In 2022, while watching her mother practice tai chi, filmmaker Dorothy Xiao was inspired to start a new short film project. At a local park in the San Gabriel Valley, she observed her mother interact with a diverse group of elderly residents and liked the idea of different groups blending, building connections over language barriers.
“I think this idea of friendship in older adulthood, especially with people who are not the same ethnicity or race as you, is really lovely,” Xiao, who grew up in Alhambra, said. “I just really liked this idea of intersectionality.”
Xiao’s short, “Only In This World,” is one of many premiering at this week’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, which began Thursday and runs through May 7.
Film festival programs and events, including screenings, will take place at select cinemas and venues around Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Little Tokyo and Monterey Park.
Filmmaker Dorothy Xiao in Alhambra on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Left to right: Silvia Lara, Dorothy Xiao, Alison Chan and Michelle Broadnax on set filming short film “Only In This World” at director Xiao’s mother-in-law’s house in West Covina, on Sept. 30, 2023. (Courtesy of Dorothy Xiao) Filmmaker Dorothy Xiao, center, with her mother, Diana Yang, left, and mother-in-law, Blanca Vilma Perilla, in Alhambra on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Left to right: Norma Maldonado, Natasha Wang, Director Dorothy Xiao, Ella Rouwen Chen on set for short film “Only In This World” in West Covina on Oct. 1, 2023. (Courtesy of Dorothy Xiao) Cast of the short “Only In This World” with Director Dorothy Xiao, her mom, and her mom’s Alhambra tai chi group, which inspired the short film. (Courtesy of Dorothy Xiao) Left to right: Elaine Whae, Calix Quan, Dorothy Xiao, Lee Chen, and Norma Maldonado on set in West Covina on Sept. 30, 2023. (Courtesy of Dorothy Xiao) Filmmaker Dorothy Xiao, center, with her mother, Diana Yang, left, and mother-in-law, Blanca Vilma Perilla, in Alhambra on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 7Filmmaker Dorothy Xiao in Alhambra on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) ExpandThe L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival’s (LAAPFF) 41st celebration includes over 27 features and 100 shorts, curated from nearly 900 submissions. Among the categories are animated films, documentaries, narrative features and short films from Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander creatives.
The festival is produced by Visual Communications, a nonprofit whose mission is to develop and uplift AAPI filmmakers’ voices and empower communities.
Xiao, who directs and writes, described her latest short film as a “love letter to the layered city” she grew up in. It will debut at the AMC Atlantic Times Square 14 in Monterey Park on Saturday, May 3, at 4 p.m.
The 11-minute short touches on themes of grief and loss, friendship and aging, and parent-child dynamics within families of color. It tells the story of a Chinese immigrant mother’s quiet grief over the loss of her daughter, following the journey of two older women who become unlikely friends after going through tragedy. Through magic, Feifei — an elderly Chinese immigrant played by Lee Chen — is briefly able to bring her daughter back to life, who encourages Feifei to move on from her death.
Most of the film was shot in the San Gabriel Valley, including at Xiao’s mother-in-law’s West Covina house, and at the Alhambra house her parents still live in.
“I was so excited when the festival announced AMC Monterey Park as one of the screening venues. I grew up going to this theater. I would take my parents there to watch Chinese movies, because it’s the only theater that would play them,” Xiao, 35, said. “So it’s really exciting to get to go and have one of my films play here, to have my work on screen.”
This year’s film fest hopes to bridge gaps between more experienced filmmakers and those just starting out, which organizers said shows the “power of storytelling in building and connecting communities.”
The festival also comes amid federal funding cuts and efforts to reverse diversity initiatives from the Trump administration. Festival organizers called it a “time of social, cultural, and political divisiveness.”
“In a time of profound social, cultural, and political divisiveness, we celebrate diverse artists who believe in the power of our stories to compel change,” Francis Cullado, festival director, said in a statement on opening day.
Usually celebrated in May during AAPI Heritage Month, LAAPFF aims to showcase Asian American and Pacific Islander culture and creativity. Organizers called it a “movement rooted in rebellion towards liberation.”
Xiao said that spaces like this film festival are one way for communities of color to connect with one another, express their voices, experiences and creativity without “being censored or attacked.”
Xiao has directed 13 short films herself, and has worked on over 30 film and video projects with CBS, HBO and Disney. She won a $25,000 grant from the Coalition of Asian Pacific Entertainment for a short film challenge, which helped fund the production of “Only In This World.”
She said that adequate funding for arts and culture is “significant” when it comes to sharing stories.
Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, Xiao saw a range of diversity in race, age, and across generations of immigrants —a theme she hopes to capture vividly in her work.
“What’s lovely about (the SGV) is that there are so many immigrant communities that are so welcoming,” she said. “The ethnic enclave part of it makes it feel like home, for people who are homesick. I’ve had relatives who were able to live in Alhambra and not have to learn any English, and got by just speaking Chinese.”
She described the area’s diversity as “colorful and beautiful,” adding that it’s what she loves most about the SGV — alongside the amazing food.
“I have a lot of love for the festival and its work around community and uplifting underrepresented voices,” Xiao, who now lives in Fullerton, said. “So being able to come with a film in a place like this is very much like a homecoming for me.”
Other LAAPFF screenings on Saturday, May 3 include Healing Water, a collection of two films that explore climate colonialism and the exploitation of Native Hawaiian people, and “Year of the Cat,” which follows director Tony Nguyen’s quest to learn about his father, a lost refugee during the fall of Saigon 50 years ago. Both screenings will take place at the Democracy Center at the Japanese American National Museum.
“Third Act,” directed by Tadashi Nakamura, also premieres over the weekend at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and the Democracy Center. The documentary features Nakamura’s father Robert, known as the “godfather of Asian American media,” who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, exploring art through the lens of activism and grief.
“Making Waves: The Rise of Asian America,” directed by Jon Osaki and Josh Chuck, screens Sunday, May 4 at the Japanese American National Museum. The film explores the vital role of ethnic studies and how it adds to narratives around Asian Americans.
Select films can be screened virtually in the VC Archives next Monday and Tuesday, including three films: a 4K restoration of “Kites and Other Tales,” directed by Alan Ohashi; “Hito Hata: Raise the Banner,” directed by Duane Kubo and Robert Nakamura; and “Grassroots Rising,” directed by Robert C. Winn.
“Only In This World” will debut on Saturday, May 3 at the AMC Atlantic Times Square 14 in Monterey Park, followed by a Q&A with Xiao. The 4 p.m. screening is part of the festival’s “APT: Advanced Parenting Too” programming, with films telling diverse stories of parental-child relationships.
For tickets, showtimes, and more information, visit the LAAPFF website: festival.vcmedia.org/2025.
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