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
Kana, a struggling visual artist, returns to Japan after years away in Vancouver to attend her beloved grandmother’s funeral. The familiar cadence of family dynamics endure and yet, everything feels different. While in Tokyo, Kana discovers her grandfather had a love of his life outside of his arranged marriage to her grandmother. Meanwhile, Kana reluctantly confronts her own messy romantic past with old flame Hiro to see if the embers of their love still flicker.
The discussion will explore how festivals can better support accessibility — from accommodating filmmakers with disabilities and reaching diverse audiences, to guiding creators on inclusive practices like budgeting for captioning.
Celebrate the launch of the Sari-Sari Xchange Assetory, a storytelling-led virtual asset library prototype created with and for the Asian diaspora, and play with mobile resource units designed to facilitate the making and exhibition of XR creative works.
Canada, Germany, Singapore, UK, USA2024–202589 minVarious languages with English subtitlesAvailable Online
We each bring our own style to the table — whether that's upholding tradition or breaking it, following the rules or bending them. These films explore familial complexity through play, transformation, agency, and hope.
For: black sheep, go-getters, underdogs, those with a wild imagination
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada202415 minEnglish, Farsi with English subtitlesAction + Adventure, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Family-friendly
Sisters Farrah, Miriam, and Layla gather for their monthly chai and hair removal. Meanwhile, their daughters Rina and Nora get embroiled in the whirlwind that comes with unfinished business for the suburbanite Iranian diaspora.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Sara Jade Alfaro-Dehghani
Sara Jade Alfaro-Dehghani is a Canadian-born filmmaker and writer of Mexican and Iranian descent, raised in Oshawa, Ont., and now based in London and Toronto.
USA2025 14:00No dialogueAnimation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Family-friendly, Horror, Romance
Rajas is a lonely teenage photographer who gawks at a circus freakshow — until he himself is transformed.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned in all closed captions (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Nidhi Reddy
Nidhi Reddy is an Indian American filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. Her previous experimental animated short The Yellow Wallpaper (2012) screened locally and internationally. Reddy’s films comment on the absurdity of having a body and having it be perceived.
Singapore202520 minEnglishAvailable Online, Drama, Family-friendly
Shy, imaginative, eight-year-old Xuan struggles to find the perfect outfit for her school's Children's Day celebration while adjusting to a turbulent home life and an unlikely new friendship.
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).
Giselle Lin
Giselle Lin Xuan Qing is a Singaporean writer-director. Lin is inspired by the impermanence of memory, connections, and nature, and always seeks to tell stories filled with human truth, touch, and taste.
UK2025 15:00English, Urdu with English subtitlesAvailable Online
Haunted by rising sea levels, a daughter digs up her father’s grave to move his body to higher ground.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned in all closed captions (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Elham Ehsas
Elham Ehsas is a writer, director, and actor working across film and TV. His short film Yellow (2023) was BAFTA-nominated in 2024 and shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
Germany20247 minFarsi with English subtitlesAnimation, Available Online, Directed By Women, Drama
Six-year-old Lily visits her grandmother post-masectomy in her pear garden, and is confused by grandma’s missing chest. At night, she discovers her grandmother’s shadow has her breasts, and Lily goes on a journey to get them back.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Shadab Shayegan
Shadab Shayegan was born in Tehran. While experimenting as a music student, she discovered her interest in combining images with sounds, which led her to explore the world of animation.
Canada202518 minEnglishAction + Adventure, Available Online, Documentary, Sports
Joey, a Filipino Canadian fashionista, enters the world of professional wrestling and faces the hardships of getting his “green light."
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
*Mateo Jose Ignacio
Mateo Jose Ignacio is a Toronto-based Filipino filmmaker passionate about storytelling. Through his work, he loves sharing the warmth and vibrancy of the culture that shaped him.
8 Nov, 2025 1:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
This programme is presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
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
CONTENT ADVISORY
Strobing lights, depictions of death, verbal abuse, violence
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Rea Zala.
November 8, 2025 at 2:30PM
From augmented reality projects reactivating rural Chinese areas to virtual reality works shaping collective memory, this roundtable opens a dialogue on how emerging media can tell local stories and convey lived experiences.
