The San Diego Asian Film Festival premieres films that are made, by, or about persons of Asian descent. It also screens films that have no Asian content, but are directed or principally acted by a person of Asian descent. So don’t expect a kung fu festival (although it does have martial arts films). SDAFF screens everything from arthouse indie films to international blockbusters, short films, animation, and wonderful documentaries.
SDAFF screens Films in the following competitive categories: Dramatic Narrative Feature and Short, Documentary Feature and Animation Short. The Festival is competitive, offering awards in the following categories:
Animated Short
Documentary Short
Narrative Short
Documentary Feature
Narrative Feature
Emerging Filmmaker
Grand Jury Prize
On the question, "Which celebrities have come out to the festival?" Here's a look at some of the stars: Dante Basco, Zoe Bell, Joy Bisco, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Karin Anna Cheung, Kieu Chinh, John Cho, Margaret Cho, David Choi, Justin Chon, MC Hammer, David Huynh, Kelly Hu, Sung Kang, Daniel Dae Kim, Eddie Kim, Michelle Krusiec, Hiep Thi Le, C.S. Lee, Harlemm Lee, James Kyson Lee, Jim Lee, Lisa Ling, Marie Matiko, Ajay Mehta, Ming Na, Leonardo Nam, Dustin Nguyen, Sandra Oh, Soon Tek-Oh, SuChin Pak, Grace Park, Dat Phan, Phillip Rhee, Jelynn Rodriguez, Perry Shen, Sheetal Sheth, Eddie Shin, Chris Tashima, George Takei, Tamlyn Tomita, Aaron Yoo, Jessica Yu, Roger Yuan, Ron Yuan, Karl Yune, and Rick Yune.
In addition, SDAFF offers a quarterly film series, a membership program, and documentary training for local high school students. One of its goals is to build stronger ties with area schools to foster meaningful discourse and cultural learning. It works with more than 100 community, business, and school groups who partner with it on various programs.
The San Diego Asian Film Festival first began in 2000 as a three-day event at the University of San Diego. The festival's founder, Lee Ann Kim, had no prior film festival or fundraising experience, but came up with the idea while serving as president of the San Diego Asian American Journalists Association. In 2002 the festival achieved 501 (c)(3) status, becoming the San Diego Asian Film Foundation (SDAFF). Since then, the SDAFF has premiered more than 1,000 films and videos from around the world, and served nearly 100,000 patrons. Though best known for its annual film festival, the SDAFF offers year-round programs to reach the broadest audience possible.
| Email: | info(at)sdaff.org |
|---|---|
| Phone: | 858.565.1264 |
| Fax: | 858.650.3459 |
| Mailing Address: |
San Diego Asian Film Foundation Office
7969 Engineer Rd Ste 206 San Diego, California 92111-0212 USA |
| Url of this record: | http:/ / www.filmfestivalworld.com/ festival/ San_Diego_Asian_Film_Festival/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Print this Record |
Save this Record | Add Festival Notification |

Enter Your Post1
The filmmakers were presented with awards by several Asian American celebrities such as James Kyson Lee, Joy Bisco, Dustin Nguyen and Roger Fan. Acting legend George Takei was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Of his festival experience, Takei described the festival as "a rich and enriching contribution to the cultural landscape of San Diego. I know it will continue to grow and attract increasing numbers of film aficionados to this beautiful city by the sea."
Awards were given as follows:
Grand Jury Award: "CATS OF MIRIKITANI"
Directed By: Linda Hattendorf (USA)
Best Narrative Feature: "OWL AND THE SPARROW"
Directe By: Stephane Gauger (USA)
Best Documentary Feature Award: "NA KAMALEI: MEN OF HULA"
Directed By: Lisette Flanary
Best Short Narrative: "MONSOON"
Directed By: Shyam Balse's
Best Short Documentary: "MOOKEY'S STORY"
Directed By: Carolyn Goossen
Best Short Animation: "CITY PARADISE"
Directed By: Gaelle Denis
Best Music Video: "CHAMPION"
Directed By: Patricio Ginelsa