This film is part of the WEE ASIAN shorts programme.
Taiwan, USA20235 minEnglishAnimation, Comedy, Directed By Women, Family-friendly, Music
Nonoko the cat and Haro the rabbit dance to share a bittersweet goodbye on their graduation day.
Wanci Hua
Wanci Hua is a Taiwanese animator, currently studying at California Institute of the Arts. She loves telling whimsical and tender stories through the art of animation.
This film is part of the WEE ASIAN shorts programme.
These shorts look at the soft to even slightly off-kilter bonds we find in one another, the realms we exist in, and ultimately, ourselves, despite ongoing change—no friendship bracelets required.
Societal, political, and magical forces at play beyond our control, this programme brings together a variety of filmmaking approaches to reflect on what can remain in troubling times, and along with it, agency to construct the narrative.
Starring Jerry as Himself shakes up notions of traditional storytelling in a genre-bending mystery that centres on Jerry Hsu. Jerry is a loving father of three, a recent divorcé, and has been keeping a secret.
South Korea202224 minKorean with English subtitlesAnimation, Directed By Women, Drama
Sejin once had the power to have anything she wanted just by thinking about it. But now she has lost her magic.
HAN Jiwon
Ji-won Han is an animation film director, illustrator, and comic book writer who often approaches themes focused on subjective moments and emotions of the younger generation living in the pressure cooker of South Korean society.
Directed by Meredith Hama-Brown. Judith, a Japanese Canadian woman, and her reluctant white husband attend a week-long couple’s retreat on a coastal British Columbia island, their two daughters in tow. With Judith grieving the recent loss of her mother, and her connection to her Japanese Canadian identity, the couple’s disconnect grows as she finds herself infatuated with another, seemingly perfect, interracial couple at the retreat.
Starring Jerry as Himself shakes up notions of traditional storytelling in a genre-bending mystery that centres on Jerry Hsu. Jerry is a loving father of three, a recent divorcé, and has been keeping a secret.
New Zealand202313 minEnglish, Hindi, Māori with English subtitlesDrama, Family-friendly, Immigrant stories
When Anu, a recent widow, moves to New Zealand from India, she's forced to confront her grief by completing an ordinary ritual in an extraordinary circumstance: quarantine.
Pulkit Arora
Pulkit Arora is a writer-director based in India and New Zealand. His directorial work focuses on identity, faith and belonging.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE shorts programme.
Societal, political, and magical forces at play beyond our control, this programme brings together a variety of filmmaking approaches to reflect on what can remain in troubling times, and along with it, agency to construct the narrative.
The Sari-Sari Xchange is a project that seeks to amplify Asian representation in the creative emerging media industries in Canada, particularly through a community-building residency program that engages artists with digital and extended reality (XR) technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, 360 cinema, game-engine animation, and 3D scanning.
Canada202314 minEnglish, Farsi with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama
An Iranian Canadian girl reluctantly makes a new friend when the new student from Iran offers to help fix her ruined unibrow — for her, a symbol of the Iranian heritage she tries desperately to hide from the world.
*Nedda Sarshar
Nedda Sarshar is an emerging filmmaker and writer who loves to tell stories that centre queer women of colour and their immigrant families. Sarshar won Reel Asian’s Pitch Competition in 2021 with this work.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE shorts programme.
Visit the PIGEONHOLE, nest and rest from the festival chaos, listen to collaborative pigeon music, watch raw footage, compose your own ditties, and collage a flock of desired futures together with other attendees. Check the festival website or rarara.ca for a full program schedule including artist talks and facilitated collage sessions.
Last fall, the DOC Institute invited creative producers to reimagine a documentary ecosystem that recognizes the needs of BIPOC producers with critically acclaimed projects, and published their thoughts in the “Creative Producer Think Tank Report.” A key point highlighted was producer/director relationships—listen as panelists delve into the critical and vital collaboration that underpins any successful film.
We are kicking off the 27th edition Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival with a night to remember! Celebrate with us at our Festival Launch Party, co-hosted by New Ho Queen!
Singapore202211 minEnglish Animation, Comedy, Directed By Women, Experimental
In the strange, polarized world of Hands and Butts, a single act of violence toward an oppressed Butt sets the mediaverse ablaze.
Calleen Koh
Calleen Koh finds joy in turning serious societal issues into wacky stories using her crazy sexy characters, like anthropomorphic sushis, phallic Crayola-coloured children or walking butts in her manic animated films.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE shorts programme.
You rarely couple poop and romance together, but Okiku and the World does it effortlessly in the most genuine and adorable way.
For our Closing Night Event, come celebrate the live So You Think You Can Pitch competition at the 27th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Reception to follow.
Six fearless emerging filmmakers embarked on a summer-long filmmaking journey online. We’re proud to present their world premiere here in the 12th edition of Reel Asian’s filmmaking program.
