The 24th New York Asian Film Festival Unleashed Cinema's Next Wave

July 11-27, 2025

Festival will be presented at Film at Lincoln Center, the SVA Theatre, LOOK Cinemas W57, and the Korean Cultural Center of NY

New York, NY (June 11, 2025) – The New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center announce first highlights from the 24th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF). Running from July 11 to July 27 across four NYC venues—Film at Lincoln Center, SVA Theatre, LOOK Cinemas W57, and the Korean Cultural Center NY, this year’s festival marks NYAFF’s most globally expansive lineup ever. Film at Lincoln Center is proud to host 40 features of the more than 100 films featured in this year’s festival. With over 75 premieres—including eight world premieres—and 17 directorial debuts, the 2025 program showcases its largest slate of premieres and new talent to date, bringing bold, genre-defying films from across Asia. The festival offers New York audiences a rare opportunity to experience the next wave of global cinema, months or even years ahead of wider release.

This year’s theme is “Cinema as Disruption”—spotlighting films that challenge, provoke, and reimagine. From unsettling horror and feminist thrillers to cosmic punk epics and political allegories, NYAFF celebrates the power of Asian cinema to defy convention.

The 2025 lineup confronts taboos and reclaims narrative power: Tokyo International Film Festival selection Pavane for an Infant by Chong Keat Aun explores Malaysia’s hidden crises; Japanese cult director Toshiaki Toyoda’s Transcending Dimensions conjures an opium-dream convergence of sci-fi, metaphysics, and gangster myth; and Korea’s Lee Jong-suk detonates social mores in Forbidden Fairytale, a fearless satire on sex, porn, and censorship.

This year’s program includes bold works from across Asia, with particular emphasis on rarely seen regions. From Thailand’s genre-bending blockbusters to rare dispatches from Bhutan (I, the Song), Myanmar, and Mongolia (competition title to be announced), NYAFF 2025 highlights formal ambition and moral urgency. MA – Cry of Silence, winner of the New Currents Award at the Busan International Film Festival, presents Myanmar’s post-coup surveillance state through a garment worker’s quiet reckoning—marking the country’s powerful return to international cinema.

“This year’s lineup dares to confront, question, and dream—exactly what cinema should do,” says Samuel Jamier, NYAFF Executive Director. “With 19 Southeast Asian films—our strongest regional representation ever—we’re witnessing a generational shift. Beyond the curation of films, we're redrawing a cultural map that urgently needs expansion. Many festivals treat Asian cinema like it ends at the Korean border—we’re here to blow up that thinking. We mean business. Or chaos. Probably both.”

The festival is presented with major support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (HKETONY), Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA), Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, Fundstrat Global Advisors, and Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY), whose partnership amplifies Asian cinema’s most vital voices.

This year’s festival celebrates cinema legends and rising auteurs through intimate post-screening Q&As and in-person appearances.

Lisa Lu, the beloved star of The Joy Luck Club and Crazy Rich Asians, reflects on a groundbreaking career spanning seven decades. She will be honored with two awards—the Trailblazer Award and the Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award—marking the first time in the festival’s history that both distinctions will be conferred upon a single individual, in recognition of a body of work that has left an indelible mark on the history of cinema, not only entertaining and inspiring audiences but also elevating the cultural and artistic profile of Asian cinema on the world stage.

Star Asia Award recipient Ekin Cheng unveils his latest reinvention in Last Song for You, while Japanese visionary director Toshiaki Toyoda headlines NYAFF’s first-ever mid-career retrospective, appearing in person for the North American premiere of Transcending Dimensions. In addition to his latest film, rare screenings of Blue Spring (on 35mm), Hanging Garden, a collection of his best shorts, turn the spotlight on a truly one-of-a-kind filmography.

