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SEAGRASS

Canada2023115 minEnglish Directed By Women, Family, First Feature

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. The parents’ rift impresses upon their daughters, as Emmy, the fearful younger sister, becomes increasingly anxious, while the eldest, Stephanie, cautiously navigates the preteen social dynamics of day camp.

Set in the mid-90s and shot on 35 mm film, Meredith Hama-Brown’s tense, layered family drama is a nuanced look into the legacy of Japanese Canadian internment and how trauma weaves through generations in silences, detachment, and ambiguity. Standout performances by Shortcomings’ Ally Maki (Judith) and Nyha Breitkreuz (Stephanie) anchor the film as it explores womanhood, sisterhood, grief, and racial identity in this remarkable debut feature.

– Vidhya Elango

Cast

Ally Maki

Luke Roberts

Nyha Breitkreuz

Remy Marthaller

Chris Pang

Sarah Gadon

Recognitions

OFFICIAL SELECTION

Toronto International Film Festival, 2023

Vancouver International Film Festival, 2023

Atlantic International Film Festival, 2023

 

AWARDS

Toronto International Film Festival, FIPRESCI Prize, 2023

Director Bio

Meredith Hama-Brown

Meredith Hama-Brown’s work as a director has taken part in various international film festivals including Palm Springs Shortfest and Fantasia International Film Festival. In 2018, she won the Telus Sea to Sky Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival for her film, Broken Bunny. Seagrass is her first feature film.

Rating

PG

12 Nov, 2023 5:00 pm

TIFF Bell Lightbox C3
MEMBERS TICKETS
PUBLIC TICKETS

Accessibility


Wheelchair/Step-Free Seating Available icon
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.

With Support From

Community Partner

Community Supporter

BIPOC TV and Film

POST-FILM DISCUSSION: SEAGRASS

Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with director Meredith Hama-Brown

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WHAT’S BREWING WITH CMPA

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!

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TO THE WRITERS’ ROOM: CANADIAN TV WRITERS ON CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION AND RESISTING TOKENISM

Step into the thrilling world of TV writing with a range of talented writers as they share their insights into crafting a successful TV series, advancing careers in the writers' room, and promoting diversity in showrunning.

Shorts Programme
Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR

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.

EIGHTY THOUSAND STEPS

CanadaDirected By Women, Drama, Experimental, Family, Family-friendly, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Immigrant stories, Interactive Podcast, Mystery

As a child, Crystal loved when her “Pawpaw” (“grandmother” in Chinese) shared life lessons through fables as the two took walks together. Now Crystal realizes Pawpaw was sharing her journey as a child refugee, hiding tragedy behind adventure. Listeners gradually learn about the heartbreaking contrast between real violence and a child’s interpretation of it. As the listener walks to the store or through a park, they’re forced to examine their steps and stories next to a refugee’s.

Download EIGHTY THOUSAND STEPS, available for FREE now on the App store or Google Play.

Meet the Artist:

Steps Together: Join Crystal Chan on a walkabout and experience a step-powered story. Regroup and discuss in a talk-back session with the artist. Bring along your smartphone, earbuds or headphones! 

Artist Talk: Crystal Chan breaks down how the project came together. What were her artistic goals and how did they balance with the technical challenges? How did Chan work with developer Stitch Media to create an elegant user experience?

FREE PROGRAMMING

November 16, 4:00PM
Steps Together: artist-led walk around downtown Toronto to explore & experience the app

November 18, 2:00PM
Artist talk with creator Crystal Chan and the development team from Stitch Media

Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space
401 Richmond St W
Suite 440

Accessibility


Wheelchair/Step-Free Seating Available icon
This app uses your mobile device’s accelerometer technology to measure footsteps, but the app has a non-pedometer mode that users in wheelchairs may experience. The artist talk is in a space accessible to wheelchairs or people who need step-free access but the walk-around will take place on city sidewalks where accessibility may be unpredictable. To let us know about your accessibility needs, please click below.

GUESTS

Crystal Chan

Crystal 倩瓊 Chan is a Hong Kong-born, Montreal-based artist, producer, and former film critic dedicated to telling stories in new ways. She teaches media writing at the University of British Columbia and works for RavenSpace, a pioneering multimedia platform for Indigenous and collaborative creation.

