SHOWTIME: Sunday July 27th at 9:30 PM

SYNOPSIS: LEE Dong-hwi, a washed-up comedy actor, aspires to change his image to a serious drama actor. Fortunately, he lands the role of a majestic king in a historical drama, but unexpected challenges begin to unfold for him. Will he be able to pull off method acting and succeed in changing his public image?

DIRECTOR: LEE Ki-hyuk | LANGUAGE: Korean

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 92 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: South Korea | GENRE: Comedy/Drama

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 27 at 7 PM

SYNOPSIS: Teenage assassins Chisato Sugimoto (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro Fukagawa (Saori Izawa) are back—and so are their conflicting personalities. Trying to live normal lives while working for a crime syndicate, they’re quickly targeted by another deadly duo. Between long shifts at minimum wage jobs and unhinged shootouts in stairwells and offices, the girls have each other’s backs, knives, and handguns. A lean, stylish action comedy with characters worth rooting for.

DIRECTOR: Yugo Sakamoto | LANGUAGE: Japanese

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 103 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Japan | GENRE: Action/Comedy

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 27 at 4:45 PM

SYNOPSIS: Han-ah is a blunt blue-haired woman taking a liberal film art class. No one gives her sincere feedback on her screenplay, which is full of anger toward men. But only one person, Cheol, an aspiring director who wishes to make a feature film, approaches her and says, “Hey, isn’t this screenplay hatred of men?” He believes a sponsored enterprise didn’t select his screenplay because it didn’t receive the ‘extra points from woman’s film.’ He ridiculously suggests that Han-ah team up with him.

DIRECTOR: Lee Jong-min and Yeum Moon-kyoung | LANGUAGE: Korean

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 78 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: South Korea | GENRE: Drama/Comedy

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 27 at 2:30 PM

SYNOPSIS: Fanny (Effy Han), a Chinese immigrant facing deportation, pins her last hopes on staying in the U.S. by paying Jeff (Jeff Man), an unemployed lost soul, to marry her. During this year-long charade, they tiptoe around each other's differences. As quiet moments turn into clashes, they navigate through their awkwardness and are forced to learn to work together.

DIRECTOR: Jeff Man | LANGUAGE: English

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 91 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: USA | GENRE: Comedy/Drama/Romance

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 27 at 12 PM

SYNOPSIS: A man is separated from his daughter by a false accusation and risks his pride as a samurai to seek revenge. Kakunoshin Yanagida, a ronin, is accused of a crime he does not commit and mourns the death of his wife. He is forced to leave his hometown, the Hikone domain, and lives with his daughter, Okinu, in a poor tenement house in Edo (Tokyo). Even under such circumstances, he does not lose his pride as a samurai. His only pleasure is to play the game of Go, which he plays without pretense. His way of playing Go reflects his sincere character. One day, Kakunoshin finds the truth behind a tragic false accusation by an old clan acquaintance and decides to take revenge. To support her father, Okinu chooses to sacrifice herself. A father and daughter's battle for pride begins.

DIRECTOR: Kazuya Shiraishi | LANGUAGE: Japanese

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 129 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Japan | GENRE: Historical Drama

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 26th at 9 PM

SYNOPSIS: Set in Taipei, the story follows Jie, a young fencer who reconnects with his estranged older brother Han, recently released from juvenile prison after serving time for killing an opponent during a fencing match. As Jie trains for the national championships under Han's guidance, he grapples with the resurfacing of Han's violent tendencies, leading him to question his brother's true nature.

DIRECTOR: Nelicia Low | LANGUAGE: Mandarin

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 109 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Singapore / Taiwan / Poland | GENRE: Psychological Thriller

PRESENTED BY COMMUNITY PARTNER AGAINST THE GRAIN PRODUCTIONS

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 26 at 6:15 PM

SYNOPSIS: Tam, a hardworking wedding venue staffer, learns of her husband’s affair while watching live TV. Instead of confronting him, she turns to a powerful spell master in a desperate bid to reclaim his love. Her daughter, Ha, channels her anger into vibrant fantasies of escaping to a better life abroad. All the while, a mysterious House Spirit—seen only by the women—lingers beneath their crumbling, leaky ceiling, silently bearing witness to their unraveling world.

