ALL ASIAN INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTION 2022
The AAIFF is back for its third edition! We are proud to announce the films of this year’s Official Selection.
AAIFF 2022 will proudly screen 38 films from 14 countries on the 16th-20th of November, online and in the Power Plant Cinema, Manila, Philippines.
Dramatic Feature Film
HAS MAN A FUTURE
DIRECTOR Guodong Zhang
COUNTRY China
Luo Sang’s granddaughter Yang Jin was hit by the drunken driver Dou La Jia and became disabled. Luo Sang’s family vowed to sue Dou La Jia to court, let him in prison and to be punished, but the village head thought otherwise as his two children could not raise themselves.
The contradictions of all people in the village are escalating, and human misery happened…
UPDATE
DIRECTOR Yo Okazaki
COUNTRY Japan
A former detective, obsessed with his wife’s suicide, searches for his daughter who has suddenly gone missing, and finally finds her in a doctor’s clinic. However, she has no memory of her father…
Music Video
OWN SELF
DIRECTOR Tiffany Ike COUNTRY United States
“Own Self” is one of the parts of a 5-part music video series by 2Chang called “The Weather Inside”. A deep dive into the depths of jonnychang’s mind, told through stunning imagery and poetic lyricism.
MELODY BEYOND TIME
DIRECTOR Lo I-li
COUNTRY Taiwan
Xie Jia-chen, nicknamed A-chen, keeps hearing a strange melody over and over in his mind. While collecting nature sounds in the forest, he inadvertently wanders into an abandoned house … It is at that point that the story truly begins…
SELFISH – PANDA FT. JAZZY CADIENTE
DIRECTOR Erika Feyne Rivera Linis
COUNTRY United States
The official music video of the R&B/Pop single “Selfish” by Panda ft. Jazzy Cadiente.
Dramatic Short Film
BAPTISM
DIRECTOR Nan Li
COUNTRY China
A new mother struggles with motherhood and returns to her happy family after being treated in a hospital.
BREEZE IN THE SEA
DIRECTOR Jingtao Xu
COUNTRY China
Ten years after his father died, San Pi buys a cemetery and buries his father. On his way back, San Pi sees a black cat that turned out to be able to speak human language.He is convinced the cat is the reincarnation of his father.
CONTROL
DIRECTOR Crio Kuzuma
COUNTRY Philippines
Crippled by depression, a seemingly apathetic teenager struggles to find his way in an indifferent world. He’s got to find answers before he inflicts pain on himself or the people around him.
HIBERNATE
DIRECTOR Houssam Hassan Hamo
COUNTRY Syrian Arab Republic
A poor Syrian child with a passion for music sees a young woman playing the accordion so he chases after her to enter a musical institution where he can fulfil his dream of being an accordionist.
IN HEAVEN
DIRECTOR Hyeong Jun Shim
COUNTRY Republic of Korea
In an apocalyptic world, to what extent will a man go to protect who he loves?
JOPEL
DIRECTOR Clifton Abuan
COUNTRY United States
Jopel, a less fortunate kid from the streets of Manila , who wanted to make his mom happy by buying her a birthday cake. He did not have any money but was fortunate to have the heart & talent to overcome it all.
LIFETIME TRIAL
DIRECTOR Miya Wang
COUNTRY China
Shan is an unmarried woman in her thirties. There are three highly eligible men pursuing her. With the help of “Lifetime Trial”, a pioneering dating technology, she is able to date three different eligible men concurrently without them being aware of each other. As the trial periods near the end, all three propose marriage. Who will our smart and independent protagonist choose? Will she be happy and live the life she desires?
LUCKY
DIRECTOR Yin Ze
COUNTRY China
The story is based on a real-life incident in a small town in southern China, about chaising the luck and reflects the good, the ugly and the fortunate things in life.
MAKE LOVE
DIRECTOR Alex Osmolovsky
COUNTRY Israel
A wall that separates two worlds – Israel and Palestina – collapses under the fire and shooting, while the heroes from the different sides Make Love, not…
ME AGAINST THE WORLD
DIRECTOR Kali Bailey
COUNTRY United States
Mala and Doug live parallel lives in high school. He is the next Michael Jordan and she could cure cancer. In college, however, they collide. Mala tutors Doug to stay on the team. He ignites her social life. An unlikely duo, their friendship raises eyebrows.