Joining them are trailblazing voices like Venice winner Chong Keat Aun (Pavane for an Infant), breakout LGBTQ+ filmmaker Lilly Hu (1 Girl Infinite), and Screen International Rising Star Asia awardee Natalie Hsu (remarkable in both Pavane for an Infant and Last Song for You), along with emerging headliner Heaven Peralejo and Mikhail Red, the enfant terrible of new Philippine cinema—collectively ushering in a new era of vivid, unfiltered Asian storytelling.

More than 30 filmmakers will appear throughout July for post-screening discussions that turn each showing into a cinematic exchange.

The Numbers Behind the Wave

  • ● 100+ films: 70+ features and 30 shorts, with Film at Lincoln Center hosting 40 features
  • ● 75+ premieres, including eight world, 41 North American, five U.S.
  • ● 19 Southeast Asian films from six countries
  • ● 17 first-time directors, nearly half women
  • ● 30+ filmmaker Q&As

Hong Kong’s Renaissance in Noir: Behind the Shadows and Smashing Frank explore crime through existential dread, while Jeffrey Lam Sen and Antonio Tam’s Valley of the Shadow of Death turn personal loss into collective moral reckoning.

Taiwan’s Intimate Rebellions: Rene Liu leads Unexpected Courage, which redefines midlife relationships with nuance.

Southeast Asia explodes with creative energy: Thailand leads with eight films; the Philippines brings four, including Mikhail Red’s sinister slow burn horror Lilim. Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bhutan, and Mongolia round out a vibrant chorus of new and exciting voices in cinema.

Seventeen first-time filmmakers—nearly half of them women—make their mark at NYAFF. Highlights include 1 Girl Infinite, a poetic queer punk romance by Lilly Hu, executive produced by Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Dune) and produced by Matīss Kaža (producer of 2025 Oscar winner Flow); and two North American premieres: Flat Girls by Jirassaya Wongsutin, and A Girl with Closed Eyes by Chun Sun-young.

Nine horror films push boundaries in fresh and bone-chilling ways. Dollhouse explores domestic dread à la Annabelle. Attack 13 unleashes a Phi Tai Hong—a vengeful Thai ghoul—onto a doomed group of high-schoolers, and more.

NYAFF is thrilled to introduce a brand-new celebration this year: the Opening Weekend Gala on July 12 at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium. The evening will feature the presentation of the Vanguard Award to the legendary Lisa Lu, honoring her groundbreaking seven-decade career, and the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award to Natalie Hsu. Together, they embody both the legacy and bold future of Asian cinema. Acclaimed filmmakers, stars, and guests will gather over small plates, passed bites, and craft cocktails for a night of celebration. The festival’s beloved Opening Night Market returns on July 11—a perennial fan-favorite party with live music, Asian street food, and festive flair.

A second wave of NYAFF 2025 announcements will be unveiled next week.

Tickets for the New York Asian Film Festival will go on sale on Wednesday, June 18 at 2:00pm ET with an early access period for FLC and NYAFF Members starting at 12:00pm ET. Tickets are $19; $16 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $14 for FLC and NYAFF Members. Premium events and Opening Night tickets range from $20–$50. See more at FLC and save with a 3+ Film Package ($17 for General Public; $14 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities); and $12 for FLC Members. Note: Opening Night and premium events are excluded.

Opening Night tickets are $25 for the General Public and $20 for FLC Members, students, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Those who wish to attend the Opening Night screening and the Night Market can get tickets for $50 for the General Public and $40 for FLC Members, students, seniors, and persons with disabilities. The film selection for Opening Night will be announced soon — stay tuned!

For Opening Gala tickets, please visit galabid.com/nyaffgala2025.

For complete pricing details and additional information, visit filmlinc.org and nyaff.org.

FIRST WAVE OF LINEUP (35 feature films, 27 AT FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER) – more titles to be announced

  • Please note the program is still subject to change.
  • Films marked with ** will screen at Film at Lincoln Center.