DIRECTOR: Duong Dieu Linh | LANGUAGE: Vietnamese

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 97 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Vietnam/Singapore/Philippines/Indonesia | GENRE: Fantasy/Drama/Comedy

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 26th at 2:30 PM

SYNOPSIS: Qatar is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, and its luxurious surface and rapid growth are powered by migrant workers who make 89% of the population. And they also feel compelled to help its struggling street cats. When an American flight attendant and cat cafe owner becomes aware of the crisis, she hatches a plan to fly 25 cats to Milwaukee, where her cat cafe provides a pipeline for adoption. Presenting a microcosm of a global crisis, the film asks searching questions about animal welfare, all within a ticking-clock narrative about the nuts and bolts of a rescue mission. It is both an urgent wake-up call and a heartwarming story of overcoming international barriers for a common goal.

DIRECTOR: Mye Hoang | LANGUAGE: English

YEAR: 2025 | RUNNING TIME: 95 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: USA | GENRE: Documentary

PRESENTED BY COMMUNITY PARTNER CREATIVE MORNINGS DALLAS

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 26th at 12 PM

SYNOPSIS: Within the confines of a massage parlor in Flushing, Queens, three women’s lives intersect: one driven by survival, another by hope, and the third by the pursuit of a different future. Beneath the fluorescent lights, they find humor and tenderness in unexpected places, revealing a quiet resilience. Constance Tsang’s striking debut examines labor, migration, and female friendship through restrained storytelling and luminous visuals.

DIRECTOR: Constance Tsang | LANGUAGE: English and Mandarin

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 116 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: China/USA | GENRE: Drama

PRESENTED BY COMMUNITY PARTNER DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST

SHOWTIME: Friday July 25th at 8 PM

SYNOPSIS: In a snow-swept Winnipeg, school teacher Sumi (Leere Park) is hospitalized after a fall. On hearing the news, her anxious mother, Sara (Kim Ho-jung, Revivre), flies over from Seoul to be with her comatose daughter — and once Sara sets herself up in the young woman's apartment, she discovers she doesn't really know Sumi at all. Sara despairs about her daughter's single status, so she immediately starts catfishing the pleasant Min (Jonathan Kim) to be Sumi's boyfriend — once she wakes up, of course — and also gets unwittingly entangled with Min's estranged father, Sam (Won-Jae Lee), who runs a Korean restaurant in the city. As Sam and the widowed Sara connect over their mutual melancholies, a chance meeting with Sumi's co-worker Amaya (Amara Pedroso Saquel, Cha Cha Real Smooth) leads Sara to learn more about the life from which her daughter has chosen to exclude her. In a departure from his previous films, filmmaker Johnny Ma (Old Stone) embarks in a bold new direction, using suburban Winnipeg as the stage for a unique mash-up of genres - a stylized, whimsical narrative of crossed wires, secret lives, and conflicting agendas.

DIRECTOR: Johnny Ma | LANGUAGE: English/Korean

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 100 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Canada/Chile | GENRE: Comedy/Drama

SHOWTIME: Friday July 25th at 5:45 PM

SYNOPSIS: Fumika Matsuoka, a struggling college student, inadvertently becomes possessed by the vengeful spirit of Hideo Kudo, a hitman betrayed and murdered by his own organization. Bound together, Fumika and Kudo embark on a quest for revenge, with Kudo granting Fumika supernatural strength to confront his killers.

DIRECTOR: Kensuke Sonomura | LANGUAGE: Japanese

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 105 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Japan | GENRE: Action/Comedy/Crime

SHOWTIME: Friday July 25th at 3:45 PM

SYNOPSIS: In the valley of Manipur, Boong (a little boy) fights to reclaim his innocent childhood from the warring world of adults. The film poignantly captures the loss of childhood in conflict zones, and the resilient spirit of a child who resists being shaped by the violence around him.

DIRECTOR: Lakshmipriya Devi | LANGUAGE: Manipuri (with English subtitles)

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 93 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: India/France | GENRE: Coming-of-Age Drama

PRESENTED BY COMMUNITY PARTNER SPACY

SHOWTIME: Friday July 25th at 12 PM

SYNOPSIS: Thirteen-year-old Su-yeon is left alone after the death of her grandmother, her only guardian. Facing the threat of being placed in foster care, she sets out to secure a new home by ingratiating herself with her best friend's family—and even online influencers. As she navigates shifting households and uneasy relationships, Waterdrop unfolds into a haunting psychological survival story, exploring identity, trust, and the quiet desperation of a child determined to belong.

