Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival Staff

Originally from Winnipeg, Deanna spent many years volunteering and working in the not-for-profit cultural arts sector in Winnipeg prior to moving to Toronto in 1996. She has sat on the boards of Dreamwalker Dance Company and the Regent Park Film Festival and has participated in various film and arts council juries over the years. Most recently, she was the administrative director at REEL CANADA, and previously served as Reel Asian’s executive director from 2005 to 2008.

Aram is a filmmaker, educator, and film festival programmer. Based in Toronto, Aram is a mixed race Asian Canadian/American (Chinese and English/Dutch/German) and a San Francisco native who has a BFA and MFA in Film Production from the University of California at Santa Cruz and York University respectively.

Chris Chin has completed eighteen festivals with Reel Asian, having started out as a Front-of-House volunteer back in 2003. He has been an Associate Programmer at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival and has worked and volunteered at other festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival, Images Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, and Frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. In addition to his festival commitments, he has provided event management and operations support to organizations including the Center for Asian American Media (SF), Pride Toronto, and the Canadian Film Centre. Chris sings with choir!choir!choir! and is always up for a night of karaoke.

Christine Vu is an actor and writer based in Toronto. In addition to her role at Reel Asian, Christine looks to build equity in the film and tv industry as a CFMDC board member.

At any point, you can probably find Kelly with a camera in hand. She resonates with both photography and film as an active medium and accessible space to reclaim archive and documentation. She is a graduate from the Masters of Environmental Studies program at York University with research on placemaking, spaces of intimacy, citizenship and storytelling through food. Her favourite food is any kind of noodle soup.

Jasmine Gui (@jaziimun) is a Singaporean-born interdisciplinary artist and programmer living and working in Tkaronto. She is co-founder of TACLA, founder of Project 40 Collective and managing editor at LooseLeaf magazine. Her work includes two chapbooks and writing featured in sineTheta, GUTS, The Spectatorial, Panorama Journal, Hart House Review amongst others. She did her MA in English, Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto. Outside of the arts, she is widely known as a tea lady.

Samir is a screenwriter, educator, and film festival coordinator based in Toronto. His love for character-driven cinema drove him to study Media Production at Ryerson University, so that he could learn to write television series with characters he wished he’d seen growing up. After completing the Kids’ TV Writing Bootcamp hosted by BIPOC TV and Film, Samir was hired to work on his first pre-school series. He was chosen to pitch his original tween animated series at the 2021 BANFF World Media Festival as a Netflix-BANFF Voices of Diversity recipient. His work in kids’ animation allows him to explore issues of empathy, social perspective, and the complex emotions children are faced with. After internships in scripted TV development at Rogers Media and Boat Rocker Media, Samir’s interest in programming grew. He is determined to help develop the voices of Asian storytellers and give the community opportunities to showcase their films with Reel Asian. Fun fact: Samir grew up on a tiny island called Mayotte and has swam next to a pod of dolphins.

Based in Toronto and Seoul, June is a film festival enthusiast and a subtitle translator. She has a long history with Reel Asian starting with her internship at the festival during her undergrad years at the University of Toronto. After volunteering and interning at festivals such as Images, Hot Docs, TIFF Kids, and Toronto Singapore Film Festival, she co-founded the first Toronto Korean Film Festival in 2012. She has worked for Toronto International Film Festival and Udine Far East Film Festival, specializing in programming films from East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Mariam Zaidi is a South Asian filmmaker, film programmer, and arts manager based in Toronto. Zaidi’s work has been funded and supported by the CBC, LIFT, TAC, OAC, CCA, BravoFACT! FACTOR Canada, and the NFB. Alongside her independent film work and programming at Reel Asian, Zaidi is currently Associate Programmer at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

John Bao is a Vietnamese-Canadian emerging writer/filmmaker based in Toronto. Holding a degree in cognitive science and psychology from the University of Toronto, he aims to explore human nature through a film lens but also isn’t afraid to explore the bizarre and surreal. You can find him on Discord almost 24/7.

Kyra Tudlong is a mixed-race (Filipinx and German) fundraiser and yoga enthusiast based in Toronto/Tkaronto. With a BASc in Family & Community Social Services and Graduate Diploma in Fundraising Management, her passion lies in advocacy and relationship building to support intersectional, community-based approaches to effecting change.

Abby Ho is a multidisciplinary artist working in Tkaronto. Her artistic practice uses sculptural drawings, paper cuts, and paintings to create alternative scapes of rediscovering “home” or as meditations on memory.

Samuel is a visual storyteller that primarily uses graphic design and photography to convey human experiences. Based in Tkaronto, he has a Bachelor of Design from York University & Sheridan College and hopes to continue amplifying the voices of marginalized communities through his creative work. If he’s not at home, he’s probably at the beach or hyping up a DJ (or both).