AUSTIN, Texas — This week marked the 16th year of the Austin Asian American Film Festival, and it comes as the Asian American population is currently the fastest-growing demographic in Austin.
“We really have seen that growth in the last ten years, dramatically,” said Hanna Huang, the Executive Director for the Austin Asian American Film Festival.
According to a recent demographic study from the City of Austin, the Asian-American population is not only just the fastest-growing demographic but also the third largest in the city.
It’s a blessing to Huang who wants to spotlight Asian American filmmakers, while also opening up the door for others in her community to go after creative jobs. She says taking the creative route is not something that’s always accepted in all Asian American households.
“I think it resonates in all immigrant communities that way ... Your parents are really looking for you to have a secure life, but their respect of that is very narrow,” Huang said. “They didn’t have time to maybe explore options like film.”
But she’s hoping the festival will start changing that.
“We’re really normalizing arts careers and backgrounds, and just alternative careers from the usual tropes of like doctor, lawyer, accountant and such for Asian-Americans,” Huang said.
Her other hope is that they continue to bring more AAPI representation on and off the screen. She points to the representation gap that came when it took more than 20 years between The Joy Luck Club (1993) and Crazy Rich Asians (2018) to see AAPI representation on screen again.
“The more filmmakers and behind the camera people we have working on Asian American films, whether it’s indie or studio films, the more better and more accurate representation we see on screen,” Huang said.
And when everyone gathers at the festival every year, Huang says it’s a one-of-a-kind feeling.
“When you see the lobby just buzzing and just full of people, like it is after every show or even before every show ... We literally have to herd them into the theatre so they could stop talking and go watch this film,” Huang said. “We definitely shut down venues all the time.”
Because she says it’s not every day that they get to celebrate all just being together.
For the next two days of the festival, they will have many more screenings and film events at a few different locations in the city. The full schedule is listed on their website.