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Shorts Presentation: OTHERWORLDS

Canada, France, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, USA2024–202589 minVarious languages with English subtitlesAvailable Online

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.

For: escapist daydreamers, truth-seekers, ordinary adventurers, diligent caretakers

*Directors in attendance starred.

TEARS BURN TO ASH

*Natalie Murao Profile Image

Canada, Japan202515 minEnglish, Japanese with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Drama

With only one night in Tokyo, Tammy, a grieving Japanese Canadian woman, is haunted by her doppelganger.

IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).

ONLINE: This short film features English subtitles for all non-English dialogue. In addition, subtitles for English dialogue and sound cues are available in Closed Captions

 

Director Bio

*Natalie Murao

Natalie Murao is a yonsei (fourth-generation) Japanese Canadian writer, director, and creative storyteller. She expands Asian diasporic cinema by creating an in-betweenness of styles that embody the diaspora itself.

VORTEX

Jae-Woo Jang Profile Image

South Korea202420 minKorean with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Drama, Horror

Haunted by nightmares while caring for his sick mother, Yoon Seok meets Soo In as she's dragging a huge rock across the beach. Intrigued, he learns how she escaped her worst imaginations.

IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).

Director Bio

Jae-Woo Jang

Jae-Woo Jang majored in film studies at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. His horror films are highly acclaimed for their grotesque depiction of the fear of death and suffering.

GOODBYE WAVES

RuiHan Yang Profile Image

Japan20248 minNo DialogueAnimation, Available Online, Experimental

A woman waits for a man by the seaside.

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 sound cues indicated).

Director Bio

RuiHan Yang

Born in 1999 in China’s Sichuan province, RuiHan Yang holds a bachelor’s degree in Animation from Beijing Film Academy and a master’s in graphic design from Tama Art University.

WE WERE THE SCENERY

Christopher Radcliff Profile Image

USA202515 minVietnamese with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Documentary, History

Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che flee the Vietnam War by boat and become background extras in 1979's Apocalypse Now. Written by their daughter, Cathy Linh Che, this story explores the interplay between fact and fiction.

IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).

Director Bio

Christopher Radcliff

Christopher Radcliff is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has screened worldwide and online via Criterion, Short of the Week, and Lé Cinema Club.

ORDINARY LIFE

Yoriko Mizushiri Profile Image

France, Japan202510 minNo dialogueAvailable Online

Ordinary life repeats itself every day, but the sequence of events is never the same. Only the feeling of touching something can be recognized as “now."

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).

Director Bio

Yoriko Mizushiri

Born in Aomori, Japan, Yoriko Mizushiri’s animations bring body parts and everyday objects to life. In addition to short films, she also makes music videos, commercials, and films for art installations.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
草莓蛋糕

Deborah “Devyn” Chuang Profile Image

Taiwan202421 minMandarin with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Available Online, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Lesbian, Non-binary, Queer, Transgender

Sixteen-year-old Lolo becomes entangled in a Freudian loop centered on a strawberry shortcake and her mother, Norma. As Lolo sinks into the loop, the boundary between reality and the dreamscape becomes increasingly blurred.

IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).

Director Bio

Deborah “Devyn” Chuang

Deborah “Devyn” Chuang is a Taiwanese American filmmaker whose award-winning shorts have screened at prestigious international festivals, including the world’s three largest genre festivals: Sitges, Fantasia, and Fantastic Fest.

8 Nov, 2025 6:30 pm

TIFF Lightbox C4

Rating

AA

IN-CINEMA TICKETS

Accessibility

Mixed Captions icon Wheelchair/Step-Free Seating Available icon
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, and English subtitles.

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, trauma, death, dying, and horror

With Support From

Community Partner

Community Supporter

CCNC-SJ

Q&A: OTHERWORLDS

Join us for a Q&A with Natalie Murao from this shorts programme, moderated by Khanh Tudo, our Programme Associate.

November 8, 2025 at 8PM

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Digital Festival Tickets

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!

Features
Centrepiece Gala Presentation: AKASHI

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.

RA: X
RA:X Render Me in Your Worlds

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.

TEARS BURN TO ASH

Canada, Japan202515 minEnglish, Japanese with English subtitlesAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Drama

With only one night in Tokyo, Tammy, a grieving Japanese Canadian woman, is haunted by her doppelganger.

IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).

