Boston Asian American Film Festival returns with something extra

As Boston’s 15th Asian American Film Festival begins Thursday, something different is in the works.

“This year we’re showing a pre-national release event,” explained BAAFF Director Susan Chinsen. “Because it’s actually 15 years for BAAFF, we’ve selected Jeff Yang’s book ‘The Golden Screen,’ an anthology on Asian American cinema, in conversation with the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña.

“The book doesn’t come out until Oct. 24 but we have the publisher’s permission to have it available on Oct. 12.”

Chelsea Vuong, Miss Massachusetts, emcees this special night.

“This book spotlights Asian American cinema from the ’50s-60s and on,” Chinsen noted.  “Jeff has got these amazing conversations between filmmakers and people like John Cho and Michelle Yeoh who have been making a big impact.”

This BAAFF presents six feature film presentations, every one with a live filmmaker Q&A from October 13 – 15, and six virtual on demand Shorts programs, including the popular Queer & Here series, from October 13 – 23. Also, the Laugh with BAAFF! Shorts Program screens in person Oct. 14 at 8:30 PM at the Emerson Paramount Center.

Opening night is at the Coolidge Corner Theater; all features screen at the Emerson Paramount Center.

There are two centerpiece films. Emmy award-winning FilipinX filmmaker Michele Rae Josue’s documentary “Nurse Unseen” reveals the little-known history of Filipino nurses who became the unsung backbone of U.S. and global healthcare systems.

The second centerpiece is Sing J. Lee’s “Accidental Getaway Driver” where an elderly Vietnamese cab driver’s routine pick-up becomes a gunpoint hostage siege by three recently escaped Orange County convicts. “It’s got comedy, action and suspense, kind of all of it. You’re amazed,” Chinsen raved, “that the guy you’re following is the guy’s father. It’s part recreation-documentary and part narrative and really interesting to untie what you’re seeing.”

Sunday, Oct. 22, is a special event with “The Farewell” filmmaker Lulu Wang: A preview of her upcoming Amazon series “Expats” at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wang does a Talkback at 4PM.

“The 6-episode series is based on book called ‘The Expatriates’ which is set in 2014 Hong Kong. We’re showing Episode 5 with all the main characters in Hong Kong,” Chinsen revealed. “It’s a look at overseas Filipino workers who actually lived there and the political experiences that happened in Hong Kong in the last decade. Nicole Kidman, who is one of the three main characters, was the instigator of this project and picked Lulu to direct.”

Closing night on the 15th is Law Chen’s “Starring Jerry as Himself.” A family documents how their immigrant father Jerry, recently retired in Florida, was recruited by the Chinese police to be an undercover agent, only to discover a darker truth.

For information: BAAFF.org

The Boston Asian American Film Festival begins Oct. 12-23.