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.
7 Nov, 2025 8:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4GA
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
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.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
In collaboration with the Independent Media Arts Alliance, Reel Ideas will co-host a three-day mini-conference focused on artist advocacy, fair pay, and building an equitable arts ecosystem.
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.
7 Nov, 2025 8:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
conversion therapy; depictions of transphobia
China202393 minCantoneseDrama, First Feature
While picking juicy lychees on an endless summer day, Ting is uneasy. She’s on the verge of marriage in her hometown in mainland China. Her father will not be there. He long ago left her and her mother to stay with his preferred family in Hong Kong — part of the legacy of men from the region who had extramarital affairs in China in the 1980s and '90s. Before she ties the knot, Ting ventures to Hong Kong to find the father she’s never known. While on her journey, she finds she has other loose ends to tie up, too.
Luscious imagery, moody music, and sultry summer vibes saturate Guangdong filmmaker Choy Ji’s first feature film with wistful longing for love in another place, another time. Through Ting and her family story, Director Choy brilliantly displays the Hong Kong of his own youth — mysterious and magical, distant despite being so close.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Lin Dongping
Sunny Sun
Eddy Au-Yeung
Pan Jie
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Busan International Film Festival, 2023
Rotterdam International Film Festival, 2024
Hong Kong International Film Festival, 2024
Choy Ji
Choy Ji was born in 1988 in Chaozhou, Guangdong, China. His works have won the Best Short Film at the China Independent Film Festival, and have been selected for the Busan International Short Film Festival and the Tampere Film Festival. Borrowed Time is his first feature film, and premiered at the 28th Busan International Film Festival.
14 Nov, 2024 8:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C5PG
Tickets for the in-cinema presentation have gone into advance rush. No more public advance tickets are available. Please join the rush line on the day of the screening when we will release unclaimed holds and reserves.
We can usually get everyone in the rush line in but rush tickets are strictly subject to availability and not guaranteed. Rush lines start an hour before the first screening of the day so the earlier you join the rush line the better your chances.
In-
This film is scheduled to be presented with 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.
We're welcoming back online screenings to the 29th edition of Reel Asian! This year, our virtual lineup brings the festival experience to your home with features and shorts. Grab your popcorn and enjoy cinema on your terms with flexible digital passes or individual feature tickets!
Amir is an aspiring chef trying to get ahead, but he can’t seem to break out and meet his own expectations or those of his parents, while his favoured younger brother Mahyar can seemingly do no wrong. When news from Iran arrives that a family friend has died and passed his entire inheritance solely to Mahyar, the mystery of the gift’s provenance begins to unravel the family's story, the image of their parents, and the relationship between the two brothers.
Five oblivious youths, a video camera, a remote rundown villa, and a creepy caretaker. Doesn’t it sound like the perfect recipe for a horror film? A mysterious death that soon follows takes the story on a route beyond the fourth wall. The group find out that they’re characters of The Draft! of a screenplay, and that their smarts will dictate their survival.
Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, USA2022English and other languages with English subtitlesAnimation, Experimental, Family, Horror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
Festival favourite Midnight Snack returns for another bite! This time, 2.0 features six talented female directors who cook up tales full of intrigue and awareness, boldly confronting themes that are often left indigestible.
Japan, Taiwan202122 minutesTaiwanese with English subtitlesHorror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
Xue-Lan, a striving actress, is invited to a mysterious gourmet club only to discover that her competition has prepared a horrifying banquet.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Blood, drugs
Mai Nakanishi
Born in Tokyo but spent most of her youth abroad, Mai Nakanishi is a filmmaker who focuses on genre films. In 2013, she launched Scream Queen FilmFest Tokyo to amplify the voices of female genre filmmakers.
USA20226 minutesNo Dialogue Animation, Horror, Women Filmmakers
During a peaceful school lunchtime, children discover they can transform into animals—the only problem is will they ever stop?
