Directed by Jing Ai Ng
Siblings Raymond (Brandon Soo Hoo) and Coco Zhang (Andie Ju) run a forgery ring. Coerced by a disgraced millionaire, they create counterfeit masterpieces for their family's collection. FBI agent Emily Lee (Kelly Marie Tran) investigates a new string of art forgeries.
Official Selection: SXSW 2025
OPENING NIGHT FILM
Thu. May 7 // 7:00 PM
Directed by Shubhangi Shekhar
The 12 best Indian basketball players from around the world join forces to compete for $1 million on ESPN to show the world that brown ballers exist.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Tues. May 12 // 8:15 PM
In collaboration with Kundiman Midwest, we’re celebrating the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with an evening of cinema and poetry! Join us for Modern Portraits: An Evening of AAPI Short Films and Poetry, the official kickoff event for The 29th Annual Asian American Showcase.
From issues of informed consent, narrative framing, to scene recreation, this conversation will dig into how filmmakers navigate the tricky territory in balancing storytelling with integrity and participant care to weave a compelling narrative.
Come help us kick-off The 29th Annual Showcase!
We'll have various vendors from across the Chicagoland area selling food, beverages and all sorts of fun things!Come and learn about our upcoming film festival, comedy show and maybe even win some prizes!
Directed by Ramzi Bashour
An expelled college Student (Daniel Zolghadri) and his Lebanese professor mother (Lubna Azabal) head west together on a road trip, searching for his future and her past.
Official Selection: Sundance 2026
Directed by Ben Hethcoat, Keita Ideno
As Los Angeles County coroner and Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Thomas Noguchi courted controversy for his headline-grabbing autopsies of celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, Janis Joplin, Natalie Wood and Sharon Tate. His high profile death investigations pushed forensic science into the spotlight, even as Hollywood elites and political adversaries sought to silence him. Now, at 98, Dr. Noguchi tells his side of the story.
Slamdance Film Festival (Winner, Audience Choice, Best Documentary Feature)
Director Kimberlee Bassford in-person for Q&A!
An Intimate portrait of acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel eight years in the making when tragedy struck. The film offers an in-depth and thought-provoking look at Sia’s tumultuous journey leading to that traumatic moment, illuminating the complexities of inconsistently treated mental illness and the devastating toll it can exact on individuals, families and entire communities.
Winner, Best Made in Hawai‘i Feature, Hawai‘i International Film Festival, 2025
Directed by Sarita Khurana [in-person] & Yoav Attias
SEAT AT THE TABLE follows several prominent South Asian political candidates during the 2024 election cycle, alongside a community galvanized by the groundbreaking campaign of the first South Asian presidential candidate. Featured in the film is Nabeela Syed running for Illinois State representative for the 51st district that covers northwest suburban Cook and Lake Counties. The film captures a historic year for the South Asian diaspora as more candidates than ever run for office, providing us a rare front-row seat to the dynamic forging of power in America.
Illinois State Representatives Nabeela Syed and Kevin Olickal in-person and Co-Director Sarita Khurana in-person for post film Q&A Panel!
[Select Filmmakers In-Person for post film Q&A!]
By exploring cultural preservation and identity, the immigrant experience, and diaspora resilience, these shorts preserve overlooked histories, strengthen intergenerational bonds, and highlight the emotional, often absurd, complexities of familial care and survival.
We can work it out. These AAPI shorts depict LGBTQ+ individuals coming to terms with themselves and the society around them.
[Select Filmmakers In-Person for post film Q&A!]
When you're back here, you feel it. These shorts by AAPI filmmakers with a connection to Chicago explore how Asian American and Pacific Islanders reconcile where they are with who they are.
[Select Filmmakers In-Person for post film Q&A!]
The key to progress can come from within oneself, or with help from others. In this collection of AAPI shorts, people in difficult predicaments find the tools to deal with their dilemmas.
[Select Filmmakers In-Person for post film Q&A!]
Sometimes the grass is greener, and other times it isn't. These AAPI shorts feature leaps of faith, searches for stability, and examinations of the new and the eternally unknowable.
[Select Filmmakers In-Person for post film Q&A!]
If you see it, you can be it. These shorts use the freedom of animation to illuminate the vast range and possibility of the AAPI experience.
The Jonathan Laxamana Emerging Filmmaker Award for AAPI Emerging Filmmakers will award two short film submissions to The 29th Annual Asian American Showcase. One award will be granted each to a submission in the Documentary Short Film and Narrative Short Film categories by a panel of jurors.
in Partnership with Asian American Documentary Network (ADOC)
ADOC Members and by invitation only, please contact Isabelle at: isabelle@faaim.org
General Admission: $13
Students: $9
Youth (under 17): $9
Gene Siskel Film Center Members: $8
Current faculty of the School of the Art Institute, and staff of the Art Institute: $8
SAIC Students: $5
Ticket sales end 15 minutes after the film's listed start time. There is no late entry 20 minutes after the film's listed start time. We recommend purchasing tickets online ahead of your visit to ensure a timely entry and avoid sold out screenings.