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.
At her 65th birthday party, Karupy makes an unexpected announcement: She will be ending her own life that very night, sparking a whirlwind of emotions amongst her family. As she prepares for this final act, her party guests confront her about her decision.
Canada, France, India, Taiwan, USA2024–202571 minVarious languages with English subtitlesAvailable Online
These films explore desire, both interpersonally and intrapersonally. Between quietly blossoming desires and glowing inner temptations, this collection strides toward you with a sly wink, a shy smile, and a glimmer in its eye.
For: the sensually curious, tenderhearted yearners, audacious flirts, thirst-driven floaters
*Directors in attendance starred.
India202510 minHindi with English subtitlesAvailable Online
On a rainy afternoon, somewhere between innocence and awareness, three adolescent girls find themselves in the middle of a dance that takes on a life of its own.
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).
*Rhea Shukla
Rhea Shukla is an award-winning writer and director based between New York and India. Studying at Columbia University, Shukla’s debut short, Ruse, premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.
Canada20258 minEnglish2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Queer, Romance
After Bug’s ex-girlfriend June calls to pick up her stuff from their apartment, he makes his best attempt to win her back.
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).
Silverfish Pictures
Silverfish Pictures, a 13-member stop-motion studio, thrives on pushing the boundaries of stop-motion filmmaking and creating fun and thoughtful stories.
USA202412 minEnglishAvailable Online, Comedy, Family-friendly, Romance
Set in 2005, a driven high school student obsessively studies Spanish all year so she can test up a level into her crush’s class.
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).
Nicholas Luciano
Nicholas Luciano is a comedy director, editor, sometimes writer, and improviser based in L.A.
Joy Regullano is a writer-actor-comedian based in L.A. whose TV writing credits include Monsters at Work (2021), based on Monsters Inc (2001), on Disney+.
Te Seguiré a la Oscuridad is directed by Nicholas Luciano and created by Joy Regullano.
USA20253 minNo dialogue2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Non-binary, Queer, Transgender
Two dogs timidly try to seek intimacy.
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).
Jin Lim
Jin Lim is a queer, non-binary Korean American animation filmmaker. Their award-winning short films explore the intricacies of gender identity and human interconnections.
Canada202513 minEnglish2slgbtq+, Available Online, Documentary, Experimental, Queer
Merging reality and staging scenes to develop settings of fantasy where subjects play, each person explores the longing for one’s softness and roughness, and what it means to hold both at the same time.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Emma Zuck
Emma Zuck is a filmmaker and writer exploring the in-betweens. She sees poetry all around her and hopes to nurture community both on set and in theatres.
France, India202513 minKannada with English subtitles
On his return home, androgynous-looking Madhu attempts to seduce Ratnakar, his rickshaw driver, who is staying celibate in preparation for a religious pilgrimage.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Ashok Vish
Ashok Vish was one of eight filmmakers selected for Directors’ Factory Philippines. He works as a film programmer at the New York Indian Film Festival and at Arthshila in India.
Taiwan202412 minNo dialogueDirected By Women, Experimental, Horror
On a hot summer day in 1980s Taiwan, a teenage girl named Ming has her sexual awakening through celluloid fantasies, while drinking watermelon juice.
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).
Birdy Wei-Ting Hung
Birdy Wei-Ting Hung holds an MFA from San Francisco State University’s School of Cinema. Her work explores historical trauma, the abject, and pleasures. She is a Student Academy Awards winner.
8 Nov, 2025 9:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
This programme is presented with open 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.
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
CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of nudity, violence, blood, sexist language
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Rea Zala.
November 8, 2025 at 10:15PM
This immersive workshop will introduce the practice of traditional tai chi. Participants will experience its calm, flowing movements under the guidance of Mr. Zuo, a sixth-generation successor of traditional Yang-style tai chi.
This workshop spotlights the Sari-Sari Xchange Assetory, a storytelling-led virtual asset library prototype created with and for the Asian diaspora. Participants will be asked to bring an object with a personal meaning, which they will learn how to scan and create a 3D reproduction of. They will also be able to share what memories, stories, and histories the object holds and contribute to the SSX Assetory if they wish.
