Snippets of daily lives and sensory experiences, children and the elderly, workers, gossiping aunties and the overwhelming feeling you get when you’re in Cabramatta that memories are constantly being created all around you. This film is available online.
A feller cuts down a forest until he arrives at the last tree standing. The tree confronts the feller. This film is available online.
Trapped in his past, an old man steals an army uniform to chase away the ghosts that terrorize his long nights. This film is available online.
Following the death of her mysterious amah (grandma), Kat is haunted during her first night of dinner service at a high-pressure Michelin-star kitchen. This film is available online.
Aki, a beginner chef, must make a delicious meal for the emperor’s banquet, however, things don’t go as planned.
Battery Dad is in charge of every corner of the house from children’s toys to remote controls and door locks. What can Battery Dad do when a sudden downpour floods the valley?
Filmmaker Natalie Murao asks her mother, “Why have I never liked tomatoes?” It’s a simple question that leads to an unearthing of a Japanese Canadian fisherman’s story during the World War 2 internment. This film is available online
As the flashy life of the influencer 33 becomes more intense, the canker sore inside her lower lip keeps growing larger… This film is available online.
In an isolated desert motel, Mengmeng digs up a rotting carcass. Later that night, something long buried is unearthed in her mother. This film is available online.
A young boy feels obliged to write a will for a dying woman who lives alone. This film is available online.
A documentary following members of the Toronto Filipinx Canadian community preparing for Fiesta.
When Imran suddenly loses his dad, an opportunity to travel back in time for an evening gives him a chance to face him again. This film is available online.
Why should I make dinner if we are both in love? A story of gendered roles and the ethics of care by Elizabeth Xu. This film is a part of Night Shifts and also available online.
A young woman escapes into a fantasy world where she imagines what life would have been like if she never left her birth country. Faced with who she wants to be, she must come to terms with the in-between.
Amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal, Leila, who has been keeping a secret from her family, finds herself in a predicament after her father falls ill and she is called back home.
A recently orphaned rhino tries to find a new home in the wilds of the Borneo rainforest.
Indigenous Bunong siblings spend one last day in their rural village in northeastern Cambodia, before an impending move to the capital city in search of a more prosperous life. This film is available online.
A young boy looks for love from his older self, while seeking sanctuary in nature.
A fleeting and poetic retrospect of a young woman who develops a chronic illness. This film is available online.
Satakshi and Madhyama reunite at a celebration during Durga Puja. Over the course of the night through rides, snacks, and glances, we feel their relationship charged with an energy that lasts years. This film is available online.
Charlie and her dog, Doug, set out on a journey up a mountain to shoot down the brightest star in the sky.
Following her grandfather’s death in China during the pandemic, Ai is forced to confront her depression, the silences in her home, and her parents’ unsung frustrations—including the ancestor ghosts now possessing them.
Deep in the dry stream, Yu-bin and Geon are each other’s only friends. To them, this place is the best hideout and playground—but no one seems to understand. This film will be available online.
Nur’s husband, who had previously left for Malaysia as a migrant worker, returns home in an unexpected condition. This film is available online.
Abbas and his friends are out to create the most epic action film in 2005! What will Abbas encounter along the way?
Musician and songwriter Kimmortal stars as Gracie who meets the younger version of herself as the two share a common thread. This film will be available online.
A fly-on-the-wall look at the early days of R&B group Kuya as they perform for New York’s top labels.
Maggie and Celine meet in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant while having dinner with their respective families. This film is available online.
Sania must take her mother, Noor, for a doctor’s appointment—serving as her parent and translator. This film is available online.
In a city where “men” are fanatics about football, Akbar is compelled to pretend he loves the game to avoid being rejected by his new college friends. This film is available online.
As a wife prepares to celebrate her wedding anniversary, a painful reminder threatens to spoil the evening.
Titled after the term “nanitic,” referring to first-generation worker ants who care for their offspring as well as the Queen Ant, we witness the structure of a multigenerational family through the eyes of Trang and Mai. This film is available online.
As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, a lonesome young Chinese immigrant finds comfort in a whirlwind romance with a mysterious hometown queer crush who seems too good to be true.
A dancer breaks the silence of incest by responding to her family archives through dance. In the ritual sacrifice of a papaya, she reenacts her traumatic past to emancipate her adult self.
After a pineapple shows up at her front door, Lia returns to her childhood home in search of her father, who hasn’t been seen in months.
This collaboration with comedian Ron Josol is a farcical time capsule of Asian male aughts humour.
When polar-opposite sisters Nur and Karina reunite for their grandparents’ wedding anniversary dinner, Karina starts to itch and blames Nur for putting garlic in her food. This film is available online.
In Shorty, a father gives his daughter a history lesson of the greatest small NBA players to illustrate that height isn’t all you need.
A music-video collaboration between dance troupe Hataw and Candido’s music project A La Una (née Datu).
Xue-Lan, a striving actress, is invited to a mysterious gourmet club only to discover that her competition has prepared a horrifying banquet. This film is available online.
A Tahitian dancer tries to reclaim her identity by confronting a tourist audience with a dance of her own. This film is available online.
The Archipelago brings together the perspectives of four Indonesian filmmakers as they interpret contemporary Indonesian society. This film is available online.
Lynn leaves her family behind and traverses the harrowing roads of the Cordilleran highlands to try her luck in the city as a country singer. This film is available online.
In the aftermath of the world's greatest financial sham in 2015, this docu-fiction follows a Malaysian child who finds solace and guidance from an unlikely figurehead. This film is available online.
During a peaceful school lunchtime, children discover they can transform into animals—the only problem is will they ever stop? This film is available online.
Sura is a young boy who lives in a fishing village. One day he finds a broken sex doll washed ashore and tries to fix it. This film is available online.
In the face of uncontrollable sorrow, Bo desperately suppresses a “grief flower” sprouting from his face before his big speech at his father’s funeral. This film is available online.
Following three separate stories, four average Singaporeans encounter a sexual situation in the course of their day. This film is available online.
Tired of her date’s racist and sexist comments, a woman decides to liberate his tongue. This film is available online.
Director Shō Yamagushiku presents a poetic and sensorial tribute to ancestors in Okinawa: “Our uyafaafuji (ancestors) appear to intervene in our daily lives, refusing to let us forget, refusing to let us compromise, and refusing to let us live restrained by the laws of the nations that seek to claim us.” This film will be available online.
A pair of Two-Spirit Métis Chinese youth soften a deer hide together.
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.
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