Three Japanese Films at AAIFF

JapanCulture•NYC is a proud Community Partner of the 49th Asian American International Film Festival!

Presented by Asian CineVision (ACV), the 49th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) will take place Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, August 9 in New York and online. This year’s festival features a captivating array of films that delve into themes of love, relationships, grief, and complex emotions.

JapanCulture•NYC is supporting three Japanese films: AKASHI, Summer Project, and Mother’s Recipe. All three are coming-of-age dramas that are making their world premieres during AAIFF.

AKASHI

Saturday, August 1 at 11:00 a.m.

Asia Society – 725 Park Avenue at E. 70th Street

Admission: $19

Dir. Mayumi Yoshida | 100 minutes | Japanese with English subtitles | with Mayumi Yoshida, Hana Kino, Ryo Tajima, Chieko Matsubara, Kunio Murai | Content Warning: Strong language

World premiere

This film is part of an in-person shorts-feature combination screening and will be preceded by the short film One Last Walk. The screening will be followed by a Q&A.

When Kana, a Japanese artist living in Vancouver, returns to Tokyo for her grandmother’s funeral, she’s pulled between the life she chose and the one she left behind. As family expectations close in and an old love reappears, she uncovers a hidden romance from her grandfather’s past. Past and present begin to echo, and AKASHI becomes a quiet reflection on identity, memory, and the choices that shape who we become.

Born in Japan and raised on three continents, Mayumi Yoshida is a director, actor, and writer based in Vancouver, BC. Her background brings a unique “in-betweener” perspective to her storytelling. She is an alumna of WarnerMedia x Canadian Academy’s Writer/Director Program, TIFF Writer’s Studio, and Beyond Japan Filmmakers Program, where she was mentored by Hirokazu Koreeda. Her Juno-nominated music video, “Different Than Before,” won the Jury Award at SXSW.

Summer Project

Friday, August 7 at 8:30 p.m.

Village East Angelika – 181-189 2nd Avenue (between 11th and 12th Streets)

This film will be screened in-person only.

Admission: $19

Dir. Yuki Hara | 15 minutes | Japanese with English subtitles | with Iori Sugimoto, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Misa Wada | Content Warning: Animal Abuse, Blood/Gore, Death, Violence

World Premiere

Akira, a quiet third-grader, can’t fit in with the popular kids and always watches them from outside the circle. One day, he discovers an old suitcase by the river. Inside is a human head. Desperate for friends, he takes it home, names it “Mr. Nakagawa,” and makes it his summer research project. The grim secret finally brings him companions: His classmates, thrilled by the head, throw themselves into a quest to find the missing body. It feels like the best summer of Akira’s life. But the happiness doesn’t last. As decay sets in, the boys’ innocent game twists into an irreversible nightmare.

Yuki Hara is a Japanese director, screenwriter, and producer specializing in horror and thrillers. In 2019, he gained global recognition writing, directing, and producing the series Scam, distributed internationally as a Netflix Original. The founder of Ghost Gate Films and a key creative at Yami, a horror studio backed by a major Japanese TV network, Hara produced the Warner Bros. feature Re/Member, Japan’s No.1 horror box office hit, and wrote and produced its 2025 sequel.

Mother’s Recipe

Saturday, August 8 at 2:30 p.m.

Village East by Angelika – 181-189 2nd Avenue (between 11th and 12th Streets)

Admission: Pay What You Can (Suggested: $15)
Individual Online Ticket: $11 | Household Online Ticket (Intended for those who wish to watch an online screening together with other members of their household): $15

This film will be screened in-person and online. There will be a Q&A with director Izumo Kawabe and lead actor Hyuga Kawabe following the in-person screening.

Dir. Izumo Kawabe | 12 minutes | Chinese (Singaporean Mandarin) and Japanese with English subtitles | Estovan Reizo, Hyuga Kawabe, Kumi Morizaki, Jaslyn Koh

World premiere

When a young Japanese boy, Yuya, is uprooted from his life in Japan and relocated to Singapore by his mother, he learns that the move is not temporary. Determined to return home, he runs away and begins working at a local food court to save enough money to go back. Alone in a foreign country where he cannot speak the language, Yuya is forced to navigate an unfamiliar world and discover what “home” truly means.

Izumo Kawabe is a 20-year-old Japanese director who grew up in Singapore. He began making films at the age of nine. Mother’s Recipe won Best Short Film in the U25 category at the Academy-Qualifying Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, was selected for multiple festivals, and garnered more than 3.5 million total views from clips shared on social media platforms. He has worked with acclaimed Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo and is currently studying film production at NYU.

Mother’s Recipe is part of AAIFF’s Shorts:Ones to Watch: Filmmakers Under 21. Celebrate the future of AANHPI filmmaking with our youngest creatives as they take you on a journey through the modern conditions of youth and young adulthood. It's coming of age as they see it, through the lenses of period drama, documentary and more. The winner will receive a cash prize.

Tickets

In addition to a stellar lineup of films, the festival will feature Q&As, receptions, and VIP events, providing unique opportunities to connect with industry professionals and fellow film enthusiasts. Please visit AAIFF’s website for the full schedule of events and to purchase tickets. Ticket packages are available on Elevant for online and in-person screenings.

JapanCulture•NYC followers can use promo code AAIFF49_JCNYC to receive a discount!

About AAIFF

Established in 1978 by Asian CineVision, the Asian American International Film Festival 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 supporting diversity and inclusion in the media arts.

About Asian CineVision

Founded in 1975 by grassroots media activists, Asian CineVision (ACV) has spent the past 50 years devoted to the development, exhibition, promotion, and preservation of Asian and Asian American experiences through film and media arts. ACV’s mission is to nurture and grow the community of makers and lovers of Asian and Asian American and diasporic independent Asian film, television, and digital. In addition to its flagship event, the Asian American International Film Festival, ACV runs the ACV Media Archives, a Fiscal Sponsorship program, the media publication Cinevue, the Asian American International Screenplay Competition and Reading, and the National Festival Tour.

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