Akam’s comfortable routine as a literature teacher in Oslo is disrupted by an uncle he’s never met, Khdr, who overstays his welcome on an unannounced visit from Iranian Kurdistan.
Canada, China, Germany, Philippines, USA2024–202594 minVarious languages with English subtitlesAvailable Online
Defiance can loudly turn heads around, or remain subtle and carefully camouflaged. Between these styles, this programme sees longings vary from self-preservation, justice, vengeance, and spectacle.
For: rulemakers, loving protectors, secret-keepers, troublemakers, daredevils
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada202510 minEnglish, Urdu with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Drama
Naim starts to notice unsettling changes in his wife’s behaviour and increasing visits from his best friend, Javed. He and his son Talha quietly navigate their suspicions and the complexities of their family relationships.
IN PERSON: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue in closed captions (no sound cues indicated).
*Haaris Qadri
Haaris Qadri is an emerging filmmaker based in Toronto and London. Qadri aims to make films that blend the authenticity of naturalism with the vividness of a painter’s realism.
China, Germany, USA202523 minSichuan Chinese with English subtitlesDocumentary, Gay, Non-binary, Queer
Caught in a struggle of love, legacy, and belief, a filmmaker undergoes a series of home remedies and spiritual rituals as their Southwest Chinese family seeks to rid their queer heir of what they perceive as an unwanted entity.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Hao Zhou
Hao Zhou is a filmmaker from Nanchuan, China. Their queer and feminist-themed works have screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, Locarno, Rotterdam, and SXSW.
China20247 minNo dialogueAnimation, Available Online, Directed By Women, Horror
In the desolate countryside of Northwest China, our protagonist tries to kill a strange, human-faced cockroach, which has been taken by a passerby and revered as a god of the village.
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).
Yinxue Li
Yinxue Li is a Beijing-based graduate from Tsinghua University, Academy of Arts & Design. Human-Faced Cockroach is Li’s first independent animated short film.
Canada202512 minEnglish Available Online
Cammie, a personified webcam that dreams of becoming a livestreamer, and Rat, an introverted rodent girl, are brought together on the digital self-help app, BetterHell. So unfolds this love story of two unlikely beings united by their fears of unrealized dreams and alienation.
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).
*Marissa Sean Cruz
Marissa Sean Cruz is a video, performance and digital artist born in Halifax.
Philippines2024 20:00English, Tagalog and Hiligaynon with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Available Online, Comedy, Gay, Queer, Sports
Jelson and Ipe, two students deep in love, undergo trials of mind and body as they prepare to survive a world devastated by climate change.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Whammy Alcazaren
Whammy Alcazaren is a multi-awarded director and production designer. He is a University of the Philippines Film Institute graduate. He is currently in development with his feature film, Noodles, Our Love was Instant and Forever.
Canada202522 minEnglish, Mandarin with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Documentary, Non-binary, Queer
After a Chinese medicine practitioner is brutalized by police at a recent protest, his community comes together in quiet acts of healing.
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).
Yi Shi
Yi Shi is a queer Chinese multidisciplinary artist, tattooer, and filmmaker born in Hangzhou, China. Their lens-based work seeks to disrupt entrenched social structures by centring community voices while exploring the complexities of grief, care, and resistance.
7 Nov, 2025 8:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, and subtitles.
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
CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of transphobia, violence, trauma, sexual content
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme.
November 7, 2025 at 10PM
Join us for the closing event of the 29th Reel Asian, "So You Think You Can Pitch" Live Finale. Five emerging filmmaking teams will compete for a prize package to help realize their short films.
This panel will explore how racialized and independent creators bring their films to communities and audiences.
Join us for a special presentation of 18 to 35, a bold new workplace comedy created by Rahul Chaturvedi and executive produced by Andrew Phung.
Canada, Germany, Japan, USA2024–202545 minVarious languages with English SubtitlesAvailable Online
With free drop-in programming for all ages and all generations to come together, Wee Asian returns with free relaxed screenings accompanied by storytelling, arts activities, and play!
From sharing meals to counting planes and planting beans, these films lead us through stories of unexpected vulnerability, resilience, and companionship.