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WHAT’S BREWING WITH CMPA

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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!

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Discover the comedically honest and heartwarming story of the CBC Gem original short-form series How to Fail as a Popstar in our screening of the first three episodes followed by a panel discussion, "The Clumsy Art of Finding Yourself."

TIL IT BLOOMS

Canada, USA202210 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Family, Women Filmmakers

In the face of uncontrollable sorrow, Bo desperately suppresses a “grief flower” sprouting from his face before his big speech at his father’s funeral.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Directors Bio

Wendy Xu

Wendy Xu is a rising Chinese Canadian filmmaker whose narrative recipes never fail to include just a pinch of absurdity and humour.

This film is part of the Muscle Memory shorts programme.

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LAND OF GOLD

Kiran, a first-generation Punjabi truck driver, is about to become a father, but he is preoccupied by questions and reflections on family, fatherhood, and responsibility.

Shorts Programme
S-EXPRESS INDONESIA

This year, Reel Asian spotlights S-Express Indonesia programmed by Fransiska Prihadi of Minikino, featuring five short films with the hopes of recharging your festival experience.

Canadian Spotlight
Canadian Spotlight: Romeo Candido

Challenging norms, paving the road, and telling fresh stories, our Canadian Spotlight Artist program is dedicated to a member of the dynamic and talented Asian Canadian film community. This program celebrates a selected artist by activating their journey, process, and future works.

MAJBOOR-E-MAMOOL

Canada20229 minutesEnglish and Urdu with English subtitlesDrama, Family

Sania must take her mother, Noor, for a doctor’s appointment—serving as her parent and translator.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Directors Bio

Haaris Qadri

Haaris Qadri is an emerging filmmaker based in Brampton and a graduate from York University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production Specialized Honours. Qadri is drawn to diasporic stories, contemplating questions of identity, home, and belonging.

This film is part of the Muscle Memory shorts programme.

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Shorts Programme
MOVING ON

These films do not shy away from difficult and layered stories, distant memories, and buried feelings. Our characters ground, trace, and reconnect pathways toward recognizing the resiliency within oneself through their roots and relations to the places around them.

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Uplifted by UPROOTED: THE PLANTEMIC

Join us for a deep-rooted dive into Uprooted: The Plantemic, a show about houseplants surviving the pandemic. We’ll explore the narrative of this CBC Gem short-form series, the development from concept art to animation, and contextualize the series not only in its time, but also in contemporary conversations, as storytelling methods evolve. In an era of remote working, what would my houseplants think of me? Do they root for me? Find out from the creative team behind Uprooted.

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IF FROM EVERY TONGUE IT DRIPS

If From Every Tongue It Drips is a documentary constructed between three locations that follows Ponni, who writes a form of 19th-century queer Urdu poetry called Rekhti, and her lover Sarala, a camera operator.

S-EXPRESS INDONESIA

Indonesia2022Indonesian and other languages with English subtitlesAnimation, Drama, Experimental, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers

S-Express is a short film program exchange initiated in 2002 by Yuni Hadi (Singapore), Amir Muhammad (Malaysia) and Chalida Uabumrungjit (Thailand), featuring regional programming from South East Asia. This annual collaboration offers insight into the development of filmmaking talent and abundance of complex storytelling from each participating region. This year, Reel Asian spotlights S-Express Indonesia programmed by Fransiska Prihadi of Minikino, featuring five short films with the hopes of recharging your festival experience.

MAKASSAR IS A CITY FOR FOOTBALL FANS
LIKA LIKU LAKI

Khozy Rizal Profile Image

Indonesia202120 minutesMakassarese and Indonesian with English subtitles

In a city where “men” are fanatics about football, Akbar is compelled to pretend he loves the game to avoid being rejected by his new college friends.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Gender and queer violence, sexist language and situations, coarse language, strobing lights

 

Director Bio

Khozy Rizal

Khozy Rizal is a filmmaker based in Makassar, Indonesia. In 2020, he founded Hore Pictures, an independent production house that has produced several short films.

