Welcome
October 8, 2024
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25 years.
Given the industry upheaval endured since 2000 – a transition to digital and then streaming, a global pandemic, the uncertainty of film distribution and the unending questions about the present and future of movie theaters – it’s shocking any film festival has lasted that long. Much respect to the SDAFF OGs, especially Lee Ann Kim, and the supporters and audiences who carried our festival to this milestone.
But here’s another way to mark 25 years. There’s much talk of late about how Asian American cinema has “made it,” from the box office to the Oscar stage. A handful of films now stand for the power of Asian American “representation.” One may say that 25 years of Asian American film festivals paved the way for those decorated few to shine. But I’d rather see it another way. If we very conservatively estimate that each of our 25 years featured 120 films, and that half were by Asian American filmmakers, we’re talking about 1500 films exploding with Asian main characters, proclaiming that we’ve been thriving all along, and doing so much more than “representing.” SDAFF has been and still is a tidal wave of artists and stories that don’t depend on recognition – the cousin of representation – to know they exist and matter.
Three feature films from our 25th edition best capture the maximalist moxie of that tidal wave, and that embody the any-means-necessary spirit that has guided SDAFF throughout its history. Anxious., Extremely Unique Dynamic, and Paper Marriage are all low-budget independent films, whose directors are also the writers and lead actors. (In the case of Anxious., she is also the DP and costume designer!) They are made with a fervor and obsessiveness that do not require the gaze of any mainstream, and would have been produced with the same creative intensity in 2000 as in 2024. For these filmmakers, “representation” is too elementary a goal, like dunking on a 7-foot basket. They’re in it to celebrate, to expand, to desecrate, to seduce, to shock. Doing work both behind and in front of the camera isn’t just indie necessity, it’s the ultimate commitment to main character energy. Multiply that by 25 and you have yourself a movement. This November and for years to come, get out of the way or catch the wave with us.
Brian Hu
Artistic Director
