Asian Pacific American Film, Inc., a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, produces the annual DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival in the capital of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Washington, DC. It is the only Asian Pacific American film festival held in the Washington Metropolitan Area

Washington Metropolitan Area

The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...

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Event Features

The DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival is a ten day long film festival that screens feature films and short films . The DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival

Film festival

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...

 takes place during the beginning of October each year and includes venues in the downtown Washington, DC area that includes: Landmark’s E Street Cinema, Goethe-Institut

Goethe-Institut

The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural institution operational worldwide, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. The Goethe-Institut also fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German...

, and the Meyer Auditorium at the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

, Freer Gallery of Art

Freer Gallery of Art

The Freer Gallery of Art joins the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Freer contains art from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, and ancient Egypt, as well as a significant collection of...

 and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery joins the Freer Gallery of Art to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Sackler celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2012....

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George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award

The George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award was established in 2009 to recognize young and talented filmmakers that have shown an exemplary commitment to filmmaking within the Asian and Asian American

Asian American

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

 film genre. This award is given on an annual basis by the George C. Lin Memorial Fund on behalf of The San Diego Foundation, Asian Pacific American Film, Inc. (of Washington, DC), and The San Diego Asian Film Foundation, and includes a cash prize. George C. Lin was the founding executive director of Asian Pacific American Film, Inc., and associate festival director of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation. Director Tze Chun

Tze Chun

Tze Chun is an award-winning American film director and writer. He was born in Chicago and raised outside of Boston, and graduated from Milton Academy in 1997...

  received the inaugural award for his feature film debut Children of Invention

Children of Invention

Children of Invention is an American independent feature film written and directed by Tze Chun. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, screened at more than 50 film festivals, and won 17 festival awards including 8 Grand Jury or Best Narrative Feature prizes. The film was released...

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Mission

The mission of the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival is to bring attention to the creative output from Asian Pacific American (APA) communities and encourage the artistic development of APA films in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Goals

The mission of Asian Pacific American Film, Inc. embodies the following goals:

1. To raise public awareness of APA media arts
2. To encourage and promote the artistic development of APA media artists
3. To provide arts education opportunities, with particular outreach to APA youth and adults
4. To raise awareness and act as a catalyst for the discussion of issues affecting APA communities
5. To bring diverse people together, to promote artistic and social interactions
6. To sponsor a DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival annually

P.O.V. (Point-of-View) Youth Filmmaker Workshop

The P.O.V. Youth Filmmaker Workshop, a youth filmmaking training program designed to empower and provide a voice to local Asian Pacific American youth by teaching them the art of movie-making, has been a part of Asian Pacific American Film, Inc. since 2006. The program consists of a series of workshops taking place over the course of six consecutive weekends, during which participants will learn the necessary skills and steps to create a short film from conception to completion. The P.O.V. workshop also provides an opportunity to showcase students’ work to the general public by creating a final short film that premieres during the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival.

History

Asian Pacific American Film, Inc. (APA Film) was established in 2000. APA Film produces an annual film festival based in Washington, DC devoted to film and media arts made by and/or about Americans of Asian Pacific Islander descent and other Asian diasporic groups from around the world. As a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the value of goods, services, and benefits received in exchange for support is determined by APA Film. Any contribution above that amount is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.