Austin Asian American Film Festival Goes to the Drive-In
Headliners heavy with local films for outdoor screenings
By Richard Whittaker, 4:19PM, Wed. May 19, 2021
The Austin Asian American Film Festival is back for 2021, and you can catch it all from the comfort of your own seat - whether it's at home, or in your car. The festival will be going virtual for most of its titles (to be announced later this month), but its headliners and special events will be at the drive-in and outdoor screenings.
The fest (running June 4-20) opens with a drive-in screening of Antoinette Jadaone's Fan Girl at Community Cinema, one of three outdoor venues that will be hosting this year's big screenings.
The Austin element is strong this year: not only will there be a home town return for Mei Makino's SXSW smash Inbetween Girl as this year's centerpiece film, with a screening at Pioneer Farms, but there'll also be a special premiere screening at the Long Center of Night on Sixth from Mohit Jaswal, complete with stand-up sets from Yola Lu and Tai Nguyen.
Wrapping everything up will be back to Pioneer Farms for a special closing night screening of Definition Please, writer, producer, director and star Sujata Day's story of a former spelling bee champ who has to to find a way to look after her mother and brother while finding a space in her life for herself.
Austin Asian American Film Festival runs June 4-20. Passes for the virtual fest are available now for $99 (going up tp $125 when the full lineup drops on May 24), and tickets for the individual drive-in and outdoor screenings are also now available at www.aaafilmfest.org/2021-aaaff. Now here are the details about this year's drive-in and outdoor screenings:
Opening Night
Fan Girl
D: Antoinette Jadaone
Philippines, Narrative, 2020
Jane, a teenaged fan of movie star Paulo Avelino, stows away in the back of his truck. Caught out at his suburban estate, she is drawn into an unnerving game of cat and mouse and exposed to the darker side of her big-screen crush. (Drive-in @ Community Cinema at Community First! Village, June 4)
Centerpiece
Inbetween Girl
D: Mei Makino
US, Narrative, 2021
Teen artist Angie Chen turns to secret hook-ups with the heartthrob of her private school after her parents' sudden divorce. (Drive-In @ Pioneer Farms, June 11)
Special Event
Night on Sixth
D: Mohit Jaswal
US, Narrative, 2021
After ditching her friends in a bar, Yola journeys downtown looking for an escape from life. What she finds is a ragtag group of artists that take her in and make her question everything. (Long Center, June 16)
Closing Night
Definition Please
D: Sujata Day
US, Narrative, 2020
Former Scribbs Spelling Bee champion and since mundane home tutor, Monica Chowdry must reconcile with her estranged brother when he returns home to help care for their sick mother. (Drive-in @ Pioneer Farms, June 18)
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Austin Asian American Film Festival, AAAFF, Fan Girl, Inbetween Girl, Definition Please, Night on Sixth, Community Cinema, Pioneer Farms, Long Center
