Playing today at LAAPFF 2026
AMC Atlantic Times Square 14
May 2, 2026 4:00 pm
Radheya Jang’s short film Trading Cards is a work that will have viewers consider the line between ordinary fixation and something far more consuming. Whether that comes from fear, uncertainty, or overthinking a situation, almost everyone faces that need for reassurance at some point in life. What’s explored here is about more than using a thin piece of cardboard to look into the future. Instead, it’s about looking back. Jang’s latest caught my attention because it deals with what may be the greatest compulsion of all: am I okay?
For Jay Jay Jegathesan, who performs the narration, what’s presented in the first few minutes is a look at a kid with a handful of cards. As the writer/director’s father, he had plenty of emotion to draw from. “That creates a different emotional terrain,” he said. “I have watched his inner world take shape across years, and with Trading Cards, I felt I was recognising parts of that landscape in a way that was both beautiful and confronting. Rather than trying to impose emotion onto the words, I found myself returning to real moments, real silences, and the emotional undercurrents that families often understand without ever fully speaking aloud.”
Continue reading “Beyond Trading Cards: Why Obsession Can Be a Double-Edged Sword”
Next month looks to be good on Netflix, especially for those curious about what The Duffer Brothers’ next project is. Although they are not helming the work, what’s offered in these five genre picks for May looks solid.
Thailand has been quietly building a reputation for punchy, emotionally grounded genre cinema, and this Netflix Original leans right into that. Lhan was born with a rare blood type that made her a target from childhood. After her parents are murdered, she’s taken in by House 89, a secretive assassin clan that becomes her found family. Years later, the man who killed her parents returns, and this time she’s not running.
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival returns for 2026 with a packed slate that rewards a bit of digging. Beyond the headline titles, it’s often the smaller works, especially in animation and side programming, where the real surprises tend to surface.
View the Kickstarter here