CONTENT ADVISORY
Nudity, drug use
USA199790 minEnglish with English Subtitles Available Online
It’s the turbulent 1970s in Chicago, and Irene is burning — burning to get out of town, burning bridges along the way. Haunted by the death of her sister, haunted by the family secrets her parents won’t share, Irene and her naive boyfriend Luke skip town on a journey to San Francisco, meeting the alluring, militant Japanese American activists Aura and Mark along the way. As Irene explores her past, she changes course in order to reveal the truth of her family — and to set it ablaze.
Directed by renowned American filmmaker Rea Tajiri and co-written by award-winning Canadian author Kerri Sakamoto, Strawberry Fields is a daring dive into the traumas of the Sansei generation. Through a brave exploration of the cynical post-'60s era combined with bold flourishes from archival images, this narrative feature film is as daring today as it was 30 years ago in 1997, when it had its Canadian premiere at the first Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Suzy Nakamura
James Sie
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Venice Film Festival, 1997
Los Angeles Film Festival, 1997
Seattle International Film Festival, 1997
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, 1997
Rea Tajiri is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and educator who creates installation, documentary, and experimental films. Her work situates itself in poetic, non-traditional storytelling forms to encourage dialogue and reflection around buried histories. Tajiri is a winner of the 2023 Chicken & Egg Award, a 2022 JustFilms/Ford Foundation grant, and a 2021 Independence Public Media Foundation award.
Kerri Sakamoto is an award-winning writer whose novels have been translated and published internationally, exploring the Asian-diasporic experience. Sakamoto has worked in collaboration with filmmakers as a writer and script consultant and has served on the Toronto International Film Festival jury for the NETPAC Prize and the Best Canadian Feature Film Award.
17 Nov, 2026 7:30 pm
Innis Town HallPG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Nudity, drug use
RENT A PLUS-ONE, offers a case study in what happens when filmmakers build for a vertical frame. Its creators unpack their journey from traditional web series to vertical.
16 Nov. 6:30 pm
Writers from Reel Asian’s TV Writing Program bring their original series to the table for a live reading of selected scenes, presented in collaboration with ACTRA Toronto. Professional actors will bring the characters and stories to life, followed by a reception with the writers, performers, and industry guests.
19 Nov. 7:30 pm
Reel Ideas brings storytellers, artists, and industry voices together to share how the work gets made, the risks that push stories forward, and the ideas that challenge what audiences expect. Discover new work, meet the people shaping what comes next, connect with future collaborators, and take home the skills and insight to bring your own vision to life.
12 Nov.
Founded in Toronto in 1997, Reel Asian is Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival and a year-round cultural organization dedicated to championing Asian and Asian diasporic artists and storytellers. What began as a grassroots film festival has grown into a national platform supporting filmmakers and audiences through screenings, education, industry initiatives, artist development, and community programming presented across Toronto, the GTA, and online across Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
