Canada, France, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, USA2024–202589 minVarious languages with English subtitlesAvailable Online
Enter worlds that feel both impossibly extreme and unsettlingly real. Thrust against the grain, these protagonists take back control of their narrative, despite forces that seek to define them otherwise.
For: escapist daydreamers, truth-seekers, ordinary adventurers, diligent caretakers
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada, Japan202515 minEnglish, Japanese with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Drama
With only one night in Tokyo, Tammy, a grieving Japanese Canadian woman, is haunted by her doppelganger.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This short film features English subtitles for all non-English dialogue. In addition, subtitles for English dialogue and sound cues are available in Closed Captions
*Natalie Murao
Natalie Murao is a yonsei (fourth-generation) Japanese Canadian writer, director, and creative storyteller. She expands Asian diasporic cinema by creating an in-betweenness of styles that embody the diaspora itself.
South Korea202420 minKorean with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Drama, Horror
Haunted by nightmares while caring for his sick mother, Yoon Seok meets Soo In as she's dragging a huge rock across the beach. Intrigued, he learns how she escaped her worst imaginations.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Jae-Woo Jang
Jae-Woo Jang majored in film studies at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. His horror films are highly acclaimed for their grotesque depiction of the fear of death and suffering.
Japan20248 minNo DialogueAnimation, Available Online, Experimental
A woman waits for a man by the seaside.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is fully captioned in closed captions (all sound cues indicated).
RuiHan Yang
Born in 1999 in China’s Sichuan province, RuiHan Yang holds a bachelor’s degree in Animation from Beijing Film Academy and a master’s in graphic design from Tama Art University.
USA202515 minVietnamese with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Documentary
Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che flee the Vietnam War by boat and become background extras in 1979's Apocalypse Now. Written by their daughter, Cathy Linh Che, this story explores the interplay between fact and fiction.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Christopher Radcliff
Christopher Radcliff is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has screened worldwide and online via Criterion, Short of the Week, and Lé Cinema Club.
France, Japan202510 minNo dialogueAvailable Online
Ordinary life repeats itself every day, but the sequence of events is never the same. Only the feeling of touching something can be recognized as “now."
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is fully captioned in closed captions (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Yoriko Mizushiri
Born in Aomori, Japan, Yoriko Mizushiri’s animations bring body parts and everyday objects to life. In addition to short films, she also makes music videos, commercials, and films for art installations.
Taiwan202421 minMandarin with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Available Online, Drama, Experimental, Horror
Sixteen-year-old Lolo becomes entangled in a Freudian loop centered on a strawberry shortcake and her mother, Norma. As Lolo sinks into the loop, the boundary between reality and the dreamscape becomes increasingly blurred.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Deborah “Devyn” Chuang
Deborah “Devyn” Chuang is a Taiwanese American filmmaker whose award-winning shorts have screened at prestigious international festivals, including the world’s three largest genre festivals: Sitges, Fantasia, and Fantastic Fest.
8 Nov, 2025 6:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4AA
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, and English subtitles.
ASL interpretation will be available for the intro and Q&A portions of this screening. Interpreters will not be on screen, but there will be seats near the stage for access to ASL interpreters.
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
All short films are available digitally through our Digital Shorts Pass
CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of nudity, trauma, death, dying, and horror
Join us for a Q&A with Natalie Murao from this shorts programme, moderated by Khanh Tudo, our Programme Associate.
November 8, 2025 at 8PM
A discussion on artist labour conditions and funding challenges. The IMAA team will present on the Alliance’s resources including the Fee Schedule, the Resource Access Network and the Advocacy Toolkit, followed by a reception and mingling portion. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with the Alliance team, industry leaders, artists, and peers. Free and open to the public!
Wind down mid-festival with us at 401 Richmond’s lower lobby for a cozy Happy Hour Mini-Market in partnership with Pamplepuss. Shop our limited custom #ReelAsian29 collection, designed by local artists, and enjoy a few friendly rounds of mahjong with the community.
She’s been cursed. Literally. And she needs $1,000 for the hex-breaking cure. AP embarks on a sex worker’s odyssey through pre-millenium Trashtown, U.S.A., where the grass is brown and the cops are kinky. Desperate for a life reset, AP embarks on a scooter-driven adventure with her always-and-forever-tethered ex-lover Danni.
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
