This film is part of the WEE ASIAN shorts programme.
Canada20235 MinNo Dialogue2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Experimental, Family-friendly, Horror, Science Fiction
Gaze into a wondrous abyss. But what happens when you look at something too hard for too long?
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated)
ONLINE: No Dialogue
Constant Yen
Constant Yen is a Toronto-based artist and animator. Their practice involves creating spontaneous and playful experimental work combining analog and digital mediums.
This film is part of the WEE ASIAN shorts programme.
23 Nov, 2024 10:00 am
Innis Town HallGA
CONTENT ADVISORY
Mild flash imagery
Indonesia202484 minEnglishHorror, Science Fiction
Five oblivious youths, a video camera, a remote rundown villa, and a creepy caretaker. Doesn’t it sound like the perfect recipe for a horror film? A mysterious death that soon follows takes the story on a route beyond the fourth wall. The group find out that they’re characters of The Draft! of a screenplay, and that their smarts will dictate their survival.
Indonesia is a strong player in the horror genre, and The Draft! is no exception, but a mild warning is due. Some may reference The Cabin in the Woods (2011), One Cut of the Dead (2017), or even Stranger than Fiction (2006), but The Draft! is a monster of its own. The element of familiarity is used to its advantage in satirically witty demeanour. Although some work is required from the audience to fully enjoy its jokes, the payoff is more than rewarding.
– June Kim
Winner Wijaya
Adhin Abdul Hakim
Ibrahim Alhami
Anggi Waluyo
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Fantastic Fest 2024
Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2024
AWARDS
Best Film, Best Storytelling, and Best Editing, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, 2024
Yusron Fuadi
Yusron Fuadi lectures in the Diploma IV Program at Gadjah Mada University. He directed Tengkorak (2018), Setan Alas (2024), and Darah Nyai (2024). He is currently working on Judgement and planning the following two films of the Tengkorak trilogy. He is also directing the 3D FPS game, Ganyang Setan Alas.
16 Nov, 2024 7:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4AA
–
This film is scheduled to be presented with subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no 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 director Yusron Fuadi and actor Winner Wijaya.
The 28th edition of Reel Asian is about to unfold! Celebrate with us at our Festival Launch Party, co-hosted by New Ho Queen!
Trouble seems to follow Jie and his family. Training to be a competitive fencer, Jie is lost, haunted by the childhood memory of a near-drowning incident with his menacing older brother Han. Years later, a teenage Han is imprisoned after killing a competitor during a fencing match (by accident, he swears). Meanwhile, Jie's mother has been spiteful and distant ever since, with no love to give her younger son. So when Han is finally released from prison, Jie is desperate to have some family love restored — and eager for some helpful fencing and boyfriend dating tips, too. But is Han’s reformed presence for real?
Join us for an evening of quiet time records! Kid Koala hosts a "quiet time" event, playing hours of his favorite music to work, draw, code, write or knit to. Bring your creative projects.
Canada20242 MinNo DialogueAnimation, Available Online, Directed By Women, Horror
As Manon sits at her table waiting for her date, an uncontrollable itch overtakes her.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: No dialogue (no audio + visual descriptions)
*Maggie Zeng
Maggie Zeng is a Montreal-based children’s book illustrator, concept artist, and animator. Zeng loves making story-driven illustrations that convey a feeling of adventure and wonder through fun characters and magical environments.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: LOVE ISLAND shorts programme.
15 Nov, 2024 8:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C4PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Animated depictions of nudity; horror and gore elements
Canada202411 minEnglishWorld PremiereAvailable Online, Comedy, Drama, Horror
A creepy clown-for-hire tries to stay true to his ghoulishness amidst a world that wants him to change.
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)
*Lee Nisar
Lee Nisar is a Pakistani Canadian filmmaker, writer, and photographer living and working in Toronto. Their work explores issues related to intergenerational curses, queerness, and absurdity.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNSUNG VOICES 13 shorts programme.
16 Nov, 2024 2:30 pm
TIFF Lightbox C3South 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.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
Delve into the profound connections filmmakers Fawzia Mirza (The Queen of My Dreams) and Zarrar Kahn (In Flames) forge when revisiting their roots in Pakistan, through a cinematic lens. This in-depth conversation explores how filmmakers turn place into its own dynamic character, and unpacks the emotive pull of returning, despite its tensions and contradictions. Join us as they showcase how "home" can transcend geographical boundaries, ignite stories with new interpretations of place, and animate narratives with the rich tapestry of personal heritage.
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.
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.
Malaysia2023 95 minMalay with English subtitlesToronto PremiereHorror
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. Set in a kampong, or a Malaysian village, structured around patriarchy and religious expectations, she tries to conceal her pubescent traits out of fear of ostracization. Panic spreads in the village when a monster or demonic spirit is rumored to be roaming the surrounding jungle. Exposed by her peers, Zaffan eventually learns to embrace herself in the face of exclusion and cultural condemnation. A coming-of-age body horror that playfully weaves elements of Southeast Asian folklore, Tiger Stripes is a roaring celebration of embracing monstrosity and otherness.
