This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: LOVE IS LOVE shorts programme.
Indonesia202311 minHungarian, IndonesianAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, History
A daughter learns about her mother’s roots in Indonesia through a language lesson, unravelling the mother’s painful longing for home.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: this film is scheduled to be presented with subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated)
Andrea Suwito
Andrea Suwito is a filmmaker from Semarang, Indonesia. Her films have been screened at Sheffield Doc/Fest, Doc Edge International Film Festival and Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, amongst others.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: LOVE IS LOVE shorts programme.
17 Nov, 2024 1:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4
Canada202315 MinEnglishAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, Experimental
Follow filmmaker Anna Quon as she journeys from her childhood conviction regarding her own specialness, symbolized by her “perfect” teeth, into the throes of mental unwellness.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: this film is scheduled to be presented with subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated)
Anna Quon
Mad, mixed-race, and middle-aged, Anna Quon is a novellist, poem-film maker, and current poet laureate for Halifax. She works in mental health as a creativity connector for a local not-for-profit.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: AN UNFAMILIAR TALE shorts programme.
16 Nov, 2024 12:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of mental health issues; mentions of suicide
Canada, South Korea202432 MinEnglish, Korean, FrenchAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, Experimental, History
A prismatic exploration recounting the 1950s visit of Parisian elites led by Chris Marker and Claude Lanzmann in the newly formed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the communist state that claims the allegiance of the filmmaker’s grandmother during the Korean War.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)
ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)
*Helen Lee
Helen Lee is a Seoul-born, Toronto-based filmmaker whose works explore intersectionalities of place, identity, and sexuality. She works in fiction and essay films, featuring diasporic gendered subjects from feminist and transnational perspectives.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNDERCURRENTS shorts programme.
17 Nov, 2024 4:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4CONTENT ADVISORY
Depictions of war, conflict, trauma, and slight nudity; mentions of suicide
Canada202485 minEnglish, Cantonese and ToisaneseWorld PremiereAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, First Feature, History, Immigrant stories, Women Filmmakers
In 1923, Canada passed the ironically named Chinese Immigration Act — better known as the Chinese Exclusion Act — which for the next 24 years barred virtually any Chinese person from entering the country. They were the first ethnic group to be singled out in this way.
In her directorial debut, award-winning actor and playwright Keira Loughran traces her family’s history to show the act’s devastating impact on the Chinese community, focusing on her grandmother, activist Jean Lumb, who was the first Chinese Canadian woman to receive the Order of Canada. Among the many incidents igniting Lumb’s activism was the shocking revocation of her Canadian citizenship when she married Loughran’s Chinese-born grandfather — a lesser-known requirement of the act.
Loughran also connects Canada’s discriminatory practices to the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, when China was blamed for the virus, ultimately revealing the strength and resilience of a community.
– Deanna Wong
Keira Loughran
Keira Loughran is a fourth-generation Chinese Canadian theatre artist and filmmaker who has tackled many creative projects that explore her cultural roots and reflect Canada’s multicultural past and present.
16 Nov, 2024 12:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3GA
Tickets for the in-cinema presentation have gone into advance rush. No more public advance tickets are available. Please join the rush line on the day of the screening when we will release unclaimed holds and reserves.
We can usually get everyone in the rush line in but rush tickets are strictly subject to availability and not guaranteed. Rush lines start an hour before the first screening of the day so the earlier you join the rush line the better your chances.
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This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated). Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Information on available captions will be added soon, thank you for your patience.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Keira Loughran, producer Craig Thompson, and Helen Lee, a participant in the film.
What would you give up to ensure a world with no war, no poverty, and a stable climate? Your phone? Your car? Your life? That’s the question that looms over Ann Marie Fleming’s near-future fable, where the solution to our world's ills is for humans to die by their 50th year.
At the heart of this captivating coming-of-age sports film is Ashley Chea, a Cambodian American basketball marvel whose high school career we follow. Hailing from a lower-class immigrant family that sought safety in the U.S. after the Khmer Rouge came to power, Chea is given the opportunity to attend a private school and thus pursue a coveted college basketball career. While her parents work vigorously at their doughnut store and can’t attend her games, Chea bonds with her Japanese American coach, who helps her with doctor's appointments and even attaining her driver’s licence.
Deep in debt, with a house and a university-bound kid, plus a marriage on the rocks, reformed gambler Lucky sees his luck run out after getting scammed in a tax-fraud scheme. Ashamed and desperate to keep it from his family, he returns to underground backroom gambling dens, playing for big payouts to relieve the debt and win back his family’s favour. Meanwhile, each family member, unaware of Lucky’s troubles but feeling the money crunch, too, resorts to unsavoury means to dig out of their hole.
