This film is part of the WEE ASIAN shorts programme.
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.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
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?
Hmm … this doesn’t seem right?! This programme asks us to sit with the discomforting feelings that arise when we begin to confront the unknown in what we believe to know.
Canada2023TRT: 50 minEnglish, Kurdish, VietnameseWorld PremiereComedy, Directed By Women, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Family-friendly, History, Romance, Science Fiction
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.
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada20237 minEnglish, KurdishWorld PremiereDirected By Women, Drama
Two sisters who have chosen different paths are reunited while preparing for a wedding, forcing them to face their differences, whether they are ready or not.
*Ashna Ali
Ashna Ali is a Kurdish Canadian artist, multimedia designer, and activist. She is a co-founder of Anti-Heroine Media, where she foregrounds feminist representation and ethical approaches to storytelling for social change.
Canada20238 minVietnamese, English with English subtitlesWorld PremiereDirected By Women, Drama, Family-friendly
A tender short film about a daughter who attempts to chop a coconut for her dying father.
*Carthy Ngo
Carthy Ngo is a Vietnamese Chinese Canadian from Southern Ontario who is exploring filmmaking for the first time while working as a speech-language pathologist by day. She is inspired by the stories of love and loss that she has come across through her work and in life, and hopes to provide comfort with her art.
Canada202312 minEnglishWorld PremiereDocumentary, Experimental, History
In this charming and meditative documentary, Jackie, Nora and Gayle are three Hakka Chinese women from Victoria, B.C. who unite to save Canada's oldest Chinese temple from crumbling. Along the way, the women explain the challenges of maintaining the temple and its significance as a cultural and community hub.
*Kevin Matthew Wong
Kevin Matthew Wong is a Hakka Chinese Canadian theatre creator, producer, performer, projection designer, and emerging filmmaker whose work blends documentary media with personal and conversational storytelling.
Canada20238 minEnglishWorld PremiereHorror, Science Fiction
After a coven of witches is discovered in the mountains, the government conducts an experiment attempting to mix magic and technology. However when radio contact is lost, a team of soldiers is sent to investigate the abandoned laboratory—only to find it isn’t so abandoned after all.
*Melvin Daligdig
Melvin Daligdig is a Filipino filmmaker based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While action films are Melvin’s go to genre, he has recently enjoyed dabbling in comedy and horror as well. He hopes to one day be able to make films full time and meet some awesome people along the way.
Canada20239 minEnglishWorld PremiereDrama, Family-friendly, Romance
Andrew and Nina reunite when Andrew moves into a new place in the city. As the day passes, they mould the empty apartment into a home, awakening dormant feelings from their past.
*Satrio Prahasto
Satrio Prahasto is an emerging filmmaker based in Toronto. Prahasto is interested in how East and Southeast Asian cinema influence can not only inform but also shape how we tell our respective diasporic stories in a North American setting.
Canada202312 minEnglishWorld PremiereComedy, Drama
A lifetime of abusing his natural talent for making up stories has led an arrogant serial liar to quit his deceiving ways forever. As a final hurrah, this scrappy university student shares an epic 11-minute masterclass on how to execute the perfect lie.
*Corinne Langmuir
Corinne Langmuir is a Taiwanese Canadian writer, filmmaker, and student. With a strong passion for the arts, Langmuir’s interest in media has become a vehicle for her creative expression. She is fascinated by the various forms that storytelling can take—whether through literature, film, or internet culture commentary.
PG
11 Nov, 2023 2:30 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox C3–
This screening is presented with open captions. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Following our Building Forces: The Director Producer Relationship panel, stay for a reception with Canadian Media Producers Association, a chance to network, ask questions, and enjoy snacks and refreshments. Especially good for Producers!
A job interview, a children’s clothing store, a government registry office. These are just some of the everyday sites for which the characters of Terrestrial Verses must navigate cultural, religious, and institutional constraints imposed on them.
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!
Canada, Denmark, Germany, South Korea, USA2022-2023TRT: 1h32English, French, Mandarin, Buryat Mongolian, Korean2slgbtq+, Animation, Directed By Women, Experimental
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?
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada202315 minEnglish2slgbtq+
Faye, a 16-year-old ballet dancer, prepares for her final solo.