ACCESSIBILITY
This film has no dialogue and is not captioned.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Violence, gore, extreme audio
Cho Yoon Hei
An animator and director from Korea, Cho Yoon Hei is located in Los Angeles and creates horrifying hand-drawn animations.
Canada, Indonesia202217 minutesIndonesian with English subtitlesHorror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
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.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Eating disorder, body dysmorphia
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto is an Indonesian writer and director currently residing in Vancouver, Canada. Her works explore genre films as a medium to depict the current condition surrounding political, social, and cultural issues.
Canada20222 minutesEnglishAnimation, Horror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
Tired of her date’s racist and sexist comments, a woman decides to liberate his tongue.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Nudity, racist situation, sexist situation
Kaho Yoshida
Kaho Yoshida is a director and animator with a special passion for stop motion and mixed media. Her fresh aesthetics and sense of humour bring life to every frame, and her love for storytelling makes her work relatable and approachable.
Canada, USA202210 minutesEnglishFamily, Horror, Women Filmmakers
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.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Sexist language and situations, racist language and situations, blood
Christianne Cruz
Christianne Cruz is a Filipinx writer, director and independent producer born in Toronto and based in LA. She is the mother of two young daughters and producing/life partner to Alex Ott.
China202213 minutesMandarin with English subtitlesExperimental, Women Filmmakers
As the flashy life of the influencer 33 becomes more intense, the canker sore inside her lower lip keeps growing larger…
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Lin Tu
Lin Tu is a writer and director based in Beijing whose previous short films have screened internationally on the festival circuit. She is a BIFAN Fantastic Film School (2020) alumni.
The screening for Midnight Snack 2.0 will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
This shorts programme will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – 20. Purchase the shorts VOD pass to watch this programme online and all other shorts in selection at the festival.
PG
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Kelly Lui.
CBC and Reel Asian are proud to present a special evening celebrating the traditions and spirit of Tết beautifully shown in “Li Xi”, season 1, episode 9 of Run The Burbs.
Six first-time and emerging filmmakers embarked on a summer-long filmmaking journey online with Reel Asian's Unsung Voices Youth Video Production Workshop. We’re proud to present their world premieres here.
In 1993, UFOs suddenly appeared over key cities around the world. The huge structures remained in the sky, stationary, silent, and unknown. Twenty-nine years later, with neither the origins nor the intentions of their arrival deciphered, humanity succumbs to speculations that aliens are walking among us. This feature film will also be shown as an online screening.
China202213 minutesMandarin with English subtitlesExperimental, Women Filmmakers
As the flashy life of the influencer 33 becomes more intense, the canker sore inside her lower lip keeps growing larger…
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Lin Tu
Lin Tu is a writer and director based in Beijing whose previous short films have screened internationally on the festival circuit. She is a BIFAN Fantastic Film School (2020) alumni.
This film is a part of the Midnight Snack 2.0 shorts programme.
Set in the 1990s, South Korean immigrant and single mother So-young looks to make a fresh start in a West Coast Canadian suburb with her son Dong-hyun.
How do our bodies and environments absorb and hold onto repetitive patterns, habits, and routines? This presentation of shorts exercises the capacity to confront harmful structures, encourage reflexivity, and affirm the embodied knowledge we carry. This shorts programme is available online.
Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Philippines, South Korea, USA202176 minEnglish and various languages with English SubtitlesAnimation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Women Filmmakers
Recognizing the in/tangible ways feelings and relations can influence one’s actions, these six films tenderly hold the complexities of characters, places, and memories that are more than enough just as they are.
Canada, South Korea202112 minKorean with English subtitlesDrama
Actors Ahn So-yo and Kim Jae-rok return in director Albert Shin’s latest film as two anonymous strangers who meet in a motel room by the sea.
This presentation has English subtitles.
An Active Listener will be available to offer one-on-one peer support for viewers who may find the content of this presentation triggering. More info on how to access here.
This film contains the potentially triggering topics of suicide.
Albert Shin
Albert Shin is a Toronto-based filmmaker. His films include In Her Place (2014) and Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2019).
