New this year at the Short. Sweet. Film Fest is an Asian Cinema Program on Saturday, March 1, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. See Seoul Search, Wabi-Sabi, Storming, In Search of Light, A Summer’s End Poem, The Girl, Celyna and other films when you buy tickets at shortsweetfilmfest.com.
Asian Cinema Program
Seoul Switch
*This film contains the following content that may not be appropriate for all viewers: (anxiety, profanity, some sexual content)
Director: Liann Kaye
When an insecure, Korean American boy meets an International K-Pop Star who looks just like him, they decide to switch identities.
Wabi-Sabi
*This film contains the following content that may not be appropriate for all viewers: (profanity, sexual content, weapons, blood)
Director: Josephine Green Zhang
When an insecure, half Japanese woman’s invited on a date to a traditional tea ceremony, her best friend’s advice on how to avoid white-guys-with-Asian-fetishes threatens to ruin her love life and sanity.
Storming
*This film contains the following content that may not be appropriate for all viewers: (themes of gang violence and crime, alcohol, profanity, themes of misogyny and oppression)
Director: Nobuko Kato
Three criminals, hiding out in a remote cabin, grapple with their inner demons and the suffocating pressures of society. Among them, a disillusioned woman, fleeing with stolen money, is determined to break free from the grip of misogyny. Can societal oppression push individuals to crime, or is there a way out?
In search of light
*This film contains the following content that may not be appropriate for all viewers: (medical themes, cancer, themes of death)
Director: Remi Noda
Akari (27), a nurse in the gastroenterology ward, receives Yoshiko (74), an emergency patient with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Akari stiffens immediately because she has a secret “past” never revealed.
A Summer’s End Poem
Director: Lam Can-zhao
Shortly before the end of the summer holidays, a country boy spends his savings on his dream of a city hairstyle – with surprising results. A story about bidding farewell to childhood and the poetic end of a summer.
American Daydream
*This film contains the following content that may not be appropriate for all viewers: (domestic issues)
Director: Ziyu Luo
An undocumented immigrant has always relied heavily on her legal daughter to get through life in America. Now that The obedient daughter wants to leave to pursue her own dreams. How is this illiterate mother going to survive?
The Girl
*This film contains the following content that may not be appropriate for all viewers: (themes of puberty and body dysmorphia, domestic issues)
Director: Yutong Liu
Jiajia is struggling with the awkwardness of her developing breasts during puberty. Meanwhile, her novice father, having returned to the family after her mother’s departure, is clueless about his growing daughter. The two oscillate between distance and bonding, arguments and silent stand-offs, reconciling through trial-and-error. As an important dance competition approaches, Jiajia’s body image anxiety intensifies… In the end, however, she learns to embrace her body—imperfections and all—and realizes it’s okay, truly okay.
Celyna
*This film contains the following content that may not be appropriate for all viewers: (domestic issues)
Director: Artisha Mann-Cooper
Celyna, a first generation Asian teen, must decide between holding onto her mother’s memory through dance or walking her own path of rock and roll.