A day-long event that celebrates the rise and triumph of Asian-American cuisine taking place on Saturday, July 14 in Brooklyn.

From a Pancit (Filipino Spaghetti) Western take on sisterly revenge to the real life tale of a young girl in India whose tiny garden is the key to her future, the families in this shorts program are drawn together and propelled forward by growing, making, and of course eating, food. Part of a film series at Happy Family Night Market that explores Asian and Asian American identity expressed through food, curated by Angeline Gragasin and Farihah Zaman.

Tuding arrives at a distant town to track down the man who got her youngest sister pregnant, and she isn’t going home without him. Set in late-1940s Philippines, a tribute to pancit westerns (pancit being the Philippine equivalent of spaghetti). A Los Otros x Tito & Tita production and WOMEN:girls initiative presented by Garang Pictures and Big Eyes Entertainment

From Oscar® winner Megan Mylan, this short doc tells the story of Monika, a rural Indian teenager growing food to feed her family, and the seeds of her own independence, in a tiny rooftop garden.

This award-winning short follows the journey of Imran, a young American Muslim who struggles to take over his father’s halal slaughterhouse in Queens.

3:00 pm – Doors open to food & art marketplace
4:15 pm – Doors open to screening room
4:20 pm – Film screening begins
5:30 pm – Program concludes

What exactly does food reflect about Asian Pacific Americans? Off the Menu: Asian America grapples with how family, tradition, faith, and geography shape our relationship to food. Part of a film series at Happy Family Night Market that explores Asian and Asian American identity expressed through food, curated by Angeline Gragasin and Farihah Zaman.

Lee’s film takes audiences on a journey from Texas to New York and from Wisconsin to Hawaii using our obsession with food as a launching point to delve into a wealth of stories, traditions, and unexpected characters that help nourish this nation of immigrants. Off The Menu is a roadtrip into the kitchens, factories, temples and farms of Asian Pacific America that explores how our relationship to food reflects our evolving community.

The feature documentary is a one-hour PBS primetime special co-produced by the Center for Asian American Media and KQED, with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

3:00 pm – Doors open to food & art marketplace
5:30 pm – Doors open to screening room
5:35 pm – Film screening begins
6:30 pm – Program concludes

Food truly is the way to the heart in this program of four short films about love—from an animated dance between three joyous mochi, to the decades-long marriage of a Chinese farming couple in New Zealand. Part of a film series at Happy Family Night Market that explores Asian and Asian American identity expressed through food, curated by Angeline Gragasin and Farihah Zaman. 

A playful and gravity-defying stop-motion animation featuring a cast of characters made of mochi.

A young woman comes home to Taiwan, to say goodbye to her father before he goes to prison.

Geeky Pavan takes his ‘English Rose’ on a date to the most authentic Indian restaurant in the city. To his horror she goes off-menu, in Hindi…

New Zealand gave two young Chinese refugees citizenship in the 1940’s, who later found an unlikely way to return the gift – by saving the almighty kumara.

3:00 pm – Doors open to food & art marketplace
8:00 pm – Doors open to screening room
8:10 pm – Film screening begins
8:55 pm – Program concludes

Angeline Gragasin is a writer, filmmaker, and researcher who tells stories about ecology, memory, and power. She is currently completing an MFA in Screenwriting at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Brooklyn College. She is a graduate of The University of Chicago, and a recent alum of NEW INC, the New Museum’s incubator for artists and creative entrepreneurs. She is currently in production with her first podcast, in development with her first feature film, and working on her first VR project in partnership with The Moth. She writes for Screen Slate.

Farihah Zaman is a filmmaker, critic, and programmer. Her diverse background in the film industry includes working as the production manager for Field of Vision, acquisitions manager at Magnolia Pictures, and program manager for The Flaherty Seminar. Her latest film Feast of the Epiphany recently premiered at BAM Cinemafest 2018. She writes for Reverse Shot, Huffington Post, Film Comment, and The A.V. Club, among others.

More Details and Tickets can be found on the Happy Family Night Market Website!