For: budding gardeners; critters and crawlers; day — and night — dreamers; those ready to make art and then take a nap
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada20258 minEnglish2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Queer, Romance
After Bug’s ex-girlfriend June calls to pick up her stuff from their apartment, he makes his best attempt to win her back.
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).
Silverfish Pictures
Silverfish Pictures, a 13-member stop-motion studio, thrives on pushing the boundaries of stop-motion filmmaking and creating fun and thoughtful stories.
Canada20254 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, Experimental, Family-friendly
The director’s 81-year-old father — an ever-determined and resourceful gardener — attempts to grow the Sri Lankan winged bean in his suburban backyard garden in Markham, Ont.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Champika Fernando
Champika Fernando is a Sri Lankan Canadian filmmaker whose work explores magic in the everyday. They are especially interested in telling deeply personal stories through approaches that are technically accessible.
Germany202413 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Non-binary, Queer, Transgender
Sam, a deviant artist and proud flower person, is spending one last day in a flower spa with his mother before his final performance act.
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).
Ariel Victor Arthanto
Ariel Victor Arthanto is an Indonesian-born animation filmmaker and illustrator based in Berlin, crafting vibrant 2D worlds that mix playful compositions, bold figures, and character-driven storytelling across film and illustration.
Canada20254 minEnglishAvailable Online, Environment, Experimental, Sports
Hand-processed, solarized, tinted, and toned, Serene Hues is a meditative journey into the tranquility and vibrant beauty of nature.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Rita Tse
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rita Tse is an experimental filmmaker based in Toronto, with specific interests in gender, ethnicity, and memory. Her latest works have mainly explored artisanal manipulation techniques on celluloid.
USA20254 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women
Tonight, dinner starts with a slice of tomato.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Huayi Yi
Huayi Yu is a BFA4 character animation student at CalArts. She makes still and moving images inspired by shapes that seem to tell stories, blending playful animation transitions with subtly humorous characters.
Japan202512 minJapanese with English subtitlesAnimation, Available Online, Drama, Family-friendly
At a midnight highway rest area, weary travellers quietly relax their minds.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Saki Muramoto
Born in Japan, Saki Muramoto graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts’ Graduate School of Film and New Media, in the animation department, in 2013. She now works as a freelance animation director and illustrator.
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallRelaxed Screenings take place
at 10AM and 1PM.
Wee Asian is free and drop-in.
No tickets required!
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, and English subtitles.
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
From 11AM to 3:30PM, participate in a range of playful and expressive arts activities on a drop-in basis!
Courtesy of Annick Press and Penguin Random House, disocver a new world or meet your next favourite author from this seleciton of books! The Wee Asian Mini-Book Nook will be open for visitors at the TIFF Atrium from Fri, Nov 7 to Sun, Nov 9, and take place in Innis Town Hall for Wee Asian on Sat, Nov 15.
11AM–3:30PM Drop-In
Encapsulate your time at Wee Asian at the live-portrait booth with local artist Rebecca Hong! Portraits limited per session so make sure to sign-up for a spot on the day-of.
11AM–12:30PM, 1:30–3PM
Rebecca Hong
Rebecca Hong is part creative, part momo and part corporate worker. She loves doodling cute things.
Ahead of the live reading of RA!TA!MA!CUE! by Howie Shia at 2:30PM, make your own hand drum with beans and plates! Let's make some noise!
11AM–2:30PM Drop-In
Enter the ecosystem of Muse by festival creative artist Janet Mac! Draw in your own critters and/or add your own caption into the environments that bring you joy and peace.
11AM–3:30PM Drop-In
Janet Mac
Janet Mac is a Chinese-Canadian 3D illustrator and animator based in Tkaronto. Her personal art practice explores the joy, beauty and silliness in the small details of everyday life.
Come and meet the team of Embrace Learning, a community supporter at Wee Asian, to hear about the range of services they provide!
11AM–3:30PM Drop-In
Embrace Learning and Development Centre
Embrace Learning and Development Centre: Embrace, engage, empower.
ABA therapy and personalized support for growth, independence and connection.
March and beat to your own drum in the cinema with author Howie Shia during the live reading of his just released children’s book RA! TA! MA! CUE!
A unique picture book adventure for music lovers of all ages about how to never be quiet, never give up, and never underestimate the power of percussion.