A GRANDPA’S UNIFORM AND OTHER THINGS OF FEAR
PEDHUT

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Indonesia2021 22 minJavanese with English subtitles

Trapped in his past, an old man steals an army uniform to chase away the ghosts that terrorize his long nights.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and closed English subtitles digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Violence, trauma, death, blood, extreme audio

 

Director Bio

Christian Banisrael

Born in Indonesia, Christian Banisrael directed his first short film Mist of the Past (2018), which premiered at the 2019 Hong Kong International Film Festival.

JAMAL

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Nur’s husband, who had previously left for Malaysia as a migrant worker, returns home in an unexpected condition.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Trauma

Director Bio

Muhammad Heri Fadli

Born in Central Lombok, Indonesia, Muhammad Heri Fadli began his career as a filmmaker in 2013. Since then, Fadli has directed over 10 short films in seven years.

THE SEA CALLS FOR ME
LAUT MEMANGGILKU

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Sura is a young boy who lives in a fishing village. One day he finds a broken sex doll washed ashore and tries to fix it.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Violence

Director Bio

Tumpal Tampubolon

Holding a bachelor’s degree in math, Tumpal Tampubolon has written and directed several short films, which have screened in various domestic and international film festivals.

THE ARCHIPELAGO
NUSA ANTARA

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Indonesia20217 minutesIndonesian with English subtitlesAnimation

The Archipelago brings together the perspectives of four Indonesian filmmakers as they interpret contemporary Indonesian society.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

 

Director Bio

Azalia Muchransyah and Firman Widyasmara

Azalia Muchransyah is a filmmaker, writer, and scholar from Indonesia with a Ph.D. in Media Study from the University at Buffalo (SUNY). She currently teaches at Binus University film program in Alam Sutera.

Firman Widyasmara was an illustrator and a bank analyst before becoming an animator in 2005. Together with colleagues, he founded Lanting Animation, a collective community animation house.

Fransiska Prihadi
Guest Programmer

Fransiska Prihadi is program director of Minikino since 2015. She is an architect and co-founder of the art-house cinema MASH Denpasar. She has served as guest programmer, preselections committee & jury for various national and international short film festivals, with experience as facilitator and mentor for filmmaking and film critics workshops.

12 Nov, 2022 12:00 pm

Innis Town Hall

The free screening for S-Express: Indonesia will be shown at Innis Town Hall.

This shorts programme will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – 20.

Rating

Rated PG

Screening Sponsor

Q&A: S-EXPRESS INDONESIA

Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Kelly Lui.

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Considering the need to keep creating within Asian Canadian cinema, this panel gathers filmmakers and artists to discuss the implications, complexities, and pressure one might face when delivering their second artistic work. Together, they offer tips, anecdotes, and lessons learned in bringing their stories into the foreground for the second time around.

NIGHT SHIFTS

Canada, India, Singapore, USA2022English and other languages with English subtitlesAnimation, Drama, Experimental, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers

From dusk ‘til dawn, the night takes centre stage as a mood, setting, tone, and place for our characters’ lives and their environments to be illuminated on screen.

HONEY
MADHU

Tanmay Chowdhury and Tanvi Chowdhury Profile Image

India202213 minutesBengali with English subtitles

Satakshi and Madhyama reunite at a celebration during Durga Puja. Over the course of the night through rides, snacks, and glances, we feel their relationship charged with an energy that lasts years.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Director Bio

Tanmay Chowdhury and Tanvi Chowdhury

Tanmay Chowdhury is a cinematographer, editor, photographer, and filmmaker. His photography has been published in various magazines and publications worldwide, including Rolling Stone and Vogue.

Tanvi Chowdhury is a writer and filmmaker who seeks to explore and tell stories about human dynamics, identity, and gender.

NANITIC

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Titled after the term “nanitic,” referring to first-generation worker ants who care for their offspring as well as the Queen Ant, we witness the structure of a multigenerational family through the eyes of Trang and Mai.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Death and dying

Director Bio

Carol Nguyen

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DINNER’S READY

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Singapore, USA20224 minutesEnglishAnimation, Women Filmmakers

Why should I make dinner if we are both in love? A story of gendered roles and the ethics of care.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film has no dialogue and is not captioned.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Gender violence, queer violence, nudity

 

Director Bio

Elizabeth Xu

Born and raised in Singapore, Elizabeth Xu attends the Rhode Island School of Design for animation. They are excited by the potential of analogue mediums and tangible surfaces, and in their free time, they make books and think about conversation as a beautiful medium.

