Submissions are Open 

for The 44th Asian American International Film Festival 

 

January 21, 2021, NEW YORK – Submissions for the 44th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF44) are open! This year’s festival will be from August 11-22,  in the form of a hybrid festival: virtual with in-person events in NYC with safety protocols in-mind.

 

New Category Updates! AAIFF is excited to continue spotlighting the amazing storytelling online by the Asian diaspora. Digital/New Media has been split up to Digital/Web and VR/Interactive. Digital/Web will include Instagram Reels and TikToks, to highlight the innovative voices on these platforms. The VR/Interactive category will feature video games and other works in the field of emergent media. 

 

New Awards! AAIFF44 will present craft specific awards, including Best Editing, Cinematography, and more.

 

The early bird deadline is February 15, 2021. All submissions must be made before April 15, 2021. For more information and to submit, head to http://filmfreeway.com/aaiff44.

 

Event Description 

COVID-19 UPDATE: 

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AAIFF44 will be a hybrid festival, primarily virtual with limited in-person events designed for as much safety as possible in New York City. The majority of the virtual programming will be available across North America.

 

AAIFF has joined Seed and Spark's Film Festival Survival pledge regarding virtual screenings and eligibility. If you held a piece completed in 2019 in hopes for physical screening in 2020/2021 but would like to submit for a virtual screening now in 2021, you are eligible as long as the piece never screened virtually in 2020. More info about the Seed and Spark Film Festival Survival pledge please see https://try.seedandspark.com/film-festival-pledge/. 

 

Some category updates: Digital/New Media has been split up to Digital/Web and VR/Interactive. Digital/Web can include IG Reel/TikTok compilations. VR/Interactive can include video games. More information about the revised categories below.

 

New Awards! We're adding craft specific awards this year include best editing, cinematography, and more. More information below.

 

If there are any questions, concerns, or financial assistance requests, please email submissions@asiancinevision.org. 

 

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 and Prizes 

Jury Presented Awards 

• EMERGING DIRECTOR IN NARRATIVE FEATURE 

• EMERGING DIRECTOR IN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE  

• EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE SHORT FILMMAKING

• EXCELLENCE IN DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMMAKING 

• ONE TO WATCH YOUTH FILMMAKER 

• ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY COMPETITION (AAISC)

• EXCELLENCE IN MUSIC VIDEOS

• EXCELLENCE IN DIGITAL/WEB

• EXCELLENCE IN EPISODIC

• EXCELLENCE IN FEATURE EDITING

• EXCELLENCE IN SHORTS EDITING

• EXCELLENCE IN FEATURE PRODUCTION DESIGN

• EXCELLENCE IN SHORTS PRODUCTION DESIGN

• EXCELLENCE IN FEATURE CINEMATOGRAPHY

• EXCELLENCE IN SHORTS CINEMATOGRAPHY

• EXCELLENCE IN FEATURE SCREENWRITING

• EXCELLENCE IN SHORTS 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 and the Asian Media Humanitarian Award to those who have contributed significantly to Asian American media. Since its inception in 1987, recipients 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); and Justin Chon (2017). 

 

Rules and Terms: Eligible projects include:

•Completed submissions that have at least one person of Asian descent from any nationality in a key creative role i.e. Director, Writer, Producer, DP, etc.

•Completed submissions that represent the Asian diaspora experience.

 

People of Asian descent includes but is not limited to people from and are descended from areas now known as Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, 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.

 

CATEGORIES

FEATURES - NARRATIVE 

FEATURES - DOCUMENTARIES

SHORTS - NARRATIVE

SHORTS - DOCUMENTARY

MUSIC VIDEOS

ONES TO WATCH: FILMMAKERS UNDER 21

EPISODIC

DIGITAL/WEB

VR/INTERACTIVE

ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY COMPETITION (AAISC)

WORK-IN-PROGRESS