Months have passed since the Grown-Ups were taken captive, forced to brush the teeth and scratch the backs of the Growlies. One day the children make a decision: Ratamacue! It means “no more waiting.” It means it’s time for a rescue mission! They set off on a wild and uncertain journey, forming a drumline to overcome the many obstacles in their way. In the end, the Growlies’ meanness is no match for the children’s magic: their collective music.
2:30PM
Howie Shia
Howie Shia is an illustrator, writer, and animation director. He has worked with Disney, Netflix, and the National Film Board of Canada. He lives in Toronto, Canada, with his most excellent wife, two kindly children, too many books, and not enough drums.
Check out this year’s volume of DIY creative activities from the comfort of your home on our YouTube channel!
Ever had questions you'd like to ask your sibling, parents, or another family member? NIHAL'S GARDEN director Champika Fernando offers some tips and tricks on how to interview your family.
Champika Fernando
Champika Fernando is a Sri Lankan Canadian filmmaker whose work explores magic in the everyday. They are especially interested in telling deeply personal stories through approaches that are technically accessible.
Curious to learn how festival creative artist Janet Mac captured sunprints for her artwork? You can create your own at home with some common ingredients and lots of window-time.
Janet Mac
Janet Mac is a Chinese-Canadian 3D illustrator and animator based in Tkaronto. Her personal art practice explores the joy, beauty and silliness in the small details of everyday life.
Reel Ideas presents a rich programme of conversations, panels, and networking sessions for filmmakers and artists at every stage of their careers.
Akam’s comfortable routine as a literature teacher in Oslo is disrupted by an uncle he’s never met, Khdr, who overstays his welcome on an unannounced visit from Iranian Kurdistan.
For the 29th edition of Reel Asian, we’ve teamed up with a group of amazing local Toronto artists to create a collection of limited handmade merch, each piece designed with care, creativity, and a whole lot of love for our community. From one-of-a-kind trinkets to thoughtfully crafted keepsakes, these custom pieces celebrate the artistry and collaboration that make Reel Asian so special.
Canada202512 minEnglish, Tamil with English subtitlesAvailable Online
At her 65th birthday party, Karupy makes an unexpected announcement: She will be ending her own life that very night, sparking a whirlwind of emotions amongst her family. As she prepares for this final act, her party guests confront her about her decision.
*Kalainithan Kalaichelvan
Kalainithan Kalaichelvan is a Tamil Canadian writer and director whose films have screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and Palm Springs International ShortFest. He is an alumnus of the 2024 CFC Norman Jewison Directors Lab.
This programme precedes
7 Nov, 2025 6:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
guns/gunfire, death/dying
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)
ONLINE : This film has open captions for all non-English dialogue, and closed captions for all spoken dialogue spoken and sound cues.
Links for accessible seating will be added shortly.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with three cast members from KARUPY, moderated by Reel Asian programming associate Khanh Tudo.
Feng Xia, 53, lives a modest but decent life in Montreal: She has a house and is married with two children. But she finds herself growing dissatisfied with her loveless marriage and cloistered life of obligation. After taking a conversational French class, Feng Xia finds the city has opened up to her in new ways, including curious dalliances with dating apps. There, she meets Camille, a Quebecois woman who challenges her spiritually and sexually. Their affair awakens Feng Xia’s long-buried desires during a glowing Montreal summer.
Render Me in Your Worlds is a multi-day symposium that highlights the Sari-Sari Xchange and Reel Asian's shared mission of amplifying Asian representation in the creative emerging media industries.
Enter worlds that feel both impossibly extreme and unsettlingly real. Thrust against the grain, these protagonists take back control of their narrative, despite forces that seek to define them otherwise.
Canada2025116 minFrench, Mandarin with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Directed By Women, Drama, Lesbian, Reel Asian Award Winner, Romance
Feng Xia, 53, lives a modest but decent life in Montreal: She has a house and is married with two children. But she finds herself growing dissatisfied with her loveless marriage and cloistered life of obligation. After taking a conversational French class, Feng Xia finds the city has opened up to her in new ways, including curious dalliances with dating apps. There, she meets Camille, a Quebecois woman who challenges her spiritually and sexually. Their affair awakens Feng Xia’s long-buried desires during a glowing Montreal summer.
