The 25th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival rounded things out on Sunday with the North American Premiere of Dear You, the new epic drama from director Lan Hongchun coming this Fall from Well Go USA. The film also scored a Runner-Up for the Audience Award which went to Chung Ji-young’s My Name to close out the 2026 edition.
This year’s festivities saw another round of big names as well, including but not limited to Daniel Wu, star of Cold War 1994, who won the festival’s Best Of The East Award, and Colony star Jun Ji-hyun (Gianna Jun) who received the Extraordinary Star Asia Award. Of course, central to the closing night events was the Uncaged Award with the big win of the night going to director Taichi Kimura, whose Fujiko won Beat Feature Film.
Read the rest of the announcement Feel free to enjoy those reviews and several others I have in the nyaff 2026 tag.
THE 25TH NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS, CLOSING WITH THE NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE OF DEAR YOU
Fujiko Wins Uncaged Award; Turgaud Receives Special Jury Mention; Correct Me If I’m Wrong Takes Best Short Film; Paper Daughter and Si Shui (Still Water) Receive Special Jury Mentions; My Name Claims Audience Award, with Dear You and Montreal, My Beautiful as Runners-Up.
New York, NY (July 27, 2026): The 25th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) wrapped its 17-day run on Sunday, July 26, with a landmark Closing Night celebration at SVA Theatre. The evening featured a red carpet, the announcement of this year’s award winners, and the sold-out North American premiere of Dear You, followed by a Q&A with director Lan Hongchun, lead actress Li Sitong, and producer Zheng Xuanxuan.
Co-presented by the New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center, NYAFF’s 25th edition confirms and strengthens its standing as North America’s leading festival of Asian cinema. More than 100 films from across Asia, the AAPI community, and the Asian diaspora were screened across five New York venues, including Film at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, SVA Theatre, IFC Center, Anthology Film Archives, and the Korean Cultural Center New York. Festival admissions climbed 35 percent over 2025 to more than 20,000.
“After seventeen days, the New York Asian Film Festival closed its 25th edition with record growth and spectacular attendance numbers,” said NYAFF President and Executive Director Samuel Jamier. “Mainstream outlets like The New York Times looked elsewhere; New York did not. New York wants Asian cinema in its full range: vast, unruly, joyful, confrontational, always changing. It does not need that cinema filtered through the gaze of fanboys or safely mummified by the museum establishment. We present it on its own terms, as it exists now. Twenty-five years in, we carry our history proudly. The work is all about what comes next. Exciting times lie ahead.”
UNCAGED AWARD COMPETITION
Japan’s Fujiko, directed by Taichi Kimura, was awarded the Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film, NYAFF’s top prize honoring bold and visionary filmmakers who push the boundaries of cinema. The jury praised the film, saying, “With remarkable confidence, vision, and style, this film embraces the full expressive power of cinema. Through its vibrant visual language and inventive use of animation and music, it tells a deeply heartfelt story centered on a refreshingly complex woman whose messy, imperfect journey through motherhood pushes against the expectations placed on women in 1970s Japan. Colorful, alive, and emotionally resonant, it is a film that reminds us that the most unforgettable characters are often the ones who refuse to be contained.”
The jury also presented a Special Jury Mention to Turgaud, directed by Adilkhan Yerzhanov (Kazakhstan), calling it “a film that surprised us with its bold, muscular visual storytelling, exhilarating and whimsical writing, and mesmerizing performances that felt uniquely poignant, darkly funny, and propulsive. The film gave us a unique window into Kazakhstan from an exciting and accomplished yet undersung filmmaker.”
AUDIENCE AWARD
The NYAFF 2026 Audience Award went to: My Name (내 이름은), directed by South Korean filmmaker Chung Ji-young. Weaving together the story of a high school student grappling with identity and school violence with his mother’s reawakening memories of the long-suppressed trauma of the Jeju 4.3 Uprising, the film is a moving meditation on identity, shame, and a history that continues to demand remembrance.
The runners-up were Lan Hongchun’s Dear You (给阿嬷的情书), the Teochew-language family drama that became one of China’s biggest word-of-mouth box office hits of the year, following a young man who travels to Thailand in search of his long-lost grandfather; and Xiaodan He’s Montreal, My Beautiful (Montréal, ma belle), starring NYAFF Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Joan Chen in a moving portrait of midlife awakening and self-discovery.
SHORTS SHOWCASE WINNERS
This year’s Shorts Showcase jury awarded Best Short Film and two Special Jury Mentions:
Best Short Film: Correct Me If I’m Wrong (Germany/China/U.S., Director: Hao Zhou) – For its honest and vulnerable filmmaking, Correct Me If I’m Wrong is awarded Best Short Film. “Through formally adventurous storytelling, the film takes significant creative risks while remaining deeply emotionally grounded. In an intimate exploration of generational trauma shaped by modern China’s social policies, the filmmaker confronts superstition, homophobia, and family conflict with remarkable compassion, humor, and grace. By placing both himself and his loved ones at the center of the story, the film creates a courageous intimacy that honors the dignity of everyone involved while offering a deeply human portrait of love, tradition, and queer identity.”
Special Jury Mention: Paper Daughter (U.S., Director: Cami Kwan) – The jury awarded a Special Jury Mention to Paper Daughter for its exceptional artistic achievement and inventive storytelling. “Through its handcrafted stop-motion animation and touches of magical realism, the film transforms a familiar history into a richly imagined and deeply personal experience. Offering a fresh perspective on the American immigrant story, particularly the experiences of women, Paper Daughter celebrates resilience across generations with remarkable visual imagination, emotional clarity, and confidence in its distinctive artistic vision.”
Special Jury Mention: Si Shui (Still Water) (China, Japan, Director: Yijian Shan) – “With remarkable control and quiet confidence, the director crafts an intimate portrait of grief against the backdrop of a defining moment in modern Chinese history. Every formal choice serves the story with precision and emotional restraint, creating a film whose impact lingers long after the final frame. The Special Jury Prize for Directing goes to Si Shui (Still Water).”
Over the festival’s run, NYAFF also presented the Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award to Joan Chen, the Extraordinary Star Asia Award to Gianna Jun, the Star Asia Award to Joseph Chang, the Best From the East Award to Daniel Wu, the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema to Na Hong-jin, and the Screen International Rising Star Award to Angela Yuen and Sara Minami.
The 25th New York Asian Film Festival ran July 10–26, with screenings at Film at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, SVA Theatre, IFC Center, Anthology Film Archives, and the Korean Cultural Center New York. The festival’s lineup is selected by NYAFF’s Programming Committee: artistic director Anna Page, president & executive director Samuel Jamier, programming director Claire Marty, programmer David Wilentz, associate programmer Alick Jiang, China region consultant Dana Fukazawa, and consulting programmer Donsaron Kovitvanitcha. The short film program is curated by Melina K. Coumas. The Uncaged Award jury comprised Cindy Cheung, Bao Nguyen, Diane Paragas, and Dan Truong. The Shorts Showcase jury comprised Johnson Cheng, Ida del Mundo, and Jun Li.
NYAFF’s Advisory Council comprises producer and former Academy president Janet Yang; film executive and former Fortissimo Films partner Michael Werner; NBC News anchor Vicky Nguyen; Well Go USA president and CEO Doris Pfardrescher; Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning filmmaker Tony Bui; Strand Releasing co-founder Marcus Hu; former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selector Jeremy Segay; and Chinese American Arts Council founder Alan Chow.
Lead image: Aqua Hsu