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2018 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Shorts Competition

We are proud to present all of our Documentary, Live Action and Animated shorts nominees. Recipient(s) of the Festival’s Golden Reel Award for Narrative Short Film will be eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live-Action Short Film category of the Academy Awards®, subject to compliance with Academy® guidelines.


  1. CYPHER

    Lawrence Le Lam / Shorts Competition / Canada / 2017 / Drama, Music, Social Issues / 20 mins
    A Korean-American high school student finds himself drawn to post-riot LA’s underground hip hop scene, where he discovers a platform to confront his painful past.
    Plays In:
    My So-Called Adolescence

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 14
    Monday | May 7, 2018 6:30 pm Rush Only


  2. DEAR MOTHER

    Matthew Kaundart / Shorts Competition / USA / 2018 / Documentary, Experimental, LGBTQIA+, Social Issues, Women / 5 mins
    Mother we need to talk.

    Precedes: CHINA’S FORGOTTEN DAUGHTERS

    Precedes:
    CHINA’S FORGOTTEN DAUGHTERS

    CGV Cinemas - Theatre 3
    Thursday | May 10, 2018 2:00 pm


  3. DECODING DARKMATTER

    Crystal Waterton / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Comedy, Documentary, Experimental, Human Rights, International, LGBTQIA+, Satire, Social Issues, Women / 21 mins
    Go behind the scenes with transgender poetry act, DarkMatter, as they tackle organizing the NYC premiere of "It Gets Better," a transgender activist play.
    Plays In:
    Second Generation Queer

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 12
    Tuesday | May 8, 2018 9:00 pm


  4. THE DUWENDE

    Odin B. Fernandez / Shorts Competition / Australia, Philippines / 2016 / Arthouse, Drama, Family, Fantasy, International, Mystery, Student, Thriller / 11 mins
    A father searches for his young daughter who was believed to be taken by the mythical duwende.
    Plays In:
    The No Spin Zone

    Downtown Independent
    Saturday | May 5, 2018 9:00 pm


  5. ELLA

    Dan Chen / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Adventure, Coming of Age, Drama, Social Issues, Women / 16 mins
    During a small town game of Fugitive, a teenage boy confronts his feelings for his older brother's girlfriend.

    Precedes: THE FEVER AND THE FRET

    Precedes:
    THE FEVER AND THE FRET

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 14
    Wednesday | May 9, 2018 7:00 pm


  6. END OF THE LINE

    Jessica Sanders / Shorts Competition / USA / 2018 / Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Human Rights, Social Issues, Women / 14 mins
    A lonely man goes to the pet story and buys a tiny man in a cage.

    Precedes: WHITE RABBIT

    Precedes:
    WHITE RABBIT

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 13
    Monday | May 7, 2018 9:15 pm


  7. FAKEAPINO

    Jeremy Sistoso / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Comedy, Drama, Pacific Islander, Social Issues / 16 mins
    A boy of mixed white and Filipino descent struggles to understand his identity through the perception of those around him.
    Plays In:
    Dislocated Self And Beyond

    Downtown Independent
    Saturday | May 5, 2018 1:15 pm

    Plays In:
    Dislocated Self And Beyond (Rescheduled)

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 12
    Wednesday | May 9, 2018 9:30 pm


  8. FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

    Manish Dayal / Shorts Competition / USA / 2018 / Action, Drama, Human Rights, Social Issues, Thriller / 18 mins
    Two young and promising men independently deteriorate psychologically and professionally post-9/11. Their lives come face to face fifteen years later when their tragedies ultimately align.

    Precedes: CORRIDOR FOUR

    Precedes:
    CORRIDOR FOUR

    David Henry Hwang Theater @ East West Players
    Saturday | May 5, 2018 12:30 pm


  9. FIRST BLOOM

    Tingting Liu / Shorts Competition / China, USA / 2017 / Animation / 5 mins
    Sometimes difficulties in life become a huge wall. We might get hurt and struggle, but we still fight to live and bloom.
    Plays In:
    Itsy Bitsy Shorts

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum @ JANM
    Saturday | May 5, 2018 10:00 am Rush Only


  10. FIRST GENERATION

    Jeannie Nguyen / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Comedy, Coming of Age, Drama / 9 mins
    My-Linh, a young misled girl, must decide how she will fit into the two worlds that she inhabits.
    Plays In:
    Feminist AF Too

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 14
    Monday | May 7, 2018 9:30 pm Rush Only


  11. FRENCHIES

    Kuan-Fu Lin / Shorts Competition / Taiwan, USA / 2017 / Fantasy, Satire, Social Issues / 12 mins
    A fantasy satire about the contradiction between an anxious guy and his new neighbors, the Frenchies, who have heads that resemble French bulldogs.
    Plays In:
    Dislocated Self And Beyond

    Downtown Independent
    Saturday | May 5, 2018 1:15 pm

    Plays In:
    Dislocated Self And Beyond (Rescheduled)

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 12
    Wednesday | May 9, 2018 9:30 pm


  12. FUNDAMENTAL

    Shih-Chieh Chiu / Shorts Competition / Taiwan / 2017 / Animation, Satire, Social Issues, Student / 7 mins
    A story of a teenager who discovers the strange and terrifying reality behind fundamentalism.
    Plays In:
    My So-Called Adolescence

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 14
    Monday | May 7, 2018 6:30 pm Rush Only


  13. FUTURE PERFECT

    Abigail Prade / Shorts Competition / Netherlands, USA / 2017 / Arthouse, Women / 13 mins
    A series of vignettes detailing the hopes and dreams of the patients and workers in a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul, South Korea.
    Plays In:
    Feminist AF Too

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 14
    Monday | May 7, 2018 9:30 pm Rush Only


  14. A GENTLE NIGHT

    Qiu Yang / Shorts Competition / China, France / 2017 / Arthouse, Drama, Women / 15 mins
    In a nameless Chinese city, a mother with her daughter missing, refuses to go gently into this good night.
    Plays In:
    Feminist AF Too

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 14
    Monday | May 7, 2018 9:30 pm Rush Only


  15. GRAY UMBRELLA

    Mohammad Poustindouz / Shorts Competition / Iran / 2017 / Drama, International, Philosophical / 8 mins
    A man has a permanent habit until he meets a man with an umbrella.
    Plays In:
    Forever Alone (Or Not)

    David Henry Hwang Theater @ East West Players
    Sunday | May 6, 2018 4:30 pm Rush Only