A film festival in Seattle will celebrate Asian American films, directors and actors.
The feature films, according to King 5 News, examine topics like racial tension and mental health. The “Must Watch” film for Seattle Magazine is Kulap Vilaysack’s documentary Origin Story.
In Origin Story, 14-year-old Vilaysack receives unexpected news from her mom during a fight: the man she had thought was her father is not her biological father. The film documents Vilaysack’s journey from Los Angeles, Minnesota, to Laos as she seeks answers about her father and identity.
“I was letting this story that I did not know about affect me,” Vilaysack told the Seattle Times. “I had crafted a story from what I was told, and filled in the blanks, and I had tied my identity to that. I was tying myself down with fiction.”
According to the Seattle Times, Vilaysack’s story will be the first of dozens of films, features, and shorts to screen at the festival.
Eight jurors will judge the features, reports the International Examiner. The most-experienced juror seems to be Matt Chan, who has been in the television industry for over four decades. Jurors include Asian American photographers, writers, reporters, producers, authors, editors, and musicians.
The four-day film festival will kick off on February 21 at Broadway Performance Hall. The festival is selling four day passes for $90 on its website.
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