*Emma Zuck
Emma Zuck is a filmmaker with a focus on directing and screenwriting, whose work is born from growing pains: her soft spot for the sentimental, her childhood of prairie antics, and the contradictory feelings of “home.”
Denmark, South Korea20228 minNo Dialogue Animation, Directed By Women, Experimental
Unable to find the presence of women in the artwork of Lee Jung-seob, I am a Horse spins an imaginative tale inspired by tae-mong (Korean birth dreams) of women born with half of their bodies, being a horse and a tiger.
This film has no dialogue and is presented without captions.
Chaerin Im
Chaerin Im is a filmmaker from South Korea with a focus on experimental animation. With the use of craftsmanship and distinctive materials, she explores gender issues and sexual imagery.
USA202216 minEnglishDirected By Women, Disability, Drama, Family-friendly
Anna, a cognitively disabled woman, and her estranged sister, Emily, must learn to communicate after their mother’s death in order to move forward.
Liz Sargent
Liz Sargent is a Korean American adoptee writer and director, whose award-winning work explores themes of adoption, disability, and family.
Canada20232 minFrench with English subtitlesAnimation, Directed By Women, Family-friendly
Following an exchange of text messages with her mother about her newly adopted dog Abby, a young woman sees her experience as a transracial adoptee reflected in this adoption.
Fanny Lord-Bourcier
Fanny Lord-Bourcier is a multidisciplinary artist and animator. Curious and keen, she is continuously willing to adopt and be adopted by new places, disciplines, mediums, and people.
USA202318 minEnglish, Mandarin with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Documentary, Drama, Experimental
Opaque memories seep into a quotidian flow despite efforts to move onward.
*Emory Chao Johnson
Emory Chao Johnson (they/them) is an artist settled on the land of the Tongva whose work centres on the real and abstract forces that charge queer trans lifeworlds.
Canada, Germany20239 minBuryat Mongolian with English subtitlesAboriginal + Indigenous, Animation, Directed By Women, Documentary, Experimental, Family-friendly
The formation and history of Lake Baikal in Siberia are re-imagined with handmade animation, featuring the voice of a Buryat woman who can still recall some words in her endangered language.
Alisi Telengut
Alisi Telengut is a Canadian artist of Mongolian roots, living between Berlin and Tiohtià:ke/Montréal.
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.
PG
11 Nov, 2023 5:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 4–
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, English subtitles, and no captions. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
You rarely couple poop and romance together, but Okiku and the World does it effortlessly in the most genuine and adorable way.
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.
Mariam, a medical student, is dealing with her grandfather’s passing, her grieving mother, and preparing for upcoming exams. When an estranged and suspiciously helpful uncle re-enters their lives and promises support with their property and finances, Mariam senses trouble.
Canada, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, UK, USA2022-2023TRT: 1h30Tagalog, English, Korean2slgbtq+, Animation, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Experimental, Romance, Science Fiction
Hmm … this doesn’t seem right?! This programme asks us to sit with the discomforting feelings that arise when we begin to confront the unknown in what we believe to know.
*Directors in attendance starred.
Philippines, Singapore202315 minTagalog with English subtitlesComedy, Drama
The audition process for an exploitative game show becomes the latest test of a long-suffering mother’s fortitude and tenacity.
Sonny Calvento
Sonny Calvento is a director, writer, and producer based in Manila. At the age of 19, he worked as a drama writer for ABS-CBN, the largest broadcasting network in the Philippines.
UK20223 minEnglishAnimation, Experimental, Science Fiction
A mad clock takes the viewer on a time trip to a random planet where the concept of time is experienced differently from the one we know...
*Shunny Kim & Taewan Kim
Shunny Kim and Taewan Kim are animators based in London. Co-directing their BA graduation film, their interests aligned through experimental animation, character design and collaboration.
Canada202315 minEnglish and Tagalog with English subtitlesDirected By Women, Drama
In this complex family thriller, Gian has been plotting revenge since the day Janine, his mother, was sent away.
Nushi Sharma
Nushi Sharma is a Filipino Indian undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia.
Canada202310 minEnglish2slgbtq+, Music
Filmmakers Njo Kong Kie and John Greyson (using their highlighter compositional method) have created an original short opera about the last day on Earth for Li Shiu Tong, the lover of Berlin sexologist and legendary gay-rights pioneer Magnus Hirschfeld.