ONLINE: This short film features English subtitles for all non-English dialogue. In addition, subtitles for English dialogue and sound cues are available in Closed Captions

 

Directors Bio

*Natalie Murao

Natalie Murao is a yonsei (fourth-generation) Japanese Canadian writer, director, and creative storyteller. She expands Asian diasporic cinema by creating an in-betweenness of styles that embody the diaspora itself.

This film is part of the Shorts Presentation

OTHERWORLDS

Buy tickets here

8 Nov, 2025 6:30 pm

TIFF Lightbox C4

Rating

PG

GOODBYE WAVES

Japan20248 minNo DialogueAnimation, Available Online, Experimental

A woman waits for a man by the seaside.

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 sound cues indicated).

Directors Bio

RuiHan Yang

Born in 1999 in China’s Sichuan province, RuiHan Yang holds a bachelor’s degree in Animation from Beijing Film Academy and a master’s in graphic design from Tama Art University.

This film is part of the Shorts Presentation

OTHERWORLDS

Buy tickets here

8 Nov, 2025 6:30 pm

TIFF Lightbox C4

Rating

PG

CONTENT ADVISORY
Animated depictions of nudity

ORDINARY LIFE

France, Japan202510 minNo dialogueAvailable Online

Ordinary life repeats itself every day, but the sequence of events is never the same. Only the feeling of touching something can be recognized as “now."

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).

Directors Bio

Yoriko Mizushiri

Born in Aomori, Japan, Yoriko Mizushiri’s animations bring body parts and everyday objects to life. In addition to short films, she also makes music videos, commercials, and films for art installations.

This film is part of the Shorts Presentation

OTHERWORLDS

Buy tickets here

8 Nov, 2025 6:30 pm

TIFF Lightbox C4

Rating

GA

A NIGHT AT THE REST AREA
パーキングエリアの夜

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).

Directors Bio

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.

This film is part of the Shorts Presentation

WEE ASIAN

15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am

Innis Town Hall

Rating

GA

Wee Asian

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.

BUGSICK

Silverfish Pictures Profile Image

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).

Director Bio

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.

NIHAL’S GARDEN

*Champika Fernando Profile Image

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).

Director Bio

*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.

I AM A FLOWER

Ariel Victor Arthanto Profile Image

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.

Open Captioned icon 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).

Director Bio

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.

SERENE HUES

*Rita Tse Profile Image

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).

Director Bio

*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.

FAMILY DINNER
家庭晚餐

Huayi Yi Profile Image

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).

Director Bio

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.

A NIGHT AT THE REST AREA
パーキングエリアの夜

Saki Muramoto Profile Image

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).

Director Bio

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 Hall

Relaxed Screenings take place
at 10AM and 1PM.

Wee Asian is free and drop-in.
No tickets required!

Accessibility

Wheelchair/Step-Free Seating Available icon

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.

With Support From

Wee Asian Art Activities

From 11AM to 3:30PM, participate in a range of playful and expressive arts activities on a drop-in basis!

Wee Asian Mini Book-nook

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

Live-Portrait Booth

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.

Make your own drum!

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

Colouring Sheet

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.

Embrace Learning

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.

Wee Asian Storytelling

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!

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.

Wee Asian Arts Channel

Check out this year’s volume of DIY creative activities from the comfort of your home on our YouTube channel!

Learn how to interview a family member

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.

DIY Sunprints at home!

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.

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Special Presentation
2025 Merch

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.

Features
Centrepiece Gala Presentation: AKASHI

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.

Special Presentation
Festival Launch Party

The 29th edition of Reel Asian is about to unfold! Celebrate with us at Tha Phae Tavern!

DIAMONDS IN THE SAND

Japan, Philippines2024102:00Tagalog, JapaneseNorth American PremiereAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Drama, First Feature

In Japan’s aging society, kodokushi — the lonely death of the elderly — has become disturbingly common. Divorced salaryman Yoji (Lily Franky) is confronted with this reality when he discovers his neighbour’s decomposing body. The shocking experience forces him to face his solitude, deepened by his own mother’s ageing. Seeking escape and connection, he follows a caretaker to Manila, where his choice takes an unexpected turn.

Diamonds in the Sand explores the contrasts between two distinct Asian cultures. While reflecting on the isolation faced by many people in modern society, the film also captures the warmth, vitality, and complexity of family life in the Philippines. Within this vibrant setting, bonds bring both joy and hardship, connection and obligation. This is a bittersweet story of acceptance, the courage and impact of our personal choices, and the search for meaning within oneself and community alike.

