2027
FESTIVAL
About Us
Minnesota Asian American Film Festival
(MAAFF)
Our Origin Story
Over the last few years, a sea change has occurred in Hollywood and in U.S. filmmaking. It wasn’t just that the industry was expanding. More than that! Something profound was happening. We witnessed a wave of Asian and Asian American-themed films making a splash in American cinema and popular culture—films like John Chu’s "Crazy Rich Asians" (2018), Bong Joon-ho’s "Parasite" (2019), Isaac Chang’s "Minari" (2020), Daniel Kwan’s "Everything Everywhere All At Once" (2022), Celine Song’s "Past Lives" (2023), and others.
Growing demand has dovetailed with a longstanding cultural energy; it’s more than just a trend. It has become a movement, one that has proven that independent and mainstream Asian, Asian diaspora and Pacific Islander cinema is here to stay. The impact of Asian Pacific and Asian-Pacific diasporic filmmakers on film and media art and their audiences can no longer be underestimated.
Founded this year—2025—the Minnesota Asian American Film Festival (MAAFF) was created with a commitment to accelerate this momentum and celebrate the Asian and Asian American experience through the cinematic lens.
Slated to take place in Minnesota’s Twin Cities area, MAAFF is proud to work especially with the upper Midwest—Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North and South Dakota—as well as the rest of the U.S. and beyond. MAAFF will be the first major festival of its kind in the American north Midwest, and aims to be the premier showcase for Asian Pacific and Asian-Pacific diasporic filmmakers and media creatives locally, across the country, and worldwide.
The Twin Cities are already home to vibrant and growing Asian American communities, and the nation—and world—are taking notice. Minnesota has long nurtured legendary and iconic stars, from Bob Dylan to Prince to the Coen brothers and even James Hong. Now MAAFF carries forward this legacy, rooted in the belief—as our Minnesota forerunners also did—that art and storytelling can help spur social change, empower communities, and promote authentic, meaningful representation.
Our Mission
With all this in mind, MAAFF aims to highlight and uplift Asian Pacific (diasporic) filmmakers and creatives dedicated to storytelling through film and all its forms, be it animation and short- or long-form documentaries or narratives. We hope you will join us for our premier event in 2027 and help us build a space and community that is uniquely dedicated to our artists and their audiences everywhere.