DIRECTOR: Choi Jong-yong | LANGUAGE: South Korea

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 108 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: South Korea | GENRE: Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Coming-of-Age

SHOWTIME: Thursday July 24th at 7:30 PM

SYNOPSIS: Penalty Loop is a time-loop thriller and the second film by director Shinji Araki, known for his unique dystopian mystery debut, The Town of Headcounts. The story follows a man trapped in an endless cycle, reliving the same day to avenge the murder of his girlfriend. As he confronts his enemy in this looping world, his quest for revenge gradually turns inward, forcing him to face himself. Blending social themes with psychological tension, Araki explores the uncertain emotions of human nature within a haunting, repetitive reality.

DIRECTOR: Shinji Araki | LANGUAGE: Japanese

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 99 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Japan | GENRE: Sci Fi/Drama

PRESENTED BY COMMUNITY PARTNER CREATIVE MORNINGS DALLAS

SHOWTIME: Thursday July 24th at 5:30 PM

SYNOPSIS: On a Japanese island, life revolves around the changing seasons. Winter is time for ice hockey at school, but Takuya isn't too thrilled about it. His real interest lies in Sakura, a figure skating rising star from Tokyo, for whom he starts to develop a genuine fascination. Coach and former champion Arakawa, spots potential in Takuya, and decides to mentor him to form a duo with Sakura for an upcoming competition. As winter persists, feelings grow, and the two children form a harmonious bond. But even the first snow eventually melts away.

DIRECTOR: Hiroshi Okuyama | LANGUAGE: Japanese

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 90 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Japan/France | GENRE: Drama

SHOWTIME: Thursday July 24th at 1:30 PM

SYNOPSIS: Jin-woo gets caught goofing around during class. As punishment, he is forced to sit in front of class president Sun-ah and be monitored by her. Although Sun-ah is a model student and Jin-woo is a troublemaker, the two grow close. However, they are bad at expressing their feelings. Our first love is about to begin!

DIRECTOR: CHO Young-myoung | LANGUAGE: Korean

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 101 Minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: South Korea | GENRE: Comedy/Drama/Romance

SHOWTIME: Thursday July 24th at 12:00 PM

SYNOPSIS: What happens when you give young filmmakers from the DFW area the tools to tell their stories? You get something pretty extraordinary.

These aren't your typical student films. These are the works of emerging storytellers who are questioning, exploring, and pushing boundaries right here in our own backyard. Each short film represents a unique perspective, a fresh voice, and the kind of creative courage that makes you stop and think.

This showcase is about more than just watching films. It's about witnessing the next generation of creators as they discover their voice, challenge assumptions, and share what matters to them. These local students are doing what great storytellers do: they're showing us the world through their eyes and asking us to see things differently.

Come discover what the future of filmmaking looks like when young minds are given the freedom to explore, create, and share their truth. You might just find yourself inspired to see your own community in a whole new way.

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 28th at 9:00 PM

SYNOPSIS: Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In follows Chan Lok-kwun, a troubled youth who accidentally enters the Walled City and discovers a unique sense of order amidst the chaos. As he navigates this treacherous environment, he forms close bonds with other key figures, including Shin and Twelfth Master.

Under the leadership of Tornado, a legendary and feared underworld figure, Chan and his allies strive to protect the Walled City from the villain Mr. Big, a crime lord hired by the colonial government to destroy their sanctuary. The film features intense action scenes and explores themes of survival, friendship, and resistance against oppression.

DIRECTOR: Soi Cheang | LANGUAGE: Mandarin

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Hong Kong | GENRE: Action

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 28th at 2:30PM

SYNOPSIS: ASHIMA follows elite rock climber Ashima Shiraishi as she travels to South Africa to attemptto become the youngest climber to master one of the world’s most challenging climbs.Accompanying Ashima is her father and coach Poppo, a former avante-garde dancer who bringsan eccentric, tough-love approach to Ashima’s training. Examining the sacrifices required toachieve at the highest level and the complex relationship between immigrant parents and theirchildren, ASHIMA is an intimate coming-of-age story about climbing, family, and the pursuit of the American Dream.

DIRECTOR: Kenji Tsukamoto | LANGUAGE: English

YEAR: 2023 | RUNNING TIME: 86 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: United States | GENRE: Documentary

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 27th at 5PM

SYNOPSIS: In the wee morning hours at a remote railway station in rural India, a chance encounter changes the lives of a few young people forever.

Gautam Bansal is there to pick up his brother Raman for an extravagant destination wedding. Their already tenuous relationship and the thin veneer of familial love is challenged when they chance upon Jhumpa Mahato. An already broken woman with little to her name, Jhumpa is beside herself with panic when she wakes from her slumber to discover her infant daughter missing.

