Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF)

Movies, Videos and Sound11-50 Employees

Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) is the only film festival to provide a space for pan-Asian American voices, perspectives, and histories told through multimedia arts in Seattle. Our volunteer-run organization empowers and uplifts Asian American creatives and builds community connections through our annual festival and other year-round events. We aim to be a platform that broadens the understanding of our community’s stories through elevating independent films that reflect the diversity and richness of Asian Americana and Asian diasporas.


A BRIEF HISTORY: From 2003-2007, The Northwest Asian American Film Festival (NWAAFF) directed by Wes Kim showcased works by Asian American filmmakers to Seattle film goers. Since 2007, the program has been on a hiatus. With the guidance of Kim, new festival directors Kevin Bang and Vanessa Au revived the program in 2013 and gave the event a new name — Seattle Asian American Film Festival. 
Eventually, like what happened to previous festival directors, life slowly pulled Bang and Au away from the festival. Staff member Martin Tran, afraid of losing SAAFF’s continuity yet again, volunteered to take over as director in 2016. After he left in 2019 and Au stepped down in 2020, the current directors Victoria Ju and Ellison Shieh weathered SAAFF through the pandemic. With Shieh stepping down after the 2024 festival, Victoria Ju is now the sole executive director and also the longest-running member of SAAFF.

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