San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) presented every March is the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American
and Asian
films, annually presenting approximately 130 works in San Francisco, Berkeley
and San Jose
, USA. Since 1982, the SFIAAFF has been a launching point for Asian American independent filmmakers as well as a source for new Asian cinema.
and the Castro Theatre
in San Francisco, many films are also screened at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and at the Camera 12 Downtown Cinemas in San Jose.
in two categories as well as audience awards. In 2010 Emmy-nominated documentary Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy
made it's world premiere at the SFIAAFF and went on to win Best Documentary at the festival.
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,...
and Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
films, annually presenting approximately 130 works in San Francisco, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, USA. Since 1982, the SFIAAFF has been a launching point for Asian American independent filmmakers as well as a source for new Asian cinema.
Locations
While the majority of the films at the festival screen at the Sundance Kabuki in JapantownJapantown, San Francisco, California
comprises about six square city blocks in San Francisco, California, USA. San Francisco's Japantown is the largest and oldest such enclave in the United States.-Location:...
and the Castro Theatre
Castro Theatre
The Castro Theatre is a popular San Francisco movie palace which became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street, in the Castro district, it was built in 1922 with a Spanish Colonial Baroque façade that pays homage—in its great arched central window...
in San Francisco, many films are also screened at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and at the Camera 12 Downtown Cinemas in San Jose.
Awards
To underscore its commitment to supporting Asian American filmmakers and recognizing their achievements, the SFIAAFF inaugurated in 2005 a juried competitionJuried (competition)
A juried competition is a competition in which participants' work is judged by a person or panel of persons convened specifically to judge the participants' efforts, either by the competition's stated rubric or by a subjective set of criteria dependent upon the nature of the competition or the...
in two categories as well as audience awards. In 2010 Emmy-nominated documentary Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy
Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy
Wo Ai Ni Mommy is an award-winning American television documentary directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal, and distributed by P.O.V.. The documentary follows the story of a then 8-year-old Chinese girl, Fang Sui Yong, who was adopted by a Jewish Long Island family....
made it's world premiere at the SFIAAFF and went on to win Best Documentary at the festival.