A series of unfortunate incidents embroil the two brothers into Jhumpa’s pitiful endeavor to be reunited with her young child.

​Raman, ever on a crusade for justice and righting the world’s wrongs, believes it's their moral duty to come to the helpless women's aid. Gautam, believes more in the pleasures of a privileged life, and hardly cares to know more about what does not concern him. 

​This perilous journey through the unforgiving hinterlands thrusts the young men out of their sheltered existence, compelling them to confront the harshness of reality. The Bansal brothers and Jhumpa are forced to navigate the dark underbelly of society, testing their resilience, trust, and ultimately, their humanity.

DIRECTOR: Karan Tejpal | LANGUAGE: Hindi

YEAR: 2023 | RUNNING TIME: 94 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: India | GENRE: Thriller

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 28th at 5PM

SYNOPSIS: After his devastatingly fast, samurai-style combat approach sets filmmakers against him, a legendary action star (Tak Sakaguchi) films his own movie—on turf claimed by feuding yakuza gangs, including Japan’s deadliest martial arts assassin.

DIRECTOR: Yamaguchi Yudai | LANGUAGE: Japanese

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Japan | GENRE: Action

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 27th at 7:30 PM

SYNOPSIS: Someone is watching you behind the screen.

Min-cheol, who works at a motel, makes dirty money by filming illegal sex videos of the guests. Although feeling guilty, he has no choice but to continue the job to pay loan shark debts. On one rainy night, he witnesses a guy strangling a drunk woman to death through the hidden camera. Still debating between selling this provocative footage and reporting a crime, Min-cheol now has to make a decision.

DIRECTOR: Yeon Je-gwang | LANGUAGE: Korean

YEAR: 2023 | RUNNING TIME: 76 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: South Korea | GENRE: Thriller

SHOWTIME: Sunday July 28th at 7PM

SYNOPSIS: In the early 1980s in Northeast China, factories were in decline and thefts were occurring one after another. After the sharpshooter Gu Xuebing retired for some reason, he became an ordinary officer in the factory security department. He admires Xiao Jin, a single mother, and accidentally finds that Xiao Jin's son, Geng Xiaojun, is wandering on the edge of crime, Gu Xuebing is determined to bring him back to the right path.

DIRECTOR: Gao Peng | LANGUAGE: Mandarin

YEAR: 2023 | RUNNING TIME: 117 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: China | GENRE: Crime Drama

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 27th at 12PM

SYNOPSIS: Art is Love: Nepal is a documentary directed by the creative duo Daniel Driensky and Sarah Reyes from Exploredinary. The film features Texas artist Sean Starr on a journey to Nepal, where he explores and documents traditional and handcrafted arts that are at risk of disappearing.

The documentary showcases a variety of Nepali artisans, including Thangka painters, woodcarvers, singing bowl manufacturers, paper makers, basket weavers, and traditional musicians and dancers. These artists share their craft and the cultural significance behind their work, which has been passed down through generations.

The project aims to highlight the importance of preserving these art forms in a rapidly changing global landscape dominated by technology. The film was shot in early March 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic caused international lockdowns, and captures the vivid experiences and connections between the artists from Texas and Nepal.

DIRECTOR: Daniel Driensky and Sarah Reyes | LANGUAGE: English

YEAR: 2024 | RUNNING TIME: 71 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: United States/Nepal | GENRE: Documentary

SHOWTIME: Saturday July 27th at 12PM

SYNOPSIS: In 1989, eleven-year-old LIAO Jie and his father have been saving money, hoping that they will be able to buy a house of their own in three years. However, they fail to notice that the world is rapidly changing.

The property prices have rocketed, and in the blink of an eye, their savings are not enough anymore. In frustration, LIAO comes to realize the harsh reality of being poor. In contrast to his father, their landlord, whom people call “Old Fox,” emerges as a winner, and he seems to be a better mentor to LIAO. Old Fox teaches LIAO how to survive in this cruel society, and that is something his father has never taught him.

Nonetheless, LIAO ends up hurting Old Fox with what he has learned from Old Fox. On the other hand, just like his father, LIAO is someone who always empathizes with others, and it is this quality that stops LIAO from becoming another “Old Fox.”

DIRECTOR: HSIAO Ya-Chuan | LANGUAGE: Mandarin

YEAR: 2023 | RUNNING TIME: 112 minutes | COLOR

COUNTRY: Taiwan | GENRE: Period Family Coming-of-age Drama