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2017 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Shorts Programs

Our Shorts Programs – some of which showcase our prestigious Shorts Competition nominees – range over a wide scope of stories and expressions. From stories of distinctly local flavors to tales from faraway worlds, our selection of shorts offer a variety of urban, rural, and alternative perspectives.

  1. Armed, Locked, and Loaded

    Shorts Programs / 62 mins
    The VC Digital Posse rides off into places unknown, and into the void steps a new, uncouth class of ruffians hailing from Visual Communications’ vanguard Armed With a Camera Fellowship and UCLA’s Center for Ethnocommunications. At turns callow and visionary, this collection of short works is poised to inspire, surprise, and delight. — Abraham Ferrer

    In This Program: The Cogmill Kids, Hum, 127 Minutes, Emma And The Butt, Nuwa, Shut It All Down, Disintegration 93-96, A Time To Bleed, Phetmixay Means Fighter, Muscles & Mascara, The Other Side

    Armed, Locked, and Loaded

    CGV Cinemas 1
    May 3, 2017 7:00 pm

  2. The Big Picture, In Bite-Sized Chunks: APAs And Webisodic Series

    Shorts Programs, Transmedia / 81 mins
    We stopped, looked, blinked, and couldn’t believe what we saw: a whole new generation of aspiring APA feature filmmakers who have found a creative outlet through episodic storytelling. Is this a short-cut for feature filmmaking? Or have our artists found a new, unexploited means of telling complete stories? This showcase will include a post-screening conversation with many of the creators behind these inventive new works. — Abraham Ferrer

    In This Program: Almost Asian, Before I Got Famous, CaCa: Tell You Jokes! (Season 1, 2, and 3), People Like Us, Geeta’s Guide To Moving On

    The Big Picture, In Bite-Sized Chunks: APAs And Webisodic Series

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 30, 2017 12:00 pm

  3. Cine-Diorama

    Shorts Programs / 100 mins
    Recall those grade school projects where we had to construct stories in a shoebox? These directors ignite our affective memory with miniature scenery, childhood innocence and vapor tea pots. — Kristen Lee

    In This Program: Sampaguita Love, Under the Same Sky, Single Mother Only Daughter, Semiotics of Sab, Please Come Again, The Last Tip, Forever, Chinatown

    Cine-Diorama

    Downtown Independent
    April 30, 2017 11:30 am

  4. Digital Histories 2017: Past Informs the Future

    Shorts Programs / 60 mins
    The stories from the past, help inform the future. The Digital Histories program engages the passion of our elders to tell their stories and learn the craft of filmmaking. This year the Digital Histories filmmakers not only told their stories through the documentary form but as well as experimental and narrative shorts. - Gary Gabisan

    Preceded by: A Step Forward

    In This Program: Stop And Smell The Roses, A Matter of Truth, In Plain Sight, Returning to Heart Mountain, With a Little Help From My Friend, Wasteful, Inside Nihon Buyo, Tiffany – The Art of Coming Out, My Chinese Southern Roots – Before Lynwood, Our Torrance Farm – Life Before Lynwood

    Digital Histories 2017: Past Informs the Future

    Aratani Theatre
    April 30, 2017 2:00 pm

  5. Feminist AF

    Shorts Programs / 98 mins
    An intersectional glance at the many facets of women’s experiences. This collection features incredibly badass females from different cultural backgrounds. We hope you leave empowered and feeling like you can conquer the world. — Ariel Du

    In This Program: I am JUPITER I am the BIGGEST PLANET, Maria, Sleep Tight Maria, And So We Put Goldfish In the Pool, Cocoon, Tough

    Feminist AF

    CGV Cinemas 3
    May 1, 2017 9:00 pm

  6. FilAm Creations: A Filmmaker Movement

    Shorts Programs / 130 mins
    In an effort to inspire, motivate and mobilize the Filipino-American and Filipino filmmaking community, we challenged them to create short films to premiere at The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2017. As a result, filmmakers of various levels of experience stepped up to share their artistic voice and storytelling. We are proud to present their efforts to all of you! - Craig Obligacion-Wilson

    In This Program: The Last Straw, Colored Hearts, The Legend Of The Basketball Ghost, Plaza Blvd, I Don’t Love You, What You Don’t Say, Uncle Eddy, Miss Understanding, Madeira, Man of My Dreams, Finding Ronwe, Lolo Pepe

    FilAm Creations: A Filmmaker Movement

    Art Share L.A.
    May 3, 2017 6:00 pm Rush Line Only

  7. From Vision To Reel

    Shorts Programs / 62 mins
    FREE PROGRAM. "From Vision to Reel" showcases short films created by emerging filmmakers of Asian American and Pacific Islander descent. Films range from topics related to immigration, family history, gender identity, sexuality, struggles and resiliency in this current political and economic climate. — June Kaewsith

    In This Program: Perfect Imperfection, Living In Freedom, David And Goliath, Motherlands, Called Home, Hello From the Other Side, Dollar Tree, Droga!, Story of Self, Bastard

    From Vision To Reel

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 29, 2017 11:30 am

  8. Good Bones

    Shorts Programs / 92 mins
    Film is an archival tool that reflects and preserves our memories, artistic evolution and world events. This selection of stories explores how tradition creates foundation for multiculturalist nations. — Kristen Lee

    In This Program: Deer God, Maria, To Perpetuate, Persimmons, Born Bone Boon, Invisible Point, Water!

