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

USA202593 minEnglishOntario PremiereAvailable Online

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.

As Tad digs deeper into the documentary, they process the ghosts of his father's past — his incarceration during the Second World War, the traumatic catalyst that drove him to success in his career, but also Bob's depression, personal failings and self hatred, for which only film and community could serve as a salve.

A lovingly honest tribute, Third Act continues Tad’s commitment to community storytelling, this time from the inside out, making this his most personal and challenging film thus far. It is another reminder of the power of our elders and ancestors, that we may move forward, carrying them with us, bravely.

– Aram Siu Wai Collier

USA2025106 minEnglishToronto Premiere2slgbtq+, Bisexual, Comedy, Directed By Women, First Feature, Gay, Non-binary, Transgender

She’s been cursed. Literally. And she needs $1,000 for the hex-breaking cure. AP (played by director Annapurna Sriram) 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. Through strip clubs, celebrity mansions, and fortune tellers around every corner, fans of John Waters and 1990s Gregg Araki films will love Sriram’s world-building and her campy, crude, queer take on the buddy film genre.

Fucktoys is a darkly humorous tale about the uphill battle of carving out a new life for oneself and the risks it takes to do it. Sriram’s directorial debut kicks down the door for a new wave of American sexploitation films, while its anarchist spirit is a call to challenge mainstream American filmic conventions.

– Khanh Tudo

USA202598 minEnglish, Vietnamese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDocumentary, First Feature

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. Challenging family members who don’t want to disturb the dust, Nguyen is determined to find the potential truth, and the value of it. Nguyen’s film is a rollercoaster ride of DIY detective work to uncover family secrets, ultimately questioning the role and power of a filmmaker.

On the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, YEAR OF THE CAT offers a sincere look at piecing together a family story post war, offering a personal reflection of how displacement and trauma gets passed down to a generation who are now parents.

– Khanh Tudo

Directors Bio

Tony Nguyen

Tony Nguyen is an Oakland, Calif.-based filmmaker whose work explores the Vietnamese refugee experience (Enforcing the Silence, Giap’s Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory) and the overlooked stories of individuals and communities that make up the fabric of the town (Fresh Frozen, I See Me).

USA202596 minEnglish, Korean

Special Singalong Presentation with Special Guests

K-pop? Yes, please. Demons? Sure! Hunters? OK, what?

Here’s the story: Rumi, Zoey, and Mira are HUNTR/X, a world-renowned K-pop group who ALSO hunt demons to protect humans from the underworld. But one of them has a secret that could disrupt all they’ve worked for.

The disparate elements of the global sensation K-Pop Demon Hunters don’t seem like they’d work, but they're what make it perfect. The devil (or demon) is in the details, featuring a specificity that distinguishes it from the crowd through a celebration of Korean culture with its relatable characters, animation motifs, and absolute bangin' soundtrack.

It’s all the brainchild of creator and co-director Maggie Kang, who grew up in Toronto and attended Sheridan College. And we’re proud to have her join us in a hometown singalong celebration of K-Pop Demon Hunters. So grab your little "Soda Pop" and show them "How It's Done", cuz we’re gonna be "Golden".

– Aram Siu Wai Collier

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).

Directors Bio

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.

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).

Directors Bio

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.

USA201912 minEnglishAboriginal + Indigenous, Available Online, Directed By Women, Drama

The lives of a Native woman and a troubled young boy intersect over the course of a school day on a reservation in Oklahoma.

 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 (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)

Directors Bio

Erica Tremblay

Erica Tremblay’s films have played at Sundance and SXSW. She was a director and writer on the FX show Reservation Dogs, and her first feature film, Fancy Dance, is now streaming worldwide on Apple TV.

USA202413 minEnglish, Tagalog2slgbtq+, Available Online, Directed By Women, Drama

Yaya and Louie, two baby goths, prepare to summon the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, but a series of unexpected obstacles jeopardize the entire spooky spectacle — and maybe even their friendship.

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 (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)

Directors Bio

Andrea A. Walter

Andrea A. Walter is a British Filipino filmmaker whose work premiered at SXSW and Inside Out. They are a 2024 Women in Film Cinematography fellow and mentored by Lilly Wachowski.

USA202411 MinEnglishAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Drama

Two friends living in Mānoa Valley spend a summer day together before one of them moves to New York City.

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 (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)

Directors Bio

Emily May Jampel

Emily May Jampel is a director from Honolulu based in New York City. Her films have played at festivals around the world, including Palm Springs, Aspen Shortsfest, Champs-Élysées, and Outfest.