The New York Asian Film Festival is North America’s leading festival of popular Asian cinema, and one of the top, most anticipated and critically acclaimed events in New York City.

With the accelerating pace of global innovation, corporations in any field benefits from gaining insights and influence from these diverse cultures which are inspiring their own new generation of creators, inventors and consumers.

NYAFF brings Asia to New York with an immersive two- week festival. An energy-filled event designed to bring new perspectives, experiences, ways of thinking and seeing that provoke thought, bring wonder, and new visions to our audience.

The festival presents the roughest, sharpest, and smoothest of today’s cutting-edge Asian film scene to sold out audiences every summer.

Held each summer for over two weeks, NYAFF comprises of 70+ films and live events, which are attended by 15,000+ a diverse audience that includes dedicated film lovers, pop-culture enthusiasts, and industry and media professionals.

Since 2010, the Festival has been produced in collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center, America’s most prestigious film institution best known for the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films, and for publishing the country’s most respected cinematic journal, Film Comment.

Film at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater and state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, both serve as regular venues for NYAFF while Alice Tully Hall and the Lincoln Center Plaza serve as special screening locations. NYAFF also utilizes the Amphitheater for HBO TALKS and panels.

The festival’s lineup encompasses everything from larger-than-life blockbusters, action extravaganzas, delirious rom-coms and genre curiosities to high-concept art house titles and provocative documentaries.

It also includes retrospectives, special tributes to major artists, gala screenings, select screenings of classic films, and a wide number of world, international, North American, and New York premieres.

Since 2002, the Festival has honored the best of Asian cinema with awards recognizing both established and up-and-coming filmmakers and actors. The Festival brings Asian talent to the forefront while showing American audiences the immense creativity of Asian cinema. Listed are notable award winners of previous years.

NYAFF is the only film festival in the U.S. that gives close access to top stars, filmmakers, and artists from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia with the American audience, movie industry and media – providing the unique opportunity to be a part of trends in the making.

The New York Asian Film Festival kicks off every year with our signature Night Market soiree. Inspired by the bustling bazaars that are a staple in many Asian countries, this event follows the festival’s opening night film with delicious food from New York City’s best and Asian restaurants, a prime beverage and desert selection and live music, all against the backdrop of an Asian cinema-themed art gallery. Often celebrities joining the party. The Night Market has proven to be a highlight of the summer in New York.

NYAFF's Asian American Focus was established in 2021 with the purpose of empowering and uplifting our Asian and Asian American communities. This section changed into the Diasporic Discoveries last year. Asian American and Asian filmmakers who are based outside of the US are included in this section. The featured films blur the distinctions between East and West identities and provide a unique look into their worldviews and perspectives.

NYAFF receives wide and major coverage from international, national and local media outlets – TV, magazine, newspaper, radio with corresponding online channels. Screen International, the leading film industry resource covering international film markets, is the festival’s official Rising Star Award media sponsor. In the previous years we have been covered by the following publications amongst many others.

"Arguably the world’s best-curated program of new and classic Asian cinema" - Indiewire

"The top tier of New York's film festivals" - The New York Times

"Fitting time for fireworks" - New York Times Sunday Styles

"North America's biggest festival of popular Asian Cinema" - Film Business Asia

"A permanent fixture on any self-respecting cinephile's landscape" - Film Forward

NYAFF’s social media marketing and presence are geared towards community-building and serves as a multi-faceted forum where people share passions and ideas about cinema (Asian and otherwise) and Asian cultures. NYAFF benefits from a network of guest influencers with major social media impact and at the fore front of digital marketing.