    Good Bones

    CGV Cinemas 2
    May 2, 2017 9:30 pm

  9. HBO APA Visionaries

    Shorts Programs / 49 mins
    In a unique filmmaker support initiative between Visual Communications and HBO, we present the winning entries from the APA Visionaries Short Film Competition, in which Asian Pacific American artists bring to light their worlds, their visions, and their voices. — Abraham Ferrer

    In This Program: Wonderland, Toenail, Monday

    HBO APA Visionaries

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 28, 2017 6:30 pm Rush Line Only

  10. I Got You, Fam

    Shorts Programs / 92 mins
    We’ll be just fine, pretending we’re not, we’re far from lonely, and it’s all that we’ve got. Whether in the city, or the suburbs, these stories behind and front of the camera showcases families in their elements; antagonizing, struggling, overcoming, supporting, and loving. — Kirby Peñafiel

    In This Program: 626, Los Angeles, 1999, Float, Little Lights, Flip The Record, Fragile (a portrait of Gil Batle), Lost Dogs

    I Got You, Fam

    Downtown Independent
    April 28, 2017 6:00 pm

  11. In And Out Of The Slipstream

    Shorts Programs / 92 mins
    From rigorously meditative to annoyingly talky, the quality of talk — or in some cases the absence of it — distinguishes this set of uniquely visionary short works. At turns deeply personal to pointedly political, how the characters in these works “talk it out” invites one and all to follow along. — Abraham Ferrer

    In This Program: If I Were Any Further Away I’d Be Closer to Home, Death in a Day, Lily, Best Buds, Blooming Night, Prom, Please Hold, Selfie, The Pursuit of a Happy Human Life

    In And Out Of The Slipstream

    CGV Cinemas 3
    May 2, 2017 9:00 pm

  12. Itsy Bitsy Shorts

    Shorts Programs / 30 mins
    FREE PROGRAM. After a brief hiatus, the “Itsy Bitsy Shorts” program is back! This morning program will showcase films for the littlest film lovers. Kids will also explore movie magic through interactive activities, including an appearance by the Echo Park Film Center’s Filmmobile, a school bus transformed into a mobile media classroom. [Interactive activities include the Echo Park Film Center’s Filmmobile, a film petting zoo, activity stations, and an animation workshop] — Helen Kim

    In This Program: Psychedelic Afternoon, Welcome To My Life, Snowbert Meets the Moon, Papa Cloudy’s Restaurant, Funky Pawa, Sugar Plum Dreams, Call Me Mista Cookie Jar

    Itsy Bitsy Shorts

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 29, 2017 10:00 am Rush Line Only

  13. Pink House, Pink Home

    Shorts Programs / 84 mins
    In private living rooms, within community art spaces, on city streets, and across moviescapes, trans and queer folk dare to dream of home. — Erica R. Cho

    In This Program: Semiotics of Sab, Sounds Like the Sound of Music, Escaping Agra, The Streets Are Ours: Two Lives Cross in Karachi, I’m Fine, Separar

    Pink House, Pink Home

    Downtown Independent
    April 29, 2017 11:30 am

  14. Rebel Hearts

    Shorts Programs / 95 mins
    The only thing that matters, is just following your heart, and eventually you’ll finally make it right. These films involve individuals breaking the rules, defying expectations, and trying to find their place in a world they believe they don’t belong to. Young hearts, be free tonight. — Kirby Peñafiel

    In This Program: Touring, Arrival: A Short Film by Alex Myung, Tag, The Drone and the Kid, Bao, I Won’t Miss You

    Rebel Hearts

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum
    April 30, 2017 7:30 pm

  15. The Sum of My Memory

    Shorts Programs / 87 mins
    What do you select to build your memories? Is it the color of your childhood home? Is it the scent of your favorite dish? Is it the bassline of a song? Explore the process of memory with these films, and learn how stories build with glimpses of the past. — Eseel Borlasa

    In This Program: Im/Perfection, Dots, Our Time, Occasionally, I Saw Glimpses of Hawai‘i, In The Mountains

    The Sum of My Memory

    CGV Cinemas 3
    April 30, 2017 1:45 pm