Turning thirty can be brutal – the first step toward an inevitable mid-life crises. But, for the Asian American International Film Festival, currently taking place in New York City, celebrating its 30th anniversary has never tasted so sweet.

Making its debut on the New York film scene in 1978, the AAIFF, which in the past has premiered films from major directors like Ang Lee and Mira Nair, began as a showcase for the creative and artistic talents of Asian and Asian American filmmakers in an industry short in Eastern and diaspora cinema. Having expanded immensely since its early days, this year’s line-up includes everything from big budget to handy-cam made films, which includes the 4th annual AAFilm Lab-sponsored “72 Hour Shootout.” The latter is an annual competition where filmmaking teams are given a surprise theme (this year’s being “Elizabeth Ong is missing”) and exactly 3 days to write, direct, and edit a five-minute digital short, a process intended to hyper-simulate the real difficulties of filmmaking.

With films from everywhere across the board – China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and the Philippines included - this eight-day-long festival offers New York movie-goers exposure to some of the most entertaining, controversial, high-grossing films in Asian and Asian American cinema.

To find out more, we asked the festival’s Program Director William Phuan, also Manager at the non-profit organization Asian CineVision, about the festival’s anniversary and what to look forward to this year:

How has the AAIFF developed and changed over the last 30 years?
The AAIFF has definitely become more global and international in scope. In its early years, it used to be more Chinese-centric. But now we show pan-Asian films from everywhere, be it South-east Asia, Australia, Middle East or South America. The festival is still very much community-based, but I think more and more audience are aware of the independent voice in Asian and Asian American cinemas now.

Why do you feel like New York, of all possible places in the US, is such a prime location for this festival to take place?
New York, by virtue of it being a cultural hub and big melting pot, is the perfect place for our festival. We have different cultures and different languages in the city, which are reflect the diversity in the films that we show.

Which films are you most looking forward to this year?
I’m especially looking forward to the documentaries. Most are by first-time directors, but they are strong debuts and deal with challenging material in creative and powerful ways. I’m also looking forward to our Patrick Tam tribute. He’s one of the pioneers of the Hong Kong New Wave, which basically set the template for much of what we see in Hong Kong cinema now.

What is the main mission of the festival?
The festival grows out of the mission of Asian CineVision, which is to promote and preserve media works by artists of Asian descent. The festival is our biggest platform to introduce these works to the audience and community in New York. We provide a bridge between filmmakers and the audience to interact and discuss about cinema and issues that relate to the community.

Films that aren’t to be missed this year:

Dark Matter: Acclaimed Chinese opera director Chen Shi-Zheng, who recently collaborated with Gorillaz on his musical Monkey, Journey to the West, brings us his very first film about a brilliant Chinese student that travels to America to study cosmology and becomes destructively obsessed with the concept of dark matter. Starring Liu Ye, Meryl Streep and Aiden Quinn, this film comments on the missed experience of the American Dream.

Hiding Divya: Another film debut from writer-director Rehana Mirza, this drama is the story of a young Indian-American woman who returns to her New Jersey home to retrieve her inheritance after her uncle’s death and is forced to confront her long-estranged mother’s mental illness. Not your typical Bollywood flick, this film examines one family’s struggle through generations of mental illness.

King and the Clown: Set in 16th century Korea, The King and the Clown is a beautifully choreographed martial arts film and comedic love story of a king that falls in love with his effeminate court jester. Banned in China for its homoerotic undertones, this film still managed to become one of most popular and highest grossing movies in Korea.

Baumkuchen: As its name implies, this layer cake story of entagled narratives is the new campy black comedy from Japanese director Kensaku Kakimoto.

Never Forever: See the festival's closing night film about a woman who attempts to save her marriage to a depressed Korean-American laywer by propositioning an illegal Korean immigrant to impregnate her in exchange for money to bring his girlfriend to America. Starring The Departed's Vera Farmiga and Jung-Woo Ha, this film about a entangled loves and female empowerment was a hit at its Sundance premier earlier this year.

~Leann Peterson

Go There:
All screenings take place at the Asia Society in NYC.