We’re IN this Together - Shorts
Saturday october 18, 2025
12:00 pM - 2:00 PM
This collection of AAPI short films highlights the power of connection and community, reminding us that we are never alone in our journeys. Through stories of family, friendship, resilience, and solidarity, these films celebrate the ties that bind us and the strength we find when we come together. Each short offers a unique lens, yet together they reflect a shared truth: we’re in this together.
Daly City
An Indonesian boy and his mother attend a church potluck and lie about their dish.
When an empty nester loses her ability to summon her daughter back from the afterlife, she is forced to find help from the person she resents the most: her ex-husband's mistress.
Only In This World
I WISH I WERE PRETTY
An insecure Korean-American woman struggles with old resentments against her beautiful best friend, exposing the impossible beauty standards that caused them.
Late-Diagnosed
Matt often didn't recognize himself in photos and never really understood why—until one day his loss of hearing helped him see more clearly. This educational video breaks down what living with auditory processing disorder can feel like, as well as the complicated feelings that come with this and other diagnoses.
Earboy
A young boy and his single mother find their relationship strained to the breaking point after a haircut goes wrong.
Anne—seated in an obstetrics and gynecology clinic—grapples with a heart-wrenching dilemma: whether to terminate her unexpected pregnancy for a dream job in Silicon Valley or stay in Taiwan and embrace life as a single mother. As the tension between reason and emotion intensifies, her long-buried fear of family life rises — like a monster from the deep.
MOMENT OF CHOICE
Q&A
Moderator: Ellina Yin
Ellina Yin is a first-gen Cambodian American social practice artist, activist, and entrepreneur who works at the intersection of art, technology, and lawmaking to reimagine the future of civic participation in local government. Ellina is the Founder & CEO of Only in San José (OSJ) a civic education and media organization transforming the City of San José’s practice of civic engagement by providing the people of San José with the knowledge, skills, resources, and confidence to create the change they wish to see in their communities.
Daly City
Associate Director: Ngoc Le
Ngoc Le is a Vietnam-born, San Jose–raised actor and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. A 1.5-generation immigrant, she carries the ethos “know history, know self” into every project she takes on. Her producing credits include Mannequin and Daly City, both celebrated on the festival circuit, as well as Rising From The Fall, which won Best Documentary Short at the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival. Earlier projects include Blind Devotion (2015), which went viral with Jubilee Project and Francis Chan, and First Gen (2019), later developed by Amazon.
Late Diagnosed
Writer/Director: Matthew Baltar
Matt Baltar is an Asian-American filmmaker whose latest short film, Late-Diagnosed, has been selected to screen at Marvels of Media Festival, Focus on Fests, NeuroVisions Film Festival, Santa Cruz Film Festival, and Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival.
Earboy
Writer/Director: Yohahn Ko
Yohahn Ko is a Korean-American screenwriter & film director whose work blends intimate family drama with elevated psychological horror. His work includes the viral short Be Mine (1M+ views), Submergence (Grand Jury Prize, SFSU), Earboy (Top 10 script on the Red List, now on the festival circuit), and The Night I Met Blue (파란불 만난 밤), his first Korean-language film, shot in Seoul. He is currently developing two feature screenplays: Idols, a psychological horror set in the K-pop industry, and Han, an intergenerational drama about Korean-American fatherhood and rage.
Moment of Choice
Writer/Director: Yunghan Chang
Yunghan was born and raised in Taiwan. He pursued his studies in Animation and Illustration at San Jose State University. After graduating, Yunghan joined Pixar Animation Studios as a story artist, contributing to several Academy Award-nominated and winning films. Huai-Yu is a filmmaker from Yuanlin, Taiwan. He holds an M.F.A. in Film and Television from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and currently works as a freelance filmmaker.
I Wish I Were Pretty
Director: Hanah Chang
Hanah Chang is a Korean-American actor and writer, who, after years of denying that she had any creativity within her, landed her first on-screen credit in the Netflix karaoke game show, ‘Sing On!’ She also played the lead in the short film, 'Don’t Worry About It,' which screened at SlamDance and Micheaux. As a proud member of the multi-hyphenate club, Hanah wrote, directed, and acted in her short, 'I Wish I Were Pretty,' which navigates how to deal with Korean beauty standards.
Only In This World
Writer/Director: Dorothy Xiao
Dorothy Xiao is a Los Angeles based award-winning narrative film director and writer with a degree in Psychology from UCLA. A Chinese American daughter of immigrants, Dorothy creates grounded family dramas with a hint of fantasy, focusing on the complexities of vulnerable emotions like loneliness and grief. Dorothy has directed 13 short films and has worked on over 30 film and video projects with companies like CBS, HBO, and Disney.