HBO Max is looking to amplify Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Voices in honor of AAPI Heritage month starting May 1. The streamer has curated a vast collection of AAPI stories to feature on its platform.
The programming includes such HBO Max originals as The Sex Lives of College Girls, Tokyo Vice, Take Out with Lisa Ling and House of Ho. It also offers feature films, such as In the Mood for Love, Crazy Rich Asians, Aquaman and Bend It Like Beckham and the Warner Bros. streaming exclusive, Moonshot.
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Besides these established seris and movies, the collection will also include the three winning films from HBO Max’s Asian Pacific American Visionaries Short Film Competition, all of which were directed by up-and-coming AAPI directors. These three films are also premiering at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, hosted by Hacks’ Poppy Liu, on May 6. After that, HBO Max is hosting screenings and receptions in New York and Los Angeles for the winning films. The Los Angeles event, inspired by Asian night markets, will include food from several local Asian Pacific American-owned vendors as well as goods on sale from APA businesses.
This year’s theme is “Power of Love,” with submissions centered around APA perceptions of love in relationships, friendships and families. The top-three winning films will be available to stream as part of HBO Max’s AAPI Voices collection after the premiere, in addition to previous years’ winners Neh, Lonely Blue Night, Fine China, Si and Unmothered.
HBO Max is also including anime and other global animation, with an anime-centric page that showcases content from Japan’s Studio Ghibli.
Finally, HBO Max is launching the “Ani-May” initiative, including Asian-animation-inspired fashion, Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and other series influenced by anime.
![HBO Max's AAPI Voices hub page for AAPI Heritage Month](https://oldbrief.promax.org/images/uploads/API_Voices_page.jpg)
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