AAIFF48 will be a hybrid festival from July 31 - August 10, 2025, comprising both VOD and in-person screenings in NYC. It is our hope to have the virtual portion available to as much of the world as possible. Geoblocking on request.

This year, the Asian American International Screenplay Reading Competition winner will be presented as part of our Festival, with the live reading taking place in-person..

Please read the below rules & terms carefully, and if there are any remaining questions or concerns, feel free to email submissions@asiancinevision.org. We will be in-touch by the notification deadline, so please do not contact us before then about selection status.

*****For financial assistance requests, please see our website https://www.aaiff.org/submissions. *****

ABOUT AAIFF
The Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) is proudly known as "The First Home to Asian American Cinema." Organized by Asian CineVision, it's the first and longest-running festival dedicated to showcasing the moving image work by media artists of Asian descent for and about the Asian diaspora experience. The Festival takes place in New York City, the second-largest Asian American market in the U.S. Every year, AAIFF attracts audiences from all five boroughs of New York City, the tri-state region, and around the world.

Asian CineVision (ACV) is a media arts nonprofit devoted to the development, exhibition, promotion, and preservation of Asian and Asian American experiences through storytelling. Our mission is to nurture and grow the community of makers and lovers of Asian and Asian American independent film, television, and digital.

Films submitted and screened at the festival are eligible to participate in our National Tour program, bringing Asian diaspora stories to broader audiences across North America through a rental service for cultural and educational institutions.

Awards & Prizes

Jury Presented Awards may include:

• EMERGING DIRECTOR IN NARRATIVE FEATURE - Directors screening their first or second narrative feature film projects are eligible for this award
• EMERGING DIRECTOR IN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Directors screening their first or second narrative documentary film projects are eligible for this award
• EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE SHORT FILMMAKING
• EXCELLENCE IN DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMMAKING
• ONE TO WATCH YOUTH FILMMAKER - Projects submitted by filmmakers under the age of 21 are eligible for this award.
• ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY COMPETITION (AAISC)
• EXCELLENCE IN MUSIC VIDEOS

Honorable Mentions may include
• EXCELLENCE IN EDITING
• EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
• EXCELLENCE IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
• EXCELLENCE IN SCREENWRITING

By Audience Votes:
• AUDIENCE AWARD: NARRATIVE FEATURE
• AUDIENCE AWARD: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• AUDIENCE AWARD: NARRATIVE SHORT
• AUDIENCE AWARD: DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Additionally, AAIFF presents THE ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIA AWARD, the ASIAN MEDIA HUMANITARIAN AWARD, and the SIKAY TANG CRITICAL LENS AWARD to those who have contributed significantly to Asian American media. Since 1987, recipients of these awards have included:

Wayne Wang (1987); Loni Dong (1988); Christine Choy (1989), James Yee (1990), Steven Okazaki (1991); Mira Nair (1992), Ang Lee (1993); Joan Chen (1994); Kayo Hatta and Freida Lee Mock (1995), Russell Wong (1996); Jessica Yu and Arthur Dong (1997), Michelle Yeoh (1998); Sammo Hung (1999); Andy Lau (2000); Tamlyn Tomita (2001); Marilou Diaz-Abaya (2002); Jet Li and Maggie Cheung (2005); Janet Yang (2012); Kara Wai (2016); Justin Chon (2017); and Jean Tsien (2022).

Rules & Terms

ELIGIBILITY
•Submissions must have a date of completion on or after January 1st, 2024 (with the exception of the Works-in-Progress category).
•NYC Premieres are prioritized.
•Completed submissions must either have at least one person of Asian or Pacific Islander descent in a key creative role e.g. Director, Writer, Producer, DP, etc. and/or represent the Asian or Asian diasporic experience.

***People of Asian and Pacific Islander descent include but are not limited to people who are from and/or are descended from areas now known as Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Russia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, and the Pacific Islands.***

SUBTITLES
•All primarily non-English language films must include English subtitles.
•English language films with subtitles for accessibility are strongly encouraged.

NOTIFICATION
All applicants will be notified by email or FilmFreeway. Please do not contact us before the notification deadline about selection status.

You must contact us immediately if you want to withdraw your work from our consideration.

TERMS & CONDITIONS
AAIFF is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.

The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening (online or in-person), and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.

The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless AAIFF from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.
42 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
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Networking
  • Kimberly Te

    A lovely festival celebrating the Asian American creative community. We had a wonderful time screening our work here and enjoyed the thoughtful selection of Asian American films and events. The staff is very kind, communicative, and helpful.

    November 2024
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  • mehrdad kabiri

    I am honored that my film "Sheep" was part of the 47th Asian American Film Festival. Although I could not be in the festival, but I am very happy that my film was screened in this great and wonderful festival.

    November 2024
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  • Sunita Soliar & Statten Roeg

    We sadly weren’t able to make it to Asian American International Film Festival in person, but everything about the experience of participating was perfectly handled. They were extremely responsive to emails and helped out if there was any difficulty. They are a great festival. Hopefully one day we will be able to attend!

    October 2024
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  • Nick Hartanto

    The opening night screening was very moving and I thought it really set up the festival wonderfully. There was a community vibe amongst the filmmakers that I don't always get at other festivals and the audiences were really lovely as well. The events were some of the funnest I've ever been to! Saw a lot of great films and left very inspired.

    August 2024
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  • Kosaku Horiwaki

    It was one of the most heartfelt and memorable experiences we've had. On behalf of all the creative collaborators and supporters of our film, "Daughters of Monster Magnet," I want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of this extraordinary festival. Your hospitality made us feel genuinely welcomed and celebrated at every moment.
    Thank you again for your incredible hospitality and for making AAIFF47 such a special event.

    August 2024
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