Shinji Araki’s Japanese thriller Penalty Loop is the Opening Night film, Centerpiece is Johnny Ma’s comedy/drama The Mother and the Bear, and Yugo Sakamoto’s Japanese action-comedy Baby Assassins: Nice Days will close out AFFD
The Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) announced the film lineup for this year’s 24th edition of the popular film festival. Taking place July 24-27, AFFD’s Opening Night selection is Shinji Araki’s Japanese thriller Penalty Loop, Centerpiece will be Johnny Ma’s comedy-drama The Mother and the Bear, and the Closing Night selection is Yugo Sakamoto’s Japanese action-comedy Baby Assassins: Nice Days. AFFD’s special Saturday Women’s Showcase spotlighting female filmmakers will feature Mye Hoang’s latest feline-inspired documentary 25 Cats From Qatar, and Dương Diệu Linh’s Vietnamese fantasy/drama Don’t Cry, Butterfly. All screenings will take place at the Angelika Film Center Dallas (5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, #230).
AFFD Programming Director Paul Theiss, said, “This year’s festival is especially exciting as we present our latest Women’s Showcase, celebrating powerful works by female filmmakers from across Asia—South Korea, India, Singapore, and Vietnam—as well as the United States. For the festival as whole, while fans can still count on the high-energy action films we’re known for, a deeper theme emerged as I programmed the lineup: the power of connection. This year’s festival explores the deep human need to reach out, be seen, and never go it alone. And what better place to celebrate that spirit of connection than at a film festival, which brings us together through the shared experience of storytelling.”
Opening night on Thursday, July 24, features Shinji Araki’s Penalty Loop. The best Asian Film winner at the Fantasia Film Festival, which screened in front of a sold out audience there, Araki’s film gives the time-loop movie treatment an action-filled edge. The film follows a man who wakes up one morning and proceeds to exact revenge on the man who murdered his lover. However, when he wakes up it is the same day, and he finds himself forced to kill the man again and again and again. And that man also begins to realize he is caught in the same loop destined to be killed over and over and over again. Thus, a time loop cat-and-mouse between the two men is set into motion.
Johnny Ma’s The Mother and the Bear is a two-time festival award-winner making its way to Dallas and AFFD for the Centerpiece Screening on Friday, July 25. The Chinese Canadian filmmaker tries his hand with a lighter touch after building a critically-acclaimed reputation with dramatic fare with this film about a mother who discovers she doesn’t really know her own daughter after she has an accident and falls into a coma. Along with learning about her life, she starts working on some matchmaking for her daughter to take place post-coma as well as possibly starting a new relationship herself. Johnny Ma will also be in-person at AFFD to participate in the post-screening Q&A.
Saturday, July 26 will underline the “festival” in film festival with a full day of screenings and events celebrating Female Filmmakers at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas including the festival’s red carpet presentation and reception for filmmakers and pass holders. Mye Hoang returns to AFFD with her documentary 25 Cats From Qatar which follows an American flight attendant and cat cafe owner who reacts to a homeless cat crisis in Qatar by coming up with a plan to fly 25 cats to Milwaukee, with her cat cafe providing the way for people to adopt them. The Best Film winner at Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, Dương Diệu Linh’s Don’t Cry, Butterfly focuses on a wedding venue staffer who learns of her husband’s affair while watching live TV. Instead of confronting him, she decides to use a voodoo spell to reclaim his love. Nelicia Low’s directing debut Pierce garnered her a Best Director award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The thriller follows the push and pull between a young fencer and his estranged older brother, recently released from juvenile prison after serving time for killing an opponent during a fencing match. As the younger brother trains for the national championships under his older brother’s guidance, he begins to question his brother’s true nature. All three filmmakers will be traveling from around the world to be in Dallas to participate in Q&As following their screenings.
Sunday will also feature films with attending filmmakers leading up to the Closing Night screening of Yugo Sakamoto’s Japanese action-comedy Baby Assassins: Nice Days. Jeff Mann’s Paper Marriage finds comedy and drama in the story of a Chinese immigrant facing deportation, who pays an unemployed and directionless man to marry her. During their year-long marriage of convenience, they struggle to manage living with each other’s differences until they are forced to learn to work together. Lee Jong-min and Yeum Moon-kyoung’s South Korean comedy The Last Woman on Earth looks at a female screenwriter who finds tension with her fellow film students due to her script’s anger toward men. However, when a male directing student suggests they team up to actually make the film together, the real challenges begin.
