Films to See at the 49th Asian American International Film Festival

Established in 1978 by Asian CineVision, the Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is the nation’s first and longest running festival of its kind and the premier showcase for the best independent Asian, Asian diaspora and Pacific Islander cinema.

This year celebrates the filmmakers, organizers, volunteers, and audiences who have sustained AAIFF for nearly half a century. Anchoring the program is a special retrospective dedicated to the late Christine Choy (1949–2025), an Academy Award–nominated filmmaker and co-founder of Asian CineVision.

Drawing inspiration from East and Southeast Asian joinery structures, where wooden beams interlock without a single nail, AAIFF49 reflects on the strength of collective work: no piece stands alone—we are shaped by each other and we, in turn, shape others. This festival has long been a shared space where artists and audiences preserve cultural memory, confront the present, and imagine new futures.

Dozens of screenings and events will take place throughout New York City and online from July 30 to August 9. We’ve compiled a few of the films we’re most looking forward to checking out at AAIFF49.

Latas Village, a small suburban area, is known for its traditional trance parties, a long-standing ritual and form of entertainment passed down through generations. When the sacred spring where the spirit-channelers seek spirits is facing an impending eviction, Bayu becomes determined to become a lead spirit-channeler himself so he can lead a grand fundraising party to buy back the spring. But along the way, Bayu discovers that ambition alone is not enough to make him a true spirit channeler, or to save the village he calls home.

Levitating is the opening film of this year’s festival, which will be followed by a Q&A with director Wregas Bhanuteja moderated by Patricia Kusumaningtyas.

Where to Watch
Asia Society
July 30, 2026
5:30 pm

Set in the United States and written by Joyce Chan, Love Massacre follows college student Ivy (Brigitte Lin) as she tries to help her friend Joy, who is depressed and delirious after a breakup. Ivy soon becomes involved with Joy’s married brother, Chu Chung. Suffering from a hereditary mental illness, Chung eventually spirals into violence as he breaks into Ivy’s dormitory and goes on a killing spree.

This unsettling, visually striking Hong Kong New Wave gem—thanks to William Chang’s debut as art director—exudes an experimental spirit, uses bold colours to express emotion on screen, and transforms Lin’s image as the golden girl of Taiwanese romantic dramas. This screening is the NYC premier of the film’s new 4k restoration.

Where to Watch
Asia Society
August 1, 2026
4:45 pm

Village East by Angelika
August 7, 2026
8:30 pm

Si Miller is the star baseball pitcher in Concord, Massachusetts—popular, confident, and passing in every way that counts. He’s Korean-born, adopted at 3 years old, and has never looked back… until he finds a hidden letter about his dying birth mother in Korea asking to reunite. Si spirals, turning on everyone close to him—including Yang, a Chinese-American transfer who reflects everything Si has buried with his Asian identity. Only once there is nothing left to protect, Si and his adoptive mother return to Korea to face the truth of where he came from and what it cost him to leave.

The screening, which is this year’s Centerpiece, is the film’s east coast premiere. Following the screening will be a Q&A with director Thomas Percy Kim and producer Lauren Chen.

Where to Watch
Asia Society
August 1, 2026
6:45 pm

In 1992, the filmmaker Christine Choy returned to Shanghai for the first time in over thirty years: to track down the title of her family’s house and to locate an old schoolmate. She found her quest was like going down the rabbit hole with Franz Kafka as a tour guide. Her mother had abandoned the family’s house on leaving China in the early 1960’s and, after being sent to innumerable city housing authorities and agencies, Christine finds that the house had never been registered with the city of Shanghai, with the government taking over the property when her mother left.

The screening is part of “Out of Bounds: A Tribute to Christine Choy,” celebrating the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and Asian CineVision co-founder. The program also includes a screening of Fei Tien: Goddess in Flight and will be followed by a conversation featuring JT Takagi (Executive Director of Third World Newsreel), Ku-Ling Yurman (Christine’s daughter and cinematographer of Ha Ha Shanghai), and Nancy Tong (filmmaker and longtime collaborator).

Where to Watch
Asia Society
August 2, 2026
3:00 pm

For eight years, director Kimberlee Bassford had been crafting an intimate portrait of Sia Figiel, a groundbreaking Samoan writer celebrated worldwide as the first to give voice to the struggles of Samoan girls and women. She and her team had followed Figiel’s triumphs and hardships, from literary stardom to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and had nearly completed the film when tragedy struck.

What emerges is a searing exploration of mental illness in all its complexities. Deeply nuanced and human, the film is at once a compelling tribute to one woman’s extraordinary life and a reckoning with the devastating consequences of what happens when care for mental health is inconsistent or absent.

A Q&A will follow the screening.

Where to Watch
Village East by Angelika
August 8, 2026
4:45 pm

Hoop Like This pulls back the curtain on the unseen world of brown basketball. Gautam Kapur, a former NBA employee, is on a mission to build the role models he never had, uniting the best Indian-origin players from around the world to prove one thing: they belong on the court, and they’re here to win.

This is not your typical underdog story; this is the story of pioneers. It’s the story of athletes, coaches, sports professionals, and the families that support them (or don’t), who come together and bet on themselves, daring to believe beyond what’s been expected of them. They are heroes who pulled off historic firsts, laying the foundation and lessons for future athletes to succeed.

This will be the film’s east coast premiere and will close out this year’s AAIFF. Following the screening will be a Q&A with director Shubhangi Shekhar and key cast member Gautam Kapur.

Where to Watch
Village East by Angelika
August 9, 2026
6:45 pm