Njo Kong Kie & *John Greyson
Njo Kong Kie is an award-winning Toronto composer who has been a long-serving music director of La La La Human Steps in Montreal.
John Greyson is a Toronto filmmaker who is a pioneer of the new queer cinema. His films have won four Berlin Teddies, five Canadian Screen Awards, and over 50 Best Film prizes at festivals internationally.
Malaysia202312 minEnglishExperimental, Fantasy
Two crocodilian men go to a swimming pool to cool off. One of them is seemingly of a different and special kind; the other is unable to control his desire.
Mark Chua & Lam Li Shuen
Mark Chua and Li Shuen Lam are a filmmaker and artist duo. Their films often employ absurdist imagery, thinking on place, histories and the peculiarity of human desire.
Singapore, USA20238 minNo dialogue2slgbtq+, Animation, Experimental, Romance
One night, a person brushes the teeth of a dog and turns into a bus.
This film has no dialogue and is presented without captions.
Elizabeth Xu Yuan Li (EXYL)
EXYL is a filmmaker and animator born and raised in Singapore. They were trained in painting and drawing, but moved slowly but surely into time-based mediums like live action and animation.
South Korea202227 minKorean with English subtitlesDirected By Women, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
Sujin, who was recently fired and is planning to go to Canada on a working holiday, lives with her family after her parents’ return.
Eun-uk Jeong
Eun-uk Jeong is studying film at Myongji University.
12 Nov, 2023 5:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox C4PG
Content Warning: Flashing lights; depictions of suggested violence
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This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, English subtitles, and no captions. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
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.
Jude Chehab, a Lebanese American cinematographer and filmmaker, has always known her mother and grandmother to be women devoted to their Muslim faith. During a trip to Lebanon, Chehab is propelled by a curiosity to understand the quest for love, acceptance, and meaning that brought three generations of women in her family to pledge loyalty to a secretive matriarchal religious order operating clandestinely in the country.
2022-2023TRT: 1h07English, Urdu, Ilocano, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Kannada, Japanese, Farsi, Korean, 2slgbtq+, Aboriginal + Indigenous, Animation, Directed By Women, Documentary, Environment, Experimental, Family-friendly
Be warmed by friendship and held by the depth of feelings in this collection of wholesome shorts for all ages in a relaxed screening environment. Stick around to participate in fun and simple art activities post-screening.
Relaxed screenings will take place in Innis Town Hall at 11 AM & 1:30 PM. Activities will take place in the St. George Lobby from 11 AM–3 PM.
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada20232 minNo Dialogue Animation, Directed By Women, Family-friendly
A lonely traveller plans to explore a small town, when a stranger suddenly joins him.
This film has no dialogue and is presented without captions.
Michelle Chen
Michelle Chen is an artist based in Burlington, Ont. A colour enthusiast with a passion for background painting, she can often be found cooking (and eating), or cuddling with her cat, Goober.
Pakistan, USA202216 minUrdu with English subtitlesAnimation, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Family-friendly
Iman, a privileged six-year-old Pakistani girl, embarks on a mission to save her beloved pet goat from being eaten on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Mahnoor Euceph
Mahnoor Euceph is a Pakistani American writer and director. She immigrated from Pakistan to Los Angeles at age eight and quickly learned that nobody else cares about cricket.
USA20233 minEnglishAnimation, Comedy, Family-friendly, Japan
Daigoro, a baby thunder god, dreams of being as powerful as his father.
Ryotaro Sawada, Agatha Tiara Christa
Growing up, Ryotaro Sawada turned to his daydreams to be entertained, only to find out that there were people called animators who could bring those daydreams to life. He hasn’t looked back since.
Agatha Tiara Christa, also known as Rara, is a 3D animator and layout artist from Indonesia. She believes that these small things create stories and always includes them in her work.
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.
Hong Kong20229 minCantonese with English subtitlesAnimation
Things that we thought were gone may not truly leave us—perhaps they are still with us somehow.
Step C. & Kai Chung Ng
Step C. is an animation director, illustrator, educator, and art director based in Hong Kong.
Kai Chung Ng is an animation artist and the founder of Point Five Creations.
India20227 minEnglish, Kannada with English subtitlesAboriginal + Indigenous, Animation, Directed By Women, Environment, Family-friendly, First Feature
A little girl stumbles into a sacred grove near her village in south India.
