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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. KILLINGS

    Joseph Mangat / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Experimental, Human Rights / 10 mins
    A brutal glimpse at the ongoing drug war in the Philippines.
    Plays In:
    The No Spin Zone

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


  2. LADY EVA

    Dean Hamer, Joe WIlson, Kumu Hina Wong-Kalu / Shorts Competition / Tonga / 2017 / Documentary, LGBTQIA+, Pacific Islander / 11 mins
    Meet the irrepressible Eva Baron, a Tongan transgender woman and beauty-pageant contestant.
    Plays In:
    Pasifikas

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum @ JANM
    Saturday | May 5, 2018 4:00 pm


  3. LIMBOLAND

    Melanie Ramos / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Comedy, Drama, Family, LGBTQIA+, Women / 18 mins
    An estranged father and daughter go on a wild goose chase in search of the missing body of their loved one minutes before the funeral.
    Plays In:
    Second Generation Queer

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


  4. LIONS IN WAITING

    Jason Karman / Shorts Competition / Canada / 2017 / Coming of Age, Drama, International, LGBTQIA+, Romance, Sports, Student / 17 mins
    Ray, the newest hockey team member, fights to have ice time after being hazed and finds the courage to be comfortable in his own skin.
    Plays In:
    My So-Called Adolescence

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


  5. LIQUOR STORE BABIES

    So Yun Um / Shorts Competition / USA / 2018 / Documentary / 5 mins
    LIQUOR STORE BABIES explores the intersecting lives of two friends and their liquor-store-owning fathers and how their dreams are connected to each other.
    Plays In:
    Armed With A Camera vol. 2018

    Regal L.A. LIVE - Theatre 11
    Wednesday | May 9, 2018 9:00 pm


  6. THE LOST

    Neil M. Paik / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Action, Drama, Human Rights, Social Issues, Thriller / 22 mins
    A highly publicized protest altercation is played out from three differing points of view.
    Plays In:
    The No Spin Zone

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


  7. THE MASSEUSE

    Tan Ce Ding / Shorts Competition / Malaysia / 2017 / Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi / 20 mins
    THE MASSEUSE is a science fiction love story set in a futuristic Malaysia between a humanoid masseuse and her technician who has a disturbing past.
    Plays In:
    Nightcap

    Downtown Independent
    Sunday | May 6, 2018 9:30 pm


  8. MAYBE

    Kat Cole / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Coming of Age, Drama, LGBTQIA+ / 10 mins
    After a chance encounter in Waikiki, a young Filipino girl begins to explore her gender identity in secret.
    Plays In:
    Second Generation Queer

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


  9. MIDNIGHT GIRL

    Christina Yoon / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Arthouse, Coming of Age, Drama, Social Issues, Student, Women / 16 mins
    A shy high schooler dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault meets a "cam girl" who shows her a very different side of sexuality.
    Plays In:
    Feminist AF Too

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


  10. MIMI

    Jeffrey Hsueh / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Animation, Comedy, History, Student, Women / 2 mins
    A fun chat with an immigrant hairstylist and her husband, who recount their days in China.
    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


  11. MISS WORLD

    Georgia Fu / Shorts Competition / Taiwan / 2017 / Drama, Family, International, Student, Women / 20 mins
    A young Taiwanese woman comes home from living abroad to say goodbye to her uncommunicative father before he has to start serving time in prison.
    Plays In:
    My So-Called Adolescence

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


  12. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY

    Mukesh Vidyasagar / Shorts Competition / USA / 2018 / Coming of Age, Drama, Experimental, Human Rights, LGBTQIA+, Mystery, Social Issues / 4 mins
    Imagine a man who transforms into the Most Beautiful Butterfly then flies free into the world.

    Precedes: CALL HER GANDA

    Precedes:
    CALL HER GANDA

    AMC Dine-in Sunset 5
    Friday | May 4, 2018 7:00 pm Rush Only


  13. MOVING WALLS

    Sharon Yamato / Shorts Competition / USA / 2017 / Documentary, Drama, History, Human Rights, Social Issues / 25 mins
    MOVING WALLS tells how 463 barracks at the Heart Mountain concentration camp became building blocks for homesteaders seeking new lives in America's heartland.

    Precedes: OUT OF STATE

    Precedes:
    OUT OF STATE

    Tateuchi Democracy Forum @ JANM
    Saturday | May 5, 2018 1:15 pm


  14. OTHELLO-SAN

    Theodore A. Adams III / Shorts Competition / USA / 2018 / Arthouse, Drama, Educational, History, International, Social Issues / 21 mins
    Cultures clash when an African American student discovers a universal truth through an encounter with a demanding Japanese instructor while rehearsing for Shakespeare’s "Othello."
    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


  15. POMMEL

    Paris Zarcilla / Shorts Competition / United Kingdom / 2017 / Coming of Age, Drama, Family, Gymnastics, Sports / 20 mins
    A coming-of-age drama about the tumultuous relationship between two young East Asian brothers as they compete for recognition and approval in an upcoming gymnastics competition.
    Plays In:
    My So-Called Adolescence

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