Special Showcases
Pacific Showcase
Every year, the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival has striven to expand our Pacific Showcase and support of Indigenous artists with roots in the Pacific. In 2020, we are proud to have curated the highest number of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander films in our history and the most of any Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander film festival in the U.S. We aim to do our part to uplift Indigenous art and artists, advocate for the education and awareness of Indigenous histories, presents, and futures, communities, and support Indigenous rights, sovereignty, and self-determination in the Greater Philadelphia Area and across the Pacific.
Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists
Born out of a desire to support and celebrate diverse Asian theater artists in Philadelphia, PAAFF has partnered with PAPA to present three captivating live streamed performances. Two of the performers are part of PAPA, PAAFF, and AAI’s 2020 Mini-Residency and will be presenting their works in progress. Each performance brings a unique artistic voice to the forefront and reflects the greater diversity of this city and its stories.
Creative Discussions
PAAFF is a platform for new ideas and discourse and we achieve this by inviting filmmakers, performers, academics, and creatives from all over the world to share their expertise and experiences. We are very excited to present some new and returning guests speakers to share with us on topics such as martial arts and popular culture, decolonization of the film industry, and music activism. We will also be broadcasting a retrospective panel from our 2014 festival.
Pass the Mic: Musical Showcase
This year’s featured musicians are not only up and coming artists in the hip-hop and pop scenes but also activists, changemakers, visionaries, and each other's biggest fans. Son of Paper, Arigato Grande, Leo Xia and Chinoe will take the virtual stage for our 2020 live stream. After their performances, they’ll be speaking about what it means to them to be an Asian American artist during this moment in history.
