Westchester Asian Film Alliance

Westchester Asian Film Alliance (WAFA)

The Westchester Asian Film Alliance (WAFA) employs the creative medium of film to promote awareness of Asian culture. Films that reflect Asian traditions and cultural elements are screened on a monthly basis in a growing network of Westchester public libraries. WAFA is proud to host these current member libraries:

Scarsdale Public Library
Chappaqua Public Library
Ardsley Public Library
Eastchester Public Library
Greenburgh Public Library
Armonk Public Library

WAFA believes in the power of movies to bring communities together in a culturally diverse and safe environment. For Asian Americans, WAFA provides a familiar opportunity to reconnect with their language and culture. For members of all other ethnicities, WAFA offers a creative platform for cultural exchange and engaging learning.

To preserve originality, WAFA screens movies in their native language. English subtitles are accordingly provided to accommodate all viewers. Each WAFA always begins with an introduction and discussion of the film, which fosters understanding and cultural competency.

Program History

At the 2022 Chappaqua Community Day, Jayden brought up a concern he had to Chappaqua Library Program Coordinator Joan Khun: the town and library have little, if any, activities or programs related to Asian culture. That day, the Chappaqua Library booth just happened to be donating free movies and CDs. Looking at the CDs, Jayden wondered: Why not invite more people to appreciate Asian culture through films? Hence, Jayden initiated the Westchester Asian Film Alliance (then casually named “Asian Movie Series”) with Joan.

With support from Joan, OCA-Westchester and Hudson Valley Chapter, and Huaxia New York Central Chinese School, the first WAFA event took place on February 3rd, 2023. From then on, the popularity of WAFA trended upward at an impressive speed. Even a forced change of location (due to theater renovation) from the Chappaqua Library to the Scarsdale Library did not reduce the audience size.

Under the continuous support of Scarsdale Programming Librarian David Sadoff, WAFA began to take place on a monthly basis at Scarsdale Public Library and became a staple program in the Scarsdale community. The Scarsdale audience consisted not only of local residents but also viewers from the Bronx, Briarcliff Manor, Eastchester, and numerous other Westchester towns. Motivated by the enthusiastic and fastly-growing audience, Jayden began expanding WAFA to more locations. Having amassed six member libraries today, Jayden is still working to establish more locations—local and national—for WAFA.

August 10, 2024, @ Scarsdale Public Library: The King of Masks (1995)

At the August 2024 event at Scarsdale Library, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of WAFA in the town of Scarsdale. Exactly one year ago, the film The Farewell (2019) was screened as the premiere WAFA event in Scarsdale. After a year of successful events, the presence of WAFA grew swiftly in the local community. While the audience size multiplied, WAFA still retained many of the original viewers back in August 2023! As a classic film on the Chinese cultural practice of Bian Lian (“face changing”), The King of Masks (1995) took the audience back to The Republic of China (1912 - 1949), offering cultural insights and painting a vivid picture of the society back in the day.

June 29, 2024, @ Chappaqua Public Library: Mulan (2020)

After months of renovation in the theater, June 2024 marked the return of WAFA to its original location—Chappaqua Library. As an animated revamp of the classical Chinese film Mulan produced back in 1998, Mulan (2020) combines traditional elements with modern film techniques. Following Mulan’s story of disguising herself as a man to take her ailing father's place in the imperial army, the film captivated both adults and children during this pleasant summer afternoon in Chappaqua.

April 6, 2024 @ Greenburgh Public Library: Hero (2002)

At the premiere event at Greenburgh Public Library, the classic martial arts film Hero (2002) was screened. Featuring famous actors including Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Yimou, the film offered an epic portrayal of the “Jianghu” and martial arts heroes.

December 9, 2023, @ Scarsdale Public Library: The Kid from the Big Apple (2016)

September 16, 2023, @ Scarsdale Public Library: Hi Mom (2021)

As a comedy film, Hi Mom (2021) made the audience laugh and cheer from start to finish. As both the director and main actor of the film, famous Chinese comedian Jia Ling used the film to pay tribute to her mother, who passed away in 2001. Twisty stories and an emotional ending create an experience that deeply connects with the audience on an emotional level. After the event, a participant said, “I work in education and have been to Beijing, China four times since the 1980s. I witnessed so many changes in the country, and this reminds me of so many valuable memories.”

February 18, 2024, @ Scarsdale Public Library: Lunar New Year Celebration

WAFA hosted a special celebration for the Lunar New Year at the Scarsdale Public Library, featuring the lion dance team from Chappaqua, calligraphy master Mr. Zhang, and traditional Chinese food such as spring rolls. WAFA is also honored for this festive event to be featured on the Journal News.

February 3, 2023, @ Chappaqua Public Library: Ne Zha (2019)

The February 2023 event at Chappaqua Public Library was filled with smiling faces and laughter. Traditional Asian clothing (called Qi Pao) was available for children to try on, and free snacks included the White Rabbit Candy, Sachima, and rice crackers. Based on a well-known Chinese legend, Ne Zha (2019) blends traditions with animation and modernity. In total, nearly two hundred people gathered as a tight-knit community that night. As commented by an elderly Asian American woman, “I haven’t seen so many Asian Americans gather in town in recent years. I also haven’t had a White Rabbit Candy since my childhood in China.”

Founder Biography - Jayden Cao

Jayden Cao is a senior at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. He was born in Beijing, China, where he spent the first twelve years of his life. In 2019, Jayden moved to the United States as a 6th grade student. Having attended a traditional Chinese elementary school, Jayden had to learn English virtually from scratch. His language and cultural learning experience has since then fostered his passion for reading, writing, and cultural advocacy. In school, Jayden is a peer leader and the Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper. Outside of school, Jayden enjoys playing basketball, golf, and listening to Chinese rock music.