– Sarah Barzak
Zafreen Zairizal
Deena Ezral
Piqa
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Cannes Film Festival, Critic’s Week, 2023
Sydney Film Festival, 2023
Fantasia Film Festival, 2023
AWARDS
Cannes Film Festival, Critics’ Week Grand Prize, 2023
Amanda Nell Eu
Amanda Nell Eu is a Malaysian-born director who explores the female body and identity within the sociocultural context of Southeast Asia. She graduated from London Film School and is an alumni of the Berlinale Talent Campus and Locarno Filmmakers Academy. Tiger Stripes is her debut feature film, and is the first Malaysian film to win an award at Cannes.
14A
Content Warning: Blood, bullying, physical violence
11 Nov, 2023 7:30 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox C3–
This screening is presented with English subtitles. Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Explore this app for mobile devices that shares the journey of a child refugee, activated by the steps you take.
Hang out with us for Festival Happy Hour, open to the public! Grab a drink and join in on the casual activities each day.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ho-jun, a flailing actor, has found relative success as a social media influencer, hawking fishing hacks. He preps his live stream at his preferred fishing spot, only to be disrupted by an obnoxious stranger whose bad vibes are ruining the morning.
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.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: UNSUNG VOICES 12 shorts programme.
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.
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.
Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, USA2022English and other languages with English subtitlesAnimation, Experimental, Family, Horror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
Festival favourite Midnight Snack returns for another bite! This time, 2.0 features six talented female directors who cook up tales full of intrigue and awareness, boldly confronting themes that are often left indigestible.
Japan, Taiwan202122 minutesTaiwanese with English subtitlesHorror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
Xue-Lan, a striving actress, is invited to a mysterious gourmet club only to discover that her competition has prepared a horrifying banquet.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Blood, drugs
Mai Nakanishi
Born in Tokyo but spent most of her youth abroad, Mai Nakanishi is a filmmaker who focuses on genre films. In 2013, she launched Scream Queen FilmFest Tokyo to amplify the voices of female genre filmmakers.
USA20226 minutesNo Dialogue Animation, Horror, Women Filmmakers
During a peaceful school lunchtime, children discover they can transform into animals—the only problem is will they ever stop?
ACCESSIBILITY
This film has no dialogue and is not captioned.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Violence, gore, extreme audio
Cho Yoon Hei
An animator and director from Korea, Cho Yoon Hei is located in Los Angeles and creates horrifying hand-drawn animations.
Canada, Indonesia202217 minutesIndonesian with English subtitlesHorror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
When polar-opposite sisters Nur and Karina reunite for their grandparents’ wedding anniversary dinner, Karina starts to itch and blames Nur for putting garlic in her food.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Eating disorder, body dysmorphia
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto is an Indonesian writer and director currently residing in Vancouver, Canada. Her works explore genre films as a medium to depict the current condition surrounding political, social, and cultural issues.
Canada20222 minutesEnglishAnimation, Horror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
Tired of her date’s racist and sexist comments, a woman decides to liberate his tongue.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Nudity, racist situation, sexist situation
Kaho Yoshida
Kaho Yoshida is a director and animator with a special passion for stop motion and mixed media. Her fresh aesthetics and sense of humour bring life to every frame, and her love for storytelling makes her work relatable and approachable.
Canada, USA202210 minutesEnglishFamily, Horror, Women Filmmakers
Following the death of her mysterious amah (grandma), Kat is haunted during her first night of dinner service at a high-pressure Michelin-star kitchen.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Sexist language and situations, racist language and situations, blood
Christianne Cruz
Christianne Cruz is a Filipinx writer, director and independent producer born in Toronto and based in LA. She is the mother of two young daughters and producing/life partner to Alex Ott.
China202213 minutesMandarin with English subtitlesExperimental, Women Filmmakers
As the flashy life of the influencer 33 becomes more intense, the canker sore inside her lower lip keeps growing larger…
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Lin Tu
Lin Tu is a writer and director based in Beijing whose previous short films have screened internationally on the festival circuit. She is a BIFAN Fantastic Film School (2020) alumni.
The screening for Midnight Snack 2.0 will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
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.
PG
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Kelly Lui.
In this reflective documentary, director Quen Wong turns the lens toward the intimate and vulnerable in her own life as a trans woman in Singapore.
Six first-time and emerging filmmakers embarked on a summer-long filmmaking journey online with Reel Asian's Unsung Voices Youth Video Production Workshop. We’re proud to present their world premieres here.
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.
Canada20222 minutesEnglishAnimation, Horror, Thriller, Women Filmmakers
Tired of her date’s racist and sexist comments, a woman decides to liberate his tongue.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content Warning: Nudity, racist situation, sexist situation
Kaho Yoshida
Kaho Yoshida is a director and animator with a special passion for stop motion and mixed media. Her fresh aesthetics and sense of humour bring life to every frame, and her love for storytelling makes her work relatable and approachable.
This film is a part of the Midnight Snack 2.0 shorts programme.
A collaborative exhibition by Jasmine Gui (special projects programmer, RA) & keiko Hart (co-curator), RA:X Puncta aims to present a plurality of punctum moments (as defined by Roland Barthes) that disturb and prick at diasporic Asian narratives and slip beyond an easy legibility of “Asianness”.
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.
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.
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
