Movies and Music by AA.NH/PI Creators

Movies

Ted Ngoy escaped the brutal Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and eventually made his way to Orange County, California where he started his first donut shop, Christy's Doughnuts. Over the next decade, Ngoy also sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming Cambodian refugees and offered them steady employment in his donut shops. Directed by Alice Gu and co-written with Carol Matori.

A lonesome boy accompanies his mother on a trip to clean out his late aunt's house, where he ends up forming an unexpected friendship with the retiree who lives next door. Directed by Andrew Ahn.

In this funny, heartfelt story, Billi's family returns to China under the guise of a fake wedding to stealthily say goodbye to their beloved matriarch-the only person that doesn't know she only has a few weeks to live. Written and directed by Lulu Wang.

Samuel Lowe returned to China in 1933 with a Chinese wife and 6 children. After a 91-year separation, his Black Chinese grandchildren journey to China where they find Samuel Lowe's 300 Chinese descendants and the entire clan is reunited. Directed by Jeanette Kong.

A young Indian woman returns to her wealthy hometown and faces her pretentious family and their traditions. But when she meets the handsome son of local shopkeepers and invites him over, she accidentally uncovers a pair of family secrets. Directed by Geeta Malik.

At only five years old, Saroo Brierley got lost on a train in India. Unable to read or write or recall the name of his hometown, he ultimately is adopted by a couple in Australia. Twenty five years later, Saroo sets out to find his lost family. Directed by Garth Davis.

At the center of this story are the artists and a group of Native Hawaiian youth from the rural community of Waimea, Hawaii. Together they create a mural that addresses the ill effects of environmental changes and encroaching modernization on their native culture. Directed by Tadashi Nakamura.  

A Korean-American family moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, this film shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home. Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung.

Kit returns to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time since he was six years old when his family fled the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam-American War. Struggling to make sense of himself in a city he’s no longer familiar with, he embarks on a personal journey across the country that opens up the possibility for friendship, love, and happiness. Written and directed by Hong Khaou.

Epic reimagining of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is both an intimate human drama and a cosmic treatise on the origin of evil set on the island of Luzon. Directed by Lav Diaz and co-written with Rody Vera and Michiko Yamamoto.

When a young girl gets trapped in a strange new world of spirits, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and rescue her parents. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Music

Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus (AKA Beabadoobee) was born in the Philippines and grew up in London, England. She is influenced musically by Pinoy pop and artists like Elliott Smith, Mazzy Star, Daniel Johnston, Karen O, and Kimya Dawson. Her early songs were first released online and generated considerable interest, earning her a recording contract. In 2020 she released a well-received, full-length debut album, Fake It Flowers. Beatopia is her second full-length, named for the imaginary world she created when she was seven. 

Korean-American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Karen Lee Orzolek is the lead singer of the rock group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She is also known for her musical collaborations, solo work, and her Grammy and Academy award nominated soundtracks. Lux Prima finds her collaborating with influential musician and producer, Danger Mouse on songs inspired by motherhood and life cycles.

Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, known professionally as H.E.R. (short for Having Everything Revealed) is a Filipina-American R&B singer. Her platinum selling self-titled album was nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album.

Japanese Breakfast is the performing/recording name of Korean-American musician and bestselling author, Michelle Zauner. Her intimate, reflective brand of indie pop is expanded upon with each album. Jubilee was released just after her deeply personal memoir, Crying in H Mart and can be seen as a companion piece.  

Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American R&B and soul soprano of Japanese descent. Her album, Chilombo features freestyle lyrics, crystal singing bowls, and acoustic instrumentation which seeks to evoke the flowing volcanoes of Hawaii, where it was recorded.

Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (known as Iz for short) remains one of the most popular Hawaiian musicians and ukulele players. He was known for mixing contemporary music styles with traditional Hawaiian music. N Dis Life exemplifies his Hawaiian-reggae approach. 

Kishi Bashi is the solo recording project of singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Kaoru Ishibashi. This surprisingly playful, sweet-sounding album is a companion piece to his documentary, Omoiyari: a Songfilm, where he explores contemporary anti-immigrant rhetoric and performs music in locations relevant to the WWII-era incarceration of Japanese-Americans. Himself, the son of Japanese immigrants. “Omoiyari'' means acting with consideration, empathy, and compassion towards others. 

Sasami Ashworth is a Korean-American singer-songwriter and a classically trained French horn player. She’s scored orchestral arrangements for films, commercials, and studio albums, taught music in L.A., been a session musician, and played synths for the rock band Cherry Glazerr. Her self-titled first album is an introspective mix of dream pop and indie rock.

Rina Sawayama is a Japanese-British singer, songwriter, actress and model. Born in Niigata, Japan, she immigrated to London with her parents at age five. She is known for her musical versatility and has been labeled a "musical chameleon". In 2017, she self-released a debut EP. Her debut studio album, Sawayama, was released in 2020. Hold the Girl is her second studio album, released to widespread critical acclaim. 

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro is a Hawaiian born, Japanese-American musician who first came to prominence when a video of his rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" went viral on YouTube. Here he is joined by bassist Nolan Verner and guitarist Dave Preston as they explore improvisational jams and cover songs by Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and others.    

Toro y Moi is Filipino-American electronic musician, producer, and artist Chazwick Bundick’s main musical project. Anything in Return has a mostly laid-back, late-night synth sound, with his vocals up front.   

Soundtrack to the popular 2018 film about a Chinese-American professor who travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family. The album was assembled by director Jon M. Chu and music supervisor Gabe Hilfer and contains covers of popular English-language songs sung in Chinese and Chinese songs from the 1950s and 1960s.