The iconic Joan Chen fearlessly takes on the challenging role of Feng Xia, dexterously shifting between timid matron and sensuous explorer. Director Xiaodan He creates no easy answers, though, determined to show the complexities and conflicts of being a middle-aged Chinese mother in Montreal who yearns to break out. For those like Feng Xia who carry the weight of life’s duties, self-discovery can have collateral damage.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Joan Chen
Charlotte Aubin
John Xu
Xiaodan He
Xiaodan He, a Montreal-based Chinese Canadian filmmaker, studied film production at the Beijing Film Academy of China. After immigrating to Canada, He founded Red Dawn Productions, which received financing for five feature film projects. He is the first Chinese immigrant director and producer to receive governmental grants in Quebec and in Canada for a feature film.
7 Nov, 2025 8:15 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3AA
CONTENT ADVISORY
domestic/sexual violence, gender violence, nudity, explicit sexual content
IN PERSON ACCESSIBILITY
This film is being presented with English 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.
Join us for a Q&A session immediately after the screening moderated by Reel Asian's artistic director Aram Siu Wai Collier, with director Xiaodan He.
From augmented reality projects reactivating rural Chinese areas to virtual reality works shaping collective memory, this roundtable opens a dialogue on how emerging media can tell local stories and convey lived experiences.
Enter worlds that feel both impossibly extreme and unsettlingly real. Thrust against the grain, these protagonists take back control of their narrative, despite forces that seek to define them otherwise.
A man's attempt at burglary goes wrong when he’s overpowered and captured by the apartment’s elderly owner. Things take a turn for the curiouser when it’s revealed there is a human-sized plaster cast in which the old man has encased his dead wife. To win his freedom, the burglar merely has to accompany the owner to the desert to bury him along with his wife.
Canada199487 minEnglish, Hindi, Bhilali, Marathi, GujaratiAvailable Online
Director's Note
Narmada: A Valley Rises launched my career as a documentary filmmaker — but more importantly, it was the film that transformed the way I see the world. Made against all odds, the film stands as a testament of endurance and persistence.
Researching, shooting, and completing this film fundamentally changed my point of view as a socially committed filmmaker. It took me into the heart of a people’s struggle and forced me to reckon with the realities and brutalities of large-scale development projects in India. It taught me that filmmaking can be an act of solidarity, not just observation. And yet it is also a film that could only have been made in Canada, and one that was also informed by my engagement with Indigenous issues as a diasporic filmmaker.
– Ali Kazimi
AWARDS
Best Director, Best Political Documentary, Special Mention Best Film, Hot Docs, 1995
Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, 1995
Golden Plaque Award, Chicago International Film Festival, 1995
Ali Kazimi
Ali Kazimi is an Indian-born and -raised Governor General’s Award–winning filmmaker whose work deals with issues of race, history, and memory. He is a cinema professor at York University, where he has also served as department chair. Kazimi was also Reel Asian’s 2021 Canadian Spotlight Artist.
8 Nov, 2025 10:15 am
TIFF Lightbox C4GA
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue in closed captions (no 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 Ali Kazimi moderated by Reel Asian Programmer Mariam Zaidi.
She’s been cursed. Literally. And she needs $1,000 for the hex-breaking cure. AP embarks on a sex worker’s odyssey through pre-millenium Trashtown, U.S.A., where the grass is brown and the cops are kinky. Desperate for a life reset, AP embarks on a scooter-driven adventure with her always-and-forever-tethered ex-lover Danni.
From augmented reality projects reactivating rural Chinese areas to virtual reality works shaping collective memory, this roundtable opens a dialogue on how emerging media can tell local stories and convey lived experiences.
Join us for a conversation with directors and filmmakers Mayumi Yoshida, Janus Victoria, Timothy Yeung, and Nach Dudsdeemaytha on the creative, logistical, and personal realities of co-producing films across borders. Each filmmaker brings a unique perspective on how shooting overseas shaped their debut features - from financing and creative collaboration to the evolution of personal and cultural perspective.
