Festival News

Announcing the 2024 San Diego Asian Film Festival Filmmaker Awards Winners

November 10, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Carmela Prudencio, media@sdaff.org

SAN DIEGO, November 9, 2024

Announcing the 2024 San Diego Asian Film Festival Filmmaker Awards Winners

The 25th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) proudly announced its 2024 award winners during the Filmmaker Awards Gala. The event took place on November 9, 2024, at EVE in San Diego, where honors were given across multiple categories, celebrating the excellence in Asian and Asian American filmmaking. The awards ceremony honors filmmakers whose creative storytelling amplifies diverse Asian and Asian American voices in cinema. 

Highlights include the Grand Jury Prize, Special Jury Mention, and the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award. An independent jury of filmmakers, curators, critics, and academics selected the winners. In addition to recognizing outstanding films, the event honored key figures in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

2024 SDAFF Award Winners:

Asian American Film Competition

• Grand Jury Prize: Light of the Setting Sun – Directed by Vicky Du
• Best Narrative Feature: Moloka’i Bound – Directed by Alika Tengan
• Best Documentary Feature: Standing Above the Clouds – Directed by Jalena Keane-Lee
• Best Documentary Short: Wouldn’t Make it Any Other Way – Directed by Hao Zhou
• Best Experimental Film: I Would’ve Been Happy – Directed by Jordan Wong
• Best Narrative Short: Myself When I Am Real – Directed by Angeline Gragasin
• Special Jury Mention: All That We Love – Directed by Yen Tan
• George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award: Alison Nguyen – Director of History as Hypnosis

The coveted Audience Award and the Best International Short will be announced at the conclusion of the festival on November 16.

Honored Guests:

Generational Impact Award: Sherry Cola
Sherry Cola, an actor, comedian, and writer, was recognized for her contributions to entertainment and advocacy. With notable roles in Joy Ride and Nobody Wants This, Sherry has reshaped Asian American representation. As an openly bisexual, Chinese American immigrant, she is a vocal advocate for AAPI and LGBTQ+ communities, celebrated for inspiring future storytellers.

Visionary Award: James Ryu
James Ryu, founder of KoreAm Journal, Audrey Magazine, and Character Media, was awarded for his impact on AAPI media. His creation of Unforgettable, an event honoring Asian American artists, has significantly advanced representation in Hollywood and built a strong platform for Asian American voices.

2024 SDAFF Asian American Competition Jury:

• Sarah S. Kim (Producer, August at Akiko’s, I Was a Simple Man)
• Kris Montello (Programming Manager, Asian CineVision’s Asian American International Film Festival)
• Jason Ooi (Founder, Crescendo House)
• Margaret Rhee (Poet, Scholar, and New Media Artist)

For more information about the 25th San Diego Asian Film Festival, visit sdaff.org.

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ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL: 

Pacific Arts Movement (Pac Arts) is the most comprehensive portrait of Asian and Asian American cinema in North America. Located in San Diego, California, Pac Arts is the presenter of the annual San Diego Asian Film Festival, the largest showcase of Asian cinema on the West Coast, and the Spring Showcase of Asian Cinema. 

ABOUT PACIFIC ARTS MOVEMENT:

Pacific Arts Movement (Pac Arts) launched in 2000 when it debuted the San Diego Asian Film Festival, a showcase of Asian American and Asian international cinema. Rooted in the love of film and the arts, global citizenship, and Asian culture and communities, Pac Arts became an official nonprofit media arts organization in 2002, and is now one of the most significant exhibitions of Asian cinema in North America.