Coinciding with BAAFF’s 16th anniversary, discover “Bittersweet 16,” an inspiring collection of films that reflect the trials, tribulations, transformative experiences and yes…growing pains of young adults.
Total Runtime: 87 minutes
Coconut | MIKE | When I Die | 29 Hour Famine | Marahoro | Dive Into the Blue
All Shorts Program available on-demand in the U.S. from Friday, October 18, 7:30PM until Monday, October 28, 2024, 12:00PM ET. The content must be started within the designated viewing window. Once started, you have up to 24 hours to finish playing the content or until the end of the viewing window – whichever comes first.
- Friday, Oct. 18 - Oct. 27
- Virtual On-Demand
Coconut
Directed by Cathy Ngo
Narrative | 8 mins | English, Vietnamese with English subtitles | East Coast Premiere
A young woman is doing her best to tend to her ailing father’s increasing needs, as well as her feelings around them. She attempts to chop a coconut for the first time, in hopes that the refreshing treat will lift his spirits.
MIKE
Directed by Duc Anh Nguyen
Narrative | 15 mins | English, Chinese with English subtitles | East Coast Premiere
Set within the first day of school, Hiep Nguyen is an exuberant Vietnamese student going on an exchange program at a Christian high school in South Dakota.
At the school, Hiep stumbles into the challenge of conforming to an environment of all-white, very religious Midwesterners. As he finagles his way through obstacles emerging from intense cultural clashes, Hiep will have to ask himself: Should you accept yourself wholly, or should you change in order to connect with others in this school?”
Advisory: 13+ Strong language, themes of discrimination
When I Die
Directed by Syuen Chia
Narrative | 11 mins | English | East Coast Premiere
After fixating on a lifeless body at an open-casket funeral, Lianne’s world turns upside down as she grapples with the fragility and unpredictability of life. Convinced that certainty will rid her of her paralyzing fear, she sets out on a journey to figure out her after-life plans, inscribing it into her own version of a will. As her uncertainty surrounding death grows with every additional question, she begins to lose sight of her surroundings as well as push away her loved ones. Ultimately, it is the thought of losing someone she loves dearly that leads her to realize that the beauty of living lies in the relationships we form and our shared experiences.
29 Hour Famine
Directed by Etzu Shaw
Narrative | 16 mins | English | Boston Premiere
Jenny, a stubbornly devout and headstrong rising leader in her church’s youth group is the organizer of this year’s 30 Hour Famine fasting event to raise awareness for global hunger.
Marahoro
Directed by Sofia Rodriguez Pizero
Narrative| 16 mins | Spanish with English subtitles | East Coast Premiere
“Marahoro” is the amusing and heartwarming coming of age story of 15-year-old Marahoro’s typical summer routine in his island home, Rapa Nui. Having a rough time balancing his father’s wishes for him to become a rapa nui folk artist and his own calling from the voices of the sea, the spirited young boy finds the strength in an ancient rapa nui holler to challenge his father’s harshness, showing him that his son can find his own place in the world and honor his culture in his own way.
Advisory: Some smoking scenes
Dive Into the Blue
Directed by Ge GAO
Narrative| 19 mins | English | World Premiere
15-year-old Chinese girl Lan undergoes a spinal surgery that traumatizes her physically and emotionally in the US. Being in a foreign country, the conflict between Lan and her mother, Wenli, intensifies during her rehabilitation. By chance, she meets Olivia, a Chinese-American girl adopted by an American couple, and the two girls quickly become close friends.