MEDEA
DIRECTOR FeiFei Zhong
COUNTRY China
Medea deals with the story about a woman struggling between her career and family after finding her unexpected pregnancy and finally gest collapses.
OUT OF THE ABYSS
DIRECTOR Guang Wei Yan
COUNTRY China
The protagonists of the film is a “Beijing drifter”, over 30 years old. He is not successful, nor competitive, but he is contented, down-to-earth and struggles on his own. Experiencing so many difficulties in life, he finally became violent and took the wrong road.
THE DUCK
DIRECTOR Wang Shaohua
COUNTRY China
This is a short film adapted from real events. The director focuses on a social problem with Chinese characteristics and hopes to use the camera to sincerely record the real tears and silent cries that have taken place in this land.
THE HEART SUTRA
DIRECTOR Shi Yi
COUNTRY China
The film tells the fantasy story of life thinking and soul redemption through the journey of a middle-aged painter to the feast of his friend for fathering a baby..
Documentary Film
BEAUTIFUL DREAMS
DIRECTOR Zhang Yihuan, Zhou Paul
COUNTRY China
From our partner Scottish Documentary Institute
Meihao is an ambitious young woman, a wheelchair user, living an independent life, alone in Beijing. Although passionate about her work and popular with clients, she still faces the same discrimination she has endured throughout her studies. She continues to face physical barriers and struggles with the expectations of others as she navigates her life and her future career.
BROKEN
DIRECTOR Nan Khin San Win
COUNTRY Myanmar
Life for women and girls is far from safe in parts of conflict-affected Kayah State. In this absorbing short documentary, first-time director Khin San Win explores both her own trauma and that of another woman from her village in a bid to break the silence that shrouds violence against women in Myanmar.
SHIFTING SANDS
DIRECTOR May Thyn Kyi
COUNTRY Myanmar
Every year, thousands of young people flock to Yangon from Myanmar’s rural dry zone to work in the factories that have sprung up on the outskirts of the country’s former capital. Ma Nwet Yin Win is one of them. She and her sister left their home on an alluvial island in the Ayeyarwaddy River twenty years ago. Climate change has made life there difficult, but fighting for workers’ rights in Yangon is no less daunting.
XIAODI
DIRECTOR He Shaowei
COUNTRY China
Xiaodi is a member of the acrobatic troupe. In the course of an acrobatic contest, the heart of Xiaodi is slowly changing, It ’s growing.
Student Film
MR. CATMAN BRING ME A DREAM
DIRECTOR Tzu-Yu Pan
COUNTRY Taiwan
Alice’s life is challenged by the pandemic imposed restrictions as she found herself trapped in a small room with her cat and a computer as the only window contacting her with real-life and society and is having a a weird journey following her escaped cat and her laptop.
A DAWN AT MINATO CITY
DIRECTOR Sergey Vlasov
COUNTRY Japan
A usual morning for a usual married couple in a big city.
DETIK DUA
DIRECTOR Irdina Damia
COUNTRY Malaysia
A mother-daughter duo who’s inseparable bond cracks as Aish, the daughter becomes blinded by her boyfriend’s toxic behaviours.
FINDING VEGA
DIRECTOR Joey Xuetong Zhao
COUNTRY United States
A 12-year-old girl who lives in a Chinatown Single-room-occupancy family with her vegetative state mother has a passionate love for the starry sky. While eagerly wanting to realize her self-worth, she experiences a collision of reality and realizes what is important.
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FLIP
DIRECTOR Liu Ze Qiang
COUNTRY China
In an underdeveloped port city in China ,Jie, a weak-kneed boy, after struggling through dignity and love, finally became a man.
THE MISFIT
DIRECTOR Julian Maiz
COUNTRY Philippines
When a closeted all-boys highschool student [starring Vin Amodia] grabs an opportunity to express his effeminate side, how do his friends [co-starring Bo Oliva, John Sainz, and Kyle Cabahug] react when they see him being this way for the first time?
WURI
DIRECTOR Stan Park
COUNTRY United States
The father of a new Korean immigrant family, Chul-Kwang tries his best to find a job to support his family and financially maintain their new life in the States. However, despite their high expectations and hopes, deeply rooted racism and prejudice unexpectedly punch him.
Animated Film
DEPTHS OF NIGHT
DIRECTOR Step C.
