Asia in Focus
Austin Asian American Film Festival shares bold 2026 lineup
Honeyjoon kicks off the Austin Asian American Film Festival on opening night.
Another slate of Asian American films are ready for Austin viewers this June 24-28 at the Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF). The full lineup is out now, including opening night film Honeyjoon and centerpiece film Traces of Home — both connected to Southwest Asian family stories — and closing night film Gloaming In Luomu, which turns its focus to China.
The lineup encompasses 11 feature films, plus shorts and documentaries. This is also the first year that AAAFF has a virtual reality (VR) short film experience, supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Cultural and Taiwan Academy in Houston.
“For our 18th festival, our artistic team has curated a slate of films that are a bit more provocative, touching upon current social issues that are definitive of our diverse Asian, Asian American and international communities,” said AAAFF executive director Hanna Huang in a press release. “Attendees can expect that we’ll continue to push some boundaries and bring you into the know. They will definitely also be doing more than just watching films during these five exciting days.”
The three headlining films were produced in the U.S. and China, though two tell stories from other countries:
- Honeyjoon, Lilian T. Mehrel: A "light and dark comedy" that follows June and her Persian mom, Lela, on a trip to the Azores islands where they process grief and get a tour from a surfer. An audience Q&A will follow the screening.
- Traces of Home, Colette Ghunim: Ghunim takes the audience with her as she discovers her parents ancestral homes they fled as children in Palestine and M/exico. This film is preceded by a red carpet and followed by a Q&A.
- Gloaming in Luomu, Zhang Lu: In this narrative feature, Bai receives a postcard from her former boyfriend and travels to a small town in southwestern China to discover why he disappeared three years earlier.
Short films on the lineup include a coming-of-age film set in India (Kuchar (The Itch)), a divorced Chinese couple's temporary reunion in Texas (Winter Ceremony), a historical account of Chinese immigrants in Cuba (Barrio Chino Havana), a guerilla archive of protest news in Iran (Memories of a Window), a study of transgender people in Hawaii (Māhū), and more.
Movie-goers can purchase single-film tickets, five-ticket packages ($60), and badges ($200 for general admission, $95 for students) at aaafilmfest.org. A limited number of Insider Badges ($500) are available. They include reserved seats, a private filmmaker BBQ dinner, a secret karaoke party, and priority access to films and events. AAAFF is held at the AFS Cinema. The lineup is complete, but the website is still being updated at the time of this article's publication.
