A hospice nurse suffers from PTSD after witnessing the Sikh massacre of 1984. During an idyllic summer, two teenage boys discover they want to be more than just friends. A son of immigrants yearns to compete in a sports tournament rather than help his rigid parents run their food truck.
These brief descriptions detail three films made by Asian and Asian American filmmakers that will be screened this year at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). A platform for young directors, the festival requires that filmmakers be 24 years of age or younger.
Founded in 2007, NFFTY was created by three Seattle teenagers on a mission to help young filmmakers get an early start in the film industry. By supporting filmmakers at a critical stage in their creativity, NFFTY assures that young directors will gain the exposure and experience required for a career in film.
Besides providing a platform to filmmakers for possible distribution of their movies, the organization’s intent is to also create opportunities for directors from marginalized communities, i.e., women, BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. With an aim to promote equality for young filmmakers, NFFTY actively attempts to right past wrongs by including stories from groups that have been previously discriminated against by Hollywood studios.
As further proof of its awareness, NFFTY posts a proclamation on its website that it is headquartered on “unceded ancestral lands of the Duwamish”, an Indigenous people of the Northwest.
Since its inception, NFFTY has become one of the largest film festivals in the world for emerging directors. This year marks its 19th year of existence and, in 2025, NFFTY partnered with SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival).
Screenings will be held at SIFF venues in Seattle from March 26-29, and virtually from March 26-April 5. A Red Carpet gala with special guests will be held on Opening Night at SIFF Downtown.
Of the 235 films from 41 countries and 30 states that will be featured, 24 will be entries by Asian and Asian American directors. Below are thumbnail capsules of those 24 films.
Searching for Color (dir. Mikayla Yun lan Ashe): In this narrative, an Asian adoptee builds a strong bond with the Chinese immigrant who gives her manicures at the nail salon she frequents. The young woman is able to bond with the older manicurist in a way that she can’t with her white adoptive mother. Then, she learns devastating news about the manicurist that sends her into a tailspin.
Xiao Xiao – mama (dir. Keith Leung): Although this film is categorized as a music video, it’s also a short narrative about a lonely mother who can’t get her young son’s attention. But once she listens to the music on his tape player, she begins to understand him as she dances her way to freedom.
Mirrors (dir. Harsimran Sandhu): Still traumatized by the 1984 genocide of Sikhs that she witnessed, a Sikh hospice nurse struggles to connect with the Vietnam veteran under her care. This mournful narrative explores the irony of two people both suffering from PTSD that can’t seem to meet in the space they share.
Popo (dir. Jingyi Li): This extremely moving documentary showcases a Hong Kong immigrant family in Boston and their grandmother who’s on hospice care. The range of authentic emotions displayed by the family is captivating as they watch their matriarch quietly slip away.
Ballad of Eighteen (dir. Haoxin Feng): When a young woman turns 18, her father gifts her with a diary. She later writes his eulogy on the first page. An emotional journey through the filmmaker’s memories of her father, this documentary cleverly uses the sounds of a music box being wound up and the tinkling tune it cranks out—Somewhere Over the Rainbow—to further emphasize feelings of loss.
Inside My Worn Out Drawer is an Ocean (dir. Siwoo K): A whimsical presentation about a heavy topic is offered in this thought-provoking animation. A young woman decides to end her life with a stranger in an internet cafe, but finds herself running away through the city to a beach instead.
A Still Dance (dir. Austin Tsai): As an elderly woman in Boston’s Chinatown attends dance classes, she attempts to sort out her feelings in this documentary about isolation. While dancing gives her a sense of belonging, the woman still feels lonely. The filmmaker uses both black and white footage, then color, to convey the dancer’s emotions.
The Things We Lose on Our Way to the Sky (dir. Yaeji Kim): This documentary about a young girl imagining her grandmother’s death is pure poetry. As she recites what she perceives to be her grandmother’s last journey, she embellishes her words with poignant pictures, some in shades of blue.
Topspin (dir. Michael W Zhang): A Chinese immigrant family running a food truck is at the center of this well-crafted narrative. As the parents work long hours, their son chases after his dream of becoming a ping pong champion. Spending more time on what his mother sees as his frivolous hobby, the son begins to revolt. While his mother grows more impatient, the son becomes increasingly rebellious and even resorts to criminal activity.
