CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of gambling, mental illness, trauma, smoking, drinking
Canada202485 minEnglishToronto PremiereAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Drama
Deep in debt, with a house and a university-bound kid, plus a marriage on the rocks, reformed gambler Lucky sees his luck run out after getting scammed in a tax-fraud scheme. Ashamed and desperate to keep it from his family, he returns to underground backroom gambling dens, playing for big payouts to relieve the debt and win back his family’s favour. Meanwhile, each family member, unaware of Lucky’s troubles but feeling the money crunch, too, resorts to unsavoury means to dig out of their hole.
With deeply resonant characters, Gillian McKercher’s second feature film is a gripping family drama that displays great empathy for her characters and their struggles while showing Calgary's significant Chinese community rarely seen in Canadian cinema. Terry Chen (Sight), Olivia Cheng (Warrior), and Andrew Phung (Run The Burbs) star in an ensemble of actors with Prairie roots that further ground the film to its setting and to so many families' hardships.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Terry Chen
Olivia Cheng
Conni Miu
Andrew Phung
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Calgary International Film Festival, 2024
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2024
Gillian McKercher
Gillian McKercher is a Canadian writer, director, producer, and co-founder of Kino Sum Productions. McKercher’s first feature film as writer/director, Circle of Steel, won an Audience Award at the 2018 Calgary International Film Festival. She developed her sophomore feature film, Lucky Star, as a resident at the Canadian Film Centre and with the additional support of the CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator and Harold Greenberg Fund.
16 Nov, 2024 5:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of gambling, mental illness, trauma, smoking, drinking
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This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated). Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Information on available captions will be added soon, thank you for your patience.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Gillian McKercher.
Join us for an exclusive Work-In-Progress presentation of SPACE CADET, a captivating animated film directed by Kid Koala. Work-In-Progress events at Reel Asian give audience members a chance to explore the development stages of a piece of work. In this session, we will hear insights from the creative team of SPACE CADET, including director Kid Koala, head of story and production designer Lillian Chan, and artistic director Corinne Merrell, who will guide us through the artistic process and illustrate how animation brings this heartfelt narrative to life.
Shan, an immigrant from Dongbei, China, settles in Markham, Ont., a suburb known for its welcoming Chinese community. There, Kevin, a fellow Dongbei local, pulls him into a scheme to rob a Japanese restaurant stealing business from Chinese locals. After the heist goes horribly wrong, they delve into the streets of Markham in a series of chaotic episodes
Loud and expressive, reflexive yet playful, this programme, in the spirit of Creatura, makes room for all our mushy and monstruous emotions. Come for the screening, stick around for the delightful arts activities for all ages to enjoy together!
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.
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