Tigertail Asian Film Festival Opening Night Celebration

TTAFF will host its first ever opening night party for its upcoming 4th edition. 🎬 TTAFF’S FIRST-EVER OPENING NIGHT! 🐯✨ Join us for a historic evening as the Tigertail Asian Film Festival (TTAFF) launches its 4th Edition with our first-ever Opening Night celebration, featuring a special screening of the award-winning documentary Above the Drowning Sea, followed by an exclusive Q&A with the film’s creators. Non-alcoholic Drinks and Hors d'oeuvres included with the ticket price. 📅 Thursday, February 18, 2027 📍 Florida Holocaust Museum – St. Petersburg, Florida 🍸 Opening Night Happy Hour: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM 🎥 Film Screening: 7:00 PM SHARP – 8:28 PM (88 minutes) 🎤 Q&A with the Film Creators: 8:30 PM – 9:15 PM (45 minutes) 🎥 ABOUT THE FILM Above the Drowning Sea tells the extraordinary true story of European Jews who escaped Nazi-controlled Europe on the eve of World War II and found an unlikely refuge thousands of miles away in Shanghai, China. At a time when countries around the world were closing their doors to Jewish refugees, Shanghai remained an “open city.” But escaping Europe required a critical document—a visa. The film recounts the remarkable courage of Ho Feng Shan, the Chinese Consul in Vienna, who defied his own government and risked confrontation with the Gestapo to issue visas that helped Jewish refugees escape. Through firsthand accounts from Jewish refugees and the Chinese residents of Shanghai who helped them survive, Above the Drowning Sea reveals a powerful story of courage, compassion, friendship and humanity across cultures during one of history’s darkest periods. 🏆 Winner – Golden Dragon Award for Best Documentary, Ferrara Film Festival The film has also received nominations for documentary achievement, Best Documentary and Best Cinematography at international film festivals. 🎤 EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH THE FILM’S CREATORS The evening continues immediately after the film with a special 45-minute Q&A featuring René Balcer and Carolyn Hsu-Balcer. René Balcer is an Emmy, WGA and Edgar Award-winning television writer, producer, showrunner, documentary filmmaker and photographer. He is best known as the Emmy Award-winning showrunner of Law & Order, creator and showrunner of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and creator of FBI: Most Wanted. Carolyn Hsu-Balcer is a designer, philanthropist, art collector and documentary producer whose work has focused extensively on strengthening Sino-American understanding through art, education and cultural exchange. Guests will have the rare opportunity to hear directly from the creators about the history behind the film, the people whose stories it preserves, and the process of bringing this remarkable chapter of Jewish and Chinese history to the screen. 🌏 ONE NIGHT. TWO CULTURES. ONE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF HUMANITY. This special evening marks the beginning of a new chapter for TTAFF. After three years of bringing Asian cinema, culture and storytelling to the Tampa Bay community, the 4th Edition of the Tigertail Asian Film Festival expands to three days for the first time — February 18–20, 2027. Whether you're a film lover, history enthusiast, member of the Jewish or Asian American community, or simply someone moved by extraordinary stories of human courage, we invite you to be part of TTAFF history on Opening Night. 🐯🎞️ Come for the film. Stay for the conversation. Be part of TTAFF’s first-ever Opening Night. Additional Donations are Welcome, but never Required. Donate to TTAFF4 Tigertail Asian Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for up and coming filmmakers of all backgrounds to be heard and Asian themed stories to be seen, heard, and celebrated.