CONTENT ADVISORY
Nudity, drug use
USA199790 minEnglish with English Subtitles Available Online
It’s the turbulent 1970s in Chicago, and Irene is burning — burning to get out of town, burning bridges along the way. Haunted by the death of her sister, haunted by the family secrets her parents won’t share, Irene and her naive boyfriend Luke skip town on a journey to San Francisco, meeting the alluring, militant Japanese American activists Aura and Mark along the way. As Irene explores her past, she changes course in order to reveal the truth of her family — and to set it ablaze.
Directed by renowned American filmmaker Rea Tajiri and co-written by award-winning Canadian author Kerri Sakamoto, Strawberry Fields is a daring dive into the traumas of the Sansei generation. Through a brave exploration of the cynical post-'60s era combined with bold flourishes from archival images, this narrative feature film is as daring today as it was 30 years ago in 1997, when it had its Canadian premiere at the first Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Suzy Nakamura
James Sie
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Venice Film Festival, 1997
Los Angeles Film Festival, 1997
Seattle International Film Festival, 1997
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, 1997
Rea Tajiri is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and educator who creates installation, documentary, and experimental films. Her work situates itself in poetic, non-traditional storytelling forms to encourage dialogue and reflection around buried histories. Tajiri is a winner of the 2023 Chicken & Egg Award, a 2022 JustFilms/Ford Foundation grant, and a 2021 Independence Public Media Foundation award.
Kerri Sakamoto is an award-winning writer whose novels have been translated and published internationally, exploring the Asian-diasporic experience. Sakamoto has worked in collaboration with filmmakers as a writer and script consultant and has served on the Toronto International Film Festival jury for the NETPAC Prize and the Best Canadian Feature Film Award.
17 Nov, 2026 7:30 pm
Innis Town HallPG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Nudity, drug use
It’s the hottest day of the year. The popsicles are dripping, the pimples are popping, and the power is out. Taking a classic "day-in-the-life" form, we are treated to vignettes and conversations that on the surface seem ordinary but build to reveal each young character’s anxiety about the clash between their carefree present and uncertain future.
15 Nov. 7:00 pm
RENT A PLUS-ONE, offers a case study in what happens when filmmakers build for a vertical frame. Its creators unpack their journey from traditional web series to vertical.
16 Nov. 6:30 pm
Hear from directors, producers, and creatives working across music and visual media about building worlds around songs, collaborating with artists, and finding new ways to connect music and image while navigating tight budgets and production schedules.
20 Nov. 7:30 pm
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 and Asian diasporic 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
