Afghanistan, CanadaEnglishLGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
Desh Pardesh centred the work and expressions of South Asian and Indo Caribbean diaspora and had its roots in the queer communities of Toronto. Although no similar space has been created since, the legacy and impact of the festival continues.
The shorts in this program include works screened two decades ago at Desh Pardesh, as well as films made last year by a cohort of South Asian and Indo Caribbean emerging filmmakers who participated in Inside Out Festival’s Short Film Lab. Despite the absence of a dedicated space like Desh Pardesh, resistance and community building through the arts remains present. In this program, two generations of artists come together to exhibit and reflect on the need and power of creating space to learn, experiment, discuss, create, and collaborate on works that fully centre their identity and politics.
Canada202013 minEnglishWomen Filmmakers
A young, queer, non-binary, Muslim storyteller walks us through the spaces and people that have shaped her healing and growth from some of the most trying moments in her past.
An Active Listener will be available to offer one-on-one peer support for viewers who may find the content of this presentation triggering. More info on how to access here.
Yazmeen Kanji
Yazmeen Kanji is a TIFF Next Wave and Hot Docs Accelerator filmmaker and founder of Films With A Cause. She works at Charles Officer’s Canesugar Filmworks, and supports Oscar nominee Sami Khan’s projects.
Canada198925:00EnglishDocumentary
In the middle of a raging winter storm, 350 women from across Canada met in Winnipeg to attend the 1986 National Conference of Immigrant & Visible Minority Women to form a national organization representing the needs of two million Canadians.
Premika Ratnam and Ali Kazimi
Premika Ratnam was born and educated in India. An independent filmmaker by disposition, she founded Shadow Catcher Productions in 1987, producing and directing educational films on a variety of social issues. With A Cause. She works at Charles Officer’s Canesugar Filmworks, and supports Oscar nominee Sami Khan’s projects.
Ali Kazimi was born and raised in India. He moved to Canada in 1983, earning his BFA in film production from York University. Based in Toronto, Kazimi is an internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker.
Canada202010 minEnglishLGBTQ+ Filmmakers
After trying on a binder and a packer for the first time, Krishna, a trans man, has to face his own insecurities during his journey of overcoming his fear of passing and of coming out.
This presentation has closed captions.
Rojelio Palacios
Rojelio Palacios is a queer, transgender artist, born in Mexico and currently based out of Toronto. Through his work, Palacios explores themes of gender, sexuality, and what it means to be trans.
Canada199412 minEnglishWomen Filmmakers
A video poem about one woman's longing and desire for another whom she is shy to approach.
Shani Mootoo
Shani Mootoo is an Ireland-born Indo Trinidadian Vancouverite and multimedia artist, best known for her single-channel video work, poetry, and novels.
Canada202012 minEnglishLGBTQ+ Filmmakers
Nectar is a portrait film that explores the beauty and complexities of fatness, queerness, race, joy, desire, and body autonomy.
This presentation has closed captions.
Nakita Sunar
Nakita Sunar is a mental health provider, emerging filmmaker, and educator. Nakita received her Masters of Education from OISE. Nakita believes that filmmaking is her way of creating accessible education that embodies art, storytelling, and social change.
Canada20208 minEnglishLGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers
Life at home for Maya isn’t the best, but things are different when she’s with her friend, Neelam. After a heated argument with her parents, Maya goes over to Neelam’s. The tensions that rise between them reveal the undeniable love and hurt they carry.
This presentation has closed captions.
Sadiah Rahman
Sadiah Rahman is a photographer, writer, director, and arts worker based out of Toronto. In their work, they aim to understand the nuances of queer and Muslim identities, disabilities, and marginalization with an empathetic lens.
Canada19935:00English
A series of rhythmically repeated images of self-caress and cleansing are used to express an Asian woman's sense of emerging self, her growing strength, and her desire for the erotic touch of another.
Neesha Meminger
Neesha Meminger’s films have been screened internationally, and she is the published author of seven novels. More information about Neesha and her work can be found on her website: NeeshaMeminger.com
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
AA
Join us in conversation with directors and special guests in attendance! ASL interpretation will be made available thanks to Toronto Sign Language Interpreter Services. Ticket holders can watch on the CineSend Reel Asian portal.
November 13, 2020 at 8PM
Hsiao-chi has never been an ordinary girl. She is always a step faster than everyone else, perhaps too fast for her to connect with anyone romantically. With Valentine’s Day approaching, Hsiao-chi’s anxious about finding someone. When she finds herself the dream date, she goes to bed looking forward to Valentine’s Day. But to her surprise and disappointment, she wakes up on February 15. Maybe A-tai, the bus driver who is a step slower than everyone else, has the answer to her missing Valentine’s Day.
