This programme is preceded by
Vietnam202563 minVietnameseNorth American PremiereAvailable Online
A man's attempt at burglary goes wrong when he’s overpowered and captured by the apartment’s elderly owner. Things take a turn for the curiouser when it’s revealed there is a human-sized plaster cast in which the old man has encased his dead wife. To win his freedom, the burglar merely has to accompany the owner to the desert to bury him along with his wife.
Macabre, peculiar, and lensed with visual flair in two distinct sections, Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Phúc’s Bury Us In A Lone Desert remarkably peels away at its grisly premise to satisfy our hearts’ need for unique bonds and timeless relationships in unexpected places.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Phúc
Nguyễn Lê Hoàng Phúc is a Saigon-based filmmaker and editor whose works blend humor, sincerity, and genre play to create films that are witty yet profound.
This programme is preceded by
7 Nov, 2025 6:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Death and dying
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with three cast members from KARUPY, moderated by Reel Asian programming associate Khanh Tudo.
We each bring our own style to the table — whether that's upholding tradition or breaking it, following the rules or bending them. These films explore familial complexity through play, transformation, agency, and hope.
Six emerging filmmakers embarked on a months-long filmmaking workshop this past summer. We’re proud to present their world premieres here in the 14th edition of Reel Asian’s filmmaking program.
Defiance can loudly turn heads around, or remain subtle and carefully camouflaged. Between these styles, this programme sees longings vary from self-preservation, justice, vengeance, and spectacle.
Founded in Toronto in 1997, Reel Asian is Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival and a year-round cultural organization dedicated to championing Asian, Asian diasporic, and Asian Canadian artists and storytellers. What began as a grassroots film festival has grown into a national platform supporting filmmakers and audiences through screenings, education, industry initiatives, artist development, and community programming presented across Toronto, the GTA, and online across Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
