HAAPIFEST COMMUNITY EVENTS
HAAPIFest to Host Special Community Screening of The Wedding Banquet Ahead of National Theatrical Release
HAAPIFest (Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival) is proud to present an exclusive early screening of The Wedding Banquet, a new feature film from award-winning director Andrew Ahn, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at Regal Edwards Greenway Grand Palace.
This special community screening, hosted in partnership with Tremendous Communications and Bleecker Street, offers Houston audiences a first look at one of the year’s most anticipated independent films just days before its nationwide theatrical release on April 18.
A reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 breakthrough romantic comedy of the same name, The Wedding Banquet is a contemporary story that centers on chosen family, cultural identity, and the evolving meaning of marriage and parenthood in the LGBTQ+ community.
The film stars Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live, Fire Island), Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars, Raya and the Last Dragon), Han Gi-Chan (in his English-language feature debut), Joan Chen, and Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-Jung (Minari).
“This is not just a remake,” says Ahn. “It’s a reflection of where we are today — as queer people, as immigrants, as families redefining what love and legacy look like.”
THE WEDDING BANQUET
DRAMA & COMEDY | ENGLISH, KOREAN, MADARIN | 103 MINS
In this version of the story, Min, a closeted Korean heir whose U.S. visa is about to expire, offers to marry his friend Angela in exchange for funding her partner’s IVF treatment. But plans for a quiet elopement spiral out of control when Min’s traditional grandmother arrives from Korea and insists on throwing a full-scale wedding banquet. The result is a warm, chaotic, and moving comedy that explores identity, belonging, and the messiness of family — both blood and chosen.
Bowen Yang and Han Gi-Chan in THE WEDDING BANQUET (credit Luka Cyprian Bleecker Street)
Han Gi-Chan, Youn Yuh-Jung and Kelly Marie Tran in THE WEDDING BANQUET (credit Luka Cyprian Bleecker Street)
Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran in THE WEDDING BANQUET ( credit Luka Cyprian Bleecker Street)
The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it was widely praised for its nuanced performances and heartfelt direction. It has since gained attention for offering a rare mainstream platform for intersectional Asian American and LGBTQ+ representation.