Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond: AAPI Filmmakers Explore Identity Through Family and Community

A series of seven shorts that reflect the complexities of Asian American experiences.

Films focusing on resilience through the lens of family, rebuilding, and mental health.

Films focusing on resilience through the lens of family, identities, and immigration.

Minneapolis-based Hmong American filmmaker Joua Lee Grande spoke with WORLD Channel about her short film 'On All Fronts' and the importance of telling Asian American stories, especially those that explore duality and identity.

In “In Living Memory,” filmmaker Quyên Nguyen-Le (they/them) memorializes their mother’s salon, forced to close during COVID-19, and recalls what it symbolized for their family, noting how family history and their mother’s influence shaped who they are and how they’ve evolved.

In ‘Crossroads,’ director Sarita Khurana examines the shooting, the investigation and the impact through the voices of the victims’ loved ones and organizations in Indianapolis’s Sikh community. The New York City-based filmmaker spoke with WORLD Channel about her South Asian heritage and how telling underrepresented stories sheds light on the experiences of communities of color and fosters greater understanding.

In ‘My Chinatown, With Aloha,’ filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Honolulu’s Chinatown community, weaving in a historical narrative of the 1899 bubonic plague in Hawai’i. Honolulu-based Bassford, a fourth-generation resident of Chinese and Filipino descent, spoke with WORLD Channel about the histories that drive her film, how we can move forward after hardships in the past and why the community remains as tenacious as ever.

In her short film ‘Malditas,’ Bree Nieves documents how her Catholic Filipino community grapples with grief after the death of her uncle Vince, centering the film around herself and her cousin coming to terms with their new reality in the conservative Florida county they were raised in. The Filipinx-Puerto Rican filmmaker talked to WORLD Channel about her film and how her multi-racial heritage, devout faith and familial relationships came into play in telling her family’s story.

Chanthon Bun, a Cambodian refugee who arrived in the U.S. as a child and lost his right to live in the country after being arrested at 19, was released from prison, but not into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as he was expecting. In ‘The Lookout,’ filmmaker J.P. Dobrin documents Bun’s life under the threat of deportation as he provides support for others like himself. The Korean American filmmaker spoke with WORLD Channel about the experiences of AAPI immigrants and refugees in America, and how sharing stories like ‘The Lookout’ helps dispel monolithic myths.

This Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, WORLD, through its films and features, challenges you to answer the question: What does the AANHPI community look like? Documentaries have the power to shine a light on stories and voices that are hidden from the mainstream or have yet to be heard; this May, watch and listen to stories by and about Asians, Asian Americans and all who make the community unique and varied.

In 'Recording for Dodie,' filmmaker Frances "Frankie" Rubio (she/they) turns the camera on themself as she copes with caretaking while separated from their father, Eduardo "Dodie" Rubio, who is quarantined at a nursing facility during the pandemic. Through personal narrative and archival home video, she tells their story of father and daughter in a delicate, loving tribute to the quick-witted, kind-hearted man she grew up with while presenting a vulnerable portrait of caregivers. Rubio spoke with WORLD Channel about their favorite memories of "Dodie," and how, through filmmaking, she can uphold the legacy of compassion and strength he has left behind.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community has been plagued by heightened hate. This AANHPI Heritage Month, watch films that honor the struggles faced and celebrate the accomplishments of this vibrant community.

Exploring the survival of three Chinatowns in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Boston.

Sharing extraordinary tales of what it means to be human.

Millions are creating their own definitions of what it means to be Asian American.

Anthropologist Linh An calls for a just mental healthcare system that dismantles racism.

A good mental health treatment process must include families and friends.

Kelvin Nguyen unlearns shame and embraces therapy to help himself and others.

The rise of Korea's global adoption program through the stories of four adoptees.

A look at Chinese American electoral organizing in North Carolina and Ohio.

A chronicle of the battles for social justice in the historic San Francisco neighborhood.

Filmmakers Baldwin Chiu and Larissa Lam discuss how their familial relationship with the film subject of 'Far East Deep South' added to the film’s production.

Brings to life compelling stories illuminating the contours of our ever-changing country.

In an exclusive interview, author Amy Tan speaks to how her novel 'The Joy Luck Club' relates to her identity.