The Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) is celebrating its 29th edition this year, with festival dates running from November 6-16, virtually and in-person. This year’s theme is “BEYOND ASIAN”, spotlighting unique Asian filmmakers and story protagonists who bravely express bold visions beyond every expectation.
Since its founding in 1995 and debut in 1997, VAFF has become a transformative force in Canada’s cinematic landscape, championing the diversity of Asian stories within Canada and globally. As the country’s longest-running Asian film festival, VAFF is more than an annual event – it is a cultural hub for creative voices that transcends boundaries and opens nuanced cultural dialogues. Each year, VAFF captivates thousands with its screenings.
Powered by a dedicated and passionate community, VAFF continues to push the envelope making space for new narratives and spotlighting underrepresented stories that reflect the complexity and richness of the Asian diaspora within a global context and a rapidly evolving entertainment landscape.
From heartfelt stories and real-life journeys to quirky scares and more, British Columbia’s filmmakers are bringing it all to the screen. Discover them here:
PRIDE & PRAYER (dir. Panta Mosleh)
Amid the intersection of faith and identity, Panta embarks on a deeply personal journey to explore whether a space exists within the Muslim community for someone who is both queer and seeking to reconnect with their faith.
HATCH
HATCH (dir. Alireza Kazemipour, Panta Mosleh)
After losing his mother during their escape, a young Afghan refugee boy searches for a way to relive their final memory together.
TEARS BURN TO ASH (dir. Natalie Murao)
With only one night in Tokyo, a grieving Japanese Canadian woman is haunted by her doppelganger.
WITH TIME (dir. Jenny Lee-Gilmore)
Alice must confront her unresolved past when her estranged mother, who has dementia, moves in, forcing her to provide the care she never received in her childhood while juggling her own responsibilities as a mother.
FOREIGNER
FOREIGNER (dir. Ava Maria Safai)
In the age of low-rise jeans and flip phones, a Persian teen trying to fit in with her new Canadian clique dyes her hair blonde — and invites a monstrous force into her life.
SPRING AFTER SPRING (dir. John Chiang)
After their mother’s death, three sisters reunite to lead Vancouver’s Chinatown Parade, forced to choose between honouring their past and letting it go.
HAVE YOU HEARD JUDI SINGH? (dir. Baljit Sangra)
The story of Judi Singh, an unwitting trailblazer who, as a Punjabi-Black singer, steps onto jazz stages during tumultuous times and leaves a musical imprint to be discovered.
SANJEEVANI (dir. Neetha John)
In a traditonal Kerala home, South India, Gowri silently carries a loss no one speaks of. Bound by duty and isolation, her world shifts when she meets another woman carrying her own grief. In their brief, wordless connection, Gowri finds a small spark of healing and the courage to break the silence.
AKASHI
AKASHI (dir. Mayumi Yoshida)
When 35-year-old artist Kana returns to Tokyo for her grandmother’s funeral, she uncovers a family secret that challenges her idea of love and forces her to rethink her future.
DOES IT MAKE ME NAIVE IF I’VE NEVER BEEN PART OF SOMETHING WHERE I’VE MEANT MORE TO THEM THAN THEY DID TO ME? (dir. Amanda Sum, Sam Tudor, Sam Lynch, Jenny Lee-Gilmore, Miranda MacDougall, Maiko Yamamoto, Derek Kwan, Jamie King, Mayumi Yoshida, Shana Wolfe, Emma Pollard, Sophia Wolfe, and Jo Hirabayashi)
Amanda Sum is an artist who dances between multiple disciplines. The music video for her song, Different Than Before, was JUNO-nominated for Music Video of the Year (2023) and won the SXSW Music Video Jury Award (2023). Sum works in theatre as a creator, actor and producer, in music as a recording artist, and in film as a producer, director and choreographer.
BORN AN IMMIGRANT (dir. Jen Lee)
A Canadian-born Chinese woman supports her family by becoming a dressmaker in Victoria, British Columbia during the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Discover the entire programming schedule on the VAFF website.
