2025 Local Showcase - 1
Saturday, March 15th, 2025
Join us in celebrating the Short Films made by local Asian & Asian American filmmakers! This showcase features films and filmmakers you won't want to miss!
There will be Q&As after the showcase so you can get to know our local talent!
Q&A Following the Showcase with Moderator Roma Sur!
Roma Sur
Roma Sur is a screenwriter, filmmaker, and an educator at the University of Denver, where she teaches Scriptwriting and Film Production. She writes young adult and female driven dramas with levity. Sur was recently featured in Marquis Who's Who of America 125th edition, for excellence in arts and entertainment. She is currently on the Executive committee of @Womanhood_theseries Season 2. She loves her role on the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival programming committee, as it is a wonderful way of giving back to the Colorado community through cinema that celebrates her AANHPI roots.
Saturday, March 15th, 11:30AM - 1:30PM
Colorado Dragon Boat Festival Mini Documentary, directed by Bruce Tetsuya
Dive into the rich history and vibrant legacy of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, which has been uniting communities and celebrating Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) cultures for 25 years. Through breathtaking footage of the dragon boat festival, heartfelt interviews with organizers and community leaders, and a deep exploration of the festival’s cultural impact, this film captures the spirit of tradition, resilience, and unity.
From its humble beginnings to becoming one of the largest dragon boat festivals in the country, this documentary highlights the dedication behind the event, the stories of those who keep it alive, and the powerful way it brings people together. As we mark this milestone anniversary, we reflect on the past and look toward the future of this beloved Colorado tradition.
Processions, directed by Bruce Tetsuya
June, a survivor of the Japanese American incarceration camps, takes her first pilgrimage for her 70th birthday, to confront all her demons, shame, and fear — whether she wants to or not.
Film Maker: Bruce Tetsuya
Bruce Tetsuya is a Japanese filmmaker and father. His latest short films, Procession and End of Things have garnered international festival acclaim.
Bruce is also the founder of HOUSE OF KODO - a full service film production & creative marketing company.
If he’s not on set, you can find Bruce on the tennis court, making an espresso, or exploring new lands with his wife, son, and daughter. Bruce is currently in early pre-production stages for his first feature film.
Noodle Therapy, directed by Lava Khonsuwon
Caught between two worlds, Rose and Jacob, mixed Isaan-Thai teens, distance themselves from their Isaan-Thai heritage. However, attending a traditional ceremony forces them to embrace their cultural identity. As they witness the beauty and significance of the rituals, they discover a sense of belonging they never knew they craved.
Film Maker: Lava Khonsuwon
Award winning Isaan - Thai American filmmaker with 18 years experience across multiple positions in the film industry. Lava is driven to create films for her community that encourage positivity and overcoming challenges.
Lava is in the 2023 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) mentorship program, 2023 Commercial Director Diversity Program (CDDP) cohort, and is a Stowe Story Lab New Voices New Mexico Fellow. She also won a 2023 Silver and Bronze Telly.
Granny Playdate, directed by Terry Ngo
A Vietnamese boat refugee elder is the only one of her generation in Sante Fe. Her grandchildren recognize her loneliness and try to bring comfort into her life.
Film Maker: Terry Ngo
Terry Ngo is a filmmaker, educator, and community organizer. Her films include Santa Fe Resident, Granny Boot Camp (nominated for Best Short at the Viet Film Fest and won Best Comedy at the Madrid Film Festival), Granny Playdate, C a m p, and Ofrenda. The films good enough, Show Up, and Thread were collaborations with her husband Nick Stofocik. Her films have all been on the film festival circuit. She is the proud recipient of the NMWIF Finishing Funds Grant for the documentary Santa Fe Resident Too.
Melting Glacier of the Himalayas, directed by Shivani Pradhan
A popular YouTuber from the Philippines is invited to Everest Base Camp in Nepal to find out about the beautiful Himalayan Glaciers, the origin of freshwater to billions of lives.
Film Maker: Shivani Pradhan
Digital Coordinator: Digital Marketing Chief of Partynepal, Shivani is also a Co-Editor of PARTYNEPAL magazine (Nepal's largest English entertainment magazine.)
My Name Is Not Amy, directed by Dewi Sungai
Against the backdrop of the worst wildfire in Colorado history, a mixed-race Native Bornean filmmaker examines the truth of her transracial, transnational adoption into white suburban America, triggering an awakening that challenges memory, coloniality, and the adopted name she was given.
Film Maker: Dewi Sungai
Dewi (day-wee) Sungai is a mixed-race Native Bornean mother, wife, and filmmaker who was born in Indonesia, adopted as an infant by white American parents, renamed “Amy,” and raised in the U.S. in white suburbia. Dewi’s experiences as a transracial and transnational adoptee led her to a filmmaking career that centers Indigenous voices and challenges narratives spun from white supremacy culture and colonialist worldviews. She and her life+creative partner, Jason Houston, founded eight16 creative, under which they produce creative nonfiction films and photography and champion sovereign storytelling in local and Native communities around the world.
Black Metal, directed by Michael Hyon Johnson
The story centers on a biracial, Black/Asian teenager who aspires to succeed as a heavy metal artist, defying his father, a failed jazz musician. The film explores themes of ambition, generational conflict, racial identity, and the pursuit of one's identity against familial expectations.
Film Maker: Michael Hyon Johnson
Michael Hyon Johnson is a BlacKorean Air Force veteran and writer and director who first gained notoriety with Machinima, Inc as the artist, Harabek. Michael has produced award winning narrative short films, music videos, and branded content.
Michael's work often focuses on characters from blue-collar, low income families, mixed race protagonists, and ensemble casts navigating uncomfortable conversations and difficult themes.
Michael earned a MFA from Chapman University and is the winner of the M Film Lab 2022 Spring program. He was also selected as a mentee of the Netflix Animation Foundation's writing program, the Writer's Guild Foundation's: Veterans Writing Project; and is a VME - AT&T Veterans Media Fellow.
Tenkara, directed by Micah Groenevelt & Jeffrey Carabelos
In this cerebral business meeting, Marie and Jonah, two brilliant but underfunded scientists, seek financial backing from Banko Yoshimura, a formidable Japanese business tycoon with his own enigmatic and possibly unethical agenda. What begins as a skeptical and conflict ridden prospect for funding soon turns into a high-stakes battle of wits, as both parties test each other’s intelligence, motives, and limits. Hidden ambitions, moral dilemmas, and the price of progress come to the forefront, leading to an ultimate reckoning where the line between benefactor and manipulator blurs.
Film Makers: Micah Groenevelt & Jeffrey Carabelos
Micah has been directing movies since high school, won multiple awards for his short films, and has owned and run his own video production business for 7 years. His passion has always been for directing, but he’s written, produced, shot and edited hundreds of commercials.
Jeffrey has been writing, speaking publicly, and leading organizations for over twenty years. He started his music studio, Harmonic Alchemy in 2021 and spends his time composing and writing for film.