruchika Gupta
Cinematographer (if applicable): Nate Cuboi
Editor: Faroukh Virani
- Global Music Awards Silver Medal Winner
- Nominee Bridgeport Film Festival
Website: sundeepmorrison.com
Instagram: @yourloveshortfilm
Unfamiliar Familiar
A middle aged Swiss-Korean woman flies to Korea in the midst of the pandemic after receiving news of her mother's death. Due to the measures, she spends her obligatory quarantine in the abandoned parental home. There, she gets confronted by a familiar, yet unfamiliar feeling from her past and present.
Director: Hae-Sup Sin
Producer: So Yeong Jeon
Writer: Ji Hyun Shin
Cast: Il Hwa Lee, Jin Bok Kim, Soo Ji Jeon
Cinematographer: Kyeong Yeob Choo
Editor: Hae-Sup Sin
Website: www.haesup.com
Instagram: @haesupsin
Wax and Wane
At the dawn of Mid-Autumn Day, when secluded immigrant Wu Sui is urged to remove her birth control ring implanted twenty years ago under China’s One Child Policy, she decides to keep the emergency surgery a secret, but reuniting with her family forces her to reckon with her wounded past.
Director: Beidi Wang
Producer: Lameng Bei, Beidi Wang
Writer: Beidi Wang
Cast: Wu Sui - MARDY MA Laura Yang - BEIDI WANG Haibin Yang - HAIBIN LEE
Cinematographer: Melanie Grams
Editor: Blair Yiran Bai, Jocelyn Koo
Any awards, accolades, or additional details about the process you would like to mention:
20th New York Asian Film Festival Bright Future: Narrative Shorts Showcase, 26th LA Shorts International Film Festival Official Selection, California Women's Film Festival Best Student Film, Asian Feedback Film Festival Best Short Film
Website: oaksquarepictures.com
Instagram:@wax_and_wane_sca/
Wok Hei
Los Angeles Premiere
Short
An Asian-Canadian mother of two restores a rusty family wok, and in so doing, reconnects with her cultural roots.
Director: Joel Salaysay
Producer: Rheanna Toy
Writer: Joel Salaysay
Cast: Kazumi Evans, Daniel Jeffery, Ashley Cartwright, Sharon Crandall, Bradley Duffy, Kyle Toy, Wayne Leung, Ivy Yap
Cinematographer (if applicable): Christian Lai
Editor: Rheanna Toy
Instagram: @wokheifilm
Yatra: The Journey
Short
After the two boys she tutors go missing, a grieving widow journeys into a mythical realm to rescue them from legendary demons straight out of the Indian epics of old.
Director: Gayatri Bajpai
Producer: Brad Roller, Matthew Roseman
Executive Producer: Vee Kumari
Writer: David Barbeschi
Cast: Vee Kumari, Asit Vyas, Aroon Nayer, Mariel Flores, Suriyan Di Ianni, Rayaan Kamal Khan
Cinematographer: Alan Mykitta
Editor: Matthew Roseman
Instagram: @yatra_film
Facebook: fb.com/yatrafilm