The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF), presented annually by Visual Communications (VC), Southern California’s leading showcase for new Asian Pacific American and Asian international cinema, has announced the program for the 42nd edition of the legendary festival, which will take place from April 29 to May 3 at multiple locations from West Hollywood to Little Tokyo to Monterey Park.
Marking its 42nd anniversary, the festival will kick off at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) with the opening-night film, “Lucky Lu” (2025), directed by Lloyd Lee Choi, following its successful premiere at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Toronto International Film Festival, and the AFI, Busan, and BFI film festivals, winning awards across the globe.
The evening will also showcase the Pacific Cinewaves Shorts Program celebrating Pacific Islander stories and storytellers emerging from the Kingdom of Hawai’i, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Cook Islands, Tahiti (French Polynesia), Guåhan (Guam), Samoa, and throughout the Pacific region.
The opening day will also feature:
The L.A. premiere of award-winning documentary film “Before the Moon Falls” (2025) by Kimberlee Bassford, displaying an intimate portrait of acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel eight years in the making when tragedy struck.
“Honeyjoon” (2025), directed by Lilian T. Mehrel, tells a surprisingly sexy, darkly funny, emotional rollercoaster about a mother-daughter trip, life, loss, and flirting.
Additionally LAAPFF will be highlighting award-winning director Eugene Yi’s “The A List: 15 Stories from Asian and Pacific Diasporas” (2026), a documentary in partnership with HBO Docs/Warner Bros. Discovery that poses the question: “What does it mean to be AAPI?” It features AAPI celebrities including Sandra Oh, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Kumail Nanjiani, Amanda Nguyen, and Connie Chung.
Kenji Tanigaki’s “The Furious” (2026), in partnership with Lionsgate, featuring Chinese actor Xie Miao (“The New Legend of Shaolin” and “My Father Is a Hero”) and Indonesian action star Joe Taslim (“The Raid” I and II, “Fast and Furious 6” and the upcoming “Mortal Kombat II”), will be shown as a sneak preview presentation before its summer theatrical release.
Also: The 40th-anniversary screening of “The Karate Kid Part II” (1986); the West Coast premiere of “10s Across the Borders” (2025) by Sze-Wei Chan; the L.A. premieres of “Toitū Visual Sovereignty” (2025) by Chelsea Winstanley; “Pinch” (2025) by Uttera Singh; “Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon” (2025) by Khoa Ha and Victor Velle; world premieres of “The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook” (2026) by Valerie So and “Hoop Like This” (2026) by Shubhangi Shekhar.
“This year, in the face of relentless, unprecedented news, each day can feel like a surreal dystopia,” expresses Angela Park, LAAPFF senior programmer. “It’s no wonder that fiction films reflect the world we inhabit, while documentary films hold a looking glass to the other side of our world.
“Stories like ‘Lucky Lu,’ ‘Diamonds in the Sand’ and ‘1001 Frames’ render visible the quiet loneliness and everyday struggles we carry, struggles that can shift in an instant through moments of peace, revelation, or even disenchantment.
“Concurrently, documentaries such as “Before the Moon Falls,” “Always” and “Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon” remind us that the real and the surreal coexist, often appearing as poetic and lyrical as any work of fiction.
“In this upside-down world, these films offer a simple but vital truth: even in the darkest times, there is beauty in the journey. And through their work, these filmmakers show us that the journey will go on.”
“With over 900 films submitted including features and shorts, this year has proven to be a stellar collection of films from our artists from across the globe, bringing personal and inspiring intimate stories of culture, family and history,” shares LAAPFF Senior Programmer Kirby Peñafiel.
“One of the most compelling standouts is the documentary ‘Toitū Visual Sovereignty’ by Chelsea Winstanley about the inner workings of creating and organizing the daunting and intricate ‘Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art’ exhibition — the largest since 1989. The film’s navigation of the institutional roadmap is extremely powerful in how it questions agency in the delicate process of art and culture curation.
“Adding to the stories of celebrating culture and chosen family, the festival offers up the Los Angeles premiere of the Busan Film Festival standout, ‘10s Across the Borders’ by Sze-Wei Chan, presenting the world of ‘ballroom’ communities in Asia. The performances, personalities and their tributes to the New York ballroom origins provide a haven of joy reminding us of the power and importance of community.
“Expanding on the theme of community, ‘Hoop Like This’ from Shubhangi Shekhar takes on the journey of South Asian basketball players from around the world as they join forces to compete and showcase their passion for the sport.
“And that same spirit of collective action is at the heart of ‘The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook,’ returning filmmaker Valerie Soe’s heartwarming feature about a group of mostly BIPOC women sewists who created thousands of masks for the community, first responders, and everyone else during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aunties sew masks for farmworkers, day laborers, unhoused people, refugee and immigrant groups, First Nations tribes, recently incarcerated people, Black Lives Matter demonstrators and others in need in the U.S.
“Each of these films are a great reminder of the collective power and what we can accomplish when we help one another.”
A special presentation will honor Christine Choy, the late Academy Award-nominated director and dedicated educator whose work and outspoken advocacy paved the way for Asian American and BIPOC art and expression.
“Edmund Soohoo: The Heart of Chinatown,” a heartfelt documentary about the late Edmund Soohoo – a beloved longtime community leader from L.A.’s Chinatown directed by Walt Louie, will have its world premiere.
The venues:
Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
Landmark Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
Democracy Center at Japanese American National Museum, 111 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo
L.A. Artcore, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Little Tokyo
AMC Atlantic Times Square 14, 450 N. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park
For program and ticket information, go to festival.vcmedia.org.