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2017 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Programmers' Picks

Our intrepid programmers reviewed almost 700 feature-length and short films this year! Want to know what stood out most to them? Discover our Programmers’ Picks and pave your own journey through this year’s festival.


  1. I Won’t Miss You

    Bernard Badion / Programmers' Picks / USA / 2016 / 20 mins
    17-year-old Janey’s best friend, Tim, begins to appear in her bedroom at night after dying in a car crash; and their awkward undeclared feelings begin to surface.
    Plays In:
    Rebel Hearts

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 30, 2017 7:30 pm


  2. Maria

    Jeremiah Tauamiti / Programmers' Picks / New Zealand / 2016 / 14 mins
    An ailing Polynesian matriarch must find the strength to lead her family one last time.
    Plays In:
    Good Bones

    CGV Cinemas 2
    May 2, 2017 9:30 pm


  3. Please Come Again

    Alisa Yang / Shorts Competition, Programmers' Picks / Japan / 2016 / 9 mins
    Narrating the collective and personal memory of three generations of Asian women though the lens of Japanese love hotels.
    Plays In:
    Cine-Diorama

    Downtown Independent
    April 30, 2017 11:30 am


  4. Pop Aye

    Kirsten Tan / International Competition, Programmers' Picks / Singapore, Thailand / 2017 / 102 mins
    Pop Aye is a humane ode to the power of simple acts of kindness in a world of lost innocence and missed opportunities, punctuated by well-timed bursts of deadpan absurdity. Director Kirsten Tan, in her impressive feature debut, deftly weaves the poignance and humor of Popeye and Thana’s journey with a series of indelibly beautiful cinematic images of the film’s gigantic star in this lyrical road-trip dramedy.
    POP AYE

    CGV Cinemas 3
    April 30, 2017 9:15 pm


  5. Pria

    Yudho Aditya / Shorts Competition, Programmers' Picks / Indonesia, USA / 2017 / 21 mins
    A teen living in rural Indonesia struggles between the traditions of his upbringing and his romantic idealization of the freedom of the West.
    Plays In:
    WTF: Watch These Films

    Downtown Independent
    May 3, 2017 9:30 pm


  6. Remember

    Shunsaku Hayashi / Shorts Competition, Programmers' Picks / Japan / 2015 / 9 mins
    Leaving home, "I" receives a phone call. As "I" answers it, the house explodes. "I" goes to work and continues as normal…
    Plays In:
    Wildest Imagination

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 29, 2017 7:00 pm


  7. Save My Seoul

    Jason Y. Lee / Documentary Competition, Programmers' Picks / USA / 2017 / 60 mins
    SAVE MY SEOUL is an independent documentary that unveils South Korea’s rampant prostitution and sex-trafficking secret, and the young women it exploits.
    SAVE MY SEOUL

    Aratani Theatre
    April 29, 2017 5:00 pm


  8. Saving Sally

    Avid Liongoren / International Competition, Programmers' Picks / France, Philippines / 2016 / 90 mins
    SAVING SALLY is a tiny little film about love and monsters. The film was built by a core group of five underfunded animators who worked on it for nearly 12 years. A quirky mix of cartoons, painted backgrounds, and actors, SAVING SALLY is a very simple love story that aims to make your heart flutter and glow.
    SAVING SALLY

    CGV Cinemas 3
    May 1, 2017 6:30 pm


  9. Sit

    Yoko Okumura / Programmers' Picks / USA / 2016 / 12 mins
    At the age of 22, Shohaku found his purpose in life when he committed himself to the practice of Buddhism, and was ordained as a monk. A generation later, his 22-year-old son, Masaki, struggles to find a purpose to devote his life to.

    Precedes: Unbroken Glass

    Precedes:
    UNBROKEN GLASS

    CGV Cinemas 2
    May 1, 2017 7:00 pm


  10. Sleep Tight Maria

    Monica Vanesa Tedja / Programmers' Picks / Indonesia / 2016 / 15 mins
    A 17-year-old high school student named Maria V, has to share her room at the church camp with Maria P, the most prestigious and beautiful student in her high school. She has trouble falling asleep after not being able to masturbate beforehand.
    Plays In:
    Feminist AF

    CGV Cinemas 3
    May 1, 2017 9:00 pm


  11. The Soul Of The Tiger

    François Yang / International Competition, Programmers' Picks / Belgium, France, Switzerland / 2016 / 91 mins
    After his brother's death, thirty-something Alex finds himself dealing with his family's history. Forced to give up his carefree life, he must now face his own responsibilities.
    THE SOUL OF THE TIGER

    CGV Cinemas 3
    May 2, 2017 6:30 pm


  12. The Sower

    Yosuke Takeuchi / International Competition, Programmers' Picks / Japan / 2016 / 117 mins
    A remarkable human-interest film inspired by the life of Vincent van Gogh, and a niece with Down Syndrome.
    THE SOWER

    Downtown Independent
    May 3, 2017 7:00 pm


  13. swiPed

    David Chai / Programmers' Picks / USA / 2016 / 5 mins
    Texters texting, tweeters tweeting, likers liking, posters posting, Googlers Googling, Amazonians Amazoning, webheads surfing, snappers chatting, pinners pinning, tubers tubing, tenders tindering, Netflixers chilling…are we binging too much? More connected than ever, but more distant by the day. Is humanity being swiped away?
    Plays In:
    Wildest Imagination

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 29, 2017 7:00 pm


  14. Tag

    Patrick Green, Steve Tirona / Programmers' Picks / USA / 2016 / 6 mins
    A colorful day in the secret life of a budding graffiti artist.
    Plays In:
    Rebel Hearts

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 30, 2017 7:30 pm


  15. A Time To Swim

    Ashley Duong / Documentary Competition, Programmers' Picks / Canada / 2017 / 82 mins
    An exiled indigenous activist returns to his childhood village in Borneo, and struggles to navigate a complex web of interests and tensions in a race to save his culture.
    A TIME TO SWIM

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 29, 2017 4:30 pm