The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a member of the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA), a member-driven non-profit national organization working to advance and strengthen the media arts community in Canada.  This year, the annual conference is being hosted in Toronto by the Media Arts Network of Ontario (MANO), an informal network of 24 IMAA member organizations that are based in this province.

IMAA ON.Fire is five-day conference unfolding June 15-19 with panels, keynotes, gallery shows, receptions, parties and much more.  Reel Asian is proud to be a "Torch Sponsor" for the Black, White and Red All Over panel on Saturday, June 19 at 11:00 AM.  Panellists will include imagineNATIVE executive director Steve Loft, the Canadian Film Centre's Ana Serrano, and Reel Asian founder Anita Lee.  Reel Asian's artistic director, Heather Keung, will moderate. This panel will examine the proliferation of screens for the presentation of media art works while there continues to be a visible lack of culturally diverse voices alongside a concurrent reduction in exhibition opportunities for artists working outside of the mainstream.

Reel Asian alumni are elsewhere at the conference too:  Paul Wong (Canadian Spotlight artist, 2008) and Istvan Kantor (White Boy From The East, RA 2009) participate in the Back to Radical panel on Tuesday morning; Midi Onodera (A Movie-A-Day, RA 2008) is on the New Socialisms - Independence or Co-Dependence panel on Wednesday morning; and Steve Loft curates the work of Paul Wong and Ho Tam (Confessions of a Salesman, RA 2008) at the A Space Gallery.

All conference panels and keynotes take place at the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio (250 Front St W).  Panels are open to registered delegates or observers, with day passes available at $50 ($25 for students) including breakfast and lunch. Tickets to just the opening or closing keynotes are also available individually for $15 and include a catered reception afterwards.

For more information about the conference, including a complete schedule and online ticket purchase options, visit the IMAA ON.Fire website.  Download a press release in PDF format of the conference here.