ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FACT SHEET

AAIFF is proudly known as 'The First Home to Asian American Cinema.' It was the nation's first festival dedicated to screening works by media artists of Asian descent and continues to be a leading showcase for Asian American film and video. Founded in 1978, AAIFF was originally held at the Henry Street Art for Living Center in New York's Lower East Side. In addition to the screenings, the festival also feature panel discussions, Q&A sessions, workshops, awards and a screenplay reading.

The festival takes place in the U.S.'s second-largest Asian American market. AAIFF reaches an audience of more than 10,000 during its two weekends of screenings, plus thousands more during a post-festival tour of American cities. Hundreds of thousands of viewers and readers follow the festival in local, national and international media coverage.

Did you know that the Asian American International Film Festival

• Is the first and longest-running festival to showcase Asian and Asian America media works in the United States.
• Has been held in five different locations as it gained popularity: Henry Street Art for Living Center (1978), New York University (1979-1984), Rosemary Theatre (1985-1995), The French Institute (1996-2001), The Asia Society (2002-present)
• Has provided the U.S. premieres of acclaimed film directors including Wayne Wang, Mira Nair, and Marilou Diaz-Abaya, and Ang Lee.
• Has screened films from over twenty countries including: Canada, China (Hong-Kong and mainland), India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Iran, Germany, England, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Cuba, Indonesia, and Bhutan.
• Has launched its first National Tour in 1982 and the Tour continues to be the only Touring Festival of its kind.
• Has helped established other Asian film festivals in major cities - including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver.
• Presents an annual Emerging Director Award to a first/second time feature director.
• Has awarded the Asian American Media Award since 1987 to Asian Americans who have contributed significantly to Asian American media. Previous recipients are: Wayne Wang(1987); Loni Dong (1988); Christine Choy (1989), James Yee (1990), Steven Okazaki (1991); Mira Nair (1992), Ang Lee (1993); Joan Chen (1994); Kayo Hatta and Freida Lee Mock (1995), Russell Wong (1996); Jessica Yu and Arthur Dong (1997), Michelle Yeoh (1998); Sammo Hung(1999); Andy Lau (2000); Tamlyn Tomita (2001); Marilou Diaz-Abaya (2002).