USA202313 minEnglishDirected By Women, Drama
Maggie, a young Asian American sound artist, grapples with her imposter syndrome as it takes on new extremes at her first artist's residency.
*Annie Ning
Annie Ning is a filmmaker from Suzhou, China, currently based in NYC, where she is pursuing her MFA in screenwriting/directing at Columbia University.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE shorts programme.
There’s no need to be certain about what’s next as this collection of shorts places us in a position to face specific pivotal moments of reckoning. Whether we’re feeling stuck or turbulent in the chaos of transition, can we remain gentle to ourselves?
We are kicking off the 27th edition Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival with a night to remember! Celebrate with us at our Festival Launch Party, co-hosted by New Ho Queen!
Canada20229 minEnglishComedy, Documentary, Experimental
Pixels of the Orient appropriates Western media depictions of East Asia for a psychedelic and comedic exploration of ahistorical East Asian aesthetics and identity.
*Warren Chan
Warren Chan is a video artist and curator with a focus on experimental works that analyze digital and new media technologies.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE shorts programme.
Catch author Jeff Yang in conversation with RepresentASIAN Project's EIC and founder Madelyn Chung about his new book, THE GOLDEN SCREEN. Purchase a copy and get it signed!
Blue Ant Media is looking for its next hit factual paranormal series with T&E and HauntTV's global free streaming channel. Join us for a spooky information session with Blue Ant Media's Sam Linton, VP Production and Development and Julie Chang, EVP Business Strategy and Co-productions, to get all of your questions answered.
Ho-jun, a flailing actor, has found relative success as a social media influencer, hawking fishing hacks. He preps his live stream at his preferred fishing spot, only to be disrupted by an obnoxious stranger whose bad vibes are ruining the morning.
Indonesia202318 minIndonesian with English subtitlesDrama
Working as a fisherman to support his small family, Ucup is used to consuming his catch from the sea until one day something strange happens that makes him realize something about his daily meal.
Muhammad Heri Fadli
Muhammad Heri Fadli is from Central Lombok, Indonesia, and just finished his master’s degree at the University Technology Mara in visual communication and new media.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE shorts programme.
Chloe Abrahams’ debut feature, is an enveloping, hypnotic, urgently personal meditation on family, memory, identity, violence, and love.
We are kicking off the 27th edition Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival with a night to remember! Celebrate with us at our Festival Launch Party, co-hosted by New Ho Queen!
You rarely couple poop and romance together, but Okiku and the World does it effortlessly in the most genuine and adorable way.
South Korea202224 minKorean with English subtitlesDirected By Women, Mystery
Kyu-ho, an ordinary office worker, receives an interview request from a famous writer and agrees to talk to her.
*ROH Do-hyeon
Do-hyeon Roh has held various jobs in the field, such as a lighting technician for a commercial film and a web novelist after signing a contract with a publisher.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDER THE INFLUENCE shorts programme.
Delve into the profound connections filmmakers Fawzia Mirza (The Queen of My Dreams) and Zarrar Kahn (In Flames) forge when revisiting their roots in Pakistan, through a cinematic lens. This in-depth conversation explores how filmmakers turn place into its own dynamic character, and unpacks the emotive pull of returning, despite its tensions and contradictions. Join us as they showcase how "home" can transcend geographical boundaries, ignite stories with new interpretations of place, and animate narratives with the rich tapestry of personal heritage.
Some family stories are so epic they demand telling. Some moments in history require the intimate and inside knowledge of community storytellers. The venerated Chinese Canadian filmmaker Keith Lock narrates the story of how his mother married his father in Australia, who was training with other Chinese Canadian veteran volunteers for the top secret suicide mission, Operation Oblivion.
Free-spirited 12-year-old Zaffan is the first of her friends to get her period and experience the body-changing horrors that come with puberty and menstruation.
Canada, Indonesia202321 minIndonesian, Mandarin, Dutch with English subtitlesDirected By Women, Drama, Science Fiction
In a post-New Order Jakarta, native Indonesians (Pribumi) are legalized to perform the black magic ritual babi ngepet to balance their economy against Chinese Indonesians.
*Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto is an Indonesian writer and director currently residing in Toronto. Her works explore genre films as a medium to depict current political, social, and cultural issues.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: HERE WE ARE shorts programme.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
Last fall, the DOC Institute invited creative producers to reimagine a documentary ecosystem that recognizes the needs of BIPOC producers with critically acclaimed projects, and published their thoughts in the “Creative Producer Think Tank Report.” A key point highlighted was producer/director relationships—listen as panelists delve into the critical and vital collaboration that underpins any successful film.
Chloe Abrahams’ debut feature, is an enveloping, hypnotic, urgently personal meditation on family, memory, identity, violence, and love.
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