USA202498 minEnglish, KhmerToronto PremiereAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, Family-friendly, First Feature, Sports
At the heart of this captivating coming-of-age sports film is Ashley Chea, a Cambodian American basketball marvel whose high school career we follow. Hailing from a lower-class immigrant family that sought safety in the U.S. after the Khmer Rouge came to power, Chea is given the opportunity to attend a private school and thus pursue a coveted college basketball career. While her parents work vigorously at their doughnut store and can’t attend her games, Chea bonds with her Japanese American coach, who helps her with doctor's appointments and even attaining her driver’s licence.
Chea must now overcome a serious knee injury and rebuild her sense of self-worth, all in time to impress recruiting college coaches at her upcoming major tournaments. Being highly competitive, she struggles to lead her team to victory and overcome obvious class and racial differences, all while also being a super moody teenager and growing apart from her parents.
– Arisa Chirawu
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2024 CAAMFest San Francisco, 2024 Shanghai International Film Festival, 2024
AWARDS
Best Documentary Feature, Austin Asian American Film Festival, 2024
Erica Tanamachi
Erica Tanamachi has an MFA in cinema from San Francisco State University. Her most recent film Winn (2022) won a Reel South Shorts Award and received a distribution deal with PBS. Home Court is her first feature-length film.
17 Nov, 2024 10:00 am
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Racist language and situations; depictions of guns and gunfire, war and conflict
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This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated). Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
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This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated). Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Experience a bit of the Japanese tea ceremony and learn about its history and core philosophies.. Taste some whisked matcha. Hosted by Momo Yoshida, the founder and owner of Momo Tea, an online tea store based in Toronto. RSVP required.
In 1923, Canada passed the ironically named Chinese Immigration Act — better known as the Chinese Exclusion Act — which for the next 24 years barred virtually any Chinese person from entering the country. They were the first ethnic group to be singled out in this way.
Feeling stuck, young fisherman Yong-su sees no hope in his future - like a fish in a net. As a last resort, he plans an insurance scam by staging his disappearance, hoping to provide a better life for his Vietnamese wife and his ageing mother. At the centre of this scheme is his captain, Yeong-guk, who reluctantly reports Yong-su missing. However, when Yong-su’s mother refuses to connect her son’s disappearance with his death, the white lie snowballs into something harder to chew.
USA202386 minEnglish, JapaneseAvailable Online, Documentary, Family-friendly, First Feature, Sports
What does greatness look like? What does it take to be great? In the documentary Ashima, greatness looks like Ashima Shiraishi, a modest but determined 13-year old Japanese American rock-climbing prodigy. For her demanding father, Hisatoshi, a former Butoh dancer and Ashima’s coach, greatness requires discipline and intense focus. Together, they’ve embarked to South Africa to climb Golden Shadow, a famous V14 boulder, for Ashima to become the youngest woman to ever climb it.
Director Kenji Tsukamoto’s portrait of the Shiraishis was years in the making and captures significant moments in the family’s life. With uncommon access gained from living with the family, Tsukamoto masterfully blends the minute details of the Shirashis' home lives, Ashima’s numerous public appearances, and her dogged attempts at solving Golden Shadow. Raw and unharnessed, like bouldering itself, Tsukamoto crafts a familiar Asian American family story set against sport and celebrity.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Doc NYC, 2023
Visions Du Reel, 2024
Hawaii International Film Festival, 2024
AWARDS
Best Documentary Feature, VC Film Festival, 2024
Audience Award, Asian Film Festival of Dallas, 2024
Audience Award, Asian American International Film Festival, 2024
Kenji Tsukamoto
Born in Fukushima, Japan, Kenji Tsukamoto moved to America as a child, and his family relocated frequently across the country. As a third-culture kid, Kenji found a kindred spirit in the world-renowned climber Ashima Shiraishi, who became the subject of his first feature film.
17 Nov, 2024 4:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3GA
The in-cinema screening for Ashima will be at TIFF Lightbox Cinema 3.
This feature film will also be available as a digital screening from Nov 18 – Nov 24.
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This film is being presented with English subtitles for non-English dialogue both online and in person. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Kenji Tsukamoto.
The 28th edition of Reel Asian is about to unfold! Celebrate with us at our Festival Launch Party, co-hosted by New Ho Queen!
Join us for Festival Happy Hour between film screenings! Open to the public, come participate in casual activities every day.
Six emerging filmmakers embarked on a summer-long filmmaking journey. We’re proud to present their world premiere here, in the 13th edition of Reel Asian’s filmmaking program.
Canada, USA20245 minEnglishAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, Experimental
After accessing the 119-page custodial file of her great-grandfather in the National Archives of Canada, A.S.M. Kobayashi discovers new details about her Japanese family's history and their lives before internment.
