Festival Staff
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Sonia Sakamoto-Jog, Executive Director This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Sonia joined Reel Asian as Executive Director in May of 2009 after graduating from the MBA program at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Prior to being hired at Reel Asian, she worked at Maximum Films International (now a division of Entertainment One) where she was involved in all aspects of acquisitions, marketing, and sales. Her previous experience includes two years working as a strategy consultant for a branding agency in Tokyo, and contracts with both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Sonia joined Reel Asian as a volunteer in 2006. |
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Heather Keung, Artistic Director This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Heather Keung has a BFA from the Ontario College of Art & Design. Her recent video, installation and performance art practice is inspired by physical labour, involuntary actions, and the training of the mind & body. Works from this series have recently been exhibited at FIFA (Montreal), Transmedial (Berlin), MUU Gallery (Helsinki, Findland), Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art (Budapest, Hungary). In addition to her artistic practice, she is an active contributor to local arts organizations such as Images Festival, Trinity Square Video, and Vtape. Keung is currently the Artistic Director at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. |
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Aram Collier, Director of Programming & Education This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Aram Siu Wai Collier is a San Francisco native and has a BFA and MFA in Film Production from the University of California at Santa Cruz and York University respectively. He has been involved with Reel Asian since 2005 in numerous capacities specializing in programming, industry and commissioning projects. Aram has also worked or volunteered at the Toronto International Film Festival, Hot Docs, and ImagineNative. He has a background in documentary post production, editing a pair of documentaries broadcast nationally in the United States. His own work has played festivals in the United States, Canada, Japan and China. In the summer time Aram can be found barking orders to his two softball teams. |
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Chris Chin, Operations Manager This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Chris Chin has been involved with Reel Asian since becoming a front-of-house volunteer in 2003. He has worked and volunteered at festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival, Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival, CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, and Frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. In addition to his festival commitments, he has provided event management and operations support to organizations including the Center for Asian American Media (SF), Pride Toronto, and the Canadian Film Centre. Chris sings with choir!choir!choir! and is always up for a night of karaoke. |
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Louanne Chan, Director of Marketing Louanne joined Reel Asian as the Director of Marketing in 2010. Louanne oversees the Festival's marketing campaign, outreach, community partnerships, media sponsorships, marketing committee, online communications and publicity strategies. Prior to Reel Asian, Louanne worked in the development department at Toronto's Ronald McDonald house for 4 years and taught English in Taiwan. Louanne completed her Bachelor of Commerce at McGill University where she specialized in International Management in East Asia. Louanne volunteered on the Reel Asian special events committee in 2009-2010 prior to becoming staff. Louanne enjoys sewing and can be seen cycling around the city with her Totoro backpack on. |
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Gina Rim, Volunteer Coordinator Gina has been involved with Reel Asian since 2008 initially as a volunteer then as an intern. In addition to Reel Asian, she works and volunteers at various festivals such as Hot Docs, Toronto International Film Festival, and Toronto After Dark Film and taught ESL classes in Toronto. While juggling her studies at University of Toronto, she works as an interpreter and translator for various organizations including Reel Asian, Hot Docs, and Images Festival. Gina has recently admitted that she is a closet otaku. |
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Mike Tjioe, Website Manager Mike Tjioe joined the Reel Asian team in 2011 after being involved as a photographer throughout the 2011 festival. Graduating from York/Sheridan Joint Design Honours Program in 2008, he comes to Reel Asian with graphic / web design experience at Research In Motion and Sheridan College. Mike also freelances/moonlights as a professional photographer. |
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Henry Wong, Marketing & Industry Assistant Henry joined the Reel Asian family in 2009 as the Chair of the Special Events Committee and has since worked in the roles of Industry Series Assistant and Marketing Coordinator. In 2011, he won the Chinese Canadian Youth Achievement Gold Leadership Award for his contributions to the arts community. Henry is also the Festival Director of the Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival. |
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Jenna Rodgers, Youth Outreach Coordinator Jenna first got to know Reel Asian through her work with fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company. Over the past two years, she's had the pleasure of working with many of the staff members, and is excited to be on board as staff for this year's festival. Jenna's background is in theatre and performance studies, and she holds a BA in Drama from the University of Alberta and an MA in International Performance Research from the University of Amsterdam and University of Tampere, Finland. In 2012, Jenna was the Box Office Coordinator. |
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Jessie Lau, Festival Intern Jessie is a currently a third-year student at University of Toronto majoring in Books and Media Studies and minoring in Cinema Studies and Political Science. She became involved with Reel Asian after volunteering at the festival in 2011. Between doing school work and attending film screenings, Jessie can be spotted photographing concerts around Toronto. |