Nandini Rao, Nirupa Rao, Kalp Sanghvi
Nandini Rao was the winner of the 2021 Cannes residency program and is based in Paris.
Nirupa Rao is a botanical artist based in Bangalore whose work is inspired by field visits and close collaboration with natural scientists.
Kalp Sanghvi is an animation filmmaker who graduated from the Indian National Institute of Design and is based in Sydney.
Japan, USA202212 minFarsi, Japanese with English subtitlesAnimation, Drama, Family-friendly, Mystery
Mehrdad, an Iranian boy, befriends an old Japanese woman in a graveyard in Tokyo.
Liam LoPinto
Liam LoPinto is a filmmaker and animator based out of New York City who is an assistant manager at the Moviehouse in Millerton.
South Korea202311 minKorean with English subtitlesAnimation, Drama, Family-friendly, Fantasy
A grieving boy finds his late mother’s hair caught in the shower drainage hole and gets swept into the “Hair Universe,” an unknown world underneath the bathtub.
Jinuk Choi
Jinuk Choi is a Korean filmmaker based in New York.
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.
18 Nov, 2023 11:00 am
to 18 Nov, 2023 3:00 pm
Innis Town HallWee Asian is free and drop-in. Screenings take place at 11 AM and 1:30 PM.
No tickets required!
–
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, English subtitles, and no captions. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to arrange for accessible seats.
Bring your own t-shirt or use a vintage Reel Asian one to upcycle it into your own DIY festival tote - no sewing required! Customize your new tote with patches, buttons and pins (not provided)! This activity is created by Minikino, a short film organization based in Bali, Indonesia.
11 AM–3 PM
How can we reimagine our relations to pigeons? Would there be something you'd like to say or share with our fellow pigeons? Write a letter or draw a picture and ``mail`` it to the Pigeon Band!
11 AM–3 PM
Colour in or out of the lines with the festival creative colouring sheet. Transform it into a flower vase!
11 AM–3 PM
London-based and Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS)-resident artist Ivyy Chen embarks on a journey to create a neverending loop of moving chairs. In order to do so, she'll need your help to create the frames, and along the way, you'll learn the building blocks to create a hand-drawn animation!
1 PM–3 PM
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.
When 13-year-old Ilyas’s parents yank him out of his comfortable Islamic private school and force him to adjust to life in public school, he develops a plan to change their minds. After a staged fondness for non-halal food and explicit music fails to sufficiently scandalize his parents, Ilyas asks his whip-smart former classmate, Yasmeen, to help devise a more foolproof plan.
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!
Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, USA2022-2023TRT: 1h43English, Hindi, Māori, Farsi, Indonesian, Korean2slgbtq+, Animation, Comedy, Directed By Women, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Family-friendly, Immigrant stories, Mystery
More to the situation than what it seems, these shorts choose to examine, tease, and redefine the forces that pull us to make a decision.
*Directors in attendance starred.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
PG
Content Warning: Depictions of dead marine life
11 Nov, 2023 7:30 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox C4–
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions and English subtitles. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Mariam, a medical student, is dealing with her grandfather’s passing, her grieving mother, and preparing for upcoming exams. When an estranged and suspiciously helpful uncle re-enters their lives and promises support with their property and finances, Mariam senses trouble.
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.
Jude Chehab, a Lebanese American cinematographer and filmmaker, has always known her mother and grandmother to be women devoted to their Muslim faith. During a trip to Lebanon, Chehab is propelled by a curiosity to understand the quest for love, acceptance, and meaning that brought three generations of women in her family to pledge loyalty to a secretive matriarchal religious order operating clandestinely in the country.
Canada, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, USA2022-2023TRT: 1h37Indonesian, Mandarin, Dutch, Farsi, Tamil, Burmese, English, Cebuano, TagalogAnimation, Dark Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Experimental, History, Science Fiction
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.
*Directors in attendance starred.
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.
Iran, New Zealand20224 minFarsi with English subtitlesAnimation, Directed By Women, Experimental
Back-and-forth movement blends discrete pictures into each other, contrasting the memory of innocent childhood life in a remote, peaceful environment against the surrounding political affairs of post-revolutionary Iran.
Zahra Salarnia
Zahra Salarnia is an Iranian artist based in New Zealand. She seeks to explore alternative and unconventional methods for making and presenting animation.
