Canada202194 minTagalog, English with English subtitlesOntario PremiereDrama, Family
Shy, sheltered, middle-aged Joshua lives with his elderly parents and is desperately lonely as he longs for a wife. When he’s suddenly forced into a caretaking role for his family, Joshua goes further adrift into isolation, and his Scarborough bungalow feels like a prison. Help arrives unexpectedly when his cousin Marisol flies in from overseas to help—except now, Joshua finds himself confronted with emotions and experiences he’s never had before.
On the surface, Joshua’s anxieties around loneliness may seem bleak, but writer and director Martin Edralin treats him with a warm affection, showing the challenges and humour imbued in everyday life, as he learns to take new chances. Cutting vegetables, taking a shower, and walking down the stairs all take on new meaning through finely tuned performances, and Edralin’s observant eye toward everyday life at home. And amid a year-plus of our collective pandemic-induced isolation, Islands is a hopeful and humanist story that reminds us the importance of stepping outside.
- Aram Siu Wai Collier
A live Q&A from the Opening Night screening will be simulcast online at 9:45PM on November 10. A recording will be available afterwards with the online screening of Islands.
Rogelio Balagtas
Sheila Lotuaco
Esteban Comilang
Pablo S.J. Quiogue
Vangie Alcasid
OFFICIAL SELECTION
South by Southwest, 2021
Calgary International Film Festival, 2021
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2021
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2021
AWARDS
Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance, South by Southwest, 2021
RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award, Calgary International Film Festival, 2021
Special Jury Mention – Best Emerging Canadian Director, Vancouver International Film Festival, 2021
Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2021
Martin Edralin
Martin Edralin is a Filipino Canadian, Toronto-based filmmaker. His first short film, Hole (2014), won the grand prize at Clermont-Ferrand, jury prizes at Locarno and Seattle, and screened at Sundance, TIFF, and BFI London. His second short, Emma (2016), was selected in TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten and won Best Live Action Short at the Rhode Island IFF. Islands is his debut feature film.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
This presentation has closed captions.
This presentation has English subtitles.
The simulcast Q&A portion has on-screen ASL interpretation.
Through the medium of animation, this panel explores the creative process and tools for geo-specific settings that serve as character in story—from something large and abstract like a “nation” to something detailed like a neighbourhood or building structure.
13 Nov. 4:30 pm
Continuous Journey is a complex tale of hope, despair, treachery, and tragedy. It is a revealing Canadian story with global ramifications, set in a time when the British Empire seemed omnipresent and its subjects were restless and seeking self-determination.
10 Nov. - 19 Nov.
Monica (Sujata Day), a former spelling-bee champion, lives at home with her ailing mother and tutors young spelling-bee hopefuls whose parents hover around, in hopes that their children will follow in her footsteps. When she is offered a dream job in another city, she considers accepting it, until her estranged brother Sonny (Ritish Rajan) shows up unexpectedly, opening up old wounds and familial tensions.
12 Nov. 7:00 pm - 14 Nov. 6:59 pm