The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) announced the festival’s Main Competition and Short Film lineups; select, noteworthy screenings; special program highlights; and centerpiece film. Celebrating its 10th anniversary of showcasing Asian film from around the world, AWFF will take place November 13-21, 2024, at The Culver Theater in Culver City, CA.
The nine-day festival will present narrative and documentary motion pictures and short films from 27 countries, including four that premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. More than 30 of the screenings will feature live Q&As with the filmmakers, talent, and crew.
Georges N. Chamchoum, AWFF Executive Director, said, “We are very grateful to the filmmakers around the world supporting this year’s line-up with more than 60 narrative and documentary films. The AWFF continues to open the window to the region of Asia as well to showcase Asian-American talent through our range of programs. I am amazed at the depth and breadth of the work on the AWFF schedule this year.”
AWFF Main Competition
The Main Competition will exclusively include sixteen motion pictures submitted for the 97th Academy Award® for Best International Feature Film. Snow Leopard trophies will be awarded for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Special Jury Prize, and Audience Award. The Best Cinematography winner will receive a $45,000 Panavision Camera Package Grant.
Films screening in competition are:
- “The Wrestler” (Bangladesh), Dir. Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury
- “Meeting with Pol Pot” (Cambodia), Dir. Rithy Panh
- “The Antique” (Georgia), Dir. Russudan Glurjidze
- “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” (Hong Kong), Dir. Soi Cheang
- “Lost Ladies” (India), Dir. Ms. Kiran Rao
- “In The Arms of the Tree” (Iran), Dir. Babak Lotfi Khajepasha
- “Baghdad Messi” (Iraq), Dir. Sahim Omar Kalifa
- “Bauryna Salu” (Kazakhstan), Dir. Askhat Kuchencherekov
- “Paradise at Mother’s Feet” (Kyrgyzstan), Dir. Ruslan Akun
- “Arzé” (Lebanon), Dir. Ms. Mira Shaib
- “Abang Adik” (Malaysia), Dir. Jin Ong
- “12.12: The Day” (South Korea), Dir. Kim Sung-su
- “Old Fox” (Taiwan), Dir. Hsiao Ya-chuan
- “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” (Thailand), Dir. Pat Boonnitipat
- “Life” (Turkey), Dir. Zeki Demirkubuz
- “Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano” (Vietnam), Dir. Phi Tiến Sơn
AWFF Short Film Program
Twelve short films have been selected to compete in the AWFF Short Film Program and the winning film will be honored with a Panavision camera package valued at $15,000.
The shorts are:
- “A Good Day Will Come” (Canada/Iran/Turkey), Dir. Amir Zargara
- “BORN A CELEBRITY” (Palestine), Dir. Luay Awwad
- “콘 (Cone)” (South Korea), Dir. Ji-in Yu
- “The Deer’s Tooth” (Palestine), Dir. Saif Hammash
- “The First Dinner” (Palestine), Dir. Thekra Zohir Makalde
- “Fort, da?” (Lebanon), Dir. Rita Younes
- “Is anyone alive?” (Palestine), Dir. Omar Elemawi
- “Lullaby” (UK/Vietnam), Dir. Chi Thai
- “Mar Mama” (Palestine), Dir. Majdi El Omari
- “Milky White” (China), Dir. Yoyo Liu
- “The Pencil” (Kazakhstan), Dir. Thomas Schultz
- “The Rain Lady” (USA/Syria), Dir. Lyla Mzayek
Noteworthy Feature and Short Film Screenings
Special presentations of Oscar-qualifying feature and short films will take place throughout the festival. They include “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru,” from Chinese director Fang Li, which will qualify for the Academy Awards® as Best Documentary Feature Film. Also screening is “About Mannequin,” director Aruzhan Dossym’s black and white silent tribute to Kazakh storytelling and “The Unreachable Star,” from Asian-American filmmaker Sharon S. Park, both of which have qualified for consideration for the Best Live Action Short Academy Award®.
Special Programs
As announced previously, AWFF will also present the Asian Vision Program, which will platform acclaimed and/or A-list Film Festival selections from lesser-known Asian countries and autonomous regions and the Focus On Program, which will highlight new and historical films that reflect the filmmaker’s culture, customs, and traditions. Japan has been added to Focus On’s lineup, which includes: Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
This year’s Centerpiece film will be director Wong Kar-wai’s masterwork “In the Mood for Love” (Hong Kong), starring multi-award-winning actors Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung.
As stated before, the festival will open with the critically acclaimed South Korean drama “A Normal Family” and close with the highly anticipated Filipino romantic drama “Hello, Love, Again.”
Detailed screening information can be found on the AWFF website.
AWFF Sponsors
The Asian World Film Festival is proudly sponsored by Aitysh Film, Pechanga Casino Resort, Panavision, Bruce Lee Foundation, Korean Cultural Center (Los Angeles), Korean Film Council (KOFIC) Taiwan Academy (Los Angeles), Hollywood Arab Film Association (Los Angeles), Vietnam Cinema Association (Hanoi, Vietnam), Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, Beirut Film Association (Lebanon), AARP (California), Blackmagic Design, Emporium Thai (Los Angeles), NAMOO (Marina Del Rey), Jackson Market (Culver City) and Shin Beijing (Los Angeles), among others.
About the Asian World Film Festival (AWFF)
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2024, the Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) was founded by Kyrgyz public figure Sadyk Sher-Niyaz to bring the best of Asian cinema to Los Angeles and to strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. The festival screens feature films from more than 50 countries, spanning Japan to Turkey and Russia to India and Southeast Asia. As of 2024. AWFF is the only Los Angeles-based festival that showcases most Asian submissions for Academy Award® for Best International Feature Film and Golden Globe® for Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language. AWFF is a non-profit organization under Aitysh USA.
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