Also noted year after year for its singular party presentations, this year the Asian Film Festival of Dallas will complement the screenings and filmmaker appearances at AFFD with Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night parties at the Angelika Film Center with Asian cuisine and crafted drinks by George Kaiho, featuring Suntory Japanese Whisky, as well as themed presentations, filmmaker meet-and-greets, and photo opportunities for film fans who have come out to enjoy the great AFFD programming during those evenings.
To purchase badges, tickets and for more information please go to: https://asianfilmdallas.com/.
2025 Asian Film Festival of Dallas Film Festival Official Selections
OPENING NIGHT
Penalty Loop
Director: Shinji Araki
Country: Japan, Running Time: 99 min
Penalty Loop is a time-loop thriller which follows a man trapped in an endless cycle, reliving the same day to avenge the murder of his girlfriend. As he confronts his enemy in this looping world, his quest for revenge gradually turns inward, forcing him to face himself.
CENTERPIECE SELECTION
The Mother and the Bear
Director: Johnny Ma
Countries: Canada/Chili, Running Time: 100 min
Sara, a middle-aged widow from Seoul, travels to Winnipeg after her daughter Sumi suffers a fall that leaves her comatose. While waiting for Sumi to recover, Sara discovers how little she knew about her daughter’s life in Canada. In an attempt to connect, she begins meddling in Sumi’s affairs, including catfishing potential suitors on dating apps. Amidst the chaos, Sara forms an unexpected bond with Sam, a local Korean restaurateur, leading to a journey of self-discovery and cultural reconciliation.
CLOSING NIGHT
Baby Assassins: Nice Days
Director: Yugo Sakamoto
Country: Japan, Running Time: 103 min
Teenage assassins Chisato Sugimoto (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro Fukagawa (Saori Izawa) take a vacation to Miyazaki, Japan. However, their respite is short-lived as they are assigned a new mission: to eliminate a target at the passport embassy. Upon arrival, they encounter Kaede Fuyumura (Sosuke Ikematsu), a freelance assassin with a staggering body count, who is also after the same target. This unexpected confrontation thrusts them into a deadly game of cat and mouse, challenging their skills and their bond.
SATURDAY WOMEN’S FILMMAKER SHOWCASE SELECTIONS
25 Cats From Qatar
Director: Mye Hoang
Country: USA, Running Time: 95 min
Qatar is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, and its luxurious surface and rapid growth are powered by migrant workers who make 89% of the population. And they also feel compelled to help its struggling street cats. When an American flight attendant and cat cafe owner becomes aware of the crisis, she hatches a plan to fly 25 cats to Milwaukee, where her cat cafe provides a pipeline for adoption.
Blue Sun Palace
Director: Constance Tsang
Countries: China/USA, Running Time: 116 min
Within the confines of a massage parlor in Flushing, Queens, Amy and Didi navigate romance, happiness, and the obligations of family thousands of miles from home. Despite the physical and emotional toll their work extracts, the women who live at the parlor have fortified an impenetrable sisterhood. When tragedy strikes on Lunar New Year, Amy is forced to consider her own destiny for the first time ever. Despite finding solace in the company of Cheung, Amy must leave the city and prioritize her own spirit in order to survive.
Don’t Cry, Butterfly
Director: Dương Diệu Linh
Countries: Vietnam/Philippines/Singapore/Indonesia, Running Time: 97 min
Tam, a hardworking wedding venue staffer, learns of her husband’s affair while watching live TV. Instead of confronting him, she turns to a powerful spell master in a desperate bid to reclaim his love. Her daughter, Ha, channels her anger into vibrant fantasies of escaping to a better life abroad. All the while, a mysterious House Spirit—seen only by the women—lingers beneath their crumbling, leaky ceiling, silently bearing witness to their unraveling world.
