The screening for Some Women will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3.
This feature film will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – Nov 20.
Singapore202171 minutesEnglish, Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien with English subtitles North American PremiereDocumentary, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
In this reflective documentary, director Quen Wong turns the lens toward the intimate and vulnerable in her own life as a trans woman in Singapore, making time and space to honour acts of looking and being seen, moments of being fearful and working to communicate, and reflecting on past decisions in order to make new ones. Though gentle and quiet, these gestures are powerfully earnest, and refreshingly honest.
Against the context of a conservative nation-state, Some Women also uses dialogue and gathering to address a fuller spectrum of queer life on the island, threading Wong own story with recollections and perspectives from other generations of trans women, through the accompaniment of Sanisa and Lune Loh. These moments in the film archive and celebrate trans and queer folks’ evolving strategies for survival, protest, celebration, and continuance. Through Some Women, Wong practices vulnerability so as to request it from others, and celebrates herself so she can celebrate others. The lens is up close and personal, enmeshed fully in the act of bearing witness.
- Jasmine Gui
Lune Loh
Sanisa
Quen Wong
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Singapore International Film Festival, 2021
Sheffield DocFest, 2022
AWARDS
Audience Award – Singapore International Film Festival, 2021
Quen Wong
Quen Wong is Singapore’s first openly trans woman filmmaker, and Some Women is her first feature film. It was a recipient of the Tan Ean Kiam Foundation – SGIFF Southeast Asian Documentary Grant in 2019 and the IDFA Project Award at Docs by the Sea in 2020. It also won the coveted Audience award at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2021.
12 Nov, 2022 2:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3The screening for Some Women will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3.
This feature film will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – Nov 20.
RATED PG
This film is presented with open captions in-person and digitally.
The story of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean American who was falsely convicted of a 1973 murder in San Francisco. After activists led a pan-Asian American movement to free him, he was finally released after 10 years in prison.
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Considering the need to keep creating within Asian Canadian cinema, this panel gathers filmmakers and artists to discuss the implications, complexities, and pressure one might face when delivering their second artistic work. Together, they offer tips, anecdotes, and lessons learned in bringing their stories into the foreground for the second time around.
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, showcasing bold contemporary cinema by Asian and Asian diasporic artists from Canada, the U.S., Asia, and around the world. Held each November in Toronto, Reel Asian presents a dynamic lineup of film screenings, panels, and special events, with programming and education initiatives continuing throughout the year. Founded in 1996, Reel Asian celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026, marking three decades of championing underrepresented voices and fostering dialogue through film and media arts.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
