Animation Showcase – AAPI Creativity Comes to Life
Celebrate imagination, identity, and innovation in motion at the Animation Showcase during HAAPIFEST 2025! This family-friendly and visually stunning film block features animated shorts created by AAPI artists from around the world. With a wide variety of storytelling styles—ranging from heartwarming to surreal—these shorts explore themes of friendship, folklore, technology, and transformation.
Whether hand-drawn, digitally rendered, or stop-motion, these films prove that animation is not just for kids—it's for anyone with a sense of wonder.
📅 June 8 @ 12:00 PM
📍 DoubleTree by Hilton – 10609 Westpark Dr, Houston, TX 77042
🎟️ Get tickets/passes: www.haapifest.org/tickets
✨ Featured Animated Shorts:
🎹 Piano Hand
📽️ Director: Emi Yining Sun | ⏱️ 8 minutes
A girl and her hands, while learning to play the piano, gradually lose the ability to "play"—blurring the line between discipline and dissonance.
🎼 Conductor's Crescendo
📽️ Director: Emily Vu | ⏱️ 4 minutes
An untalented conductor discovers his baton is a magic wand, unlocking powerful performances—and unintended consequences.
🦇 DonkeyBat
📽️ Director: Mostafa Ghorbanpour | ⏱️ 13 minutes
A disconnected father transforms into a bat and finally begins to understand his children in this dialogue-free tale.
🏙️ Buckets City
📽️ Director: Dave Quion | ⏱️ 7 minutes
Best friends Duckhammer and Kid Squirrel, bullied on the basketball court since childhood, plot revenge after Duckhammer learns to dunk.
In Another Life
📽️ Director: Renee Shi | ⏱️ 3 minutes
A haunting, reincarnating love story unfolds across lifetimes as a young woman finds peace after cycles of death and rebirth.
🧨 年獸 Nian Shou
📽️ Director: Judy Yang | ⏱️ 3 minutes
A spirited girl faces off with a man-eating beast during Chinese New Year—armed only with her fearlessness and fruit.
🔧 re:connection
📽️ Director: Kristina Tran | ⏱️ 8 minutes
A mechanic and her robot companion must reconnect emotionally and technically to repair both their bond and their machine.
🦹♂️ Stolen
📽️ Director: Jasmin M Regato | ⏱️ 6 minutes
In a stylized chase under the moonlight, a thief and detective face off again—but this time, something finally gets stolen.
🎨 Whispers of Colors
📽️ Director: Sujin Kim | ⏱️ 4 minutes
Junho Kim recounts his longing for the American father he never knew in this poetic mixed-race Korean animation.
🧟 Alivestream
📽️ Director: Olivia Fu | ⏱️ 4 minutes
A livestreaming teen fights through a zombie apocalypse to grab the last pair of limited-edition sneakers on Earth.
🚽 My Turn!
📽️ Directors: Isabelle Maria Tumboimbela & Daisha Lin Sherman | ⏱️ 5 minutes
Sisters fight over the bathroom in this playful Indonesian-American short about rivalry, regret, and love.
🎟️ Don’t miss this magical and meaningful animation block, where each frame tells a story straight from the heart of AAPI imagination.
🖌️ Bring your curiosity—and maybe your kids!
🎫 Get your tickets: www.haapifest.org/tickets
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