Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival kicks off Thursday

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The 10-day Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, known as PAAFF, begins Thursday and it all kicks off with a new film, starring Margaret Cho.

In "All That We Love," Cho plays Emma, whose grief over the death of her beloved dog opens up a space to approach love in a new light.

"Figure out, like, what's really important in your life. And like, reassess your relationships, reassess sort of the way that you deal with loss," she said.

It's a comedy and drama.

"I think it's a really, just one of those beautiful small stories that's actually very universal," Cho said.

The film's director, who based the film on his own loss, will fly in for the Center City screening and a talk afterward.

"And I'm very grateful to to be able to have those kind of conversations and to be able to sort of channel a lot of my own sort of grief into, you know, a piece of work, and and have that work be seen, and share it with people," said director Yen Tan.

"Lucia says she wishes we could be at the premiere, too," Cho added.

PAAFF received close to 600 submissions from all over the world and chose over 100 to screen.

"Different genres of comedy, animation, feature, documentary. And so I really think there is something for everyone," said PAAFF Executive Director Nani Shin.

The films come from over 25 countries, including Kazakhstan.

"Indonesia, Malaysia, India. Iran, Mongolia," said Shin. "Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon so we're really proud that we have such a wide range of countries represented."

A very diverse group.

"I think that in itself is a story that's worth telling," said Shin.

This year PAAFF's theme is "reflection" which Shin says has a dual mission to think about our reflection on the big screen and to reflect on our history and our present.

"How can we really reflect on who we are? And how are our stories being told what is our identity within those storylines," she said.

And while all the films have an Asian connection, the festival is for everyone with diverse themes and topics, including a documentary about the underground dance scene in Philadelphia.

"Our centerpiece film. You don't have to go home, but is by a filmmaker who is half Korean, half French, and he is right here from Philly, and it really is a documentary that is a love letter to Philadelphia," said Shin.

PAAFF runs from this Thursday to November 17.