Shows & Events
The Boston Asian American Film Festival: Shorts Program 2025

Film

Oct 17—26, 2025

The Boston Asian American Film Festival
Shorts Program

New England's Largest Asian American Film Festival

The Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF) empowers Asian Americans through film by showcasing Asian American experiences and serving as a resource to filmmakers and the Greater Boston Community. BAAFF is a co-production of Asian American Resource Workshop and ArtsEmerson.

Shorts (Virtual)

Can I Get a Witness?

Info

Venue

Virtual

On Demand Streaming (Shorts Blocks) OCT 17 @ 7:30 PM –
OCT 26 @ 7:00 PM

Viewing window ends OCT 27 @ 12:00PM

Dates

Oct 17, 2025 - Oct 26, 2025

Special Offers

All-Access Festival Pass: $150
(All 2025 Film Programs with exception of Special Presentation, Can I Get a Witness?)

To purchase a festival pass, please contact the Box office directly by phone: (617) 824-8400 or email: tickets@artsemerson.org

Shorts Pass: $65
Watch all 6 Film Shorts Programs

To purchase a Shorts Pass, please click here.

Feature Films

The Boston Asian American Film Festival: Feature Films

Oct. 16 – Coolidge Corner Theater

Oct. 17-19 – Emerson Paramount Center

Oct. 24 – Museum of Science

Shorts Program

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QUEER & HERE

Shorts Block

83 mins | $15

A staple of every BAAFF season, Queer and Here highlights stories of self-expression and the complexities of identity and intersectionality, beyond orientation among LGBTQIA+ communities and their loved ones

BABY GAY

Directed by Arielle Frances Bagood

9 min | Comedy|Narrative

English | Mandarin Chinese

English subtitles when Mandarin Chinese spoken

Baba I’m Fine

Directed by: Karina Dandashi

13 min | Coming-of-Age/Comedy, Drama | Narrative

In English

Bloomed in the Water

Directed by: Joanne Mony Park

14 min | Drama | Narrative

English | Korean

English subtitles when Korean spoken

I’m the Most Racist Person I Know

Directed by: Leela Varghese

14 min| Drama | Narrative

English | Korean

English subtitles when Korean spoken

After What Happened at the Library

Directed by: Syra McCarthy, Kyle Casey Chu

13 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Narrative

In English

Content Warning: Strong Language

Zari

Directed by: Shruti Parekh

19 min | Coming of Age, Drama | Narrative

English, Hindi

English subtitles when Hindi spoken

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ACROSS THE DIVIDE

Shorts Block

83 mins

Across the Divide explores stories of unlikely connections, whether cultural, economic, or even supernatural. These films demonstrate the power of creating new bonds against all odds.

CHECK PLEASE

Directed by: Shane Chung

9 min| Action, Comedy | Narrative

In English

Technicians

Directed by: Kelly Luu, Kevin Luu

17 min | Drama, Sci-Fi | Narrative

English, Vietnamese

English subtitles when Vietnamese spoken

Content warning: Strong Language

Bakunawa

Directed by: Jessica Stutman

4 min | Animated | Narrative

Long’s Long Lost & Mini Mart

Directed by: Julian Doan

18 min| Fantasty | Narrative

English, Vietnamese

English subtitles when Vietnamese spoken

Content warning: 13+ – Strong Language, graphic imagery, implied nudity

God & Buddha Are Friends

Directed by: Anthony Ma

17 min| Comedy/Drama | Narrative

English, Mandarin Chinese

English subtitles when Mandarin Chinese spoken

Saint Andrews

Directed by: Erin Ramirez

16 min| Romance | Narrative

In English

Content Warning: Strong Language

Get Tickets

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MY OWN WORST ENEMY

Shorts Block

78 mins

My Own Worst Enemy interrogates the insecurities that we all hold within ourselves and how we can work to overcome (or end up succumbing) to them.