A mysterious tiger walks through the forest, barely revealing itself, save for a few rare and magical glimpses. This allegorical fiction begins Pallavi Paul’s description of systemic police violence in Delhi, India, based on events suppressed from official history.
USA202174 minEnglishDrama, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers
It starts simple enough. In town on a stopover, years after she transitioned, Kris is meeting her college ex-girlfriend Naomi again for the first time. But seeing an ex is never simple. As the evening unfolds, the past inevitably creeps back into their conversations. Despite their best intentions, small talk and innocuous comments remind them of old resentments, uncovering wounds, until they reveal shocking truths for the first time.
Featuring compelling performances by Pooya Mohseni and Lynn Chen, Mari Walker’s first feature is a classic two-hander that builds to its dramatic conclusion with a deft touch. Ruminating on themes of family, regret, aging, and transitioning, See You Then is a memorable profile of two women finding their way through change.
- Aram Siu Wai Collier
Pooya Mohseni
Lynn Chen
OFFICIAL SELECTION
South by Southwest Festival, 2021
Outfest Los Angeles, 2021
Atlanta Film Festival, 2021
Inside Out, 2021
AWARDS
Best Narrative Feature, Sun Valley Film Festival, 2021
Audience Choice Award, DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, 2021
Mari Walker
Mari Walker (she/her) is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been accepted into over 250 film festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, Frameline, and Outfest, garnering a total of 76 awards and 52 nominations. Her work explores identity through multiple forms and genres, championing our shared humanity through empathy and understanding.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
This presentation has closed captions.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Narrative in Other Mediums is a panel that brings together creatives working in formats like video games, music videos, and commercials to discuss their experience and expertise with narrative construction and creative direction.
Seo, the director of a romance, is at his wit’s end trying to finish his film. Editor Park has been brought in to help fix it. But it’s not your typical post-production problems of recalibrating the film’s story structure. This film is haunted.
If it had to be summed up, Code Name: Nagasaki is a documentary shot by Fredrik S. Hana, following his close friend and film protagonist Marius Lunde on his journey to connect with his estranged mother, who cut ties with the family when Lunde was a child, and relocated to Japan. The experience of watching the film, however, far exceeds this tidy storyline.
France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, South Korea, USA, Vietnam202177 minEnglish, various languages with English subtitles Animation, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
How does one trace lineages and map origins? Derailing form and convention, each of these films paves new pathways of understanding by reconceptualizing the relations between pasts, presents, and futures.
Canada20218 min Indonesian with English subtitlesDrama, Women Filmmakers
A modern retelling of an Indonesian myth of the same name, Anjani struggles to regain control as her mother tries to sell the house that doubled as her father's puppetry studio.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto is an Indonesian filmmaker based in Vancouver. She is currently in development for her first feature film.
Peru20219 min Spanish with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDocumentary, Experimental
After 91 years of continuous operation, a camera captures the last breath of Nakagawa Photo Studio, the first photo studio in northern Peru founded by Masao Nakagawa.
Hideki Nakazaki
Hideki Nakazaki is studying directing at EICTV. Nakazaki develops cultural-management projects in northern Peru linked to the Nikkei community in Latin America.
Japan202110 min Japanese with English subtitlesAnimation, Family, Women Filmmakers
Painstakingly detailed, director Honami Yano tells the story of a little girl who reflects on the last summer with her father.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Honami Yano
Honami Yano was born on a small island in Japan. Besides attending an exchange program at the Rhode Island School of Design, Yano received a master’s degree at the Tokyo University of the Arts’s Graduate School of Film and New Media.
Vietnam202015 min Vietnamese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDrama, Women Filmmakers
What would you do if you bumped into your high school sweetheart? On a peculiar tour bus to Mekong Delta, 50-year-old Tam is hopeful for a chance of reconciliation—or maybe he's not.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Linh Duong
Linh Duong is a Vietnamese filmmaker fascinated with sad, angsty, and naggy middle-aged women. She just completed a series of shorts tackling this topic with a quirky sense of humour.
Germany, South Korea, USA20216 min No dialogueToronto PremiereAnimation, Experimental, Women Filmmakers
Visually transformative, Eyes and Horns is a captivating and immersive experience that delves into the destruction of gender binaries and boundaries.
This presentation has no captions.
Chaerin Im
Chaerin Im is an experimental filmmaker from South Korea, living and working in Los Angeles and Ann Arbor. Through craftsmanship and distinctive materials, she explores gender issues and sexual imagery.