Canada, India, Sri Lanka202318 minTamil with English subtitlesDrama, History
In a small village in northern Sri Lanka, a young girl is forced to confront the consequences of a deadly civil war as a wounded freedom fighter is brought into their home.
*Kalainithan Kalaichelvan
Kalainithan Kalaichelvan is a Tamil Canadian writer, director, and producer whose films have screened at festivals such as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, and Reel Asian.
Myanmar202218 minBurmese with English subtitles2slgbtq+, Drama, Romance
Out of work and forced to marry a man she dislikes, young San Kyi plans to run away with her best friend, but complications unfold.
Aung Phyoe
Aung Phyoe is a writer, director, and film editor. He’s currently working on his first feature length film Fruit Gathering.
USA202314 minFarsi with English subtitlesDirected By Women, Drama, History
In the height of the Iran–Iraq war, Caroline takes the final car ride with her father through the Iranian countryside.
Julia Elihu
Julia Elihu is an Iranian American writer, director, and producer.
Philippines202322 minEnglish, Cebuano, and Tagalog with English subtitlesDark Comedy, Fiction, Monster, Science Fiction
Between nuclear reactors and military curfews, 14-year-old Jani lives in a dystopian world oppressively devoid of empathy. Together, she and her slippery new friend Kiefer the talking catfish gear up to strike a surreal blow for freedom.
Stephen Lopez
Stephen Lopez graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in 2012 with a degree in nursing. But due to the glut of underpaid health-care professionals in his country, he decided to be broke on his own terms and become a filmmaker instead.
PG
Content Warning: depictions of blood, self-harm, bullying and violence
12 Nov, 2023 2:30 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox C4–
This programme is presented with English subtitles. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Tam Fam Lit Jam
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.
Jude Chehab, a Lebanese American cinematographer and filmmaker, has always known her mother and grandmother to be women devoted to their Muslim faith. During a trip to Lebanon, Chehab is propelled by a curiosity to understand the quest for love, acceptance, and meaning that brought three generations of women in her family to pledge loyalty to a secretive matriarchal religious order operating clandestinely in the country.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
Malaysia202215 minMalay with English subtitlesExperimental, Horror
A religious officer and a journalist embark on a close-proximity case in a house that seems to have other plans.
Aldina Lydia Nabilah Azani
Although she shines with positivity, Aldina Lydia Nabilah binti Azani’s head is still full of sadness and darkness.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: S-EXPRESS MALAYSIA 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.
Be warmed by friendship and held by the depth of feelings in this collection of wholesome shorts for all ages in a relaxed screening environment. Stick around to participate in fun and simple art activities post-screening.
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.
Malaysia20217 minMalay with English subtitlesExperimental
Two sisters seeking revenge for the murder of their sister, Isabel.
Yazeid Suhaimi
Extremely attentive to visual details and storytelling, Yazeid Suhaimi is proficient in directing and cinematography roles especially in short film, commercial, photography, and music video.
Content Warning: depictions of guns, violence, and self-harm
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: S-EXPRESS MALAYSIA shorts programme.
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This film is presented with English subtitles.
From the team behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Reel Asian Official Selection, 2021) comes Junta Yamaguchi’s latest time loop comedy, River. Set in a quaint inn along the Kibune river near Kyoto—a one-street village wedged between a riverbed on one side and mountains on the other—staff and guests find themselves stuck in a continuous two-minute time loop.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
The Good Guise is an artist collective in Toronto formed to spark conversations around healthy masculinity.
Canada202312 minEnglishWorld PremiereDocumentary, Experimental, History
In this charming and meditative documentary, Jackie, Nora and Gayle are three Hakka Chinese women from Victoria, B.C. who unite to save Canada's oldest Chinese temple from crumbling. Along the way, the women explain the challenges of maintaining the temple and its significance as a cultural and community hub.
*Kevin Matthew Wong
Kevin Matthew Wong is a Hakka Chinese Canadian theatre creator, producer, performer, projection designer, and emerging filmmaker whose work blends documentary media with personal and conversational storytelling.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNSUNG VOICES 12 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.
From the team behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Reel Asian Official Selection, 2021) comes Junta Yamaguchi’s latest time loop comedy, River. Set in a quaint inn along the Kibune river near Kyoto—a one-street village wedged between a riverbed on one side and mountains on the other—staff and guests find themselves stuck in a continuous two-minute time loop.
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.
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.
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