Preview – The Austin Asian American Film Festival 2019, June 13-16

The Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF) has announced the full line-up for its 11th annual film festival, a sweeping slate of 11 feature films and 17 shorts from Asian and Asian American filmmakers.

This year’s centerpiece presentation is Empty By Design, a U.S./Philippines co-production exploring what it feels like to be lost as a young adult, torn between multiple countries and lives. Director Andrea A. Walter, along with several members of the cast and crew, will be in attendance for an extended conversation after the film.

Empty By Design is one of several narrative features in our lineup by and about women. In its company are festival opener and Berlinale Grand Prix winner House of Hummingbird by Kim Bo-ra, closer The Third Wife by Ash Mayfair received the 2018 TIFF NETPAC Award, and Yang Mingming’s Girls Always Happy. Also not to be missed is Soni, Ivan Ayr’s narrative drama about the alliance between two policewomen in New Delhi.

Additionally, the festival will show three documentaries helmed by women directors: Nadia Shihab’s Jaddoland, which examines the intersections between her hometown of Lubbock, TX, and her family’s homeland, Iraq; Laura Asherman’s profile of stand-up comedian Tushar Singh, American Hasi; and Deann Liem’s profile of four transnational Korean adoptees, Geographies of Kinship.

Finally, the Lone Star State shines in three screenings with a Texas connection. The aforementioned Jaddoland, as well as Tim Tsai’s Seadrift (both of which took home LA Asian Pacific Film Festival Jury Awards), comprise our Texas Documentary Showcase on Friday. On the festival’s final day, UT Arlington Film alumnus Jay Chern visits from Taiwan for the screening of his narrative drama Omotenashi.

Festival badges ($75), film passes ($50), and student film passes ($40) are available for purchase at the festival website. Single tickets will go on sale in early June.