COUNTRY Hong Kong
From our partner Alexandria Short Film Festival
How do you face these feelings in the past, present and in the future? It is as though the soul is broken into infinite pieces, but as long as we can survive, the Depths of night passes eventually.
NIGHT LIGHT
DIRECTOR Miguel Gierran
COUNTRY New Zealand
Night Light is a CG animated short film set in a dystopian, fantasy world. It is the story of the Hiraya people, who harvest light in order to survive within a world shrouded by darkness.
SHAKESPEARE FOR ALL AGES
DIRECTOR Hannes Rall
COUNTRY Germany
Shakespeare’s works are timeless – this film proves it! “How can you give the target and age group “smartphone” an overview of the work of this unique literary genius without getting bogged down in long-winded lectures on verse and drama theory? The film is the answer.
WHAT YOU CAN’T TAKE WITH YOU
DIRECTOR Shirley Camia
COUNTRY Canada
A reflection on a life left behind – and at what cost.
Experimental Film
ANNA BONNA
DIRECTOR Ivan Zhang COUNTRY China
Breathing in and out, life drives the wheel of our existence, nothing but loneliness is your most faithful mate.
SIX THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND 80 DAYS (6480 DAYS)
DIRECTOR Ran Slavin
COUNTRY Israel
From our partner ÉCU The European Independent Film Festival
In the new short film of Ran Slavin ‘6480 Days’ a dystopian reality is examined from the perspective of a future time that crashes into the present moment as a reflection of a space infected with a deadly virus. For the protagonist of the film, an 18 year old Hong Konger who’s voice is only heard, the ordinary world is a distant utopian dream that comes from a series of imagined flashbacks.
VOYAGER/TAL
DIRECTOR Daniel Alexander & Alexander Belton
COUNTRY New Zealand
TAL has many meanings through different languages – in Korea it translates as “Mask, Escape, Liberation”. This films travels between cultures and emotions, shared across the geographical edges of Aoteroa New Zeland and South Korea. This work links land, air and water to human journeying.
Students Corner
We’re excited to announce that alongside the films from the Official Competition, AAIFF will be screening 6 films made by students from the Philippines, as part of the Student Corner selection.
WE WERE NEVER REALLY STRANGERS
DIRECTOR Patrick Pangan
COUNTRY Philippines
Two strangers, Gio and Miguel, spark a connection after meeting randomly in front of the church. After Gio invites Miguel for lunch, the conversation starts to create curiosity for both of them. When Gio enjoys the company of Miguel, he dives into the profundity of his being.
Their meeting will ultimately. guide them to a different direction, a different fate.
ROSARIO
DIRECTOR Niko Chu
COUNTRY Philippines
A suicide calls for a deeper investigation when a peculiar sigil is unearthed in the crime scene.
Convinced this was no mere coincidence, a detective dives into a hundred years’ worth of unexplained deaths, all of which occur in a single room.
MARA
DIRECTOR Jan Pauline A. Dacop
COUNTRY Philippines
Mara, an 18-year-old closeted queer girl, is spending her birthday at a house party. While flirting with a female stranger, she receives a text from her OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) father, asking her to spend her holidays at home and be with her distant and homophobic mother. Unaware of her daughter’s true sexuality, her mother insists on having a traditional debut for Mara and pushes her to consider her childhood friend as an escort. Mara attempts to show romantic interest in the boy and appease her mother, but this takes a toll on her as she continues to keep up the charades.
KAHILWASAN (SAFETY)
DIRECTOR Stephanie Metcalf
COUNTRY Philippines
As the only child to a hardworking mother, the lively and curious Cora spends a lot of time on her own, but she makes the most of it. She spends her days playing in luscious fields; relishing in the peaceful landscape her mountain village has to offer. One day, peace is disrupted as Cora’s mother, Esther, notices army planes and helicopters flying by. Fear and paranoia set in as Esther takes Cora to hide in a cave in order to escape what she believes is an imminent war. But, as Cora will come to realize, not all wars are external.
DYING ON BORROWED TIME
DIRECTOR Sean Tongco
COUNTRY Philippines
Two immortal enemies reminisce their long and violent history over drinks, to finally settle things once and for all.
PHILHARMONIC
DIRECTOR Arthur Benedict Dugan Eustaquio
COUNTRY Philippines
A young man, disaffected with his studies, longs to pursue his passion for music. He struggles between the encouragement of his late mother and the orders of his agitated father.