AAPI Film Club

The AAPI Center is hosting a Staff/Faculty AAPI Film Club to explore contemporary issues and cultural traditions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, both at USF and globally. These events are open to all USF faculty and staff. We invite all to connect with colleagues and share awareness of our new initiative with your students and campus partners.

Have a film to suggest? Email us at AAPIcenter@usfca.edu.

Summer 2024 Film Selections

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The Donut King presents the story of Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee who helped sponsor visas for incoming refugees while building and expanding his donut shop chain throughout the West Coast. Directed by Alice Gu, the film chronicles his experiences of growing up as a Chinese immigrant in Cambodia, fleeing the Khmer Rouge regime, settling in Orange County, and his transnational political career demarcated by his rising gambling addiction.

Vai stars indigenous actresses from 7 Pacific countries, each of whom plays a character named Vai, to create a narrative of the experiences of women coming of age from 7 to 80 years old. Directed by nine female Pacific filmmakers, the film presents intertwined vignettes about emigration and passage of traditions. 

The Farewell stars Awkwafina as a Chinese American woman who returns to China as she navigates cultural clashes and her family's decision to keep her grandmother's diagnosis of terminal illness a secret. Directed by Lulu Wang, the film presents collectivist values of the family—specifically, how deception is a common practice as they intend to bear the emotional burden together, and comes in conflict with Western, more individualistic values.