BHUTAN

  • **I, the Song | dir. Dechen Roder, Bhutan/Norway/Italy/France, 2024 | East Coast Premiere

HONG KONG (presented with the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York)

  • **Behind the Shadows | dir. Jonathan Li, Chou Man-Yu, Hong Kong, 2024 | North American Premiere
  • **Last Song for You | dir. Jill Leung, Hong Kong, 2024 | North American Premiere
  • Papa | dir. Philip Yung, Hong Kong , 2024 | Special Screening
  • **Possession Street | dir. Jack Lai, Hong Kong 2024 | North American Premiere
  • **Smashing Frank | dir. Trevor Choi, Hong Kong, 2024 | U.S. Premiere
  • **Valley of the Shadow of Death | dir. Jeffrey Lam Sen, Antonio Tam, Hong Kong, 2024 | North American Premiere
  • **The Way We Talk | dir. Adam Wong , Hong Kong, 2024 | North American Premiere
  • Young and Dangerous | dir. Andrew Lau, Hong Kong, 1996, 35mm | Special Screening

INDONESIA

  • Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra | dir. Hanung Bramantyo, Indonesia, 2025 | North American Premiere
  • **Perang Kota This City Is a Battlefield | dir. Mouly Surya, Indonesia/Singapore/Netherlands/France/Norway/Philippines/Cambodia, 2024 | North American Premiere

JAPAN

  • 9 Souls | dir. Toshiaki Toyoda, Japan, 2003 | Special Screening Babanba Banban Vampire | dir. Shinji Hamasaki, Japan, 2025 | North American Premiere
  • **Blue Spring | dir. Toshiaki Toyoda, Japan, 2002 | Special Screening
  • **Dollhouse | dir. Shinobu Yaguchi, Japan, 2025 | North American Premiere
  • **Hanging Garden | dir. Toshiaki Toyoda, Japan, 2005 | Special Screening
  • **Transcending Dimensions | dir. Toshiaki Toyoda, Japan, 2025 | North American Premiere

MALAYSIA

  • **Pavane for an Infant | dir. Chong Keat Aun, Malaysia, Hong Kong, 2024 | North American Premiere

MYANMAR

  • **MA – Cry of Silence | dir. The Maw Naing, Myanmar/South Korea/Singapore/France/Norway/Qatar, 2024 | North American Premiere

PHILIPPINES

  • **The Hearing | dir. Lawrence Fajardo, Philippines, 2024 | North American Premiere
  • **Lilim | dir. Mikhail Red, Philippines, 2025 | North American Premiere
  • Sunshine | dir. Antoinette Jadaone, Philippines, 2024 | New York Premiere

SOUTH KOREA (Co-presented with Korean Cultural Center New York)

  • **Forbidden Fairytale | dir. Lee Jong-suk, South Korea, 2024 | North American Premiere
  • **A Girl with Closed Eyes | dir. Chun Sun-young, South Korea, 2024 | North American Premiere

TAIWAN (presented with the support of Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York)

  • Daughter’s Daughter | dir. Huang Xi, Taiwan, 2024 | U.S. Premiere
  • **Unexpected Courage | dir. Shawn Yu, Taiwan, 2025 | International Premiere

THAILAND (presented with the support of Thailand Creative Culture Agency – THACCA)

  • 404 Run Run | dir. Seua Pichaya Jarasboonpracha, Thailand, 2024 | North American Premiere
  • **Attack 13 | dir. Taweewat Wantha, Thailand, 2025 | International Premiere
  • **Flat Girls | dir. Jirassaya Wongsutin, Thailand, 2025 | North American Premiere
  • Panor | dir. Putipong Saisikaew, Thailand, 2025 | North American Premiere
  • **The Red Envelope | dir. Chayanop Boonprakob, Thailand, 2025 | North American Premiere
  • **Shutter (4K restoration) | dir. Parkpoom Wongpoom, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Thailand, 2004 | North American Premiere
  • **The Stone | dir. Pae Arak Amornsupasiri, Wutthipong Sukkhanintr, Thailand, 2025 | North American Premiere

U.S.