Another Day We Sleep (dir. Zihan Yang): A young woman and her grandmother make their way through daily life in this touching narrative. Eating, bathing, exercising or sleeping, they live in silence acutely aware of time passing by too quickly.
A Little Regret in Helsinki (dir. Haohao Qiaoshi Liu): This intriguing documentary is about an ethnic Chinese woman who returns to her home in Finland after living abroad. The conversations she shares with her father who originally immigrated there are priceless.
When Kites Flew Over Seas and Mountains (dir. Danielle Cusi): The subjects in this colorful narrative are two young women visiting the Philippines together. One of them has traveled back to her hometown accompanied by the other, and she remembers a long lost friendship with a Mangyan girl from a Philippine Indigenous ethnolinguistic group. Reflecting on how they once flew kites together, the young woman’s memories of their time together overwhelm her.
AfterLife (dir. Yimeng Wang): Death is treated with reverence in this animation about three girls discussing what they want to become after they die. While two of them have predictable thoughts, the third is more spiritual with an immense imagination that includes encountering the goddess Quan Yin.
Not Valid for Travel (dir. Jiaying Lin): This absorbing narrative about a New York resident crossing the border into Canada with forged documents is filled with tension. When she encounters a woman on the bus who advises her on how to avoid being caught by border guards, she follows her instructions with shocking results.
Forever is a Delicate Thing (dir. Cally Nguyen): In this heartbreaking narrative, an impoverished Vietnamese war refugee and his grandson are on the precipice of being separated. Following reports that the boy is not being cared for properly, the state steps in to take him away. Both actors are simply superb as the grandfather and boy.
Sweet Boy (dir. John Kim): Caught up in his family’s cycle of domestic violence, a Korean American teenager is so distraught that his school work and social life are affected. Unsure of what to do, he watches helplessly as his father beats his mother. This moving narrative highlights the confusion felt by a family member who’s caught in the middle.
Mother’s Spring (dir. Trâm Anh Nguyễn): As a Vietnamese family readies for Lunar New Year (Tet) in this disturbing narrative, their teenage daughter prepares to transition. Meeting opposition from her horrified mother, the girl is scolded for cutting her hair and wearing hoodies instead of the traditional Vietnamese (áo dài) dress.
Walk On Water (dir. Chris Zou): Two eighteen-year-old boys are best friends in this riveting narrative. Hanging around a lake during the summer before college starts, they encourage each other with their preferred sport. One, a swimmer, and the other, a runner, spend all their time together. Before long, they become extremely close until one of their fathers spots them together.
Pasalubong (dir. Sophia Uy): In this playful animation, two young girls hang out at an airport mall in the Philippines just before the one visiting must leave the other one behind.
Additionally, several Washington State filmmakers are also featured in the festival:
A History Still Burning (dir. Julia Chou): Showcasing the late activist Haunani-Kay Trask, this experimental documentary connects her famous 1993 speech to the 2023 Maui fires. While Trask implores the U.S. to cede Hawaiian lands back to Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians), the film links the illegal overthrowing of the Hawaiian Kingdom of 1893 to conditions that eventually caused the deadly fires in 2023.
Sheepskin (dir. Ethan Wingrove): Three criminals in suits and ties are forced to identify their boss to detectives following a gruesome murder. A violent narrative, this story is told in flashbacks with visually compelling montages.
We Will Learn To Give Ourselves New Names (dir. Emery Joan): Maps are an integral part of this experimental film that meshes film footage, photographs, illustrations and other visuals. As colonization changes the names of locations, identities are lost.
Let You Go (dir. Danny SeenBeen Lee and James Broad): In this moody music video, themes of release are explored. Breaking up a relationship, intentionally creating distance, embracing loneliness and endless travel are all examined.
One Man Army (dir. Brandon Wong and Ye-eun Hong): This artistically created music video has a bouncy aura. When a young man finds himself being pursued by a young woman, he bounces.
The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) will be screened at SIFF venues in Seattle from March 26-29, and virtually from March 26-April 5. Tickets and more information: https://www.nffty.org/