Belgium, China202016 minMandarin with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDocumentary, Women Filmmakers
Wistful and witty, director Viv Li succinctly recounts the nine days she spends in her hometown of Beijing after being abroad for 10 years.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Viv Li
Viv Li is a Chinese filmmaker, writer, and comedian based in Berlin and Beijing. Before turning to film directing, she was an active standup comedian and performed around the U.K. and China.
South Korea20203 minKorean with English subtitlesAnimation, Music, Women Filmmakers
One night, Seolgi is lying on a grass field with friends when a shooting star falls and dark intrusive thoughts hit her, bursting with movement and blooming bright colours.
This presentation has English subtitles.
An Active Listener will be available to offer one-on-one peer support for viewers who may find the content of this presentation triggering. More info on how to access here.
This film contains the potentially triggering topic of suicide.
Sasha Lee
Sasha Lee directs and animates short films that explore the connection between humans, using dramatic motion and vibrant colors. During her free time, she writes idiosyncratic songs that make her happy.
USA20214 minEnglish, Tagalog with English subtitlesToronto PremiereComedy, Women Filmmakers
Looking to pick up something new? In this lesson, Kayla teaches you conversational phrases, common expressions, and much, much more in Tagalog.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Kayla Abuda Galang
Kayla Abuda Galang is a second-ish-generation Filipino American making films rooted in nostalgia, everyday absurdity, and girlhood. She is based in Austin, Texas, with her partner and two cats.
Cambodia202014 minKhmer with English subtitlesOntario PremiereDrama, Women Filmmakers
Amid a textured beauty salon and late-night vibes full of tension, Pich navigates her restrained interest in the delivery man, who spends his evenings driving through Phnom Penh's streets.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Danech San
Danech San has worked on projects with Anti-Archive since 2015, including Diamond Island (2016). Her first and previous short film, A Million Years (2018), won Best Southeast Asian Short at Singapore IFF 2018.
Philippines202027 minTagalog with English subtitlesCanadian Premiere
Set in a rural coastal village in the Philippines, Mona trains under her mother to start work as a professional mourner for hire.
This presentation has English subtitles.Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan is an independent filmmaker, musician, and poster designer of Ifugao and Visayan descent. Eblahan’s works explore themes of trauma, spirituality, and nature, told through the cosmic lens of post-colonial spaces and Indigenous identities.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
AA
First programmed as part of last year’s festival, this panel continues to reckon with the function of art, festival, and gallery spaces in a time of crisis.
Mi-yeon seems to be living the perfect life as a choirmaster and the wife of a successful man. In comparison, her sisters Hee-sook and Mi-ok seem to be miserable, making Mi-yeon frustrated. But in the shadow behind her perfect smile, Mi-yeon’s also suffering from the three sisters’ shared childhood trauma that they’ve yet to come to terms with.
Due to popular demand, we're screening ISLANDS once again, for free on the last night of our 25th anniversary festival at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema at 4PM ET.
China202114 min Mandarin with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDrama, Fantasy
A film you won’t forget, One Night Elsewhere takes place in a sleepy rural village, offering a surrealistic countryside night journey with a monk, a villager, and a piece of meat.
This presentation has no captions and no dialogue.
Zhichao Zhu
Zhichao Zhu is a Chinese filmmaker and visual artist based in Shanghai and Hamburg who has exhibited internationally. Zhu works as a registered university lecturer in Shanghai.
China202014 min Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Fantasy
How much would you put into a relationship? Bubble brings us along on a couple's date that takes a strange plunge into vegetarian cuisine.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Haonan Wang
Haonan Wang graduated with a MFA degree in film production from Art Center College of Design. His past works have won awards at several international film festivals, including SXSW, Warsaw Film Festival, and Sitges Film Festival.
Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, USA202174 minEnglish, Mandarin with English subtitles, JapaneseAnimation, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Music, Women Filmmakers
Delectably genre-bending, this programme serves up a seven-course meal that will surely leave you questioning whether you were even hungry to begin with.
