Film Festival brings Asian American stories to the big screen
The Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF) will celebrate its 15th anniversary from Oct. 12 to Oct. 22 with films and discussions at Emerson Paramount Theatre and Coolidge Corner Theatre. The festival will feature a wide array of films ranging from documentaries to dramas that center Asian American characters from many different backgrounds.
“We tried to be very mindful … to be as inclusive as possible,” said Susan Chinsen, founder and director of the festival. “We try as best we can to come up with different stories, voices, and experiences reflective of the diverse nature of Asian American experiences. I make sure I use the plural, and that’s because there’s no singular experience.”
Kicking off the festival is an event with writer and journalist Jeff Yang at Coolidge Corner Theatre. Yang will discuss his upcoming book on the history of Asian Americans in film, “The Golden Screen,” with filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña. The book is on sale Oct. 24, but attendees can purchase a copy at the event before it’s released. Miss Massachusetts, Chelsea Vuong, will emcee the event.
The first centerpiece film of the festival, “Nurse Unseen,” will screen on Oct. 13 at Emerson Paramount Theatre. “Nurse Unseen,” by Emmy Award-winning film director Michele Josue, is a documentary about Filipino nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The screening will conclude with a Q&A session with Josue, a Filipino-American Emerson College alumnus.
On Oct. 14, “The Accidental Getaway Driver” will screen at Emerson Paramount Theatre as the festival’s second centerpiece. The English and Vietnamese drama inspired by a true story follows a Vietnamese-American cab driver who is taken hostage by three fugitives. A Q&A with the director, Sing J. Lee, will follow.
When Chinsen first viewed Lee’s drama, she was “struck by how moved people in the audience of Vietnamese descent were. … They felt very seen, they felt like this was one of the first times that [cinema] really got it right, in terms of the representation of refugees and the communities … down to the dialect that was being used that they were very consistent with.”
The final centerpiece, “Starring Jerry as Himself,” will screen at Emerson Paramount Theatre on Oct. 15. Law Chen’s documentary revolves around an Asian American immigrant and Florida retiree, Jerry, who is recruited as a secret agent by the Chinese government.
Closing out the festival on Oct. 22 is a preview of Lulu Wang’s upcoming television series, “Expats,” about affluent expatriates in Hong Kong. Virtual short film packages are available for purchase as well, with tickets ranging from $5-$15. Each package of short films has a theme, and themes range from comedies to queer stories to tearjerkers.
“We started [the BAAFF] specifically for the Asian American community and audiences who are Asian American … primarily so that they could see themselves in the validation of representation,” said Chinsen. “But I think the trajectory of that now has been that it’s not only just for audiences to come see themselves, but it’s also for them to be in community with one another.”
Chinsen explained that the community cultivated by the BAAFF has started to extend, including an “additional audience … those who are maybe not part of the Asian American experience, but rather those who are interested in … having a better understanding of the lived experience of Asians in America.”
Boston Asian American Film Festival, Oct. 12-22, Emerson Paramount Theatre and Coolidge Corner Theatre. All-access festival passes are $150, virtual short film all-access passes are $60, individual screening passes are
$15-$20 per film. baaff.org