Canada2025110 minEnglish, Cantonese, Mandarin with English subtitlesToronto Premiere
Finch and Midland, an intersection in Scarborough, is like many others in the suburbs of Canada's largest city. But every intersection has a story to tell. Timothy Yeung’s Finch & Midland focuses on four stories from the wave of Hong Kong immigrants who came to Canada in the 1990s hoping for a new life: a former pop singer trying to reconnect with his daughter; a woman caring for her elderly mother while yearning for love; a single mother who works in a massage parlour and dreams of becoming a realtor; and a factory manager confronted with a glass ceiling.
Through strip malls, harsh lights, and dark nights, Finch & Midland reinterprets the stories of the community Yeung grew up in, and stars an impressive ensemble cast led by Anthony Wong Chau‑sang. Yeung’s film is an important addition to the recent movement of local cinematic stories from Scarborough that connect to universal themes.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Anthony Wong
Patrick Tam
Harriet Yeung
Theresa Lee
Nina Paw
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2025
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, 2025
Golden Horse Film Festival, 2025
AWARDS
Anthony Wong Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Golden Horse Film Festival, 2025
Timothy Yeung
Timothy Yeung is a Canadian-born Chinese filmmaker and holds a master of fine arts from New York University. A TIFF Filmmaker Lab alumnus, his short 90 Days was acquired by Sundance Selects. He won the MAS Award at the Busan Asian Project Market in 2018.
9 Nov, 2025 3:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C214A
CONTENT ADVISORY
drug use, nudity, racist language/situations, sexist language/situations, coarse language, sex
IN PERSON ACCESSIBILITY:
This film is being presented with English 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.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Timothy Yeung, moderated by Reel Asian industry and education manager Samir Ballou.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
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.
In THERE ARE NO WORDS, award-winning filmmaker Min Sook Lee searches for stories of her mother, Song Ji Lee, who died by suicide when Lee was just 12 years old. Through an intimate archive, Lee confronts public, private, and imagined histories in the wake of trauma while negotiating her relationship with her aging father, who met her mother while serving in the Korean Counterintelligence Corps under dictator Park Chung Hee in 1960s Korea.
Canada, Japan2025105 minEnglish, Japanese with English subtitlesToronto Premiere
Kana, a struggling visual artist, returns to Japan after years away in Vancouver to attend her beloved grandmother’s funeral. The familiar cadence of family dynamics endure and yet, everything feels different. While in Tokyo, Kana discovers her grandfather had a love of his life outside of his arranged marriage to her grandmother. Meanwhile, Kana reluctantly confronts her own messy romantic past with old flame Hiro to see if the embers of their love still flicker.
Adapted from a play and short film of the same name, powerhouse actor-writer-director Mayumi Yoshida presents an impressively romantic first feature, beautifully lensed across two timelines. Yoshida deftly balances swooning, dreamlike nostalgia with the universal realities of distance, time, and circumstance.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Mayumi Yoshida
Hana Kino
Ryo Tajima
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2025
Mayumi Yoshida
Mayumi Yoshida 吉田真由美 is a Vancouver-based director, actor, and writer whose global upbringing shapes her “in-betweener” storytelling. An alum of TIFF Writer’s Studio and Warner Bros. Discovery Access, she directed the Juno-nominated Different Than Before, has won SXSW’s Jury Award, and screened at Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying festivals.
9 Nov, 2025 7:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C2PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Death and dying
IN PERSON ACCESSIBILITY:
This film is being presented with English 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.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Mayumi Yoshida, producer Nach Dudsdeemaytha, moderated by Reel Asian artistic director Aram Siu Wai Collier.
9:30PM at CSI Spadina
Join us at CSI Spadina for the Centrepiece Gala Party after the screening of AKASHI
9:30PM at CSI Spadina
A calm & quiet zone will be available at this event. If you require accessibility accommodation for this event, please click the link below.
The discussion will explore how festivals can better support accessibility — from accommodating filmmakers with disabilities and reaching diverse audiences, to guiding creators on inclusive practices like budgeting for captioning.
Akam’s comfortable routine as a literature teacher in Oslo is disrupted by an uncle he’s never met, Khdr, who overstays his welcome on an unannounced visit from Iranian Kurdistan.
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.
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.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
