Biting Angels, Praying Robots, Adulterous Sensei and More at the 20th New York Asian Film Festival

“No film is an island,” Stephen Teo notes in The Asian Cinema Experience, and nowhere is that sentiment more apparent than at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival. This showcasing of over 70 offerings from such countries as Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, plus the U.S. upends any notion you might have of any country’s singular national identity. There’s an interplay here sometimes between cultures within a film (The Asian Angel) or the universal handling of a social challenge such as the current pandemic (All U Need Is Love).

This signature festival, now in its twentieth year, is needed for so many reasons, not just for spotlighting important auteurs who would otherwise not gain exposure upon our shores. NYAFF can also serve as a salve to counter the attacks on Asian-Americans within our 16 largest cities that have risen by 164% during just the first quarter of 2021. Never underestimate the power of cinema. If Birth of a Nation could rebirth the Ku Klux Klan, why can’t the…