– Rolando Basmayor

Cast

Lily Franky
Maria Isabel Lopez
Soliman Cruz

Recognitions

OFFICIAL SELECTION
Tokyo FILMeX, 2024
Udine Far East Film Festival, 2025
Taipei Film Festival, 2025

 

AWARDS
Best Debut Feature
Udine Far East Film Festival, 2025

Director Bio

Janus Victoria

Janus Victoria, a Manila-based writer-director, creates documentaries and films on human-place connections. She’s made six shorts, including Myth of Manila, as well as the documentary Encounters with Silence. Diamonds in the Sand is her debut feature.

8 Nov, 2025 5:15 pm

TIFF Lightbox C3
IN-CINEMA TICKETS
ONLINE SCREENING TICKETS

IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY

Wheelchair/Step-Free Seating Available icon

IN PERSON & ONLINE: 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.

Sponsors

Community Supporter

Siné Institute

Kultura Toronto

POST-FILM DISCUSSION: DIAMONDS IN THE SAND

Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Janus Victoria moderated by Reel Asian artistic director Aram Siu Wai Collier.

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Features
FINCH & MIDLAND

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.

RA: X
Performing XR Worlds: Media Artists on Embodiment, Performativity, and the Real

Explore the XR worldbuilding practices of media artists working at the confluence of body, space, and technology.

RA: X
RA:X Render Me in Your Worlds

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.

Centrepiece Gala Presentation: AKASHI
あかし

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

Cast

Mayumi Yoshida
Hana Kino
Ryo Tajima

Recognitions

OFFICIAL SELECTION
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2025

Director Bio

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.

Centrepiece Gala

9 Nov, 2025 7:00 pm

TIFF Lightbox C2

Rating

PG

IN-CINEMA TICKETS

CONTENT ADVISORY
Death and dying

IN PERSON ACCESSIBILITY:

Wheelchair/Step-Free Seating Available icon

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.

Sponsors

POST-FILM DISCUSSION

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

Centrepiece Reception

Join us at CSI Spadina for the Centrepiece Gala Party after the screening of AKASHI

9:30PM at CSI Spadina

Wheelchair/Step-Free Seating Available icon

A calm & quiet zone will be available at this event. If you require accessibility accommodation for this event, please click the link below.

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Features
SPACE CADET

Ever since astronaut-in-training Celeste was a child, Robot has served as a surrogate parent while her mother explored the galaxy. When Celeste starts a months-long mission after graduation, the pair must explore the unknowns of life without each other.

RA: X
Performing XR Worlds: Media Artists on Embodiment, Performativity, and the Real

Explore the XR worldbuilding practices of media artists working at the confluence of body, space, and technology.

Special Presentation
Festival Launch Party

The 29th edition of Reel Asian is about to unfold! Celebrate with us at Tha Phae Tavern!

SEN

Japan202313 min

Experience a poetic journey of connection and entanglement inspired by the philosophies of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Set in the famous Tai-An teahouse, SEN is a Virtual Reality (VR) experience that takes us from joy and wonder, through carelessness and confusion, to peace and renewal, in a lush, visual homage to the expansive emotional interior.

Hold a black raku tea bowl to wake Sen, the spirit of tea, and follow as it learns about itself, the world, and the relations that connect us all together.

Seating for this presentation is cross-legged on the floor. For presentations calibrated for people who are or would prefer to be seated in chairs, click on the blue slots to book accessible seats.

THU NOV 14

BOOK 6 PM
BOOK 7 PM

FRI NOV 15

BOOK 3 PM
BOOK 4 PM

SAT NOV 16

BOOK 12PM
BOOK 1 PM
BOOK 2 PM
BOOK 3 PM

SUN NOV 17

BOOK 12PM
BOOK 1 PM
BOOK 2 PM
BOOK 3 PM

TUE NOV 19

BOOK 6 PM
BOOK 7 PM

WED NOV 20

BOOK 6 PM
BOOK 7 PM

THU NOV 21

BOOK 6 PM
BOOK 7 PM

FRI NOV 22

BOOK 2 PM
BOOK 3 PM

SAT NOV 23

BOOK 12PM
BOOK 1 PM
BOOK 2 PM
BOOK 3 PM

SUN NOV 24

BOOK 1 PM
BOOK 2 PM

Keisuke Itoh
Artist

After graduating from Tama Art University’s Department of Graphic Design, Keisuke Itoh gained experience as a graphic designer and is currently active as an XR artist. His works, including the VR play “Typeman,” have been shown at several well-known events, including the Venice International Film Festival, the Cannes International Film Festival, and the world’s largest CG festival, SIGGRAPH. Since 2019, he has directed a VR animation work that has been screened for five consecutive years in the XR category at the Venice International Film Festival, and has been nominated for four consecutive years.

