SXSW 2025: Asian diaspora and Pasifika artists to watch

Cold Tea Collective attended our first-ever SXSW conference this year. The two-week conference took place in Austin, Texas. From official events to off-schedule meetups and big brand activations, we celebrated the Asian diaspora and Pasifika music artists and filmmakers featured at this year’s event. 

Continue reading to see our Cold Tea Collective Watchlist: SxSW 2025, with the Asian diaspora and Pasifika music artists and filmmakers who we are most excited about. 

SxSW feature films to watch by Asian diaspora and Pasifika filmmakers

Feature films by Asian diaspora and Pasifika filmmakers at SxSW 2025: 

FORGE

• Director: Jing Ai Ng
• Executive Producer: Dave A. Liu
• Producers: Liz Daering-Glass, Gabrielle Cordero, Jing Ai Ng, Damian Bao
• Cinematographer: Leo Purman
• Principal Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Andie Ju, Brandon Soo Hoo, Edmund Donovan, Eva De Dominici, T. R. Knight, Jack Falahee, Sonya Walger

In Miami, the resourceful Zhang siblings, Raymond and Coco, sell forged paintings to unsuspecting clients. Despite their thriving underground operation, the siblings are still short on cash when they cross paths with disgraced millionaire Holden Beaumont. Sensing an opportunity to make a fortune, Holden convinces the Zhangs to forge long lost masterpieces as a front for his family’s collection. 

Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee moves from New York to Miami, discovers a plethora of forgeries cropping up in the South Florida art market. As Emily continues to investigate the Zhang siblings’ work, their lives converge to devastating effect in the Zhang family dim sum restaurant.

Hear more from the cast on what drew them to the project: 

SLANTED – Narrative Feature Competition Winner

• Director: Amy Wang
• Executive Producer: Hannah Pillemer, Fernando Szew
• Producer: Amy Wang, Mark Ankner, Trevor Wall, Adel “Future” Nur
• Principal Cast: Shirley Chen, McKenna Grace, Vivian Wu, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Amelie Zilber, Fang Du, Elaine Hendrix, R. Keith Harris

As a senior in high school, Joan Huang idolizes winning Prom Queen as the embodiment of popularity, beauty and the ultimate form of acceptance into American life. In her relentless pursuit for the crown, she undergoes an experimental racial transformation to become White and win Prom Queen. However, what she thought was a dream come true soon reveals itself to be an emotional and physical nightmare. “Slanted” offers a searing and unapologetically satirical view on race and the uncomfortable journey of learning to love yourself and your culture.

The SxSW Narrative Features Jury describes the film as “this unflinching satirical thriller examines racial identity in a bold and skin-tingling new way. Featuring simmering performances by the cast, this film is both specific to the fractured identity of Asian Americans and universally relatable in its theme of desperately needing to belong. The director’s vulnerability in mining her personal experience combined with her delicate and daring filmmaking create a haunting piece that lingers long after the credits roll.” 

THE MAKINGS OF CURTIS MAYFIELD 

• Director: H.E.R.
• Producers: Peter Afterman, Mari Keiko Gonzalez, Sarah Haber
• Cinematographer: Jerry Henry
• Music: H.E.R.
• Principal Cast: Curtis Mayfield, H.E.R., Dr. Dre, Mary J Blige, John Legend, Lena Waithe, Stephen Marley, Maxwell, Tom Morello, Jimmy Jam

The Makings of Curtis Mayfield, directed by and featuring Grammy and Academy Award-winning artist, H.E.R. (Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson), is a love letter to an artist who influenced generations of musicians and creatives, Curtis Mayfield. 

Wilson has previously shared much love and appreciation for her mixed Filipina and Black American heritage and how that has inspired her journey as a singer, songwriter, actor and now director. The Makings of Curtis Mayfield is H.E.R.’s debut directorial feature-length documentary film. 

As per SxSW, “the film focuses on Mayfield’s influential songwriting, innovative guitar playing, film soundtrack work, and his ability to write from different perspectives. Spotlighting everything from his civil rights anthems to his love songs, The Makings of Curtis Mayfield pays homage to Mayfield by underscoring his direct impact on some of the most renowned artists of our generation.” Some of those artists include H.E.R., alongside other icons Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Maxwell and more. 

Special Jury Award for a Multi-Hyphenate: Annapurna Sriram, Fucktoys

The SxSW Jury describes director Annapurna Sriram as “…a visionary force, a rare artist whose work is as daring as it is singular. In this dynamic and revelatory comedic fantasy, Sriram delivers an audacious cinematic experience that defies convention. As the film’s director, writer, executive producer, and star, she masterfully wields the power of storytelling, immersing audiences in a world that feels both wildly original and deeply resonant.”

FOREVER WE ARE YOUNG 

• Directors: Grace Lee, Patty Ahn
• Executive Producers: Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers, James Shin
• Producers: Eurie Chung, Nora Chute

BTS ARMY is everywhere from Seoul to Los Angeles, Texas to Mexico City. FOREVER WE ARE YOUNG dives into the passionate fandom that catapulted the K-pop band BTS into a global household name. We meet fans at a BTS-focused ReactorCon in Lewisville, Texas, a dance teacher in Seoul who teaches BTS choreography, and fans who’ve been organizing since 2013 to help BTS conquer the charts. Defying the stereotypes of pop fans, ARMY has evolved into an intergenerational, culturally savvy, and politically active movement that is as diverse as the world itself. FWAY captures the powerful spirit of activism and collectivity that make ARMY a symbol of hope and unity in our ever-fractured world.

See also: You never walk alone: embracing identity through BTS and fandom

Short films by Asian diaspora and Pasifika filmmakers to watch at SxSW 2025

Short in form, but not short on talent or impact, these short films caught our attention at SxSW 2025: 

• LAST CALL (Winnie Cheung, Celia Au)
• NERVOUS ENERGY (Eve Liu)
• GRANDMA’S FOUR COLOR CARDS (Sally Tran, Ngân Lê, Kiều Vy)
• WORDS OF HER (Charlene Xu)
• Yú Cì FISH BONES (Kevin Xian Ming Yu)

Emerging directors to watch on the rise from SXSW 2025

Check out these upcoming talented filmmakers who were featured at SXSW 2025. Their work represents a diverse range of lived experiences, cultures, and countries. 

• Alexander Ullom: The 27-year-old Jamaican Chinese Caucasian director, writer and editor is one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His debut feature, It Ends, premiered at SXSW 2025. 
• Sally Tran: Tran is a writer/director based in NYC and Vietnam, originally from New Zealand. Her debut short narrative, Don’t, premiered at TIFF 2024 and is working on upcoming projects, Tình Tiền Tội: Love Money Sin and  Love Cycle.
• Karina Dandashi: Dandashi is a Syrian-American filmmaker whose films explore nuances in identity through family, culture, and sexuality in the Arab diaspora. Her feature script “Out of Water” was chosen for the Film Independent Screenwriting Lab in 2023 and her latest short “Cousins” is out on The New Yorker. 
• Alexander Farah: The Afghan-Canadian writer, director and editor recently premiered his film One Day This Kid at TIFF in 2024. Farah’s music video, “Meet You At The Light” won both Grand Jury and Audience Choice Awards at SXSW in 2022.
• Kayla Abuda Galang: Galang’s film, When You Left Me on That Boulevard, won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film.
• Huiju Park: The London-based documentary filmmaker offers audiences a reflective experience as she integrates herself as a character in her films that explore feminism, human rights, and social issues prevalent in Asian countries.

See also: WATCHLIST: 12 films to watch with Asian and Black romance on screen