A.S.M. Kobayashi
A.S.M. Kobayashi is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist whose hybrid, interactive work mixes documentary and fiction through video, performance, installation, and illustration.
This programme precedes NOBUKO MIYAMOTO: A SONG IN MOVEMENT.
19 Nov, 2024 7:00 pm
Innis Town HallGA
This film is scheduled to be presented with subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated)
This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)
USA202460 minEnglishToronto PremiereAvailable Online, Documentary, History
Through the lens of directors Tadashi Nakamura and Quyên Nguyen-Le, this compelling documentary captures the bold journey of visionary artist-activist Nobuko Miyamoto. From her upbringing in a Japanese American internment camp to her breakthrough as a performer in films and on Broadway, Miyamoto reflects on how her personal encounters with racial injustice inspired her blending of artistic endeavours with Asian American advocacy. Her thoughtfully created music, dances, and theatre productions carry on to bridge cultural divides and facilitate mutual support among BIPOC communities.
Interweaving intimate interviews and rare archival materials with evocative cinematography, Nakamura and Nguyen-Le tell the remarkable story of Miyamoto not only as a resilient community “artivist," but also as a loving friend, partner, and mother. This heartfelt recount is timely, encouraging the audience to reinforce collective resistance and solidarity amidst ongoing systemic racial oppression.
– Steffi Ng
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2024
CAAMFest San Francisco, 2024
AWARDS
Best Documentary, CAAMFest San Francisco, 2024
Quyên Nguyen-Le, Tadashi Nakamura
Tadashi Nakamura is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker and the director of the Watase Media Arts Center, a production company of the Japanese American National Museum.
Quyên Nguyen-Le (they/them) is a Daytime Emmy-nominated queer Vietnamese filmmaker born to refugee parents where Chumash and Tongva lands meet (San Fernando Valley, Los Ángeles).
This programme is preceded by FILE NO. 2304.
19 Nov, 2024 7:00 pm
Innis Town HallGA
Ticketing is required for this presentation, but tickets are free. Limit 2 tickets. This event will have open seating – sit anywhere in the venue that isn’t specifically reserved.
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This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated). Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with directors Tadashi Nakamura and Quyên Nguyen-Le modated by Vidhya Elango.
Vidhya Elango
Moderator
Vidhya Elango is a researcher and cultural worker living in Toronto. Her interests include diaspora, place-making, language, and their intersections. Currently, she is the Heritage Manager — Exhibition and Research at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto.
Shan, an immigrant from Dongbei, China, settles in Markham, Ont., a suburb known for its welcoming Chinese community. There, Kevin, a fellow Dongbei local, pulls him into a scheme to rob a Japanese restaurant stealing business from Chinese locals. After the heist goes horribly wrong, they delve into the streets of Markham in a series of chaotic episodes
What does greatness look like? What does it take to be great? In the documentary Ashima, greatness looks like Ashima Shiraishi, a modest but determined 13-year old Japanese American rock-climbing prodigy. For her demanding father, Hisatoshi, a former Butoh dancer and Ashima’s coach, greatness requires discipline and intense focus. Together, they’ve embarked to South Africa to climb Golden Shadow, a famous V14 boulder, for Ashima to become the youngest woman to ever climb it.
We're welcoming back online screenings to the 29th edition of Reel Asian! This year, our virtual lineup brings the festival experience to your home with features and shorts. Grab your popcorn and enjoy cinema on your terms with flexible digital passes or individual feature tickets!
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.
At the heart of Baby Queen is a tender and joyful relationship between Singaporean drag queen Opera Tang and her 90-year-old grandmother, who makes many of her performance costumes.
Initiated in 2002 by Yuni Hadi (Singapore), Amir Muhammad (Malaysia) and Chalida Uabumrungjit (Thailand), S-Express has become an annual showcase of programming from Southeast Asia, spotlighting the abundant filmmaking talent and a nuanced insight into the stories of each participating region. This year, Reel Asian presents S-Express Malaysia, programmed by Chong Lee Yow of Mini Film Festival, featuring five films depicting one's ability to (un)trap themselves from limitations set upon them, be it bodily, mind, or soul, to achieve relief and victory.
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!
Canada20232 minEnglish, Ilocano, Vietnamese with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Family-friendly
A poetic glimpse into a love story.
*Dinaly Tran
Dinaly Joyce Tran is a queer, trans, nonbinary Filipinx Vietnamese community organizer and artist. They are always hoping to make things that feel homey, in their art, their organizing, and on their Animal Crossing island.
This film is part of the WEE ASIAN shorts programme.
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.
You rarely couple poop and romance together, but Okiku and the World does it effortlessly in the most genuine and adorable way.
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.
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
