Ninth Asian World Film Festival Kickoff Party

by admin · Published October 26, 2023 · Updated October 26, 2023

Culver City, Calif., Oct. 26, 2023 – It was a gas, gas, gas in a restaurant on Culver City last night, where the AWFF held a kickoff party to start the 9^th festival. About 200 guests from entertainment industries showed up to show their support to the festival.

Georges N. Chamchoum, AWFF Executive Director (Right)

“Asian storytellers continue to make an indelible stamp on the art and business of filmmaking,'” said Georges N. Chamchoum, AWFF Executive Director, “This November, the AWFF will showcase Asian content destined to make significant contributions to the craft, to the box office and to streaming services around the world.”

Asel Sherniyazova, Asian World Film Festival Co-Founder and Managing Director

The AWFF this year’s main competition jury lineup of award-winning storytellers and industry leaders. Chinese producer, director, financier and industry mogul Han Sanping, will take the helm as Jury President. The roster will also include acclaimed British film and television director Jon Amiel, Oscar®-winning film producer Donna Gilgliotti, renowned Hollywood producer and executive Paula Wagner and Kazakhstani film critic and reporter Nurgul (Nora) Zhunussova. Additional A-list jury members to be announced in the near future.

The 9th Annual AWFF will be comprised of 10 days of screenings of official submissions for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards® Show, critically acclaimed and commercially successful fare, and content from emerging filmmakers – all with a connection to Asia. The festival will also include activities, exhibitions, summits, and parties – many in collaboration with the Stars Collective – that will highlight Asian talent and the cross-cultural pollination of Asian artistry, ideas and themes.

Andy Cheng (Middle), director of this year’s Martial Arts Day

In addition, AWFF will continue its partnership with the Bruce Lee Foundation and bestow a 2023 Bruce Lee Award to honor an individual who has demonstrated excellence within the martial arts industry.

Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), the annual event celebrating Asian cinema from around the world, announced the dates of its 2023 festival: November 8 – 17. The 9th Annual AWFF, which will be headquartered in Culver City, CA, will open with Um Tae-hwa’s ambitious, post-apocalyptic epic “Concrete Utopia” (Korea) and close with Wuershan’s classic mythology blockbuster “Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms” (China).