Thank you for attending the 2026 Festival!
The USC APFF, presented in partnership with the USC Asian Pacific Cinema Association, celebrates student- and alumni-created short films that explore stories connected to Asian or Pacific Islander communities, regions and cultures. The festival showcases up-and-coming artists and filmmakers, giving them a platform for creative storytelling.
All proceeds from the event will go toward the Jon M. Chu APAA Cinematic Arts Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to USC Cinematic Arts undergraduate students whose work reflects a commitment to telling stories from and about the API community.
The winners of the film fest are below!
2026 APFF Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
9th Annual APFF Film Selections
2026 Audience Award – Elias
Writer/Director/Producer/Editor: Nicolas Chae
On the night of his 21st birthday, a Korean-American son burdened by years of silent sacrifice spirals through Koreatown—haunted by the fear of becoming the father who left, and desperate to know if letting go is the only way to finally keep his promise to stay.
2026 Jury Award – SAIGU
Director/Writer: John Kim
On the night of the 1992 LA Riots, a Korean American teen watches his friendships fracture when his immigrant father, gripped by racial fear, mistakes his son’s friends for looters and pulls a gun.
Masala
Director/Producer: Rajendra Thakurathi
At an Indian dinner table, emotions simmer between siblings as old family wounds and secrets ooze out with an increasing level of spices in the dishes.
Little Persimmon
Producer: Lexie Chu
A determined young girl embarks on a heartfelt quest to honor her late grandfather by tracking down his favorite fruit. Along the way, she is joined by a few unexpected and extraordinary companions, turning her journey into a magical and unforgettable adventure. and the realization of a growing distance between her and her Thai Buddhist upbringing.
Sean the Baby
Director/Writer/Animator: Jee Suk Kim
Three years-old baby, Sean, explores his dreamworld with his dad to complete his potty training.
Sweet Farewell
Producer/DP: Hugh Vo
An elderly owner, Mr. Tuan, and teenage waitress, Kimmie, run a Vietnamese dessert shop together. Plaza renovations and a changing world threaten their shop, with Kimmie willing to do anything to save her job and the community gem.
Syonan Island
Director/Writer: Darren Wong
A cowardly conscripted soldier discovers a child of the enemy in a crumbling house and is determined to escort him to safety.
Teenhood
Director/Producer: Jiayang Liu
Following an unintended pregnancy, a troubled Chinese-American boy faces the crushing responsibility and emotional weight of fatherhood, past and present.
Whitewashed
Director/Writer: Brandon Woo
When a Chinese American struggles to fit in his Chinese
class, he confronts his mother about why he was never
taught Mandarin.
2026 APFF Jury
Jinko Gotoh
Jinko Gotoh is a BAFTA® winner and an Oscar®-nominated producer and consultant for the animation industry. Her extensive producing screen credits include 2020 BAFTA winner and Oscar-nominated “Klaus,” “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” BAFTA winner “The Little Prince,” Oscar- nominated “The Illusionist,” “9,” and Oscar-winning “Finding Nemo.” She is currently producing Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse for Sony. Gotoh is devoted to advancing women and all underrepresented people in the industry. She serves as a Board of Governors Member for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as a board member for the Producers Guild of America and as vice president for Women in Animation.
Ally Maki
Ally Maki is a Japanese American actress and the founder of Asian American Girl Club, a next-generation media, commerce and community platform celebrating the modern Asian American woman. Most recently, Ally was a series regular on the Apple TV+ series BIG DOOR PRIZE opposite Chris O’Dowd. She also recurs on HACKS (HBO Max). On the feature side, Ally played “Miko” in Randall Park’s directorial debut SHORTCOMINGS, opposite Justin Min and Sherry Cola, which premiered at Sundance and was released by Sony Pictures in 2023. Ally also starred in SEAGRASS, which premiered at TIFF for which she won the CAPE, “Best Actor in Film” Award. Ally can be seen in Freeform’s Marvel series CLOAK AND DAGGER, TBS’s comedy WRECKED, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, NEW GIRL, and as Giggle McDimples in TOY STORY 4. Beyond acting, Ally is vocal about ensuring representation in Hollywood and was selected for the 2021 Gold House A100 List of most impactful leaders in the Asian community. She is dedicated to her mission of creating equitable and promising opportunities for Asian Americans across all walks of life, especially amongst young women and the next generation.
