2 Oct, 2025
As we approach the 29th edition of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, running from November 5–15, 2025, we’re excited to introduce this year’s Festival Creative Artist, Janet Mac!
In our commitment to uplift and showcase Asian Canadian voices, stories, creativity, and art, we’ve commissioned a talented local artist to craft the visual identity for our 29th year.
Catch their animation at Sankofa Square and at our festival.
Janet Mac is a Chinese-Canadian 3D illustrator and animator based in Tkaronto. Her personal art practice explores the joy, beauty and silliness in the small details of everyday life. She draws inspiration from mother nature, human nature, feminism and humour. Outside of her art practice, she enjoys learning and performing improv comedy, listening to electronic music and exploring nature. Her parents immigrated from Vietnam to pursue more opportunities for their family and for that she is deeply grateful. Their sacrifice shaped her into the artist she is today.
This is a visual love letter to a transformative place, the Don River. Flora and fauna instill in me joy, wonder, curiosity, and discovery. Being in nature and water always brings me to my truest self. I celebrate the gift of having a place that uplifts and nurtures me, and how it gives me perspective as a living being within a larger community.
In this piece, I layer analogue and digital techniques to create a hyper-colour world. I use cyanotypes of found foliage within the Don River as backdrops for 3D-modelled creatures and landscapes. These methods allow me to play with the tones and feelings I find myself constantly bouncing between — refined softness and bold, bright playfulness.
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from Asia and the Asian diaspora. Works include films and videos by artists in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world. As Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, Reel Asian provides a public forum for Asian media artists and their work, and fuels the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
