Pride Showcase – Queer AAPI Voices in Focus
This year’s Pride Showcase at HAAPIFEST 2025 features eight bold and beautiful short films that center the lives, struggles, and resilience of LGBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander communities. From coming out stories and romantic reckonings to spiritual exploration and acts of resistance, this powerful block celebrates identity in all its fluidity and strength.
📅 June 1 @ 2:15 PM
📍 DoubleTree by Hilton – 10609 Westpark Dr, Houston, TX 77042
🎟️ Get tickets/passes: haapifest.org/tickets
🌟 Featured Short Films:
🚖 ELIJAH
📽️ Director: Razid Season
🕒 19 minutes
A Bengali Muslim taxi driver faces mounting pressure in New York City—from financial hardship and fading dreams to his daughter’s coming out as transgender—forcing him to reexamine the limits of his love and understanding.
🧘 THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
📽️ Directors: Asha Alaji-Sharif & Chris Lee Huot
🕒 5 minutes
In this short documentary, a queer Asian man living with schizophrenia reflects on the intersections of mental illness, spirituality, and sexuality—challenging stigma through truth and self-awareness.
💄 I AM
📽️ Director: Tony Dia
🕒 19 minutes
By day, Ethan is a quiet, awkward student; by night, he transforms into a dazzling drag queen. When his school crush stumbles into both worlds, Ethan must decide whether to embrace change or retreat into fear.
👨👨👦 MY PARENTS
📽️ Directors: Keli‘i Grace & Lance D Collins
🕒 11 minutes
Set in Hawai‘i, this charming short follows a teenager as he prepares to come out to his parents, leading to a humorous and heartfelt family moment that’s anything but predictable.
🍲 SHROOM SOUP
📽️ Director: Priya Vashist
🕒 20 minutes
Jude, a grieving non-binary teen, struggles to reconnect with their Korean mother after the death of their father—until a soup infused with psychedelic mushrooms begins to reveal deeper emotional truths.
💔 THANK YOU FOR BREAKING MY HEART
📽️ Director: Rachel Leyco
🕒 15 minutes
A heartbroken artist considers ending her life through a metaphysical service called "ASS" (Administration of Souls in Sorrow), but reliving a past relationship through home videos offers a new vision of love and loss.
🕯️ WHAT WE SAID IN THE BLACKOUT
📽️ Director: Sean Au
🕒 12 minutes
Two ex-lovers wake up naked during a citywide blackout and are forced to confront the things they left unsaid—funny, tender, and a little messy.
⚠️ CRUELTY
📽️ Director: Sam Das
🕒 9 minutes
A trans woman, stalked late at night, finds herself trapped in a junkyard with her attacker—until she channels divine feminine power in a visceral fight for survival.
🎟️ Don’t miss this bold, emotional, and empowering celebration of queer AAPI storytelling.
🎫 Secure your tickets or all-access pass today: haapifest.org/tickets
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