NFMLA showcases films by filmmakers of all backgrounds throughout the year in addition to its special InFocus programming, which celebrates diversity, inclusion, and region.

The night concluded with Brutal Season, a powerful family drama that explores the rising tensions of an estranged son returning home during a heatwave. Through documentary, drama, horror and magic realism, the audience is invited to view these themes through different lenses. The day continued with InFocus: Asian Cinema Shorts II, a selection of films that spans a range of genres as it tells stories of family, memory, loss and the ancient beyond. It includes stories of queer identity in Asian and Asian-American communities, explorations of immigrant identity, the individual struggling to survive in a dystopian future, as well as motherhood as an identity and context.

The day began with InFocus: Asian Cinema Shorts I, a collection of films that explores individual identity within a greater culture.