Remaining Native is the kind of film that will sit with you, shift your worldview, disquiet you, and make you laugh and give you hope time and time over in its tight 85-minute runtime.
Twinless centres around surviving halves, Roman (Dylan O’Brien) and Dennis (James Sweeney), who meet at a twin bereavement support group and form an emotionally intimate bond through their shared trauma. The film takes us through a hyper-specific form of grieving: losing someone who not only looks exactly like you, but was also the person you were with since the beginning of your time on Earth.
Weapons (2025) is a nightmare. Directed by Zach Cregger, who impressed audiences with his debut horror release Barbarian (2022), the film puts a spin on both a child and parent’s worst fear: an unexplained disappearance.
“Mother’s hand is a healing hand…”
This phrase is one you hear in the form of a soothing, lullabye-esque song repeated throughout Mongrels, which is the feature film debut of Canadian writer and director Jerome Yoo. Long after the film ended, both the sound of this song and its simple, grounding sentiment lingered with me—a sign that the film struck me exactly where I believe it was aiming.
Having premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, The Rose: Come Back to Me (2025) is an intimate look at the global rise of the Korean indie rock band, The Rose. I got the chance to talk to the film’s director, Eugene Yi, and producer, Diane Quon, about the band, being Asian American creatives, and filmmaking.
In today’s ever-regressing landscape, Andrew Ahn’s 2025 multi-layered reimagining of The Wedding Banquet is sure to become a fruitful place for vivid responses and discourse. At a roundtable discussion alongside other vibrant AAPI journalists, 0613focus had the opportunity to hear directly from the cast of The Wedding Banquet prior to its official theatrical release on the experiences and themes embedded within their performances.
We spoke to director, writer, and stop-motion artist Lucy Davidson about her experiences watching her film come to fruition, the value of comedy in emotional storytelling, and the influence of personal preferences on creating and developing artistic styles.
A Lien (2023) is a 15-minute short film directed by brothers Sam and David Cutler-Kreutz, highlighting the burdensome process of obtaining U.S. citizenship. We spoke with Filmmaker David Cutler-Kreutz about the complexities in the U.S. immigration system, challenges during production, and the future plans of the filmmaking duo.
As an adult who is constantly bogged down by the realities of life and making compromises, My Neighbor Totoro is my go-to escapist film. But more importantly, it is a much-needed lesson in learning how to have faith again, and in being brave and believing.
Andersen’s original tale is tragic, displaying the hefty price of love and selling your soul for immortality, while Disney gives the characters the most fairy tale-like ending. Miyazaki’s more nuanced approach is a profound interpretation that factors in a fresh perspective of youthfulness, nature and its interconnectedness, and a whimsicality that earlier versions don’t have.
“Not just a green flag, but a whole green forest” became a popular phrase throughout the Asian drama fandom space in 2023, alluding to the likeable personality of the characters in the Chinese drama Hidden Love (2023). Of course, my curiosity was piqued and I had to see why everyone was watching this show. During my first watch of Hidden Love, I had no idea that its sequel, The First Frost (2025), was in the making, or that I’d love that sequel so much that I’d rush straight back into a rewatch.
Oh Ae-sun is a regular girl with hopes and dreams, but her story is emotional and profound. Through her, the series empathizes with women’s stories and puts them to the forefront, spotlighting earnest messages on our struggles, relationships, and joys.
