We're sharing some of our fave Asian & AA/PI films of the year. Spoiler alert: it's filled with iconic ♀ energy
The end of the year is here (how?!), and the AAAFF staff wanted to reflect on some of our favorite Asian and AA/PI films from 2022! This is by no means an exhaustive list—we are certain there are a bunch missing, including ones we haven’t seen ourselves! But be sure to add these movies to your list if you haven’t already. Happy Holidays, friends!
*Films on this list received wide release in 2022
AFTER YANG
Dir. Kogonada | Watch on Showtime, Blu-Ray/DVD
A24
The long wait for Koganada’s followup to Columbus was excruciating, but what he delivered with After Yang is so poignant and beautiful that it was worth waiting four years for his next film. Koganada creates a lovely film about the fragmentation of memory, and subtly explores what it means to be human and to love. There’s a beautiful scene with Colin Farrell and Justin H. Min that’s so captivating: Jake (Farrell) experiencing a memory where he tells Yang (Min) about a film, and the subtle differences in performances evoke a rich kind of nostalgia that I’ve never personally seen a film be able to tap into. After Yang is simply remarkable. - Jenny Nulf, Director of Programming
A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING
Dir. Payal Kapadia | Watch On Criterion Channel
Square Eyes Film
A highlight of Indie Meme’s 2022 slate, A Night of Knowing Nothing weaves 16mm documentary footage of recent student protests in India with a fictional narrative of young lovers separated by caste. It's hard to use the word “hopeful” for this haunting look at India’s dark slide towards Hindutva fascism, but Payal Kapadia’s feature debut finds rare bright spots among a community forged in resistance—and reaffirms the liberatory potential of film itself. - Josh Martin, Film Programmer
BLUE ISLAND
Dir. Chan Tze woon | Watch on OVID, DVD
Blue Island Production Company
There’s no shortage of fine films about the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, but with the mass movement in abeyance and the authorities working overtime to reduce Hong Kong to the fifth-largest city in Guangdong Province, Chan Tze Woon’s Blue Island provides a timely reflection on the outcome. Chan compellingly situates the events in their historical context by pairing contemporary youth with figures from earlier generations, like a pro-independence activist with an anti-British agitator turned business magnate, or a young couple pondering emigration with a refugee from China’s Cultural Revolution. While it offers no clear prognosis for Hong Kong’s future, Blue Island nevertheless throws doubt on obituaries for the pro-democracy forces, casting it as only the latest chapter in a century-long struggle. - Josh Martin, Film Programmer
CANE FIRE
Dir. Anthony Banua-Simon | Watch on Criterion Channel
Cinema Guild
Anthony Banua-Simon’s essayistic doc could be described as a highlight/lowlight reel of Hawaiʻi’s depictions in movies and TV—depictions that overwhelmingly treat the indigenous population as extras in their own land—but Cane Fire (an AAAFF 2021 selection that received a commercial release this year) has larger aspirations. Incisive and irreverent, the film functions as a kind of secret history, revealing the exploitation behind the Hollywood imagery and a rich vein of activism that runs from plantation-era union workers to present-day squatters battling luxury-resort Goliaths. - Josh Martin, Film Programmer
DECISION TO LEAVE
Dir. Park Chan-wook | Watch on MUBI
Mubi
Park Chan-wook’s films have always centered around relationships, but his neo-noir film Decision to Leave is perhaps one of his best yet. It’s his most scaled down film yet, a beautiful, overwhelmingly romantic film that doesn’t have to dip into extreme violence or sex to be breathtaking and utterly heartbreaking. Tang Wei is especially vexing, a woman whose pension for making self-destructive decisions prevents her from being with the man who adores her the most. Decision to Leave is a divine piece of cinema. - Jenny Nulf, Director of Programming
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Dirs. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert | Watch on Hulu, Paramount+, Showtime, Blu-Ray/DVD
A24
Brilliant writing with a stellar cast makes the Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once a must-see film for 2022. Centering around Evelyn Wang and her struggling laundromat business, she discovers that only she can save the multiverse. Just as the movie shows myriad universes, it also explores countless themes spanning immigration, regret, generational trauma, queerness, nihilism, and, unfortunately, paying your taxes. Genre-defying with many moving elements, the movie retains a good narrative pace and absurdist humor despite, or maybe because of, the chaos. - Joshua Lattao, Screener & Development Assistant
FARHA
Dir. Darin Sallam | Watch on Netflix
Picture Tree International
Jordan’s official entry for the Best International Feature Oscar is a stunner. I first saw Darin Sallam’s Farha while programming films for the Cleveland International Film Festival and was enamored with every aspect of the film. Karam Taher stars in the titular role, and gives a beautiful and unwavering performance. We follow her character in the days leading up to a Palestinian genocide by Israeli forces and get a taste of what she must endure in order to survive. Brilliantly paced and incredibly timely, you won’t want to miss this remarkable gem. - Neha Aziz, Director of Community Programs & Film Programmer
FIRE ISLAND
Dir. Andrew Ahn | Watch on HULU
Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures/20th Century Studios/Hulu
Who doesn’t love a good comedy? I watched Fire Island without knowing it was a remake of Pride & Prejudice, which I am a huge fan of, so it was extra fun for me to watch! With all that is going on with the world, escapism is vital, and this film has the perfect balance of laughs, raunch, and romance. It was an absolute pleasure to spend my time with the Fire Island gang. - Neha Aziz, Director of Community Programs & Film Programmer
TURNING RED
Dir. Domee Shi | Watch on Disney+
Disney
From the director of the charming award-winning Pixar short Bao, Turning Red turns heads with its brazen portrayal of 13-year-old Mei’s coming of age. With adolescence comes the tendency to just poof and turn into a giant red panda when her emotions get the best of her. Unlike the women in her family that hide this trait, Mei instead monetizes the heck out of it in order to attend the boy band concert of her dreams. The universality of the everyday troubles (plus a giant inner red panda) that Mei and her friends experience as young women in Toronto cannot be denied, despite what some critics may say… - Hanna Huang, Executive Director