Co-presented by <a href="https://labor.washington.edu/" target="_blank">University of Washington Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies</a>. Thank you for your interest in working as an Asian in America. We are so proud of your contributions to this country. Your hard work has greatly benefited and helped sustain this global empire of capitalism and conquest. As long as you follow our rules, you won't have to worry about any of the occupational hazards. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact HR. This program is only available to view in Washington state.

WE WERE THE SCENERY portrays the story of Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che, who, in 1975, after fleeing the Vietnam War by boat and docking in the Philippines, were utilized as background extras in the filming of Francis Ford Coppola's film Apocalypse Now.

English

We Were The Scenery

When Asian immigrant and working-visa holder Iris discovers that her work has been left uncredited once again during a key presentation, she decides to fight back. Trapped by her visa status yet desperate for justice, she hunts for lost footage that could expose her manager’s racism—only to confront what resistance might cost her. As colleagues stay silent and the system tightens around her, Iris must choose between survival and defiance—in a world that never promised her land beneath her wings.

No Land Beneath Our Wings

A short film inspired by the current events of Lokken v. United Health Group.

Denial

Beneath the unblinking gaze of a surveillance drone, human lives are reduced to data points, labeled and sorted with clinical precision. Khloe, a trans software developer at Scryr, has built a fragile sense of stability inside this defense technology company, believing certainty is worth the cost. When Scryr sends Khloe to her alma mater’s career fair to highlight their workplace diversity, she is paired with the seasoned and world-weary Joyce, the company’s only other trans woman. Presenting at the fair and recruiting young hopefuls unsettles Khloe and forces her to question the values behind her work. What begins as a routine trip becomes an emotional reckoning with ambition and the price of stability in a world that demands sacrifice.

How to Find a Career That Loves You Back

In a future where fragmented nation-states wage remote wars with drones, a young pilot yearns for a life beyond her military contract.

Horse Fly

In the heart of Manhattan, Ting Su, an international student, works to digitize archival film negatives from the "Daily Worker" newspaper. As she gazes into the past, she discovers a connection to her mother's labor history, reflecting on her own future in this ever-changing city.

Daily Worker

After an encounter with a policeman, a Filipino steward and a woman welder develop a mutual connection on the waterfront of 1940s Brooklyn.

Sands Street

A music video for the song FROZEN IN TIME by Vinius, which, through playful surrealism, explores the post-2020 social malaise experienced by many Americans, alienation from nature, and feeling stuck in an endless cycle of meaningless labor.

Frozen in Time

In a burning city at the verge of the end of the world, an overworked delivery driver must journey to visit his ailing father before it’s too late.

Discussion of state violence, sickness, depiction of injuries

Shitfly

Washington

Occupational Hazards

Virtual Ticket

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2026 Seattle Asian American Film Festival

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The 14th annual Seattle Asian American Film Festival is continuing our hybrid model this year at the Wing Luke Museum and Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute from May 29-31, 2026. Online programming will be available from June 1-7, 2026. All films are only available to viewers within the United States, while some films are geo-blocked to Washington State only. Select films will not be available online. Please check each film program for viewing windows and geographic restrictions. Watch all the films with the purchase a Hybrid Festival Pass or Virtual Only Festival Pass {{link|https://saaff2026.eventive.org/passes/buy|here}}. To learn more about the festival and other events, please visit {{link|website|www.seattleaaff.org}}

SAAFF is the only film festival to provide a space for pan-Asian American voices, perspectives, and histories told through multimedia arts and independent films in Seattle.

Here's what's coming up soon. Can't make it? No sweat. Many live streams will be available for on-demand viewing as well.