Malaysia, USA202114 min EnglishInternational PremiereDocumentary, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Reel Asian Award Winner
Combining multiple artistic formats, this intimate portrait is a transnational meditation through time and space of an international art student studying abroad in the United States.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Emory Chao Johnson
Emory Chao Johnson (they/them) is an artist settled on the land of the Tongva working primarily in documentary filmmaking. Their approach to documentary is grounded in empathy and compassion.
France202115 min French with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereAnimation, Women Filmmakers
After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Thao and Sao Maï, two sisters separated by the war, exchange letters to connect and relieve their loneliness.
This presentation has English subtitles.
An Active Listener will be available to offer one-on-one peer support for viewers who may find the content of this presentation triggering. More info on how to access here.
This film contains the potentially triggering topics of war and intergenerational trauma.
Sandra Desmazières
Sandra Desmazières studied at the École Duperré and the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, where she discovered animation. Desmazieres is also an illustrator of children’s books and a comic-book colourist.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
Cafe owner Kato closes up shop on an ordinary night only to be interrupted by a voice from the TV: his own voice, two minutes in the future. As Kato investigates the strange occurrence, the night and time itself start to unravel. Kato’s friends and colleagues get enveloped into his time warp, and the results are hilarious, calamitous and existential.
Damascus Dreams is a reflexive documentary essay presented in a series of sections framed by voiceovers of Serri and her father. The film explores and interrogates the fraught notions of dreams, and memories of “home,” moving loosely through old video footage of the family home in Syria, interviews with Syrians who had to leave or flee because of the civil war, conversations between Serri and her father, and poetic, dreamlike sequences.
It starts simple enough. In town on a stopover, years after she transitioned, Kris is meeting her college ex-girlfriend Naomi again for the first time. But seeing an ex is never simple. As the evening unfolds, the past inevitably creeps back into their conversations.
Canada, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, USA202181 minEnglish and various languages with English subtitles Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
Sing along to this collection of short films featuring characters who find themselves confronting systemic, structural, and personal challenges, all while defying conventional narratives and reconstructing alternative possibilities of storytelling.
Canada, USA202114 min English, Mandarin, Cantonese with English subtitlesToronto PremiereDrama, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers
Tenderly dedicated to their chosen family, Sky, a non-binary Chinese American drag sensation, returns to their hometown and ends up confronting their estranged father about childhood memories that continue to haunt them.
An Active Listener will be available to offer one-on-one peer support for viewers who may find the content of this presentation triggering. More info on how to access here.
This film contains the potentially triggering topics of implied domestic aggression, family separation, and queerphobic parents.
Jess X. Snow
Jess X. Snow is a non-binary film director, artist, poet, and community-arts educator who creates queer, Asian, immigrant stories that transcend borders, binaries, and time.
South Korea202115 min Korean with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereAnimation, Women Filmmakers
Director Boyoung Kim takes us into a world where everything you need can be rented from huge vending machines. A girl does whatever she can to become a guitarist, despite others choosing otherwise.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Boyoung Kim
Boyoung Kim is a Korean animator and independent filmmaker. She is the creator of animated short films Replacement (2013), Impersonation (2014), Prey (2015), and The Levers (2018).
Philippines202116 min Tagalog with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDrama
Set to an expressive soundtrack, Vangie is a miserable contractual sales lady who uncovers the ultimate jaw-dropping secret to regularization in a desperate attempt to save her job.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Sonny Calvento
Sonny Calvento is a writer, director, and producer from the Philippines. Reflective of the Filipino psyche in finding humor in tragedies, Calvento is interested in tackling the sometimes-farcical life in the Philippines.
Canada20214 min Tagalog with English subtitlesLGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Music, Women Filmmakers
Commissioned by the Polaris Music Prize to honour the 2020 shortlist nomination of Pantayo’s self-titled debut, Huwag Mataranta! follows BB, who finds her power in a mystical night market run by figures of Filipino folklore.
Tricia Hagoriles
Tricia Hagoriles is an award-winning, Toronto-based filmmaker who received the inaugural Inside Out + OUTtv Outspoken Documentary Financing Fund for her upcoming work, The Archivist.
Myanmar, USA202115 min English, Burmese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDrama, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers
Imperfectly Complete features a resonating performance from Burmese American Chrissy Aung in the role of Lucy, who struggles whether to reveal the truth of herself when the blind guitarist she cares for is about to regain his vision.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Bruce Chiu
Born and raised in Taiwan, Bruce Chiu is a writer, director, and cinematographer based in Los Angeles. Chiu is passionate about telling stories for social issues.
