Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest

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Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest

Connecting and inspiring communities through stories of Asian American and Pacific Islanders from Silicon Valley and America

The Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest (formerly, San Jose J-Town FilmFest) is a celebration of the multi-ethnic community and rich history of Silicon Valley. An all volunteer-run effort by a diverse team of community members, the film festival showcases independent films primarily by Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) filmmakers and offers quality programming, giving the community a chance to interact with the creative talents behind these films.

03/27/2026

🎬 Now Online!

Catch the comedic drama 𝙂𝙤𝙙 & 𝘽𝙪𝙙𝙙𝙝𝙖 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 (GABAF), which screened at our 2025 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival (SVAPFF). It’s now available to watch free online over at Omeleto’s YouTube channel (head to our IG Stories for the link to watch it)! It’s presented by .

🌟 𝗦𝗩𝗔𝗣𝗙𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗡𝗜 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 🌟
GABAF is written and directed by Anthony Ma. He’s an award-winning actor, filmmaker, and voiceover artist based in Los Angeles, and the film recently won Best Narrative Short and Best Short Screenplay at the Studio City International Film Festival.

God & Buddha Are Friends: A young Taiwanese American boy falls into an existential crisis when a charismatic pastor comes in between him and his overprotective mother.

If you missed GABAF at our film festival in October, or want to revisit it, now’s your chance. Check it out and celebrate and support independent AAPI storytelling.

🔗 Link to GABAF film is in our IG Story (Alumni Spotlight IG Highlight).

02/17/2026

We’re proud to share and support the 15th Annual “Films of Remembrance” presented by the Nichi Bei Foundation. 🎟️ Tickets and information: https://2026.filmsofremembrance.org/

📍 Feb. 21–22 — San Francisco | San Jose
📍 Mar. 28–29 — Los Angeles | Gardena

The 2026 program features works by filmmakers including Tadashi Nakamura, Emiko Omori, Kayla Jem Ling, Chris Jones, Rachel Michiko Whitney, Jeff Mizushima, Bruce Tetsuya, Glenn Mitsui, Koji Lau-Ozawa, Barre Fong, Willie Ito, Tony Tarantini, Sharon Yamato, and Evan Kodani.

02/04/2026

🎥 Film submissions are now open for the 2026 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival!

SVAPFF invites filmmakers with an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) connection through story, cast, or creative team to submit their work for consideration.

📍 In person: October 23–25, 2026
AMC DINE-IN Theatres, Sunnyvale, CA
💻 Online: October 23 – November 1, 2026

🎞️ Submit your film via FilmFreeway: https://filmfreeway.com/SiliconValleyAsianPacificFilmFest

We can’t wait to discover and celebrate your work.

12/29/2025

🥁 Drumroll, please…

We’re excited to announce the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 🏆

This year’s honorees reflect the power, depth, and diversity of AAPI storytelling — from deeply personal journeys to stories that spark dialogue and change.

🎬 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀

🏆 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘈𝘤𝘵
🏆 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆: MĀHŪ: 𝘈 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴-𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳
🏆 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴
🏆 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘞𝘢𝘷𝘦
🏆 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁: 𝘐𝘬𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘪
🏆 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝘈𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺
🏆 𝗝𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱: 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢
🏆 𝗝𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱: 𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦
🏆 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵
🏆 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦

Thank you to our filmmakers, judges and jurors, audiences, and community for making SVAPFF 2025 unforgettable. 🧡

12/19/2025

Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest (SVAPFF) is just one of the many ways Contemporary Asian Theater Scene (CATS) supports AAPI artists and storytellers year-round. 🧡

From the film festival to staged readings, live performances, music, and community partnerships, CATS works to uplift AANHPI voices and bring our communities together through the arts.

As we approach the end of the year, we’re grateful for everyone who attends, supports, and believes in this work. If SVAPFF and the films featured our screenings has ever moved you, inspired you, or made you feel seen, we invite you to support the organization behind it.

👉 Support CATS’ programs and artists:
https://vist.ly/4j8sg

Thank you for being part of the SVAPFF & CATS community.

11/26/2025

🎉 Congratulations to 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗟𝗶𝗺! He’s our second “𝗡𝗲 𝗭𝗵𝗮 𝟮” Movie Poster Giveaway Winner!

And honestly… the timing couldn’t be better.

“Ne Zha II” is back in the headlines, not only as the highest-grossing animated film of all time (more than $𝟮.𝟭𝟱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 worldwide and a near-perfect 𝟵𝟴% 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 🔥), but also because it’s coming to 𝗛𝗕𝗢 𝗠𝗮𝘅 this December.

