Canada2025Various languages with English subtitlesWorld PremiereAvailable Online
Six emerging filmmakers embarked on a months-long filmmaking workshop this past summer. We’re proud to present their world premieres here in the 14th edition of Reel Asian’s filmmaking program.
For: the friends and family hype squad, fresh-talent seekers, next-gen storytellers waiting for a sign
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada202510 minEnglish, Urdu, Arabic
Expecting another uneventful Jummah, Safa finds herself trapped with her overbearing family and an angry ex.
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Anushay Sheikh
Anushay Sheikh is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Drawing on their experiences, their work is process-based and rooted in anti-oppressive practices, highlighting vulnerability as a form of resistance and empowerment.
Canada20259 minEnglish, Korean, Italian with English subtitlesAction + Adventure, Available Online, Comedy, Science Fiction
A mixed-race student meets the full Asian and full white versions of himself from parallel universes. Together, they must find a way to get back to their own realities.
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).
Devin Lee
Devin Lee is a Korean Italian actor and filmmaker. A graduate of NYU Tisch School of Arts, he received the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant and was part of Reel Asian’s Unsung Voices program.
Canada2025 18:00French, Mandarin with English subtitlesAvailable Online
In Gaspésie in rural Quebec, a quirky Chinese motel owner navigates his quiet routine between fixing rooms and casting lines into the sea — until his filmmaker son visits for a week.
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Calvin Liu
Calvin Liu is a Montreal-based Chinese Canadian filmmaker and cinematographer. He explores themes of family, diaspora, and memory through documentary and narrative work.
Canada20258 minEnglishAvailable Online
An exploration of past choices and the enduring burden of regret expressed through drums and dance, where movement echoes memory and the weight we must carry.
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Jordan Tsering
Jordan Tsering is a Tibetan multidisciplinary artist based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, exploring death and dharma, and writing stories of love and regret through narratives rooted in memory and emotion.
Canada20259 minEnglish
A chronically single young woman finds the courage to go on a first date with the help of some unusual friends.
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).
*Ash Yee
Ash Yee (she/they) is an emerging Chinese Canadian writer and filmmaker based in Toronto. A self-proclaimed nerd and fangirl, their work explores identity, belonging, and the magic within everyday life.
Canada2025 12:00Vietnamese, English, American Sign Language
After years of isolation in the hearing world, a mainstreamed Deaf adult learns sign language for the first time.
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Anh (Autumn) Pham
Anh (Autumn) Pham is a Vietnamese Canadian Deaf Queer tech worker and writer. They are passionate about the intersection of art and technology, and advocate for accessibility.
9 Nov, 2025 1:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C2PG
This programme is presented with open captions, and the intro and Q&A portions will have live captions.
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 and live captions.
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
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests.
November 9, 2025 at 2PM
Explore the XR worldbuilding practices of media artists working at the confluence of body, space, and technology.
Join us at Sankofa Square on Mon, Oct 27 at 12PM as we announce our programming with four guest directors and hold an artist talk with this year's Festival Creative Artist, Janet Mac.
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.
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from Asia and the Asian diaspora. Works include films and videos by artists in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world. As Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, Reel Asian provides a public forum for Asian media artists and their work, and fuels the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