Canada202111 min English World PremiereHorror, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
Subverting the body-horror genre, Fresh Blood follows 14-year-old Maya, who is left to process her own fears of entering womanhood alone when she gets her first period.
This presentation has closed captions.
Hayley Wong, Julianna Notten
Hayley Wong is an award-winning cinematographer passionate about collaborating with storytellers to shoot underrepresented subjects in mainstream media.
Julianna Notten is a Toronto-based, award-winning, queer filmmaker and co-founder of Switch Hitter Films.
China202014 min Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Fantasy
How much would you put into a relationship? Bubble brings us along on a couple's date that takes a strange plunge into vegetarian cuisine.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Haonan Wang
Haonan Wang graduated with a MFA degree in film production from Art Center College of Design. His past works have won awards at several international film festivals, including SXSW, Warsaw Film Festival, and Sitges Film Festival.
Canada20214 min English World PremiereFamily-friendly, Music, Romance, Women Filmmakers
Sweet Memories is an ode to nostalgic memories of childhood crushes, featuring the 1977 Hawaiian track “Lihue” by Nohelani Cypriano.
This presentation has closed captions.
Jessica JM Wu
Jessica JM Wu is a director and producer based in Toronto. She wrote, directed, and produced her first short film, White Dragon, in 2019. Wu is currently represented for commercial work at Undivided Creative
Singapore20203 min JapaneseAnimation, Women Filmmakers
Sentient and existential, Sushi begins to wonder if there’s more to life than serving himself out to consumers.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Calleen Koh Yee Lin
Calleen Koh Yee Lin is currently in her final year of animation art at LASALLE College of the Arts. In her free time, she enjoys sipping tea, listening to old Chinese folk songs, and petting her three cats: Yuki, Mako, and Momo.
Malaysia201914 min Chinese with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereFantasy, Horror, Women Filmmakers
A fresh take on the Malaysian female monster Penanggalan, Chin is an overworked nurse at the maternity ward who finds joy when she is alone and can finally eat.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Amanda Nell Eu
A graduate of the MA in filmmaking at the London Film School, Amanda Nell Eu has directed short films based in the U.K. and Malaysia. She is developing her first feature film, Tiger Stripes.
USA202114 min English World PremiereComedy, Fantasy, Romance, Women Filmmakers
Mi-Wen, an elderly widow, combs the beach in search of treasure and discovers a gold tooth that magically changes her lonely life.
This presentation has closed captions.
Azumi Hasegawa
Azumi Hasegawa is a New York-based writer, originally from Tokyo. Her articles appear in the Japanese editions of Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar.
China202114 min Mandarin with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDrama, Fantasy
A film you won’t forget, One Night Elsewhere takes place in a sleepy rural village, offering a surrealistic countryside night journey with a monk, a villager, and a piece of meat.
This presentation has no captions and no dialogue.
Zhichao Zhu
Zhichao Zhu is a Chinese filmmaker and visual artist based in Shanghai and Hamburg who has exhibited internationally. Zhu works as a registered university lecturer in Shanghai.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
Community Supporters
Join us in conversation with directors and special guests in attendance! ASL interpretation will be made available thanks to Toronto Sign Language Interpreter Services. Ticket holders can watch on the CineSend Reel Asian portal.
November 13, 2020 at 8PM
It starts simple enough. In town on a stopover, years after she transitioned, Kris is meeting her college ex-girlfriend Naomi again for the first time. But seeing an ex is never simple. As the evening unfolds, the past inevitably creeps back into their conversations.
Damascus Dreams is a reflexive documentary essay presented in a series of sections framed by voiceovers of Serri and her father. The film explores and interrogates the fraught notions of dreams, and memories of “home,” moving loosely through old video footage of the family home in Syria, interviews with Syrians who had to leave or flee because of the civil war, conversations between Serri and her father, and poetic, dreamlike sequences.
From a pile of deteriorating 16 mm home movies from 1936 to 1951, a moving story emerges of a Chinese American family, set against the backdrop of race and class in Chicago.
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