The original “Ne Zha” starts streaming December 1, and the English-dubbed “𝗡𝗲 𝗭𝗵𝗮 𝗜𝗜” 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬, featuring Michelle Yeoh, Crystal Lee, Vincent Rodriguez III, and Aleks Le. Written and directed by Jiao Zi.

So while we’re a little late announcing our second giveaway winner (our Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest had us in full motion 😅), we’re celebrating right on time as “Ne Zha II” returns to the spotlight on HBO Max this holiday season.

✨ Congrats, Alex!

Thank you to everyone who entered, and stay tuned for more community events and future giveaways from CATS.

10/26/2025

📣 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: The screening of “𝗧𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗺” 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 to Sunday, November 2.

🐯 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 — 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 “𝗧𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗺” 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 November 2, 2025.

It’s the final day of the 𝟭𝟭𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁, and we’re ending with something special — a 𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗸 of Tiger Mom, directed by 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗼-𝗪𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝘂 and starring 𝗞𝗲𝗻 𝗝𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗞𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗰, and 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗼.

💡 This pre-release film is actively seeking feedback from early viewers — and it’s 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 as part of our online festival.

Just unlock it and start watching 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟭:𝟱𝟵 𝗣𝗠 on Sunday, November 2 to get access! Once unlocked, you’ll have 𝟳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

🎟️🔓 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗻𝗼𝘄 → bit.ly/Tiger-Mom-Preview

10/26/2025

🎤 We asked filmmakers and others what they thought of this year’s film festival. Here’s what filmmaker Hanah Chang shared.

🧡 “Everyone’s been so welcoming, so kind… I feel like I’m being fed — literally, spiritually, mentally.” — 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴, writer, director & lead actor of 𝙄 𝙒𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙄 𝙒𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮

We loved having Hanah join us at this year’s 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁, where she shared her beautiful film about identity, self-perception, and community.

🎬 The in-person festival may have wrapped, but there’s still time to experience Hanah’s film — and dozens more stories by AANHPI filmmakers — during our 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, streaming through 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟲!

👉 Once you unlock the films that you want to watch, you have seven days to finish watching them. For example, if you unlock a film on Sunday, October 26, you have 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝗻𝗱 to finish the film.

🎟️ 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝘄 → bit.ly/SVAPFF-2025 🔗 in bio

10/23/2025

🌏 What does it mean to “return home” when home has changed and so have you?

In “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙧,” comedian and filmmaker 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲 explores this question through intimate interviews with second-generation Vietnamese who have moved back to the country their parents once fled. The result is a powerful reflection on identity, belonging, and the ties that connect us across continents and generations.

🎥 Recorded live at the 𝟭𝟭𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁, host 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗬𝗶𝗻 (Founder & CEO, Only in San José) sits down with Fred Le to talk about his film.

🎞️ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙧 and Naja Pham Lockwood’s 𝙊𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙝 were part of our in-person film festival. If you missed the screening, catch 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙧 on December 5th at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Follow for more.

The next Bay Area screening for Naja Pham Lockwood’s 𝙊𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙝 is on November 2nd in San Jose. Follow for more.

🎟️ We have 60+ AANHPI films still screening as part of our 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 now through Sunday, October 26. Watch now → link in bio

10/22/2025

🎤 We caught up with filmmaker Eljin Yoo on closing night of the 11th Annual Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest. Eljin is the director of the short film, Sonata. He shares how his own journey as a violinist and a son inspired this deeply personal film about love, caregiving, and reconciliation.

🎼 He also shares about how the music played a significant role in this film, and he offers advice to other filmmakers who are making films with a focus on music and musicians.

🎻 “Sonata” tells the story of two Korean-American sisters, Viv and Gia — classical musicians whose bond is tested as life and family pull them in different directions. While Gia pursues her musical dreams, Viv stays home to care for their ailing mother, May. When their mother’s health suddenly declines, the sisters must find their way back to each other — and to harmony — through music.

🎞️ Sonata is now streaming as part of our Virtual Film Festival, running through Sunday, October 26! Don’t miss this moving story — and 70+ of other powerful AANHPI films.

🎟️ Watch now → link in bio

10/18/2025

The Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Fest, taking place in Sunnyvale from Oct. 17–19 and online from Oct. 20–26, both celebrates and depicts on the big screen the Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian experience.

Learn more ⬇️

Address

565 N 5th Street
San Jose, CA
95112

Website

http://www.svapfilmfest.org/

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