The 45th Asian American International Film Festival （AAIFF45） will take place from August 3-13. The full lineup represents films from 24 different countries and 20 languages, and three films by Taiwanese directors as well as two US-Taiwan co-productions have been selected. In addition, Taiwanese American film editor Jean Tsien（錢孝貞）was announced as the recipient of AAIFF45’s Media Award.
AAIFF45 is presented by Asian CineVision （ACV） in association with Asia Society. The programs combine in-person screenings and events with an online exhibition in order to provide a hybrid format that everyone can enjoy. According to Associate Director Eunice Chen in an interview with Asian Movie Pulse, “AAIFF45 marks an important milestone anniversary. ACV prides itself in a legacy rooted in championing the voices of Asian diaspora artists. This year’s festival continues to celebrate the collective Asian American and Pacific Islander identity by reflecting on ACV’s achievements since 1977!”
When the festival begins on August 3, a number of movies by Taiwanese directors will become available online. O~FORTUNA（喔～命運女神）is about a successful musician who accidentally falls out the window and embarks on a journey through his past, present, and future. The film was directed by Che Chen, who grew up in Taiwan and later moved to California to study filmmaking and animation.
STILL ROLLING（殺青）depicts a new filmmaker’s struggles to defend her boundaries while working on a Chinese TV production. The film’s director, Liang-Chun Lin（林亮君）, earned her BA in Radio and Television at Chengchi University（政治大學）. Her latest short film, A DIRE STRAIT（母侵）, won the Grand Jury Award at the prestigious Dances With Films 2022, an annual festival celebrating the top independent films.
AN UNFINISHED FILM （未完成電影）is an experimental documentary born out of an unfinished feature film by Taiwanese filmmaker/photographer Yi-Chiang Lin（林奕彊）. Due to the ongoing pandemic, his film shoot was abruptly suspended. During his seemingly endless wait for normality to resume, he began to examine, reconstruct, and edit all the footages he created.
AAIFF45 also honors Jean Tsien, a veteran documentary editor, executive producer, and story consultant who has been working in the documentary film industry for 40 years. She received the 2017 Golden Horse Award for Best Film Editing. Her notable editing credits include the 2001 Academy Award-nominated film, SCOTTSBORO: AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY; three Peabody Award-winning films: MALCOLM X: MAKE IT PLAIN（簡而言之麥爾坎）, TRAVIS, and SOLAR MAMAS（太陽能媽媽）; and the 2020 Primetime Emmy winner for Outstanding Documentary, THE APOLLO（阿波羅任務）. Most recently, she produced HIDDEN LETTERS（女書）, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
In addition, two Taiwanese co-productions will be featured at AAIFF45, highlighting Taiwan's international friendships. NO NEW WAVE(曼島日夜), directed by Singaporean writer and director Ziwei Yao（姚子威）, tells the story of a foreign student, Ginny, who must find a way to fit in or return home after graduation. The movie is scheduled to premiere on August 7 at Asia Society. TANK FAIRY（桶裝仙女）,directed by Erich Rettstadt, is a musical extravaganza about a magical Tank Fairy who delivers tanks of gas with sass, stilettos, and a healthy helping of glitter. The film has been featured at 35 festivals across 12 countries. This film will be screened as a part of a Meet Cute Music in-person event on August 9.
For more information, please visit: https://www.aaiff.org/program.
Photo courtesy of Asian American International Film Festival