While reflecting a tumultuous year, fraught with conflict and tension, the Boston Asian American Film Festival projected a message of unity, with screenings running virtually from October 21 – 25, and with selected films available until November 1. Touching on issues such as the devastation wrought by the coronavirus, deportations, and the downfall of democracy in the Philippines, the festival, now in its 12th year, addresses current conditions felt through the Asian American community. In spite of the uncertainty of the times, founding director Susan Chinsen said that she hopes minority voices will be uplifted through the festival’s theme, “Rising Together.”

“Our theme this year, which we kept the same as that of last year’s, is ‘Rising Together,’” said Chinsen. “We felt that it was really important this year, given how separated we’ve been. With the pandemic, we’ve been socially distanced and haven’t been in the same space. Even in planning the festival itself has been really challenging, because we haven’t been together. But one of the parts we’re trying to maintain is that through a film festival, we’ve always held space for a community to be able to connect with one another and see our stories amplified on a big screen. You feel that there’s a validation through that, a recognition of how powerful hearing about other people’s stories, learning about yourself, those themes, are. We leaned into that and said, ‘What are the stories we need to be told right now?’”

The festival opened with a screening of “Definition Please,” directed by Sujata Day. The film follows the experience of a young Indian American woman, who happens to be a former Scribbs Spelling Bee champion. Living with her sick mother, Day, who plays the grown up winner, Monica Chowdry, must find her way in the world, grappling in her relationship with her bipolar brother. While dealing with the pressure to be successful as an adult and no longer a child star, Monica – all the while employing an impressive vocabulary – challenges stereotypes and learns to find meaning in her life, or true “definition.”

“With ‘Definition Please,’ not only is that something that you say when you’re asking for help, when you’re up there at the spelling bee, but it’s Monica trying to find definition in her life,” said Day. “It’s through her relationships, through what she wants to do ultimately. What’s holding her back the most is herself. …Her journey is about getting over her internal issues.”

In “76 Days,” directors Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, and an anonymous filmmaker, offer an intimate, inside account of hospital life in Wuhan, China. The documentary starkly and dramatically represents the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with production beginning in February 2020. The moving, emotional film captures the battle in four different hospitals, with heavy protective gear-clad nurses and doctors scrambling to address the chaos on the ground level. As families are forced to say goodbye to their loved ones, both patients and workers exhibit resilience and strength, during the early days of the virus and lockdown in Wuhan.

Filmmaker Ramona Diaz’s stunning documentary, “A Thousand Cuts,” portrays the authoritarian rule of President Rodrigo Duterte and the suppression of the media under that regime. The movie explores Duterte’s war on drugs, used as a method of enforcing fear-based leadership, and the work of journalist Maria Ressa. In a country where democracy and the validity of facts are being eroded, and where disinformation campaigns are rising in power, Ressa fights for the freedom of the press, putting herself on the line. Perhaps one of the harrowing statements that the film makes is that if the political tactics of the administration are effective, they are likely to be transported to other countries, like the United States.

The film “Take Out Girl,” directed by Hisonni Mustafa, depicts the story of Tera Wong, a young woman who delivers Chinese food for her mother’s restaurant, based in a Los Angeles project. To alleviate her family’s financial hardships, Tera becomes embroiled in a life of crime, working for a drug ring by hiding the “goods” in her takeout boxes. Over time, the cracks behind her plan begin to surface, leading to the disenchanted loss of their dreams. Meanwhile, Bao Tran’s “The Paper Tigers,” is a comedy about three men who grew up as Kung-Fu prodigies. When their master is found dead, the now washed-up middle-aged men are reunited, learning that to avenge the murder, they will have to start by believing in themselves.

Chinsen said that she hopes the festival will give artists a way of sharing their stories and opening a conversation around people of color. Film can be used as a medium to generate a discussion around equality in society, she said.

“[The Asian American community] is such a diverse community that is still, in many ways, developing its sense of identity,” said Chinsen. “In American society, we’re still trying to figure out our leverage and position of power, how we have more political power to have influence in making our life here in America better and more equitable and more just. Film is a great way for uniting people in the community and giving them that sense of confidence, when you see yourself on the big screen, that you’re identified as being worthy of being discussed, that these are valid and important issues.”

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