USA202593 minEnglishOntario PremiereAvailable Online
Robert A. Nakamura a.k.a. Bob is a legend of Asian American media as an educator, activist, and filmmaker. His frequent collaborator, Tadashi Nakamura, or Tad, has always known he wanted to make a film about his dad’s life. But when Bob is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the urgency to make the film becomes more pronounced.
As Tad digs deeper into the documentary, they process the ghosts of his father's past — his incarceration during the Second World War, the traumatic catalyst that drove him to success in his career, but also Bob's depression, personal failings and self hatred, for which only film and community could serve as a salve.
A lovingly honest tribute, Third Act continues Tad’s commitment to community storytelling, this time from the inside out, making this his most personal and challenging film thus far. It is another reminder of the power of our elders and ancestors, that we may move forward, carrying them with us, bravely.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Robert Nakamura
Tadashi Nakamura
Karen Ishizuka
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Sundance Film Festival, 2025
BlackStar Film Festival, 2025
Los Angeles Asian Pacific American Film Festival, 2025
Tadashi Nakamura
Tadashi Nakamura is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker and director of the Watase Media Arts Center. Now with over 20 years of filmmaking experience, his films include Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song In Movement (2024), Mele Murals (2016), Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings (2013), A Song for Ourselves (2009), and Pilgrimage (2006).
8 Nov, 2025 2:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3PG
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
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).
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Tadashi Nakamura moderated by Reel Asian's artistic director Aram Siu Wai Collier.
This panel will explore how racialized and independent creators bring their films to communities and audiences.
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How far would you go to uncover a family history that has been purposefully buried? What are the consequences of resurfacing these stories to fulfil your own? In an extremely candid documentary, filmmaker Tony Nguyen embarks on a scrappy investigation to reconnect to his father, who was estranged from his family due to the Vietnam War.
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 filmmakers and artists. 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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