Japanese Cinema Spotlight at HAAPIFEST 2026

Japanese and Japanese American film lovers will find a strong lineup at HAAPIFEST 2026, featuring documentaries, animation, comedy, supernatural drama, and stories rooted in memory, identity, history, and community.

📍 DoubleTree by Hilton Westchase
📍 10609 Westpark Dr, Houston, TX

🎟️ Tickets: www.HAAPIFEST.org/tickets

Diamond Diplomacy

Directed by Yuriko Gamo Romer
This documentary explores the relationship between the United States and Japan through a shared love of baseball. Babe Ruth, Lefty O’Doul, Ichiro Suzuki, and Shohei Ohtani add new meaning to the word diplomacy.

Misadventures of a Nisei Week Queen

Directed by Evan Kodani
This documentary follows the life of June Aochi Berk, from World War II incarceration in a horse stall to becoming a beauty pageant winner.

Tashiro

Directed by Asako Ushio
A quiet and visually gentle short connected to Japan’s famous “Cat Island,” offering a reflective look at care, companionship, and place.

Paper Warriors

Directed by Aisa Uchimura & Brianna Salazar
Two paper samurai—a reckless pupil and his tempered sensei—must choose fight or flight when scissors destroy their fragile home.

Three Ladies & A Fake ID

Directed by Brandon Okumura
Three middle-aged women get fake IDs to score a senior discount at a local restaurant.

The Night We Met

Directed by Fumiya Hayakawa
Set on Setsubun, a Japanese celebration welcoming spring and driving away evil spirits, a young boy and his father experience a disturbing encounter at a local grocery store.

Yakuza Ondo

Directed by Ethan Okamoto
A ghost haunts Shig, a Yakuza, for one final act of kindness. Unable to kill his victim again, Shig must face the music.

We Rise Together

Directed by Alan Kondo
This documentary shows the power of solidarity in the immigrant rights movement through stories involving a deported Cambodian refugee, formerly incarcerated community members, an immigrant rights attorney, and a Japanese American community organization.

AAPI Heritage Month Special

👉 Use code HAAPI25 for 25% OFF all passes
👉 Use code H26TWENTYOFF for 20% OFF tickets

Coupons expire at the end of May.

About HAAPIFEST

HAAPIFEST 2026 celebrates Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander storytelling through films, shorts, documentaries, filmmaker conversations, and cultural events.

This OCA-Greater Houston event is funded in part by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.