Programmers

This year, the intrepid team of programmers and curators of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival weeded through a record number of submissions — well over 600 individual feature-length and short works, not to mention dozens of programming proposals, to arrive at a slate of approximately 130 works that will screen for Festival Week audiences. Who are our programmers this year? Learn about them here!

Click here to see a list of films recommended by our programmers.

Eseel Borlasa loves mixtapes, films & community. She brings that passion to her work as a publicist at After Bruce PR. 2017 marks her nth year with LAAPFF; still rocking the white flower under a couple of different hats.

Sumiko Braun is a filmmaker, educator, writer, and actor best known for the cult classic SHARKNADO. She is a teaching artist with artworxLA and also produces digital stories for UCLA’s Mapping Indigenous Los Angeles. A 2016 Armed with a Camera fellow, she is thrilled to be a first-year programmer.

Jeremy Gaudette has called LA home for 13 years where he manages two movie theatres in Santa Monica.  Originally from Maine and passionate about film, Jeremy can be found at a local theatre, or film festival, catching up on movies with a bag of Peanut M&M’s.  

June Kaewsith, also known as “Jumakae”, is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and organizer based in Long Beach, CA. “Why Consume What You Can Create?” www.jumakae.com

Chanel Kong works for film-related festivals, events, forums and cultural organizations in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Her writing has appeared in various publications such as Sight & Sound. She also works as a translator/interpreter and is trained in film restoration. She’s currently the Festival Manager for the 33rd LAAPFF.

Kristen Lee is a Chinese Swede Canadian American from Michigan. Born in Kansas and residing in DTLA,  Kristen answered the ‘what are you’ question more times than POTUS’s winning votes. LAAPFF is Kristen’s platform for dismantling #whitehollywood and inspiring brown people to express their creative ambitions. UCLA ethnocommunications challenged Kristen. Kristen’s believes that it’s her feminist duty to support her APA film comrades.

Lindy Leong is a film and media educator, archivist, and programmer. She enjoys supporting community building and advocacy through the arts. She wants you to see films in an actual theater before you “Netflix and chill” it.

Kirby Peñafiel is a 2nd year Short Programmer for the LAAPFF, his love for film is only matched by his love for his Lola’s filipino cooking. From volunteer, to box office, to veteran programmer – he has his roots with LAAPFF, and continues his love for film and his community.

Melanie Ramos is a native of California who attended NYU Tisch Asia in Singapore earning an MFA in Film. She’s directed and shot a handful of short film that played in film festivals worldwide. Her film Deliver Her played at the 2013 LAAPFF. Currently she is working on her next film Limboland.

Ryan Wu is a native of California who spent much of his youth in local repertory cinemas, where he developed an abiding passion for classic Hollywood and international cinema. When he’s not watching movies, Ryan is a class action attorney. He was recently named one of the Attorneys of the Year by California Lawyer magazine.

Click here to see a list of films recommended by our programmers.