75 Attend Start of 2023 Houston Asian AmericanPacific Islander Film Festival

Texas films kick off 8-day festival of 41 movies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2023

Contacts: Ken Scudder (917) 226-1681 ken.scudder@ocahouston.org

                    Trisha Morales trisha.morales@ocahouston.org

HOUSTON – Saturday’s opening night reception of The 19th Annual Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival (HAAPIFEST), attracted 75 attendees, who enjoyed a panel featuring the makers and subjects of some of the festival’s films, food and drink, and a screening of the Filipino-American movie “Kapwa Texas.” Photos from the event are below and attached.

“We are thrilled with the size and enthusiasm of our opening-night crowd,” said HAAPIFEST Co-Director Christina Fu. “What a great way to kick off our festival.”

This year’s festival features 41 films that were created by writers and directors from 13 different AAPI communities – Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hawaiian, Iranian, Filipino, Japanese, Malay, Singaporean, Thai, Khmer, Indian, and Vietnamese. Each day’s programming is based around a common theme, including “Healing,” “Loss,” “Hidden Stories,” “Art and Power,” and “Texas.” Descriptions of all of the films can be found at www.ocahouston.org/haapi-film-descriptions. The full schedule can be found at www.ocahouston.org/haapifest-schedule.

The festival will be offered completely online through June 10. On Sunday, June 11, a closing reception and screening of two films, including “Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story,” a documentary about the renown photographer of New York’s Asian American community, will be held at The Cannon West Houston starting at 2:00 p.m.

Passes for the entire festival are $50. Tickets for the closing reception are $25. Online only passes are $30. Students are entitled to a 50% discount on all tickets (with valid student ID). Festival passes, passes for individual movies, and closing night tickets are available at www.ocahouston.org/haapifest-tickets.

The opening night crowd at the 19th Annual HAAPIFEST enjoys the Filipino American film “Kapwa Texas”

Panelists discussing their films and experiences at the 19th Annual HAAPIFEST. From left, Jenah and Monica (subjects in “Kapwa Texas”),  An Chen (Director – “Memories of Chinese School”), Changhee Chun (Director - “Camellia Flowers”), PJ Raval (Director - “Kapwa Texas”).

Audience members and the staff and volunteers of the 2023 HAAPIFEST at the opening night reception

OCA-Greater Houston is a volunteer driven organization of community advocates that strives to meet the current and evolving needs of a diverse population through a comprehensive continuum of programs targeting different life stages of AAPIs with a focus on developing advocacy, leadership, and civic engagement participation of AAPIs.