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.
8 Nov, 2025 9:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4GA
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.
8 Nov, 2025 9:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
animated depictions of nudity
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.
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
*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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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).
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 C4AA
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
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
How far would you go to uncover a family history that has been purposefully buried? What are the consequences of resurfacing these stories to fulfil your own? In an extremely candid documentary, filmmaker Tony Nguyen embarks on a scrappy investigation to reconnect to his father, who was estranged from his family due to the Vietnam War.
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.
Through animation’s unique ability to push boundaries and reimagine narratives, this programme reflects the formative dreams that continue to shape Inside Out and Reel Asian. Step into this chaotic but tender journey with us.
Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, U.K., USA2018–202560 minVarious languages with English SubtitlesAvailable Online
Through animation’s unique ability to push boundaries and reimagine narratives, this programme reflects the formative dreams that continue to shape Inside Out and Reel Asian. Step into this chaotic but tender journey with us.
For: time travellers; plane counters; animation lovers; dancers; weirdo blobs; fans of Lu and Kelly
*Directors in attendance starred.
Lu Linares
Co-Curator
Lu Linares is a Peruvian Canadian festival programmer and arts administrator whose work is shaped by their experiences as a queer immigrant. They are currently the programming and industry manager at the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival.
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.
South Korea20203 minKorean with English subtitlesAnimation, Available Online, Music, Queer
One night, while Seolgi is lying on a grass field with friends, a shooting star falls and dark intrusive thoughts hit her, bursting with movement and blooming bright colours.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Sasha Lee
Sasha Lee is an animator who likes plants and animals.
Taiwan, U.K.20246 minMandarin with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Gay
I’ve practised these words for 20 years now, but maybe being candid isn’t the best idea. I’m starting my countdown again — another 20 years. Maybe it will be the right time by then.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
WeiFan Wang
WeiFan Wang is an animation director based in Taipei and London. His practice consists of self-reflective animations that explore intimate and unspoken emotions.
Singapore, USA20238 minNo dialogue2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Experimental, Non-binary, Queer
One night, a person brushes a dog's teeth and turns into a bus.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film has no dialogue (no audio + visual descriptions).
Exyl
Exyl is a filmmaker working under the umbrella of experimental animation. They love work that is cheap. They care about being honest. They hate thinking about being marketable.
Taiwan, UK2018 6:00No dialogue2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Experimental, Gay, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary, Queer, Transgender
Comprising over 2,000 hand-painted frames, Adorable presents a journey of a queer person, illustrating modern queer society, where discrimination, freedom, and love coexist.
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).
Cheng-Hsu Chung
Cheng-Hsu Chung is a Taiwanese animation artist and director based in Berlin. Chung’s artistic practice focuses on surreal images and character performances in animation to articulate the changing nature of emotion, modern love, and the experiences queer bodies encounter.
Canada20196 minEnglishAvailable Online
With pulsating neon-light animation, Reviving the Roost is about community complexity and longing — an elegy to a lost space as much as it is director Vivek Shraya’s ode to a now-closed iconic Edmonton gay bar.
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).
Vivek Shraya
A three-time Canadian Screen Award winner, Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, TV, film, and fashion.
Malaysia, Sweden20229 minNo dialogue2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Environment, Family-friendly, Queer, Romance
Newly orphaned and freshly wounded from a loss, a boy lends his companion a prosthetic arm for the day. This is a slow and meditative film about everyday gestures of love, communicated through our universal understanding of body language.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film has no dialogue (no audio + visual descriptions).
Gabriel Gabriel Garble
Gabriel Gabriel Garble works across animation, film, and geology, exploring how imagery and material ecologies intertwine.
South Korea20259 minKorean with English subtitlesAnimation, Available Online, Directed By Women, Drama
A girl unexpectedly bumps into her childhood best friend and finds herself torn between rekindling their lost connection or letting the moment slip away forever.
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).
Hanna Kang
Hanna Kang is a graduate of the Korea National University of Arts.
6 Nov, 2025 8:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, English subtitles, and no 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
CONTENT ADVISORY
Flashing strobe lights; depictions of violence
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.
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.
Filmmaker Ian Tuason’s debut feature The Undertone, recently acquired by A24, transforms the intimacy of caregiving and the eerie power of audio into a chilling, single-location horror story.
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.
8 Nov, 2025 1:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
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).
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.
8 Nov, 2025 6:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
depictions of war/armed conflict, guns/gunfire
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.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallGA
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
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.
This panel will explore how racialized and independent creators bring their films to communities and audiences.
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!
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
Reel Ideas presents a rich programme of conversations, panels, and networking sessions for filmmakers and artists at every stage of their careers.
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.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
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
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.
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.
Pride celebrations are coming up, and Manok, the feisty owner of a venerable lesbian bar in Seoul, is preparing for the annual party. Except the younger organizers want a new vibe, leaving Manok’s bar on the fringes. Irritated at her obsolescence, Manok closes the bar out of spite and moves back to her rural hometown with a fresh start on her mind. But is that possible in a town run by her ex-husband? If anybody can do it, Manok can.
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.
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