So You Think You Can Pitch? Live Finale

Join us for the live So You Think You Can Pitch competition at the 29th Reel Asian Film Festival, where five emerging filmmaking teams will go head-to-head for a prize package to help bring their short films to life. Cheer the finalists on as they pitch their stories to a panel of distinguished jurors — and get a first look at the talented voices shaping the future of Asian Canadian cinema.

Pitch Winner Prize Package

$5,000 cash prize to kickstart 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, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2026.
2 days of studio time with lighting and grip package at Archipelago Productions
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 2025 and December 2026; proof of production insurance required)
2-hour studio rental ($210 value) at Armstrong Acting Studios for casting (if applicable
Opportunity to premiere work at the 2026 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (subject to review), with full festival accreditation

Pitch Finalist Package

$500 cash for participation (the winner will not receive this additional $500)
All-access pass to the 29th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
$350 equipment rental credit plus 1-year membership to Charles Street Video

Emcee

Rakhee Morzaria
Comedian, Actor, Writer

Rakhee Morzaria is a multi-award-nominated South-Asian actor, writer, and comedian. She was the lead on the hit Hulu/CBC comedy, Run the Burbs and her filmmaking has been showcased at the Atlantic Film Festival, Imagine This Film festival in New York, Kevin Hart’s Eat My Shorts Competition. Her CBC digital series, Note to Self, was nominated for a Canadian Screen and Canadian Comedy Award. As seen on What We Do in the Shadows (FX), Private Eyes (CTV) and My Spy (Netflix), and animated series Summer Memories (Roku), Rakhee also performs stand-up and sketch and performed at the Toronto and Montreal Sketchfest, Comedy is Art Festival, the Second City Stage and as part of inaugural Bob Curry Fellowship program.

Live Jurors

Meelad Moaphi
Filmmaker

Meelad Moaphi is an Iranian Canadian filmmaker and Assistant Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University. His debut feature, His Father’s Son, won the Audience Choice and Best Director prizes at the 2024 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and is now available on Apple TV+.

Eman Pathan
Producer

Eman Pathan produces work that focuses on diasporic narratives, with themes of identity, belonging and home. The Reelworld Producer Program alumni and DGC member produced Jersey Boy, a coming-of-age feature film about a Sikh boy struggling with his identity in the aftermath of 9/11.

Yung Chang
Filmmaker

Award-winning filmmaker Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, Wuhan Wuhan) explores stories bridging East and West. He recently completed production of his short fiction The Highway (2025) and is developing his debut narrative fiction feature, Eggplant. Chang is a member of AMPAS, DGC and WGC.

Pitch Mentors

Shasha Nakhai
Filmmaker

Shasha is a Toronto-based storyteller with over a decade of experience in scripted and unscripted. Her work has aired on the BBC, CBC, ZDF, and Arte; screened at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); been nominated for 16 Canadian Screen Awards; named TIFF’s Top 10; and shortlisted for an Oscar.

Alison Almeida
Producer

Alison Almeida is a South Asian producer based in Toronto.

Pitch Finalists

Pitch Project Title: CAREGIVER

Jialan Lin
Writer & Director

Jialan Lin is a Toronto-based Chinese writer-director whose work delves into the cultural and societal systems that reinforce inequality, intending to spark dialogue and foster healing. A graduate of the USC Film School (MFA) and a participant of the Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters lab, she is currently developing her debut feature, Caregiver.

Pitch Project Title: DON’T RAISIN!

Katharine King So
Filmmaker

Katharine King So’s work often explores being a gay half-Asian woman: whether she’s playing one onscreen (Revival, The Voyeurs), developing dark-comedy scripts (TIFF’s Series Accelerator, Inside Out’s Finance Forum), or walking her dog in a Melissa Etheridge t-shirt. She is repped by PLAY Mgmt. www.katharinekingso.com @katharinekingso

Dylan Pun
Director

Dylan is a Chinese film director whose style revolves around strong talent direction, meticulously crafted frames, and an edit-conscious approach. He is drawn to character-driven stories that call for a unique visual language. His short film Shrimp Fried Rice won Best Screenplay at the Fantasia International Film Festival.

Pitch Project Title: JOINT CUSTODY

Lee Nisar
Filmmaker, Writer, & Photographer

Lee Nisar is a Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker, writer, and photographer based out of Toronto, Canada. Lee’s work explores issues relating to intergenerational curses, queerness, and the absurd. When not working on their next film, Lee enjoys karaoke, trying out new recipes, and annoying their cat.

Pitch Project Title: APPA

Lizzie Han
Filmmaker

Lizzie Han is a Korean-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto. She is drawn to restrained studies of daily life that balance dry humour with quiet tragedy. Her work has screened at numerous international film festivals including NFFTY, TIFF Next Wave, and Phoenix Film Festival.

Pitch Project Title: KLEPTO, NO BOYFRIEND

Yvette Sin
Filmmaker

Yvette Sin is a queer Canadian-Hong Kongese artist based in Toronto. From found objects, intrusive thoughts, inside jokes and gossip, she makes: collages, poems, mistakes and moving pictures. Mostly she spends her days at a bookstore in the west end, slingin’ books, driving around the city and scheming.