OPENING HOURS
November 14–24

RSVPs open October 24 and end at midnight the day before the slot. Check our socials for same-day availability! Each slot can accommodate three (3) patrons. Slots are 60min to allow time for a short pre-experience introduction and post-experience activities.

 

Warning: This video contains a few bright flashes.

With Support From

Co-presented by

With Support From

Community Supporter

Zesty Nobody

Introduction to Japanese Tea Ceremony with Momo Yoshida

Intrigued by the tea ceremonial elements in SEN? Come and learn more about its history, core philosophies, rituals and tools. Taste some whisked matcha. Hosted by Momo Yoshida.

Nov 20 at 4–6PM, 401 Commons

Arrow Link

Momo Yoshida

Momo is the founder and owner of Momo Tea, an online tea store based in Toronto. She selects high quality tea in her home country Japan and offers them at an affordable price in Canada.

Momo is a serious tea lover. She is Nihoncha(Japanese Tea) Adviser certified by Japan Tea Industry Central Association. She is also certified Tea Sommelier with George Brown College and Tea Association Canada.  She is a member of Tea Guild Canada. She belongs to the Urasenke school of Chanoyu (Tea Ceremony).

Presenting SEN: In conversation with Sana Akram

Join Sana Akram with Reel Asian programmer Aram Collier to talk about the work required to present SEN, the world of experiential media, and the impact of new media technologies in storytelling.

Nov 22 at 5PM, 401 Commons

Sana Akram
Lead Producer of the VR Presentation

Sana Akram is a Pakistani urbanist, media maker and a Fulbright alum based in Toronto, Canada. Her award-winning interactive documentary, Little Pakistan – Future Histories, has showcased at several international festivals and her research has been published in Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. Currently, she is pursuing a doctorate in Cinema and Media Studies at York University as a recipient of the prestigious Elia Scholars Program Award. Her research-creation interests include immersive storytelling and performance, oral tradition, worlding and worldbuilding, emergent media, cocreation, and civic engagement.

 

 

Accessibility for Introduction to Japanese Tea Ceremony & In conversation with Sana Akram

The building is wheelchair and step-free accessible via a ramp & button operated door.  The event space, including the accessible washrooms, are on the 4th floor, accessible via an elevator.

Please click HERE to advise us of your access needs for these events

The Old Young Crow (今昔カラス)

Japan, USA202212 minFarsi, Japanese with English subtitlesAnimation, Drama, Family-friendly, Mystery

Mehrdad, an Iranian boy, befriends an old Japanese woman in a graveyard in Tokyo.

English Subtitled icon

Directors Bio

Liam LoPinto

Liam LoPinto is a filmmaker and animator based out of New York City who is an assistant manager at the Moviehouse in Millerton.

This film is part of the WEE ASIAN shorts programme.

With Support From

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Shorts Programme
Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE

More to the situation than what it seems, these shorts choose to examine, tease, and redefine the forces that pull us to make a decision.

RA: X
THE SARI-SARI XCHANGE: MINI SYMPOSIUM AND EXHIBITION

The Sari-Sari Xchange is a project that seeks to amplify Asian representation in the creative emerging media industries in Canada, particularly through a community-building residency program that engages artists with digital and extended reality (XR) technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, 360 cinema, game-engine animation, and 3D scanning.

Features
Opening Night Gala Presentation: THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS

When Azra, a queer Muslim grad student, hears of her father’s sudden death, she flies back to her ancestral home in Karachi, Pakistan for the funeral, where she is received by her conservative mother, Mariam, perpetually disappointed by Azra’s choices. As a self-assured Azra wrestles with Karachi’s customs and norms, we time travel back to Mariam’s own life in the city 30 years ago, a remarkably different era in Pakistan’s political and cultural history.

Open Tickets Cart