SAME OLD

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USA202215 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitles

One night for Lu, a New York City delivery driver.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

 

Director Bio

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CARRION

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USA202222 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitles

In an isolated desert motel, Mengmeng digs up a rotting carcass. Later that night, something long buried is unearthed in her mother.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Death

Director Bio

Yvonne Zhang

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13 Nov, 2022 5:30 pm

Online
TIFF Bell Lightbox 4

The screening for Night Shifts will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4.

This shorts programme will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – 20. Purchase the shorts VOD pass to watch this programme online and all other shorts in selection at the festival.

IN-PERSON TICKETS

Rating

Rated PG

Q&A: NIGHT SHIFTS

Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Blythe Shulan Hunter.

Blythe Shulan Hunter

Blythe is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and member of Reel Asian’s Programming Committee. She holds an MA in Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto, where she focused on race and aesthetics of ‘yellowness’ in East Asian music videos. Her core interests include contemporary Chinese cinema and learning K-pop dances.

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Shorts Programme
ENCOUNTERS

Missed chances, unspoken conversations, fated meetings, connections sparked in the most unexpected places: these shorts delve into the weight of all our relations in their fullness and in their absence.

LAND OF GOLD

USA2022105 minutesEnglish, Punjabi, Spanish with English subtitlesToronto PremiereDrama, Family

Kiran, a first-generation Punjabi truck driver, is about to become a father, but he is preoccupied by questions and reflections on family, fatherhood, and responsibility. He embarks on one last work trip to clear his head, but what starts as a peaceful, meditative journey shifts abruptly when he hears pounding inside a shipping container and discovers an undocumented girl named Elena inside. After much convincing, he agrees to set out on a cross-country road trip in search of her family, as the pair bond over music, culturally specific food, and what it means to be seen as “other” in white America.

Nardeep Khurmi skillfully directs and performs in an impressive feature debut to create a profoundly poignant and timely look at solidarity, difference, and found family, while asking us to contemplate the bonds we create with strangers and the memories and traumas that both haunt us and shape us into who we are.

- Mariam Zaidi

Cast

Nardeep Khurmi
Caroline Valencia
Pallavi Sastry
Riti Sachdeva

Recognitions

OFFICIAL SELECTION

Tribeca Film Festival, 2022

Director Bio

Nardeep Khurmi

Nardeep Khurmi is an award-winning filmmaker whose narratives spotlight underrepresented communities. He hails from the ‘burbs of Philly by way of Switzerland and graduated from New York University. Land of Gold, his debut feature, is the recipient of the 2021 ATT Untold Stories grand prize and 2021 Fall ScreenCraft Film Fund.

10 Nov, 2022 6:00 pm

TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

The screening for Land of Gold will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3.

TICKETS

Rating

RATED PG

Accessibility

Available captions will be updated closer to the festival dates.

Q&A: LAND OF GOLD

Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with producer Simon Taufique.

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Tune into this beloved section online to access free programming for all ages that will spark joy, inspire creativity, and encourage wonder.

Features
UNIDENTIFIED

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TEHURA

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A Tahitian dancer tries to reclaim her identity by confronting a tourist audience with a dance of her own.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content Warning: Sexist situations

Director Bio

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MAJBOOR-E-MAMOOL

Haaris Qadri Profile Image

Canada20229 minutesEnglish and Urdu with English subtitlesDrama, Family

Sania must take her mother, Noor, for a doctor’s appointment—serving as her parent and translator.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Director Bio

Haaris Qadri

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HINDSIGHT

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Canada20213 minutesEnglishDocumentary, Experimental, Women Filmmakers

A fleeting and poetic retrospect of a young woman who develops a chronic illness.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and closed English subtitles digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Director Bio

Shubhi Sahni

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TIL IT BLOOMS

Wendy Xu Profile Image

Canada, USA202210 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Family, Women Filmmakers

In the face of uncontrollable sorrow, Bo desperately suppresses a “grief flower” sprouting from his face before his big speech at his father’s funeral.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Director Bio

Wendy Xu

Wendy Xu is a rising Chinese Canadian filmmaker whose narrative recipes never fail to include just a pinch of absurdity and humour.