Poreless

Directed by: Harris Doran

13 min| Comedy | Narrative

In English

One Note (单注)

Directed by: Jamie Ting

16 min| Comedy| Narrative

English & Mandarin Chinese

English subtitles when Mandarin Chinese spoken

Content Warning: 13+ – Mature Content, Sexually explicit

Clementine

Directed by: Sally Tran

14 min| Drama, Comedy, LGBTQ+| Narrative

English

Content Warning: 13+ Mature content – Sexual implied content

Introducing Mimi

Directed by: Emai Lai

14 min| Drama, Comedy| Narrative

English, Mandarin Chinese

English subtitles when Mandarin Chinese spoken

Stand In

Directed by: Hiromu Yamawaki

11 min| Drama, Thriller| Narrative

English, Japanese

English subtitles when Japanese spoken

Puberty for Humans

Directed by: Wester Demandante

13 min| Coming-of-age, Sci-fi, Comedy| Narrative

In English

Get Tickets

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RESPECT YOUR ELDERS

Shorts Block

75 mins

Respect Your Elders honors our older community members, showing us that our elders still have much to share with the world.

Gloria

Directed by: Kim Blanck

10 min| Drama| Narrative

In English

The Tale of Mari

Directed by: Anya Vaughn

7 min| Documentary

English, Mandarin Chinese

English subtitles when Mandarin Chinese spoken

The Last Resort

Directed by: Sarita Khurana

12 min| Documentary

English, Hindi, Gujarati

English subtitles when other languages spoken

Lola

Directed by: Carlo Ang

18 min| Documentary

English, Tagalog

English subtitles when Tagalog spoken

Content Warning: Depictions of war and violence

TO DANCE AGAIN

Directed by: M.G. Evangelista

7 min| Documentary

English, Cantonese

Subtitles when Cantonese spoken

Content Warning: Grief themes

WHY MY DAD LOVES

Directed by: Nkaujoua Xiong

21 min| Documentary

English, Hmong

Subtitles when Hmong spoken

Content Warning: 13+ -Mature content -Depictions of war, violence, nudity

Get Tickets

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NIGHT VISIONS

Shorts Block

85 mins

Night Visions is a showcase of the weird and the wacky, films that don’t easily fit into any one box. These shorts subvert the expectations and surprise audiences at every twist and turn.

Don’t F*ck with Ba

Directed by Sally Tran

14 min | Drama, Action, Fantasy | Narrative

Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese

English Subtitles

Content Warning: Mature content – Violence and death

Better Life

Directed by: Jessica Liu

11 min | Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama | Narrative

English, Mandarin Chinese

English subtitles when Mandarin Chinese spoken

Kumar Kumar

Directed by: Kiran Koshy

7 min | Dark Comedy | Narrative

Indian

Subtitles

Content warning: 13+ Mature content – Imagery suggestive of self-harm and suicide

Five Star

Directed by: Kai Hamada Hasson

14 min | Comedy, Horror | Narrative

English, Korean

Subtitles when Korean spoken

Content warning: 17+ Mature content -Violence, Strong Language, Dark imagery

Daddy is a Hunter

Directed by: Marcus Fahey

9 min | Fantasy, Horror, Drama |Narrative

English

Content warning: Mild violence

Cherry-Colored Funk

Directed by: Chelsie Pennello

16 min | Dark Comedy|Narrative

English

Content warning: Strong language

Get Tickets

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BUILDING OUR HISTORIES

Shorts Block

74 mins

Building Our Histories spotlights stories of creating and maintaining AAPI spaces from Boston’s Chinatown to communities around the globe.

Teb Chaw (Land)

Directed by: Joua Lee Grande

11 min | Documentary

English, Hmong

English subtitles when Hmong spoken

Content warning: Discussions of war and violence

Beauty of Sorrow

Directed by: Josh Park

14 min | History | Narrative

English, Korean, Japanese

English subtitles when other languages spoken

Dear Watsonville

Directed by: Sandra Lucille

17 min| History| Documentary

In English

LITTLE BIRD

Directed by: Oanh-Nhi Nguyen

15 min | Drama |Narrative

English, Vietnamese

English subtitles when Vietnamese spoken

Get Tickets

Feature Films

Boston Asian American Film Festival: Feature Films

Oct. 16 – Coolidge Corner Theater

Oct. 17-19 – Emerson Paramount Center

Oct. 24 – Museum of Science

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