New Voices – Emerging AAPI Storytellers Take the Stage at HAAPIFEST 2025
HAAPIFEST 2025 proudly presents New Voices, a showcase of bold, original, and deeply personal short films from a new generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander filmmakers. These fresh storytellers challenge stereotypes, explore complex identities, and share underrepresented perspectives with power, vulnerability, and cinematic creativity.
Spanning themes of migration, gender, family, home, and heritage, this dynamic collection of 12 short films will introduce you to the next wave of voices shaping AAPI cinema.
📅 June 8 @ 4:00 PM
📍 DoubleTree by Hilton – 10609 Westpark Dr, Houston, TX 77042
🎟️ Get tickets/passes: www.haapifest.org/tickets
🌟 Featured Short Films:
🌺 Ke Ala
📽️ Director: Bryson Nihipali | ⏱️ 10 minutes
A young Native Hawaiian filmmaker interviews three generations of his family to gain a better understanding of the path laid down by his kupuna (elders).
🌊 Daughter of Guam
📽️ Director: Alfred Bordallo | ⏱️ 5 minutes
A young woman reflects on the burden and healing required in her role as a Daughter of Guam.
🌼 Come Together
📽️ Director: Honestine Pa'ala-Fraser | ⏱️ 7 minutes
A Samoan teen breaks out of her repetitive routine by joining a youth org that unlocks her full potential.
📦 Balik/Bayan
📽️ Director: Paula Kiley | ⏱️ 8 minutes
balik/bayan chronicles the life of Manny Paez, the founder of Manila Forwarder, a balikbayan box company serving LA’s Filipino American community since 1998.
🩰 What We Love
📽️ Director: Dokyun Im | ⏱️ 5 minutes
On the eve of her graduation, a ballerina faces an unexpected pregnancy and a life-changing decision.
🍼 The Hostage
📽️ Director: Alex Jiang | ⏱️ 7 minutes
A Chinese woman in NYC confronts her future with the help of her Spanish caretaker as she seeks an abortion.
💃 Anna
📽️ Director: Lu Lu | ⏱️ 5 minutes
A dancer in her thirties must decide between her husband’s limiting love or the freedom to dance again.
🏊 Swimming Lessons
📽️ Director: Meloddy Gao | ⏱️ 21 minutes
A Chinese American daughter travels to Beijing to learn the things her parents never taught her—including how to grieve.
💍 Something Blue
📽️ Director: Jinsui Song | ⏱️ 14 minutes
At her cousin’s wedding, a woman is confronted with the lingering trauma she hoped to bury.
🏠 Home
📽️ Director: Al Chang | ⏱️ 15 minutes
Seo-won navigates a fragmented reality filled with emotional encounters and haunting memories, seeking solace and clarity in her search for home.
🌸 Ornamental Oriental
📽️ Director: Jessica Qinyue Luo | ⏱️ 13 minutes
Through radical therapy sessions, an Asian woman attempts to break free from cultural stereotypes.
🎟️ Come discover the future of AAPI storytelling in this exciting, emotional, and fearless film block.
🎫 Reserve your tickets or passes: www.haapifest.org/tickets
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