Freida Lee Mock
Academy and Emmy Award winner Freida Lee Mock is a director, writer and producer of feature length and short form theatrical documentary films. Her 5 Academy Award nominations include the winner Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, a National Film Registry selection and feature film about creativity and the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Her other Oscar nominees are Rose Kennedy, a Life to Remember; SING! about a world renowned children’s choir; Never Give UP about the conductor and holocaust survivor Dr. Herbert Zipper; and To Live or Let Die, a story about medical ethics in an ICU for new born babies.
In recognition of her films Freida received the AFI Guggenheim Honor, the Art and Advocacy Award from the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the International Documentary Association Career Achievement Award, the Cascadia International Women’s Award and the Doclands Honor.
Freida is now completing for a 2026 global release “Sadako’s Gift,” the amazing true story of young Sadako Sasaki and her Thousand Cranes and the worldwide peace movement she inspired.
Past Winners
2017 Asian Pacific Film Festival Photo Gallery
2025 Jury Award – The Lights Above
Producer, Alexander Chang ’24
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a series of unidentified aircraft sightings over Los Angeles lead a wary journalist to reluctantly pair up with a Japanese-American photographer to prevent another attack.
2025 Audience Award – Loving Day
Co-Writer/Director: Daeil Kim ’24
An interracial couple’s wedding plans take an unexpected turn when the Loving v. Virginia case, which legalized interracial marriage, is overturned, leaving them to navigate the fate of their child.
2024 Jury Award – The Nectar Instead
Yoo Lee, writer/director
A young fly gets trapped on the fly trap in the stop-motion studio only to have the existential realization that it spent its entire life chasing after the wrong thing.
Password to access video: TNI_TH23
2024 Audience Award – Welcome to ESL
Faithe Nguyen, writer/director/sound designer
A Vietnamese American immigrant must learn to get along with a fellow classmate in his ‘English as a Second Language’ class.
Sharon Park
2023 Jury Award – Director/Producer, The Unreachable Star
Inspired by the grand tales of Don Quixote, a brother and sister set off in search of adventure to escape their own wartime reality, but ultimately find that the greatest act of heroism is the imagination they lend to each other.
Stefie Gan
2023 Audience Award – Director, Joss Lotuses to Grandma
A girl returns to Malaysia after her grandma’s death. The film explores their bond, the biculturalism of immigration, and the cultural rituals that can help heal grief and the loss of separation.
Thomas Percy Kim
2022 Jury Award – Director/Writer, BUSAN, 1999
An expecting Korean-American woman returns to her mother’s rustic home. They bathe and scrub each other, searching for reconnection and redemption.
Bruce Chiu
2022 Audience Award – Director/Writer, Imperfectly complete
Lucy has been taking care of Owen, a blind guitarist she has admired for years. When Owen is about to get his vision back, Lucy faces the struggle of whether to reveal her true identity to Owen.
Tiffany Lin
2021 Jury Award – Director, Carrie Fisher is Dead
A young boy acquires a goldfish named Carrie Fisher. Then she dies.
Kevin Ung
2021 Audience Award – Director, Refrigerate After Opening
A man who is down on his luck, find a second shot at a life when he buys himself a magical refrigerator.
Shange “Z” Zhang
2020 Jury Award – Director/Producer, The Five Minutes
A businessman in mourning uses a special telephone booth to have a final conversation with his recently deceased wife in the afterlife.
Omar Al Dakheel
2020 Audience Award – Writer/Director, Ablution
Waleed washes his disabled father Khaled five times a day for Muslim prayer. But when Waleed’s sexuality is revealed, both father and son are torn between religion, duty and self.
Bruce Chiu
2019 Jury Award – Director, Sunset Sunrise
Owing to the self-condemnation of not being a good mother, Lily, a traditional Chinese woman struggles to come to terms with her son’s sexuality as her attempt to “change” him ultimately backfires.
Kalyan Sura
2019 Audience Award – Writer/Director/VFX Supervisor, The Lie Game
A desperate computer scientist struggling to fund her anti-depression AI application faces her toughest challenge yet.
Eleanor Cho
2017 Audience Award – Director, Joseon’s Bride
Joseon’s Bride is a period piece following a young Korean bride who is trying to immigrate to America to escape from the dangers of Japanese colonialism.
Isaac Deol
2017 Jury Award – Writer/Director, Warm Sweets
Long, the son of Chinese immigrant Linda must decide whether to fulfill his own dreams and move away for college or stay in South Los Angeles and take over his Mother’s bakery.