The NYFA Years –American Student Works (2010–2011)
The NYFA Years – American Student Works brings together three award-winning films directed by Roberto F. Canuto & Xu Xiaoxi during their studies at the New York Film Academy in Hollywood.
Shot on Super 16mm film, these works — cortometrajes Mei Mei (2010) & Toto Forever (2010), and the feature film Desire Street (2011) — explore identity, desire, and faith through a poetic queer gaze that bridges East and West.
An exclusive collection celebrating the origins of two filmmakers who would later gain international recognition for their unique multicultural cinema.
🎥 Included films: Mei Mei, Toto Forever, Desire Street
🌍 Languages: English, Spanish (with optional subtitles)
📽️ Format: Super 16mm / HD Restoration
⏱️ Total Runtime: ~110 min
🗂️ Tags: NYFA, Student Films, Independent Cinema, LGBTQ+ Cinema, Queer Drama, Roberto F. Canuto, Xu Xiaoxi, Art House, Poetic Cinema, Chinese-American Films, Spanish Director, Symbolic Cinema, Film Bundle, Short Films Collection, NYFA, student films, queer cinema, independent filmmaking, poetic realism, Super 16mm, LGBTQ shorts, Chinese-American film, Spanish director, symbolic drama, multicultural cinema, Hollywood film school, Desire Street, Mei Mei, Toto Forever, Roberto F. Canuto, Xu Xiaoxi
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Desire Street (2011) | Feature Film
“Desire Street” is a Spanish-Chinese-American feature film written and directed by award-winning filmmakers Roberto F. Canuto and Xu Xiaoxi as their MFA graduation project at the New York Film Academy in Hollywood.
After a tragic accident, a Mexican immigrant family in Los Angeles struggles to ...
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Toto Forever (2010) | Short Film
While delivering a package, Toto, a young postman lost in daydreams of freedom and love, discovers an injured man lying by a pool. The stranger, Mark, is a gangster in trouble with the mob. Drawn together by danger and desire, they flee to the open road. But their brief escape becomes a fable of ...
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Mei Mei (2010) | Short Film
Lulu, a high-class prostitute living in Los Angeles, receives constant visits from her neighbor Julian, who insists she is his missing ex-girlfriend, Mei Mei. Convinced he is only inventing stories to seduce her, Lulu rejects him again and again—until loneliness softens her heart. Their fragile c...
