The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a critically acclaimed film festival held in New York City, dedicated to the display of Asian film and culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles from Eastern Asia and Southeast Asia (particularly Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Philippines, and Thailand), though South Asian cinema has also been represented via films from India and Pakistan.^[2][3]

The NYAFF displays many of its films as a first-and-only screening in the country, giving audiences the chance to see films that would not otherwise be distributed in the United States.^[4] Actors and directors of the exhibited films are often brought over as special guests of the NYAFF.^[5] Genres featured in the film festival include Horror, Gangster/Crime, Martial Arts, and Action. ^[6]

The New York Asian Film Festival is owned and operated by the nonprofit organization the New York Asian Film Foundation Inc.^[7] Every year the annual film festival is organized and curated by executive director Samuel Jamier, programmers Claire Marty, David Wilentz, Karen Severns, and Koichi Mori.^[8] The festival's selection is curation-based but also accepts a number of submissions.^[9]

Starting in 2008, in addition to the Audience Award, the festival also handed out a Jury Prize. In 2013 the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema was added in memory of the festival's late director and treasurer.^[10] The festival is also a large engine for filmmakers and their films to be picked up by large name distribution companies in the United States and in Asia.^[9]

Film at Lincoln Center is the festival's main institutional partner and home venue since 2010.

Until 2007, the festival was held annually at the Anthology Film Archives and The ImaginAsian. In 2007, the festival moved to the IFC Center and Japan Society, and in 2010, Film at Lincoln Center became the festival's primary home, with SVA Theatre as a second venue. In 2022, the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, New Jersey became an additional venue.^{[citation needed]}