On the remote Hawaiian Island of Molokai, two estranged brothers reluctantly set out to catch a kala fish at the request of their dying father, allowing them to express long-held feelings in an attempt to heal the deep hurt that substance abuse has brought to their family. Director Biography -&nbsp;Matt Yamashita<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/8637eab18409b14885488f0d85b3f52e.jpg" width="226">Matt Yamashita is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker from the Hawaiian Island of Molokai primarily recognized for his freelance documentary work over the past 20+ years. He is known for documentaries such as Sons of Halawa and The Roots of ‘Ulu which have seen national and international broadcast. He has also held major roles on award-winning independent narrative films. Producer Mikiala Pescaia, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner and storyteller, also serves as 1st AD and production designer. Both Pescaia and Yamashita have worked together on numerous narrative and documentary film projects over the past 20 years including short and feature-length films that have seen national and international broadcast.

Kala

After generations of cultural silence, years of pandemic anxiety, and one anti-Asian hate crime, queer filmmaker Janet takes her retired single mom Diana on a mental health discovery road trip. Along the way, they spill the tea about their own family history, and start the journey to healing. Director Biography -&nbsp;Janet Chen Ma<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/35098fc4a19cacd292f2276c4e52e887.jpg" width="244">Janet Chen Ma (she/her) is a film and multimedia director, producer and educator. Her films, including "Phoenix Bakery: Sweets for the Sweet," and multimedia projects, including “Building History 3.0,” have been featured in film festivals and community events nationally. Janet was the assistant director for the UCLA Center for EthnoCommunications, where she managed and co-taught a social documentary program with director and professor Renee Tajima-Peña. She is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and she was the founding manager for A-Doc (Asian American Documentary Network). Janet holds a B.A. in Film Studies from UC Irvine and a M.F.A. in Film &amp; Digital Media: Social Documentation from UC Santa Cruz.﻿

Asian Bitches Speak

Sarah reconnects with her estranged cousin, Minha, during Minha's layover in Los Angeles on her way back home to South Korea. Over the course of the night, Sarah and Minha's unresolved feelings of grief and heartbreak rise to the surface. Director Biography -&nbsp;Chris Lee<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/442276bee6ceee1342406efa91467ba1.jpg" width="215">Chris Lee is a Korean American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. After graduating from USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Chris has worked on various film projects, ranging from feature films, short films, short documentaries, music videos, and commercials.﻿At USC, Chris was selected as one of four directors to direct a senior thesis film. His thesis film, "A Sidewalk Becomes a Street" (2019) was an official selection at the 2019 Catalina Film Festival, 2020 Fargo Film Festival, and 2020 London International Filmmaker Festival. "A Sidewalk Becomes a Street" was later licensed by ShortsTV and premiered on Shorts TV's U.S. DTVA channel.In 2018, he also worked as a production assistant on Ava DuVernay's "A Wrinkle in Time" (2018) and served as the second assistant editor on Justin Chon's "Ms. Purple" (2019).Chris is passionate about personal stories that explore the nature of humanity, often exploring interpersonal relationships through the lens of identity, empathy, and family.

Hello, Goodbye

After being confronted by a sexual assailant on a San Francisco metro, an Asian American woman struggles to reconcile the transgenerational trauma she has endured with her need to protect herself. Director Biography -&nbsp;Cindy Dinh, Alyssa Carter<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/234c1919ef5ca6643c86db91c49f9fa7.jpg" width="292">CINDY DINH is a filmmaker and an actor. The child of Vietnamese refugees, she experienced her American upbringing as both painful and invisibilizing. Growing up, she straddled different cultural identities and struggled to metabolize reverberating intergenerational trauma. Through the creation of hard-hitting dramatic narratives, Cindy delivers her unvarnished emotional truth with a powerful veracity, leading to healing and integration of both individual and society. She recently starred in a staged production of No Exit and co-created the short film, Designer Genes. ALYSSA CARTER is a Digital Creative Producer based in Los Angeles, CA, working for companies such as Maker Studios, Fine Brothers Entertainment, Disney Plus, and TubeScience. Since 2013, Alyssa has written, directed, and produced several independent short films, music videos, and branded commercials. Her short musical film, SING ABOUT IT won “Best Comedy” by the Subversive Cinema Society in 2016. In 2017, her one-take short film, GRAPES won “Best Choreography,” as well as a “Best Female Filmmaker” nomination. Her most recent short film, LAS 17 was awarded “Best Short Film” by the NSAEN Film Festival 2018, and “Best Micro Short” by the United Latino Film Festival 2019. Alyssa looks forward to building on stories of female empowerment and amplifying the unheard voice with this next short film, TRAPPED IN MOTION.

Trapped in Motion

A personal narrative of my own "Red Helicopter" moment, in which receiving kindness as a young, shy girl transformed my life story. Director Biography -&nbsp;Kayla Jem Ling<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/8f8531bb19562c3d0f85d5dafba06b5b.jpg" width="241">Kayla Ling is a Bay Area-based student filmmaker. She attends The Nueva School in San Mateo, California.﻿As a writer, cinematographer, director, and editor, Kayla aims to raise awareness of social issues such as climate change or racial injustice. Her past works include “No Waste Nation” (2023), which won her the National Geographic Slingshot Challenge, and “Unveiling the City: San Francisco's Disappearing Fog” (2023), an official selection of the Eugene Environmental Film Festival. “Your Necklace” is her first narrative film.When not filmmaking, Kayla also volunteers her photography for environmental nonprofits, community art installations, and her school newspaper, The Nueva Current.

Your Necklace

A young mother struggled to bridge the growing divide between her and her child. A spark of connection is rekindled when they discover a new interpretation of the Moon Goddess, a beloved ancient Chinese fairytale. Director Biography - Min Ding<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/eventive-static/c359af9082b68cbae1f158e3e0085e50.jpg" width="177">Min Ding was born and raised in China. She received her M.F.A. in Film from Columbia University in 2013. During her studies, Min was the recipient of the Student Production Grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She is the writer/director of several award-winning short films including Three Light Bulbs, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in 2013; Rattlefly premiered at Vancouver International Film Festival and won the Best Short award at Cinequest Film Festival. Her feature script Self Combing Woman was the semi-finalist in the Cinequest Film Festival’s script competition in 2020. Her most recently short film The Other Moon Goddess was sponsored by the Individual Grant received from ArtsWestcher and Sundance Institute.

The Other Moon Goddess

United States of America

Healing and Self Discovery

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Thank&nbsp;you&nbsp;for your generous donation to the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest, a production of CATS (Contemporary Asian Theater Scene), a non profit 501c3. EIN: 77-0402633 Thank&nbsp;You,Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest<a href="https://www.svapfilmfest.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.svapfilmfest.org</a>

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