The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is the flagship event of Pacific Arts Movement, a San Diego nonprofit that presents Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander media arts. Its programme pairs Asian American independent work with popular hits from across Asia, documentaries and new work by established directors, including West Coast, North American and world premieres. Competition films are directed or principally acted by artists of Asian or Pacific Islander descent, or deal with those communities. An independent jury judges Asian American features and shorts in narrative, documentary, animated and experimental categories; separate prizes include Best International Short, the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award and an Audience Award.
The festival dates back to 2000. The 27th edition runs from 5 to 14 November 2026 with more than 190 films at cinemas and museums across San Diego.
Awards and prizes
Asian American Film Competition: an independent jury of filmmakers, curators, critics, academics and other professionals selects winners for Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Animated Short and Experimental Short, as well as a Grand Jury Award and an optional Special Jury Mention.
International Short Film Competition: Best International Short, for narrative, experimental and documentary work produced in Asia.
George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award: chosen by the programming team for first-time feature filmmakers and other promising new voices, in honour of the festival's late programming director George C. Lin.
Audience Award: every new feature film is eligible; attendees vote immediately after the screening.
Jurors may decline to give an award in a category.
Festival rules
Submissions are accepted through FilmFreeway in six categories: narrative feature, narrative short, documentary feature, documentary short, animated short and experimental short. A feature runs 40 minutes or longer; shorter works are shorts. Programmers may move a film to a more suitable category.
Films entered into competition must be directed or principally acted by an artist of Asian or Pacific Islander descent, or contain subject matter relating to Asian or Pacific Islander cultures or communities.
For the 2026 festival, entries must have been completed after 1 June 2025. A public premiere, if any, must be after 1 August 2025 for short films and after 1 October 2025 for features. Features cannot have been exhibited in San Diego at another festival or commercial venue, or be available to American audiences on broadcast, home video or online, before 20 November 2026. Short films previously shown online are eligible.
Non-English dialogue must be subtitled in English. Films previously rejected by the festival cannot be re-entered. Works in progress may be submitted with a note on what is still unfinished.
Entrants are responsible for all rights and licences. The festival does not guarantee screening fees.
