New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF)
New York's most important dedicated Asian cinema festival, held annually in June-July, presenting the best popular and arthouse cinema from across Asia with a particular strength in genre and action films.
Overview
The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is New York's most important dedicated Asian cinema festival. Founded in 2002 and held annually in June and July, the festival presents popular and art house cinema from across Asia with a distinctive programming identity that embraces genre, action, comedy, and cult cinema alongside serious art films.
NYAFF was founded by film critics and enthusiasts who felt that other New York festivals were presenting too narrow a slice of Asian cinema, focusing on internationally acclaimed art films while ignoring the popular genre traditions that are central to Asian cinema culture. The festival deliberately programs Hong Kong action, Korean horror, Thai comedy, Japanese anime, and other popular genres alongside the prestige art films that also receive coverage.
This broader definition of what constitutes worthy Asian cinema has given NYAFF a distinctive community of enthusiastic genre fans alongside the art house audience, creating a uniquely energetic festival atmosphere.
Key Sections
- Feature Film Program -- popular and art house Asian features
- Short Film Program -- Asian short films
- Midnight Madness -- late-night genre screenings
- Spotlight -- career retrospectives for major Asian filmmakers
- New York Premieres -- films making their New York debut
What Filmmakers Should Know
NYAFF programs through curatorial relationships and industry connections rather than open submissions for most programming. For Asian filmmakers with popular genre films, the festival provides access to New York's passionate Asian cinema community and the critics and industry professionals who track Asian genre trends.
Major Awards
- Audience Award -- voted by festival attendees
Festival History
NYAFF was founded in 2002 by a group of Asian cinema enthusiasts and critics who wanted to program the full spectrum of Asian popular cinema for New York audiences. The festival has operated continuously and grown into the most important dedicated Asian cinema event in New York.
See Also
For Asian cinema broadly, see International Film Markets. For genre filmmaking, see Independent Filmmaking Strategies.