  • **1 Girl Infinite | dir. Lilly Hu, U.S., 2024 | North American Premiere
  • **Lisa Lu Plays Herself | dir. Chen Mei-Juin, U.S., 2025 | World Premiere

NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (NYAFF) Celebrating its 24th edition in 2025, the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is North America’s leading festival of Asian cinema. It was called “the best film festival in New York” by The Village Voice and “arguably the world’s best-curated program of new and classic Asian cinema” by IndieWire. Launched in 2002, the festival showcases a wildly diverse lineup of singular titles each year, ranging from mainstream blockbusters and art-house eccentricities to genre and cult classics. It was the first North American film festival to champion the works of Johnnie To, Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, and other auteurs of contemporary Asian cinema. Notable festival guests have included Lee Byung-hun, Ryoo Seung-wan, Masami Nagasawa, Sammo Hung, Lee Jung-jae, and Jackie Chan. Since 2010, NYAFF has been produced in collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center.

#NYAFF2025: Where Asian Cinema Gets Dangerous

Full lineup and updates: nyaff.org

Follow: @nyaff on Instagram, X, and Facebook for guest announcements and exclusive content.

Press Contact: Diana Choi, diana.choi@nyaff.org

(Viewing links for key films are available by request.)

This summer, NYAFF isn’t following the conversation. It is the conversation.

NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FOUNDATION

The New York Asian Film Foundation Inc. is America’s premier 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the exhibition and appreciation of Asian film culture in all its forms, with year-round festivals and programs, and a view to building bridges between Asia and America. The New York Asian Film Foundation’s flagship event is the annual New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), which has been presented in collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center since 2010. Now celebrating its 24th year, NYAFF is North America’s leading festival of Asian cinema. The foundation’s other events and initiatives include special screening events and an annual Winter Showcase at the SVA Theatre.

The New York Asian Film Festival, a program of the New York Asian Film Foundation, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER

Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) is a nonprofit organization that celebrates cinema as an essential art form and fosters a vibrant home for film culture to thrive. FLC presents premier film festivals, retrospectives, new releases, and restorations year-round in state-of-the-art theaters at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. FLC offers audiences the opportunity to discover works from established and emerging directors from around the world with a passionate community of film lovers at marquee events including the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films.

Founded in 1969, FLC is committed to preserving the excitement of the theatrical experience for all audiences, advancing high-quality film journalism through the publication of Film Comment, cultivating the next generation of film industry professionals through our FLC Academies, and enriching the lives of all who engage with our programs.

Rolex is the Official Partner and Exclusive Timepiece of Film at Lincoln Center.

Film at Lincoln Center receives generous, year-round support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Film at Lincoln Center. For more information, visit filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on X, Instagram, and Bluesky.

For press inquiries regarding Film at Lincoln Center, please contact:

SVA Theatre

SVA Theatre is the cultural center of New York’s artistically vibrant Chelsea neighborhood. The Theatre serves the School of Visual Arts, the arts and entertainment industries, and the community at large as a stage for the presentation of noteworthy artistic work. From film screenings to artist lectures to design conferences and more, SVA Theatre hosts a variety of events year-round, many of which are free and open to the public. For more information, visit svatheatre.com and follow @svatheatre on X and Instagram

LOOK Cinemas 57W

About LOOK Dine-In Cinemas: LOOK Dine-In Cinemas is an innovator in the entertainment space and incorporates the newest technology to maximize the movie-going experience. LOOK’s auditoriums provide a state-of-the-art viewing environment for guests, featuring laser projection, wall-to-wall oversize screens, digital surround sound systems and luxury recliner seating. Look & Dine mobile ordering enables guests to customize their food and beverage choices and orders are delivered directly to their seats. LOOK Dine-In Cinemas operates 13 theaters and approximately 130 screens located in Texas, California, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia and New York. For more information and to buy tickets, visit lookcinemas.com.

For media inquiries, please contact: Jennifer Wood, Director of Marketing at jwood@lookcinemas.com