Started in 2004 by OCA-Greater Houston, Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival (HAAPIFEST) was created to celebrate the AAPI community through edutainment, highlighting AAPI in the entertainment industry and providing a platform for them to share their artistic vision and experiences.

Awards & Prizes

-Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Feature Film
-Grand Jury Prize - Documentary Feature Film
-Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Short Film
-Grand Jury Prize - Documentary Short Film
-Audience Award - Narrative Feature Film
-Audience Award - Documentary Feature Film
-Audience Award - Narrative Short Film
-Audience Award - Documentary Short Film

Rules & Terms

HAAPIFEST Official Rules

- Shorts are defined as films with a time duration of 30 minutes or less. Features are defined as films with a time duration of over 30 minutes. Submission must fulfill either of the following required criteria:
1. The film/video must either be directed by, produced by, written by or feature an
Asian or Asian American/Pacific Islander and/or
2. The content of the entry must contain material that relates to the Asian or Asian
American/Pacific Islander culture/experience.
- All submission entries should have been completed within the last three years.

Please include a press kit with your entry, including (electronic version ONLY):
• Still images (Please provide captions and photo credits for all images)
• Synopsis
• Director’s biography/photo
• Director’s filmography
• Director’s statement
• Cast and crew listing
• Trailer (if available)

(If your film is selected, the Festival will also request the following items: posters, video clips.)

The official entry submission deadline is February15, 2021 (Early bird deadline is February 1, 2021 & Late deadline is March 1, 2021). Filmmakers selected for the festival will be notified via email by March 15, 2021.
16 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Kaia Rose

    Kudos to the amazing team at HAAPIFEST! They managed to make this festival a huge success despite the virtual challenges of the pandemic context. They were very communicative, super warm, and curated a wonderful program of films with a strong theme running across them. So glad I could take part in the live Q&A and get to meet some of the other filmmakers. Looking forward to visiting everyone in Houston one of these days!

    July 2021
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  • Teddy Tenenbaum

    HAAPIFest is a remarkable festival in every way: great films well curated, wonderful people, incredibly organized, excellent marketing and social media, and on and on. We were very honored to be a part of this respected and prestigious festival.

    June 2021
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  • Eladio Arvelo

    It was a pleasure to screen "Vietnam: Fast Forward" at HAAPIFEST21. The communication with Festival Director Jessica Kong and her team was outstanding and we really appreciated their dedication to pre-record a Q&A session with our special guests from overseas. Thank you!

    June 2021
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  • Jessica George

    What a huge privilege to be apart of #HAAPIFEST21 this year. Thank you to Jessica Kong for hosting such a wonderful festival and having terrific communication throughout the entire process. We were lucky to have 'VAKA' screened and our filmmakers join a Q&A session. To anyone considering submitting their film - go for it!

    June 2021
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  • eric chou

    It is lovely to be a part of the film festival this year, great jobs!

    June 2021
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