USA2021100 minEnglishDrama
PART OF THE CENTREPIECE SPOTLIGHT ON HAWAI'I
On the pastoral North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, the end is near for Masao, an ill and elderly man with regrets to spare. As he looks back, his family history, dreams, and mythology swirl around him as ghosts he carries with him in his final days. Meanwhile, I Was A Simple Man shifts in time through pre-WWII country landscapes of days past, statehood, and a concrete-bound, contemporary Honolulu, mirroring 20th-century Hawaiian history.
Following his atmospheric first feature, August at Akiko’s, and developed from his short film Obake (Ghosts), which showed at Reel Asian in 2012, with I Was A Simple Man, Christopher Makoto Yogi ambitiously continues to reach for the place between the seen and unseen, the feelings deeply felt but left unsaid, and to chart changes over time, all told with sublime imagery and sound, with a deep connection to the land, sea, and sky of his hometown in Hawaii.
- Aram Siu Wai Collier
Steve Iwamoto
Constance Wu
Tim Chiou
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Sundance Film Festival, 2021
BAMcinemaFest, 2021
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2021
Christopher Makoto Yogi
Christopher Makoto Yogi is an artist and filmmaker from Honolulu, Hawaii. His debut feature film, the award-winning August at Akiko’s, had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2018 to critical acclaim. Yogi is a Berlinale Talents, Visual Communications armed with a Camera, Kyoto Filmmakers Lab, and New York Film Festival Artists Academy fellow.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
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.
10 Nov. - 19 Nov.
Kea can’t make ends meet, even while working as a luau dancer, karaoke-bar hostess, and elementary school Hawaiian-language teacher. After a violent altercation with her boyfriend, Kea accidentally hits a homeless man with her car. Not wanting to involve the authorities, she decides to take care of the mysterious man herself.
10 Nov. - 19 Nov.
Narrative in Other Mediums is a panel that brings together creatives working in formats like video games, music videos, and commercials to discuss their experience and expertise with narrative construction and creative direction.
16 Nov. 4:30 pm
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from Asia and the Asian diaspora. Works include films and videos by artists in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world. As Canada’s largest Asian film festival, Reel Asian provides a public forum for Asian media artists and their work, and fuels the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
