About

Since 1978 the Asian American International Film Festival, produced by Asian CineVision, is the nation’s first and longest running festival of its kind and the premier showcase for the best independent Asian, Asian diaspora and Pacific Islander cinema. AAIFF is committed to film and media as a tool for social change and to the support of diversity and inclusion in independent cinema and the media arts.

Asian CineVision (ACV) is a 501(c)(3) media arts nonprofit devoted to the development, exhibition, promotion, and preservation of Asian and Asian American experiences through storytelling. Our mission is to nurture and grow the community of makers and enthusiasts of Asian and Asian American independent film, television, and digital. 

History

The first annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) opened in 1978 at the Henry Street Settlement in New York City’s Lower East Side. Since then, AAIFF has screened films from all over the world, representing 20-plus countries. 

AAIFF has provided the U.S. premieres of acclaimed film directors including Wayne Wang, Mira Nair, and Marilou Diaz-Abaya, and Ang Lee. We’ve hosted films from well-known filmmakers to emerging artists. Even as it has grown in size, AAIFF remains true to its core mission of representing stories and storytellers from the Asian Diaspora. Join us, this year, as we bring these powerful stories to the screens in your home in our first online edition of the film festival.