The Asian World Film Festival 2026 runs Nov. 12 to 19 in Culver City, Los Angeles. It is the festival's 12th edition, and its own site says it opens with Kassandra, a Kyrgyzstan production the festival describes as Kyrgyzstan's submission for the Best International Feature category at the 99th Academy Awards. The Road Not Taken, directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan, closes the program.

When is the Asian World Film Festival 2026?

The festival's homepage lists the 12th edition for November 12 to 19, 2026, in Culver City, Los Angeles. The site names no 2026 screening venues on its homepage, so confirm locations before planning a night out. It describes the festival as produced by Aitysh USA, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization.

A Purchase Tickets button on the homepage leads to the festival's ticketing page. The homepage does not list ticket prices. The site navigation also points to a separate ticket page for the Short Film Program.

What opens and closes the festival?

Kassandra, directed by Bekzat Pirmatov, is the opening film. The site lists it as a Kyrgyzstan production running 90 minutes and says it is Kyrgyzstan's submission for the Best International Feature category at the 99th Academy Awards.

The Road Not Taken closes the festival. The site lists it as a China production directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan, running 135 minutes.

The festival frames its mission this way. Its site says it "brings the very best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles to draw greater recognition to the region's wealth of filmmakers and strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries."

What is in the lineup?

The homepage groups the program into four sections. The Snow Leopard Competition lists 15 films, among them Abel, Citizen Osama, Filipiñana, Riverstone, Tell Me Everything and Once Upon a Time in the Middle East. The Asian Vision Competition lists six, including Dear You, Fear and Bluefish. Special Screenings shows seven titles with a link to the full list, and the Short Film Program shows eight.

The homepage does not state a total film count, 2026 honorees or a jury. For context, the same site links to news items on last year's edition, which ran Nov. 11 to 20, 2025. Those items point to honorees including Lucy Liu and Lee Byung-hun, and to a Variety report of films from more than 30 Asian countries, including 20 selected for the international Oscar race. Those are 2025 figures, not a 2026 count.

What should you confirm before you go?

The homepage leaves several practical details open. Check the festival's site for these before buying tickets:

  • Screening venues and showtimes, which the homepage does not list
  • Ticket prices and any passes
  • The full Special Screenings list behind the View All link
  • 2026 honorees and jury, if the festival announces them

All details in this article come from the festival's homepage at asianworldfilmfest.org. For more festival coverage, see 88tumble's report on the Hawaii International Film Festival 2026.