Japan, Philippines2024102:00Tagalog, JapaneseNorth American PremiereAvailable Online, Directed By Women, Drama, First Feature

In Japan’s aging society, kodokushi — the lonely death of the elderly — has become disturbingly common. Divorced salaryman Yoji (Lily Franky) is confronted with this reality when he discovers his neighbour’s decomposing body. The shocking experience forces him to face his solitude, deepened by his own mother’s ageing. Seeking escape and connection, he follows a caretaker to Manila, where his choice takes an unexpected turn.

Diamonds in the Sand explores the contrasts between two distinct Asian cultures. While reflecting on the isolation faced by many people in modern society, the film also captures the warmth, vitality, and complexity of family life in the Philippines. Within this vibrant setting, bonds bring both joy and hardship, connection and obligation. This is a bittersweet story of acceptance, the courage and impact of our personal choices, and the search for meaning within oneself and community alike.

– Rolando Basmayor

USA2025106 minEnglishToronto Premiere2slgbtq+, Bisexual, Comedy, Directed By Women, First Feature, Gay, Non-binary, Transgender

She’s been cursed. Literally. And she needs $1,000 for the hex-breaking cure. AP (played by director Annapurna Sriram) embarks on a sex worker’s odyssey through pre-millenium Trashtown, U.S.A., where the grass is brown and the cops are kinky. Desperate for a life reset, AP embarks on a scooter-driven adventure with her always-and-forever-tethered ex-lover Danni. Through strip clubs, celebrity mansions, and fortune tellers around every corner, fans of John Waters and 1990s Gregg Araki films will love Sriram’s world-building and her campy, crude, queer take on the buddy film genre.

Fucktoys is a darkly humorous tale about the uphill battle of carving out a new life for oneself and the risks it takes to do it. Sriram’s directorial debut kicks down the door for a new wave of American sexploitation films, while its anarchist spirit is a call to challenge mainstream American filmic conventions.

– Khanh Tudo

USA202598 minEnglish, Vietnamese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDocumentary, First Feature

How far would you go to uncover a family history that has been purposefully buried? What are the consequences of resurfacing these stories to fulfil your own?

In an extremely candid documentary, filmmaker Tony Nguyen embarks on a scrappy investigation to reconnect to his father, who was estranged from his family due to the Vietnam War. Challenging family members who don’t want to disturb the dust, Nguyen is determined to find the potential truth, and the value of it. Nguyen’s film is a rollercoaster ride of DIY detective work to uncover family secrets, ultimately questioning the role and power of a filmmaker.

On the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, YEAR OF THE CAT offers a sincere look at piecing together a family story post war, offering a personal reflection of how displacement and trauma gets passed down to a generation who are now parents.

– Khanh Tudo

Directors Bio

Tony Nguyen

Tony Nguyen is an Oakland, Calif.-based filmmaker whose work explores the Vietnamese refugee experience (Enforcing the Silence, Giap’s Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory) and the overlooked stories of individuals and communities that make up the fabric of the town (Fresh Frozen, I See Me).

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

Directors Bio

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.

China202393 minCantoneseDrama, First Feature

While picking juicy lychees on an endless summer day, Ting is uneasy. She’s on the verge of marriage in her hometown in mainland China. Her father will not be there. He long ago left her and her mother to stay with his preferred family in Hong Kong — part of the legacy of men from the region who had extramarital affairs in China in the 1980s and '90s. Before she ties the knot, Ting ventures to Hong Kong to find the father she’s never known. While on her journey, she finds she has other loose ends to tie up, too.

Luscious imagery, moody music, and sultry summer vibes saturate Guangdong filmmaker Choy Ji’s first feature film with wistful longing for love in another place, another time. Through Ting and her family story, Director Choy brilliantly displays the Hong Kong of his own youth — mysterious and magical, distant despite being so close.

– Aram Siu Wai Collier

Canada202393 minEnglish, Mandarin, CantoneseCanadian PremiereAvailable Online, Comedy, Drama, First Feature

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. Fresh Off Markham functions as a satirical anthology, highlighting experiences and dilemmas that some Chinese immigrants encounter amidst relocation.

Paying homage to the best of modern cinema, Kurt Yuen, Cyrus Lo, and Trevor Choi’s feature directorial debut successfully interweaves stories of the diasporic experience in with Markham. They keep generational history in mind, while providing a meaningful look at greed, interracial conflict, and the cost of immigration. Daring, decisive, and tonally diverse, Fresh Off Markham’s charm is rooted in its bold specificity, bringing an often overlooked Greater Toronto Area community to film.

– Amreen Kullar

USA2024110 minEnglishCanadian PremiereAvailable Online, Comedy, Drama, First Feature, Romance

It’s the holidays, and Ben Santhanaraj shows up to Sri Lanka to see Suzanne Hopper, his long-distance partner who works there. Unfortunately, Suzanne’s been informed she now has to work through the holidays, thwarting their dream vacation plans (and his amorous intentions). They decide to go along with their itinerary, her laptop in tow, but nothing seems to work out as planned, leading to candid conversations and chaotic twists. Will their relationship endure — or have they grown too far apart?

Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion In 4 Parts is the continuation of a 10-year partnership with its lead actors (Sathya Sridharan and Anastasia Olowin) and director Shaun Seneviratne, where they made three short films exploring Ben and Suzanne’s relationship. Seneviratne writes and directs a charming and relatable “will they, won’t they?” romantic comedy deftly placed in a context of interracial dating, gender expectations, and diasporic alienation.

– Aram Siu Wai Collier

U.K.202499 minEnglish, ArabicToronto Premiere2slgbtq+, Drama, First Feature, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Romance

Layla is a struggling Palestinian drag queen who often finds creative ways to make ends meet, surrounded by a small, supportive group of close friends within the North London queer scene. A stuffy corporate event performance goes terribly wrong, making Layla and their outrageous antics go viral, and they meet the seemingly-dull-in-comparison marketing executive Max. Despite their very different worlds, a transformative love affair ensues, much to the annoyance of their close friends, who are highly skeptical of how healthy or affirming this relationship could possibly be.

Amrou Al-Kadhi’s assured direction shines just as brightly as Bilal Hasna’s breakout performance in this fun, flashy, and tender directorial debut packed with the catchiest club hits and an abundance of sparkles. As a complicated and lovable Layla navigates familial expectations, close friendships, and their own identity, what emerges is a proud queer love story that at its core celebrates self-love, freedom, and community.

– Mariam Zaidi

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

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