The Qhia Dab Neeg Film Festival kicks off on Sunday, September 14, 2025, from 1–3 p.m. CT at the Pan Asian Center at Maplewood Mall.

The opening program will showcase excerpts from ten films curated by the Qhia Dab Neeg team, followed by a community dialogue exploring their cultural and artistic impact.

Join us for a dinner and discussion with 3 emerging artists Kazua Melissa Vang, Tiana LaPointe and Mickies Kiros. The artists will discuss what they are learning from one another in terms of cultural and visual aesthetics, how they each approach the art of telling stories and the network they are developing as filmmakers.

Join Mickies Kiros as he hosts a screening of the film Lamb (2015).  The film tells the story of "a man who meets a young girl in a parking lot and attempts to help her avoid a bleak destiny by initiating her into the beauty of the outside world. The journey shakes them in ways neither expects."  There will be snacks and good conversation but please let us know you will be joining us.

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Please join us on our patio to watch Talking About Trees(2019) on our Studio 213 patio. We will have a fire, eat a little popcorn and join others in discussions about what it means to be a filmmaker. IP artist Mickies Kiros has selected some great films to share with you - the fifth of which is Talking About Trees(2023) which tells the story of “four older Sudanese filmmakers with passion for film as they battle to bring cinema-going back to Sudan, not without resistance. “

Join Mickies Kiros as he hosts a screening of the film Lamb (2015).  The film tells the story of ”an Ethiopian boy moves in with distant relatives he takes his pet sheep with him but the upcoming holidays spell danger for his beloved friend."  There will be snacks and good conversation but please let us know you will be joining us.

We will be celebrating Bitterroot with the film crew at our Saint Paul studio directly following the screening. Join us for a light meal and casual conversation where you can engage with the crew and help us all celebrate their accomplishments. Everyone is welcome to join in but please RSVP to let us know you will be able to attend.

Join us for an opportunity to meet and ask questions of some of the artists behind the extraordinary feature film Bitterroot. In Progress will be hosting a panel where filmmakers will discuss their experiences working on a film that features Hmong acting leads, a Minnesota Hmong crew, and a Montana Hmong community.

Please join us on our patio to watch Mami Wata (2023) on our Studio 213 patio. We will have a fire, eat a little popcorn and join others in discussions about what it means to be a filmmaker. IP artist Mickies Kiros has selected some great films to share with you - the fourth of which is Mami Wata (2023) which tells the story of “a village threatened by outside elements, and two sisters who must fight to save their people and restore the glory of a mermaid goddess to the land.”

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In Progress artists Randy Xiong, Tong Lee and Touchaingkong Yang will come together to provide hands on learning for our Convergence Filmmaker Cohort. This team will create production set ups that demonstrate the subtle relationships between sound light and camera in the creation of stories.

In Progress artist and independent filmmaker Touchaingkong Yang will be leading an in-depth series of teachings on film recording techniques used in the realm of professional independent productions. He will review the sony fx6 and the many cinematic attachments used in narrative film productions and so much more.

Please join us to watch a movie, eat a little popcorn and participate in a conversation about how movies are made and why they tell the stories they tell. Movies we will be screening will be posted June 1st - but we promise they will be fun and challenging - and worth viewing with friends.

In Progress artist and lighting expert Tong Lee will be leading an in-depth series of teachings on lighting techniques used in the realm of professional independent film productions. He will review different types of lighting tools used both in controlled and non-controlled settings, camera considerations while recording, working with unpredictable lighting environments and so much more.

In Progress artist and audio engineer Randy Xiong will be leading an in-depth series of teachings on sound recording techniques used in the realm of professional independent productions. He will review microphones, camera considerations while recording, working with unpredictable environments and so much more.

In Progress artist and independent filmmaker Touchaingkong Yang will be leading an in-depth series of teachings on film recording techniques used in the realm of professional independent productions. He will review the sony fx6 and the many cinematic attachments used in narrative film productions and so much more.

In Progress artist and lighting expert Tong Lee will be leading an in-depth series of teachings on lighting techniques used in the realm of professional independent film productions. He will review different types of lighting tools used both in controlled and non-controlled settings, camera considerations while recording, working with unpredictable lighting environments and so much more.

In Progress artist and audio engineer Randy Xiong will be leading an in-depth series of teachings on sound recording techniques used in the realm of professional independent productions. He will review microphones, camera considerations while recording, working with unpredictable environments and so much more.

Please join us to watch a movie, eat a little popcorn and participate in a conversation about how movies are made and why they tell the stories they tell. Movies we will be screening will be posted June 1st - but we promise they will be fun and challenging - and worth viewing with friends.

Please join us to watch a movie, eat a little popcorn and participate in a conversation about how movies are made and why they tell the stories they tell. Movies we will be screening will be posted June 1st - but we promise they will be fun and challenging - and worth viewing with friends.

Join us at In Progress to learn and practice Ojiwbwe language and create digital expression of that learning. Each session we will offer a media presentation overview. We will smudge (abaabaso) and share words of encouragement for the week before beginning. Each session we will have participants record their voices or film what was learned as part of the learning process. Participants will be encouraged to create imagery to be added to recordings.

Join us at In Progress to learn and practice Ojiwbwe language and create digital expression of that learning. Each session we will offer a media presentation overview. We will smudge (abaabaso) and share words of encouragement for the week before beginning. Each session we will have participants record their voices or film what was learned as part of the learning process. Participants will be encouraged to create imagery to be added to recordings.

Please join us on our patio to watch Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) on our Studio 213 patio. We will have a fire, eat a little popcorn and join others in discussions about what it means to be a filmmaker. IP artist Mickies Kiros has selected some great films to share with you - the third of which is Three Thousand Yearrs of Longing (2022) which tells the story of “a lonely scholar, on a trip to Istanbul, discovers a Djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.”

Join us at In Progress to learn and practice Ojiwbwe language and create digital expression of that learning. Each session we will offer a media presentation overview. We will smudge (abaabaso) and share words of encouragement for the week before beginning. Each session we will have participants record their voices or film what was learned as part of the learning process. Participants will be encouraged to create imagery to be added to recordings.