Pierce
Director: Nelicia Low
Countries: Singapore/Taiwan/Poland, Running Time: 109 min
Set in Taipei, Pierce follows Jie, a young fencer who reconnects with his estranged older brother Han, recently released from juvenile prison after serving time for killing an opponent during a fencing match. As Jie trains for the national championships under Han’s guidance, he grapples with the resurfacing of Han’s violent tendencies, leading him to question his brother’s true nature.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES
Boong
Director: Lakshmipriya Devi
Countries: India/France, Running Time: 93 min
In the valley of Manipur, little Boong plans to surprise his mother with a gift. In his innocence, he believes that bringing his absentee father back home would be the most special gift.
Bushido
Director: Kazuya Shiraishi
Country: Japan, Running Time: 129 min
Kakunoshin Yanagida, a ronin, is accused of a crime he does not commit and mourns the death of his wife. He is forced to leave his hometown, the Hikone domain, and lives with his daughter, Okinu, in a poor tenement house in Edo (Tokyo). One day, Kakunoshin finds the truth behind a tragic false accusation by an old clan acquaintance and decides to take revenge. However, to support her father, Okinu wants to sacrifice herself.
Don’t Cry, Butterfly
Director: Dương Diệu Linh
Country: Vietnam, Running Time: 97 min
Tam, a hardworking wedding venue staffer, learns of her husband’s affair while watching live TV. Instead of confronting him, she turns to a powerful spell master in a desperate bid to reclaim his love. Her daughter, Ha, channels her anger into vibrant fantasies of escaping to a better life abroad. All the while, a mysterious House Spirit—seen only by the women—lingers beneath their crumbling, leaky ceiling, silently bearing witness to their unraveling world.
Ghost Killer
Director: Kensuke Sonomura
Country: Japan, Running Time: 105 min
Fumika Matsuoka, a struggling college student, inadvertently becomes possessed by the vengeful spirit of Hideo Kudo, a hitman betrayed and murdered by his own organization. Bound together, Fumika and Kudo embark on a quest for revenge, with Kudo granting Fumika supernatural strength to confront his killers.
The Last Woman on Earth
Directors: Lee Jong-min, Yeum Moon-kyoung
Country: South Korea, Running Time: 78 min
Han-ah is a blunt blue-haired woman taking a liberal film art class. No one gives her sincere feedback on her screenplay, which is full of anger toward men. But only one person, Cheol, an aspiring director who wishes to make a feature film, approaches her and says, “Hey, isn’t this screenplay hatred of men?” He believes a sponsored enterprise didn’t select his screenplay because it didn’t receive the ‘extra points from woman’s film.’ He ridiculously suggests that Han-ah team up with him.
Method Acting
Director: Lee Ki-hyuk
Country: South Korea, Running Time: 92 min
Lee Dong-hwi, a washed-up comedy actor, aspires to change his image to a serious drama actor. Fortunately, he lands the role of a majestic king in a historical drama, but unexpected challenges begin to unfold for him.
My Sunshine
Director: Hiroshi Ouyama
Countries: Japan/France, Running Time: 90 min
On a Japanese island, life revolves around the changing seasons. Winter is time for ice hockey at school, but Takuya isn’t too thrilled about it. His real interest lies in Sakura, a figure skating rising star from Tokyo, for whom he starts to develop a genuine fascination. Coach and former champion Arakawa, spots potential in Takuya, and decides to mentor him to form a duo with Sakura for an upcoming competition.
Paper Marriage
Director: Jeff Mann
Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min
Fanny (Effy Han), a Chinese immigrant facing deportation, pins her last hopes on staying in the U.S. by paying Jeff (Jeff Man), an unemployed lost soul, to marry her. During this year-long charade, they tiptoe around each other’s differences. As quiet moments turn into clashes, they navigate through their awkwardness and are forced to learn to work together.
The Shrine
Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri
Countries: South Korea/Japan, Running Time: 98 min
Yu-mi and her university friends travel to a small Japanese town to prepare for an exhibition on religious artifacts. When one of them, Hee-jung, goes missing after visiting a mysterious shrine depicted in her painting, the group decides to investigate. Their exploration leads to unsettling occurrences, prompting Yu-mi to seek help from her former classmate, Myung-jin—a reluctant shaman capable of communicating with the spirit world. Together with Pastor Han-ju, a local spiritual leader, they confront a malevolent entity threatening the town.
