CONTENT ADVISORY
Violence; depictions of mental illness, death and dying, blood and gore
Poland, Singapore, Taiwan2024104 minMandarinToronto Premiere2slgbtq+, Directed By Women, First Feature, Sports
Trouble seems to follow Jie and his family. Training to be a competitive fencer, Jie is lost, haunted by the childhood memory of a near-drowning incident with his menacing older brother Han. Years later, a teenage Han is imprisoned after killing a competitor during a fencing match (by accident, he swears). Meanwhile, Jie's mother has been spiteful and distant ever since, with no love to give her younger son. So when Han is finally released from prison, Jie is desperate to have some family love restored — and eager for some helpful fencing and boyfriend dating tips, too. But is Han’s reformed presence for real?
Director Nelicia Low draws on her experience as a competitive fencer to set this simmering pulp thriller of attacks, parries, and ripostes amidst a familial drama, while presenting a dilemma on forgiveness: How far do you extend your familial love to those who cause harm?
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Liu Hsiu-Fu
Tsao Yu-Ning
Ding Ning
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2024
New York Asian Film Festival, 2024
AWARDS
Best Director (Crystal Globe), Karlovy Vary, 2024
Nelicia Low
Writer-director Nelicia Low grew up in Singapore, where she represented her country as a national fencer for five years. She retired after the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, to chase her childhood dream of being a filmmaker. Pierce is Low’s first feature film.
14 Nov, 2024 5:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4AA
CONTENT ADVISORY
Violence; depictions of mental illness, death and dying, blood and gore
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This film is scheduled to be presented with 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
Information on available captions will be added soon, thank you for your patience.
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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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