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So You Think You Can Pitch? Live Finale

Join us for the live So You Think You Can Pitch competition at the 28th Reel Asian Film Festival! This is a fantastic opportunity to support emerging filmmakers as they showcase their projects to our distinguished jurors. Watch the five finalists compete for an incredible prize package to help launch or complete their films. Come cheer on the next generation of talent and get inspired by the future of Asian Canadian cinema!

Pitch Winner Prize Package

  • $5,000 cash prize to kick-start and/or finish a short film
  • Comprehensive in-kind package to support the pitch winner which includes the following (more details to follow):
    • $5,000 in picture and sound post services at Picture Shop + Formosa Group Toronto (excluding VFX, sound editorial, foley, and fixed costs). Some other restrictions apply, subject to availability. Valid Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2025.
    • 2 days of studio time with lighting and grip package at Archipelago Productions
  • A production workflow consultation with Charles Street Video, which includes:
    • $3,000 in edit-suite access and/or production-equipment rentals
    • 1-year membership
    • $500 cash award/artist fee for third-party equipment rental
    • $2,500 certificate toward a camera package rental from Grande Camera (Valid between December 2024 and December 2025; proof of production insurance required)
    • 2-hour studio rental ($210 value) at Armstrong Acting Studios for casting (if applicable)
    • 1-year subscription to ShotDeck
  • Opportunity to premiere work at the 2025 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (subject to review), with full festival accreditation

Pitch Finalist Package

  • $500 cash for participation (the Pitch winner will not receive this additional $500)
  • All-Access Pass to the 28th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
  • $350 equipment rental credit plus 1-year membership to Charles Street Video

Emcee

Andrew Phung
Actor, Host, and Comedian

Andrew Phung is an award-winning actor, host, and comedian, known for the comedy series Kim’s Convenience. He won five Canadian Screen Awards as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for that role. He’s currently the co-creator and star of the comedy series Run the Burbs on Hulu/CBC.

Live Jurors

Amanda De Souza
Director/Producer

Amanda de Souza is a Canadian Director/Producer with a career spanning over 15 years in the entertainment industry including Advertising in Toronto, PR for Broadway theatre and design for W Magazine in NYC, and film marketing/distribution in LA. Her contributions as an Assistant to Directors, Producers and Showrunners in Canada includes series and feature films with Netflix, Disney, Lionsgate and Universal with extensive experience in every step of filmmaking from the writers’ room to post-production. She is currently a Producer for Apartment 3C Productions in Los Angeles, under founder and Director/Actress Jennifer Morrison.

Meelad Moaphi
Filmmaker

Meelad Moaphi is a Toronto-based filmmaker. Born in Iran, Meelad spent most of his childhood in Japan and has also worked in Spain. In 2024, he completed his directorial feature debut, entitled His Father’s Son. Meelad was Associate Producer on Antoine Bourges’ feature Concrete Valley, which screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2023 Berlinale. Meelad’s short film credits include Arrhythmia (2009), Republic of God (2010), A Scene (2018), and Worth (2019). He is also an Assistant Professor at Wilfrid-Laurier University’s Department of English and Film Studies.

Sami Khan
Filmmaker

Pitch Mentors

Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller
Filmmaker

Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller is a mixed-race Palestinian filmmaker whose work explores fragmented identity, grief & post-traumatic growth through “oh no, should I laugh?” comedy. Fateema is a WIDC and CFC Directors’ Lab alumni and recently completed a fellowship for Middle Eastern writers at USC. She is a firm believer in resistance through laughter.

Priscilla Galvez
Filmmaker

Priscilla Galvez is a Toronto-based director, producer and co-founder of the production company Silent Tower. Her latest short film ‘A Fermenting Woman’ world premiered at REGARD Festival and was recently awarded Programmer’s Choice at Minikino Film Festival.

23 Nov, 2024 5:00 pm

Annex Theatre
IN-CINEMA TICKETS

This event will have open seating – sit anywhere in the venue that isn’t specifically reserved.

Accessibility


Acessible seats available symbol

Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this event – click below to book accessible seats.

Special Partners

With Support From

Pitch Finalists

Pitch Project Title: The Frontrunner

Oshini Wanigasekera
Director, Producer, & Animator

Oshini Wanigasekera is a Toronto based actor, animator, dancer, and filmmaker. She wrote and directed the award-winning film, What I Meant To Say, I Can’t Do This Anymore, and a solo stage show. Her television appearances include The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), Titans (HBO), WorkinMoms (CBC), and Good Sam (CBS). She has animated for Disney and Netflix series, video games, short films and feature films.

Pitch Project Title: Hiroshimas Per Second

Ella Saini
Director & Animator

Ella Saini (she/they) is a Filipino-Indian Canadian filmmaker based in Scarborough, ON. She captures the intricate connections between people and their environments, highlighting the often overlooked narratives within urban communities. Their current short unhome has been screened at F-O-R-M Festival of Recorded Movement and 2024 TIFF Next Wave.

Chen Sing Yap
Director & Editor

Chen Sing Yap (he/him) is a Singaporean-born GTA-based editor, director, and writer. His work often leans into stark juxtapositions and graphic matches to bring mental health issues to light. He is the director and editor of Feeling the Apocalypse, a climate anxiety documentary that has played over a hundred venues.

Pitch Project Title: Transparenthood

Weiye Su
Director, Producer, & Writer

Weiye Su is a Canadian-Chinese documentarian and photographic artist. Weiye’s dedication to storytelling and capturing personal narratives within cultural contexts shines through their films, including Jia (2020), A Passage Beyond Fortune (2022), offering nuanced insights into the ever-evolving values of our society.

Pitch Project Title: The Piano

Jenny 진희 Lee
Director & Writer

Jenny 진희 Lee is a Korean Canadian TV writer and filmmaker. She was most recently co-producer and writer on Murdock Mysteries (CBC). Jenny likes to create character-driven works that examine family, society, and mental well-being and madness – all from a perspective grounded in the experiences of women.

Pitch Project Title: Tears Burn To Ash

Natalie Murao
Director, Producer, & Writer

Natalie is a yonsei (fourth generation) Japanese Canadian filmmaker and educator based in “Vancouver”. She aims to expand the notion of Asian diasporic cinema by creating an in-betweenness of styles that embody the diaspora itself. Her films have played at Sundance, TIFF Next Wave, Palm Springs ShortFest and more. In tandem with filmmaking, she has facilitated educational programs for local institutes such as The Cinematheque and VIFF.

Festival Closing Night Gala Party

Join us at CSI Annex for the Festival Closing Party following the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN PITCH? LIVE FINALE

7–11PM at CSI Annex

Reception Partners

Accessibility at Festival Closing Party


Wheelchair/step-free accessible icon Respite Room available icon
This space is wheelchair and step-free accessible via a staff-operated lift.
The rest of the venue, including the accessible washrooms, is all on one level.
This event may include loud music, flashing lights, and crowds. A calmer,
quieter respite room is available for those with environmental sensitivities.
Click below to advise us of your access needs.

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