The 2025 Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) returned to Culver City with a vibrant showcase of films from across the continent — stories shaped by culture, imagination and artistic vision. As the festival’s premier partner, Samsung Electronics placed its Onyx Cinema LED technology at the heart of the celebration, giving audiences a viewing experience that honored every frame, every composition and every creative decision.
Now in its 11th year, AWFF continues to serve as a global platform for Asian filmmakers, championing voices that deserve recognition on the world stage. This year, Samsung’s involvement brought something subtle yet significant: not merely a display of advanced technology, but a deeper commitment to presenting each film exactly as its creators intended.
Filmmakers See Their Stories in a New Light
For many directors premiering their work at AWFF, experiencing their films on an Onyx Cinema LED screen was more than a visual upgrade — it was a moment of artistic validation. Traditional projection—even in high-quality theaters—can vary from screen to screen, altering brightness, contrast or color accuracy. These shifts, however small, can compromise the authenticity of a director’s vision.
Inside the Onyx-equipped auditoriums, filmmakers encountered an image that reflected the precision of their grading suites, preserved the integrity of their lighting choices and brought their stories to the screen with remarkable consistency.
Al Chang, director of the short film Cindy, felt the difference immediately. Having screened his work in countless theaters, he was accustomed to seeing blacks washed out or colors slightly askew. But Onyx delivered the version he intended. “I’ve had short films screen in a lot of theaters, and there’s always some variation — washed-out blacks or colors that don’t translate the way we graded them,” he said. “Here, it was like watching it on my own TV.”
Executive producer Kira T. Bixby — whose film Rooftop explores a Korean American narrative rooted in Los Angeles — highlighted how image fidelity amplified the emotional impact of the story. “Everything really popped for us — the colors, the compositions, the details we worked so hard to craft,” she said. “Film is such a visual language, so how you’re able to see it really matters.”
Asel Sherniyazova, Co-Founder and Managing Director of AWFF, noted that the precision of Onyx instilled a sense of trust within the filmmaking community. “Seeing movies presented with this level of precision gives filmmakers confidence that their work is being treated with respect,” she said.
Celebrating New Voices Through the Korean Parallel Smartphone Film Festival
The impact extended beyond traditional filmmakers. Participants from the Korean Parallel Smartphone Film Festival (KPSFF) — a program empowering creators and performers, including those with disabilities, to craft films using only smartphones — also saw their work on the large-format LED screen.
For many, the moment was both surprising and deeply encouraging.
Director Byun Seung Chae, celebrated for her vibrant use of color, recalled the instant the first frame appeared: “What struck me right away was how unbelievably clear the image was. The colors were beautiful, and I was amazed that a film could look that sharp on such a large screen. I turned to the person next to me and said, ‘I didn’t expect it to look this good!’”
Los Angeles–based filmmaker Zenon Samuels, whose work relies heavily on nighttime cityscapes and neon palettes, echoed her reaction after encountering Onyx for the first time. “The blacks are super dark, and with a film that’s so bright and colorful, the high dynamic range made the colors really pop and helped bring the energy and nighttime aesthetic to life,” he said.
Across genres and filmmaking approaches, the sentiment remained the same: Onyx did not change their films — it revealed them with honesty. For many creators, seeing their work displayed with such clarity felt like both a cinematic event and a personal milestone.
Audiences Rediscover What Cinemas Can Be
Festival attendees — including many who had never seen a film on an LED cinema screen before — expressed surprise at the sharpness, depth and vibrancy of the experience.
New Yorkers Jack Joyce and Matthew Gallopo commented on how Onyx shaped their immersion in the story. “Those darker colors — and not having that graininess — kind of put you in the moment a little bit. It was cool,” Joyce shared. Gallopo agreed, adding, “The color certainly popped, and a lot of it was pretty crisp.”
While the technology impressed audiences, the reaction was less about technical specifications and more about emotional presence. With richer blacks, brighter highlights and consistent color accuracy, viewers could engage more deeply with the images unfolding before them.
A Festival Experience Elevated
By bringing Onyx Cinema LED to the Asian World Film Festival, Samsung helped create a setting where creators and audiences could meet on equal ground — where the artistry of each film was rendered with clarity, depth and respect.
In a festival built to champion the voices of Asian filmmakers, the technology did exactly what it needed to do: step back, let the work shine and ensure every story reached the audience with the precision it deserved.
Source Link:https://news.samsung.com/