TO KILL THE BIRDS & THE BEES

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Singapore202210 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesAnimation, Comedy, Women Filmmakers

Following three separate stories, four average Singaporeans encounter a sexual situation in the course of their day.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Content warning: Self-harm, blood, sexist language and situations, abortion, strobing lights

Director Bio

Calleen Koh

Calleen Koh is BAFTA-nominated animated-film director and artist from Singapore. She loves to make people laugh but also be disturbed by her sexy, manic, animated films.

FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY
CHHNGAI DACH ALAI

Polen Ly Profile Image

Cambodia202224 minutesKhmer and Bunong with English subtitlesDrama

Indigenous Bunong siblings spend one last day in their rural village in northeastern Cambodia, before an impending move to the capital city in search of a more prosperous life.

ACCESSIBILITY

This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.

RATING

RATED PG

Director Bio

Polen Ly

Polen Ly paused his studies in medicine to pursue filmmaking in 2012. He has directed several shorts and documentaries, exploring environmental and human rights issues, including LGBTQ+ and Indigenous experiences.

11 Nov, 2022 6:45 pm

Online
TIFF Bell Lightbox 4

The screening for Night Shifts will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4.

This shorts programme will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – 20. Purchase the shorts VOD pass to watch this programme online and all other shorts in selection at the festival.

IN-PERSON TICKETS

Rating

Rated PG

Q&A: MUSCLE MEMORY

Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Angela Sun.

Angela Sun

Angela Sun is an actor, theatre creator, producer, and writer of East Asian descent. Her multidisciplinary, multilingual artistic practice focuses on cultural dissonance and mental health. She is also known for her advocacy for cultural diversity, size-inclusivity, and access for the invisible disability community. She has worked with many emerging and established artistic organizations throughout her career. She is currently the Community Engagement Coordinator at Theatre Passe Muraille and is working on a one-woman show about trauma, representation, and storytelling entitled The Glass Eye.

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The story of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean American who was falsely convicted of a 1973 murder in San Francisco. After activists led a pan-Asian American movement to free him, he was finally released after 10 years in prison.

Features
THERAPY DOGS

The Class of 2019 at Cawthra Park Secondary School is gearing up for their senior year. Friends Ethan and Justin set out to shoot a film under the pretense of being a yearbook project, recording pivotal moments and character portraits during this tumultuous stage of adolescence.

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Brothers Saud and Nadeem live in a working-class, predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in New Delhi, where they have made it their lives’ work to care for injured black kites falling from the polluted skies of the city.

IN SILENCE, WE SING

Canada202212 minutesEnglish, Cantonese with English Subtitles World PremiereFamily, Music, Women Filmmakers

Following her grandfather’s death in China during the pandemic, Ai is forced to confront her depression, the silences in her home, and her parents’ unsung frustrations—including the ancestor ghosts now possessing them.

 

Directors Bio

Vivian (Xiao Wen) Li

Vivian (Xiao Wen) Li is a queer writer, director, musician, and interdisciplinary artist. A third-year MFA candidate at the UBC School of Creative Writing, her first chapbook will be released in fall 2022, and she is working on her thesis novel engaging with Chinese philosophy themes. In Silence, We Sing is her debut short film.

12 Nov, 2022 3:45 pm

TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

Rating

Rated PG

Content Warning: Depictions of mental illness.

This film is a part of the Unsung Voices 11 shorts programme. Director will be present for the Q&A following the film.

perennials

Canada20226 minutesEnglish with English Subtitles World PremiereDrama, Family, Women Filmmakers

After a pineapple shows up at her front door, Lia returns to her childhood home in search of her father, who hasn’t been seen in months.

 

Directors Bio

Hannah Polinski

Hannah Polinski is a writer currently based in Montreal. Her work explores familial memory, shifting landscapes, and poetry as a daily practice.

12 Nov, 2022 3:45 pm

Online
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

Rating

Rated PG

This film is a part of the Unsung Voices 11 shorts programme. Director will be present for the Q&A following the film.

Open Tickets Cart