Celebrating Reel Asian’s silver anniversary with two new awards for artists

For our 25th anniversary, Reel Asian is proud to launch the Fire Horse Award in honour of our co-founder Anita Lee, an award-winning producer who is currently executive producer and head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB)’s Ontario studio.

This award will be given to an Asian Canadian member of the film and media-arts community who demonstrates qualities of the Fire Horse in their work. It will honour a remarkable body of work in the film, television, media-arts, or other screen-based sectors, which have a powerful influence on how Asians see ourselves and how others see us—making the support of authentic voices vital. People born in the year of the Fire Horse (like Anita) are said to be independent, free-spirited and ingenious. 

Reel Asian is also pleased to announce that the AnimAsian Award will be renamed the Michael Fukushima AnimAsian Award.

Founded in 2008 by animator Ann Marie Fleming, the AnimAsian award recognizes a film for its excellence in animation. The cash award was also grassroots-driven to show that anyone can contribute. Over the years, many artists in the community have supported it—including Michael himself. In March 2021, after more than 30 years in the trenches, Michael announced his retirement as executive producer of the English animation studio at the NFB. To honour Michael’s significant contribution to the animation community as a creator and mentor, Reel Asian is renaming the AnimAsian award in honour of his legacy.

Award recipients will be announced at our online Awards Ceremony. Visit our awards page for details on when and how to tune in!