Waterdrop
Director: Choi Jong-yong
Country: South Korea, Running Time: 108 min
Thirteen-year-old Su-yeon is left alone after the death of her grandmother, her only guardian. Facing the threat of being placed in foster care, she sets out to secure a new home by ingratiating herself with her best friend’s family—and even online influencers. As she navigates shifting households and uneasy relationships, Waterdrop unfolds into a haunting psychological survival story, exploring identity, trust, and the quiet desperation of a child determined to belong.
You Are the Apple of My Eye
Director: Cho Young-myoung
Country: South Korea, Running Time: 101 min
Jin-woo gets caught goofing around during class and as punishment, is forced to sit in front of class president Sun-ah and be monitored by her. Although she is a model student and he is a troublemaker, the two begin to grow close. However, they are bad at expressing their feelings.
SHORT FILMS
The Bathroom Is Empty, The Water Was For Me
Director: Kero Tse
Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min
Chris turns on the bathroom water and retreats to his room to watch adult movies. When his roommate Jason and his girlfriend Lily return, they mistakenly believe that Chris brought a woman home. Chris, feeling awkward, goes along with it. As the days pass, Chris gets more tangled in his own lies, feeling increasingly empty and confused.
Forgive Me
Director: Cameron Sun
Country: USA, Running Time: 19 min
Jessica is the only Asian girl in her American suburb. While navigating cultural expectations and casual racism, she is stalked by a menacing shadow with a tragic past.
The Gleaner
Director: Dawoon Yang
Country: South Korea, Running Time: 22 min
Gijeong picks up items that hint at suicide. During this process, she is misunderstood and runs away, but also receives comfort from a stranger. With these items, where is Gijeong headed?
It Is Now Tomorrow
Director: Mỹ Trinh
Country: USA, Running Time: 25 min
The different ways a single Vietnamese mother loved her three daughters comes to fruition when Junie, the middle child, reunites with her sisters in their childhood home on their mother’s death anniversary.
Kumar Kumar
Director: Kiran Koshy
Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min
Kumar Kumar is all alone on his birthday. His social media feed is dead. Maybe he should be too? But then, the computer dings. Despite the odds, he craves a meaningful human connection—like all of us—and clings to the hope of finding one. It’s a satirical critique of our social media age, where—despite our hyper-connectivity—we’re lonelier than ever.
The Spaces Between Us
Director: Shane P. Liao
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min
An Asian American daughter plans a road trip with her mom in hopes of improving their relationship only to argue every step of the way as they figure out what their relationship truly means to each other.
Sunflower Girl
Director: Holly Kaplan
Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min
On an afternoon when Rosie is skateboarding, she drops into her mother’s dry-cleaners and is tasked with delivering her 6-year-old sister’s forgotten lunchbox. When Rosie arrives at school to pick up her sister, she runs into two skater boys: her cool crush, and his rambunctious best friend. Trouble ensues when Rosie joins up with the boys, as they welcome her in, Rosie must choose between her family responsibilities or her new skate crew.
Wokman
Director: Jeremy Thao
Country: USA, Running Time: 16 min
Wokman shares an immigrant Chinese family’s pursuit of the American Dream from inside of their restaurant, China Wok. Based in 1998 in rural Georgia, the film is a slice-of-life story of the only Chinese family in town, the Lis, as they navigate through their own little corner of America.
Yellow Balloon
Director: Summer Luu
Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min
In 1996, a Vietnamese-American child from San Jose is adopted by their paternal immigrant grandparents in Vancouver. On their journey, the child processes their identity, the unspoken rules of complex social dynamics, and discovers the reality of letting go.
ABOUT AFFD
The Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and supporting emerging and established Asian and Asian-American filmmakers and sharing the rich diversity of Asian culture through the medium of cinema. Over the last 20+ years, the festival has provided opportunities for over 400 Asian and Asian-American filmmakers to share their vision, often providing the only venue for their films to be shown in Dallas. The films have also allowed festival goers a chance to experience other lives and cultures without leaving their seats.
