Exemplary Line-Up of AAPI Cinema Artists at Park City Kicks Off 2024 Year Twenty Season of Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience
A still from Sean Wang's DIDI, a U.S. Narrative Competition entry of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. (Image courtesy of the Sundance Institute)
The year 2024 represents a New Year, a fresh start, and a time to celebrate and reflect. If such is the case, then the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience begins this 20th Anniversary Year at the venue where it all started back in 2002 — Park City, Utah, home to the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals. Over 1,000 honorees ago, we couldn't have imagined that this celebratory party would become an annual tradition, so we're just as excited and surprised as everyone else that we've sustained this level of excellence for so long. This collection of honorees, lean and mean, serves to kick start our special year, and we encourage one and all visiting The Beehive State this January to support these filmmakers and their films. We, as they, look forward to seeing you at their screenings.
All honorees are DIRECTORS unless otherwise indicated. (*) indicates previous #APAParkCity honorees, and we should pay extra special attention to them:
Sundance
ALCAZAREN, Whammy - BOLD EAGLE (Short - Int'l Narrative)
AL-KADHI, Amrou - LAYLA (World Cinema Dramatic Competition)
AMIRFAZLI, Raha (Co-Director) - IN THE LAND OF BROTHERS (World Cinema Dramatic Competition)
BELL, Jon - THE MOOGAI (Midnight)
BHATTARAI, Arun (Co-Director) - AGENT OF HAPPINESS (World Cinema Documentary Competition)
* BONGIOVI, Nina Yang (Executive Producer) - LAYLA (World Cinema Dramatic Competition)
BUCHANAN, Luciane (Producer) - MOTHER TONGUE (Lea Tupu'anga) (Short - Int'l Narrative)
* BUI, Tony - THREE SEASONS (40th Anniversary Celebration)
CHANG, Mandy (Producer) - DEVO (Premieres)
CHEN, Dongnan - 14 PAINTINGS (Short - Non-Fiction)
CHU, An - THE STAG (Short - Int'l Narrative)
* DIAZ, Ramona - AND SO IT BEGINS (Premieres)
GHASEMI, Alireza (Co-Director) - IN THE LAND OF BROTHERS (World Cinema Dramatic Competition)
ITO, Shiori - BLACK BOX DIARIES (World Cinema Documentary Competition)
KO, Masha - THE LOOMING (Short - U.S. Narrative)
LIN Jianjie - BRIEF HISTORY OF A FAMILY (World Cinema Dramatic Competition)
* MAING, Stephen - UNION (U.S. Documentary Competition)
MAFILE'O, Vea - MOTHER TONGUE (Lea Tupu'anga) (Short - Int'l Narrative)
MURATA, Takeshi - LARRY (Short - Animated)
NADARAJAH, Ayesha (Producer) - THE HEART (Short - U.S. Narrative)
NAGAHISA, Makoto - PISKO THE CRAB CHILD IS IN LOVE (Short - Int'l Narrative)
* NAIR, Mira - MISSISSIPPI MASALA (40th Anniversary Celebration)
NGUYEN, Tina (Executive Producer) - THE SYNANON FIX (Episodics)
* NORMAN, Diffan Sina - PASTURE PRIME (Short - U.S. Narrative)
QIN, Alexandra - THIRSTYGIRL (Short - U.S. Narrative)
RAWAT, Shivani (Producer) - LOVE ME (U.S. Narrative Competition); HIT MAN (Spotlight)
RIZAL, Khozy - BASRI & SALMA IN A NEVER-ENDING COMEDY (Short - Int'l Narrative)
SARJAHANI, Andy - THE SMALLEST POWER (Short - Non-Fiction)
SHI, Connie (Producer) - THE LOOMING CLOUD (Short - U.S. Narrative)
SISIPOUR, Amir Ali - SHALAL (Short - Int'l Narrative)
TALATI, Shuchi - GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS (World Cinema Dramatic Competition)
* TELENGUT, Alisi - BAIGAL NUUR - LAKE BAIKAL (Short - Animation)
WANG, Sean - DIDI (U.S. Narrative Competition)
* ZHAN, Renee - SNAKE (Shé) (Short - U.S. Narrative)
Slamdance
(For all films, click on the program announcement at: https://slamdance.com/official-lineup-2024/, then click on the category to view selections)
HE Yumeng - FORTUNE (Documentary Short)
JIANG, Yifan (Co-Director) - VACATION (Animated Short)
KAWAKAMI, Sawa - HELL OF SE (Narrative Feature)
KIM, Hyun - HILLS FOR THE HEAD (Animated Short)
KUAN, Olivia - THE HERRICANES (Spotlight)
MEHTA, Radha - DOSH (Unstoppable Shorts)
NING, Annie - INVASIVE SPECIES (Narrative Short)
PARK, SOO - BUTTERFLY (Animated Short)
PARK, Susan - LUCY & SARA (CHAPTER 1: SUICIDE) (Episodes)
* SAMARASINGHE, Rajee - LOTUS-EYED GIRL (Experimental Short)
SHAO, Cassie - THIS IS A STORY WITHOUT A PLAN (Animated Short)
SINGH BAWA, Ian - MY SON WENT QUIET (Narrative Short)
TANTIWASADAKRAN, Parida - YOUNG PEOPLE, OLD PEOPLE, & NOTHING IN BETWEEN (Unstoppable Shorts)
WONG, Jordan - I WOULD'VE BEEN HAPPY (Animated Short)
YASHIRO, Toshiki - TOKYO ANIMALS (Narrative Short)
YI, Mike Ren - LUCKY YU (DIG)
ZHAO, Xinhe - LIL SHERBET (Animated Short)
ZHOU, Jennifer - LAN'S GARDEN (Narrative Short)
ZINXHIRIA, Neritan - LIGHT OF LIGHT (Experimental Short)