Dialogue: Select filmmakers in attendance.

Monday, May 11, 5:45 p.m. | The key to progress can come from within oneself, or with help from others. In this collection of AAPI shorts, people in difficult predicaments find the tools to deal with their dilemmas. Dialogue: Select filmmakers in attendance.

Program:

GLORIA
2025, dir. Kim Blanck, USA, 10 min, In English
A Chinese woman (Emily Kuroda, Gilmore Girls) fights dementia with the aid of a trusty textbook.

WE ARE KINGS
2025, dir. Frank Sun, USA, 13 min., In English
An immigrant teenager weighs the true cost of fitting in.

PREMATHO
2024, dir. Harshith Kotni, USA, 12 min, In English
A perfectionist Bharatanatyam dancer discovers there is more to art than flawless technique.

FIREWALL
2025, dir. Bita Ghassemi, USA, 15 min, In English and Farsi with English subtitles
An Iranian American girl in Texas fuses Persian mythology with visions of her father, hidden behind the internet firewall in Iran.

CHIMERA
2025, dir. Daniel Cantu, USA, 13 min., In English
Professional skateboarder James Alby journeys into ceramic art to express himself fully and process loss.

PUBERTY FOR HUMANS
2025, dir. Wester Demandante, USA, 14 min., In English
A vintage educational film about how some kids develop cybernetic changes sooner than others.

GIVING MOM THE TALK
2025, dir. Vidhya Iyer, USA, 15 min., In English
An Indian American woman encourages her mom to reinvigorate her days.

THE STRAWBERRIES
2025, dir. Nicholas Luciano, USA, 11 min, In English
A woman's class envy bears comically horrifying fruit.

Asian American Showcase | May 7–12, 2026

Presented as an annual collaboration with the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media and now celebrating its 29th year, the Asian American Showcase (AAS) provides a platform for new work by established and emerging Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander filmmakers and stories. Synopses provided by AAS.

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu