Connecting AANHPI Creatives, Industry and Community at the 2024 San Diego Asian Film Festival
On Friday, November 8, 2024, the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience (APFE) partnered with Pacific Arts Movement to host a filmmaker networking event at the 24th annual San Diego Asian Film Festival in Mira Mesa, CA. Hosted at Embolden Brewing, filmmakers, talent, industry executives, festival attendees & other creative professionals gathered to meet over local tacos and celebrate the festival’s opening weekend.
In attendance were filmmakers including Ivan Leung and Harrison Xu, creators of Extremely Unique Dynamic, team members from the feature film Paper Marriage including writer/director Jeff Man, producer Angela Park, DP Norbert Shieh and composer Goh Nakamura. APFE co-producer and SDAFF 2024 Spring Showcase Audience Choice (ASHIMA feature doc producer) winner Minji Chang was in attendance along with producer Yeej Moua of the Hmong feature film Bitterroot, Pacific Arts Movement Executive Director Alex Villafuerte, Artistic Director Brian Hu, and Programmer Lev Kalman.
Filmmakers literally had “fireside chats” – conversations centering on film distribution, festival strategy, and future creative endeavors filled the brisk San Diego night. APFE was ecstatic and privileged to host our final space in 2024 for attendees to connect with filmmakers, community and friends old and new from across the globe.
Thank you to the entire APFE team — David Magdael, Minji Chang, Laarni Rosca Dacanay, Michelle Sugihara, Milton Liu, Rhian Moore, Jes Vu, and Grace Kao — for your tireless (volunteer) efforts. Thank you to our local partners at PacArts Movement including Alex Villafuerte, Brian Hu, Lev Kalman and the entire SDAFF24 team and volunteers. Thank you for the food and beverage provided by Embolden Beer Co and Taquizas Jose.
Thank you to our partners, The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), Warner Bros. Discovery Access, and NBCUniversal LAUNCH – without which none of this would be possible.
ABOUT APFE: Established in 2002 in Park City, Utah to honor and recognize the cinematic artists whose works premiered at the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals, the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience foregrounds and celebrates the creative products of Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Asian international cinema artists. APFE is a collective whose core programmers include the Asian American Media Alliance, CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), David Magdael & Associates, Kollaboration, and Laarni Rosca Dacanay.
Learn more about the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience and how it all began in 2002 and follow APFE (@apfexp) on Instagram for more updates.