Canada, Pakistan202017 min English, Urdu with English subtitlesDrama
It’s 1978 in Pakistan, amid guitar riffs and late-night shows, rockstar Lenny from the Christian community is offered the chance to reinvent himself as a state-sanctioned singer.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Hamza Bangash
Hamza Bangash is an award-winning Pakistani Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer. An alumnus of both the Locarno and Asian filmmakers academies, his artistic practice is based out of Karachi.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
So You Think You Can Pitch is back! Celebrate our 15th year of pitch competitions by supporting your favourite emerging filmmakers in our live event! Featuring a total of five finalist individuals or teams, the winner will walk away with our amazing prize package to kickstart or finish their short film, including a cash award, in-kind support, and the opportunity to premiere their work with us at next year’s festival!
Monica (Sujata Day), a former spelling-bee champion, lives at home with her ailing mother and tutors young spelling-bee hopefuls whose parents hover around, in hopes that their children will follow in her footsteps. When she is offered a dream job in another city, she considers accepting it, until her estranged brother Sonny (Ritish Rajan) shows up unexpectedly, opening up old wounds and familial tensions.
Desh Pardesh ended in 2001, in large part due to a massive cut in public arts funding. Two decades later, organizers and artists from the festival discuss the impact of the festival and the ways in which we can learn from the success and challenges of running an unapologetic and political arts festival in the city of Toronto.
Canada20214 min Tagalog with English subtitlesLGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Music, Women Filmmakers
Commissioned by the Polaris Music Prize to honour the 2020 shortlist nomination of Pantayo’s self-titled debut, Huwag Mataranta! follows BB, who finds her power in a mystical night market run by figures of Filipino folklore.
Tricia Hagoriles
Tricia Hagoriles is an award-winning, Toronto-based filmmaker who received the inaugural Inside Out + OUTtv Outspoken Documentary Financing Fund for her upcoming work, The Archivist.
Myanmar, USA202115 min English, Burmese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDrama, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers
Imperfectly Complete features a resonating performance from Burmese American Chrissy Aung in the role of Lucy, who struggles whether to reveal the truth of herself when the blind guitarist she cares for is about to regain his vision.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Bruce Chiu
Born and raised in Taiwan, Bruce Chiu is a writer, director, and cinematographer based in Los Angeles. Chiu is passionate about telling stories for social issues.
Canada202111 min English World PremiereHorror, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
Subverting the body-horror genre, Fresh Blood follows 14-year-old Maya, who is left to process her own fears of entering womanhood alone when she gets her first period.
This presentation has closed captions.
Hayley Wong, Julianna Notten
Hayley Wong is an award-winning cinematographer passionate about collaborating with storytellers to shoot underrepresented subjects in mainstream media.
Julianna Notten is a Toronto-based, award-winning, queer filmmaker and co-founder of Switch Hitter Films.
Canada, USA202114 min English, Mandarin, Cantonese with English subtitlesToronto PremiereDrama, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers
Tenderly dedicated to their chosen family, Sky, a non-binary Chinese American drag sensation, returns to their hometown and ends up confronting their estranged father about childhood memories that continue to haunt them.
An Active Listener will be available to offer one-on-one peer support for viewers who may find the content of this presentation triggering. More info on how to access here.
This film contains the potentially triggering topics of implied domestic aggression, family separation, and queerphobic parents.
Jess X. Snow
Jess X. Snow is a non-binary film director, artist, poet, and community-arts educator who creates queer, Asian, immigrant stories that transcend borders, binaries, and time.
Malaysia, USA202114 min EnglishInternational PremiereDocumentary, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Reel Asian Award Winner
Combining multiple artistic formats, this intimate portrait is a transnational meditation through time and space of an international art student studying abroad in the United States.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Emory Chao Johnson
Emory Chao Johnson (they/them) is an artist settled on the land of the Tongva working primarily in documentary filmmaking. Their approach to documentary is grounded in empathy and compassion.
Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, USA202174 minEnglish, Mandarin with English subtitles, JapaneseAnimation, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Music, Women Filmmakers
Delectably genre-bending, this programme serves up a seven-course meal that will surely leave you questioning whether you were even hungry to begin with.
Canada202111 min English World PremiereHorror, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
Subverting the body-horror genre, Fresh Blood follows 14-year-old Maya, who is left to process her own fears of entering womanhood alone when she gets her first period.
This presentation has closed captions.
Hayley Wong, Julianna Notten
Hayley Wong is an award-winning cinematographer passionate about collaborating with storytellers to shoot underrepresented subjects in mainstream media.
Julianna Notten is a Toronto-based, award-winning, queer filmmaker and co-founder of Switch Hitter Films.
China202014 min Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Fantasy
How much would you put into a relationship? Bubble brings us along on a couple's date that takes a strange plunge into vegetarian cuisine.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Haonan Wang
Haonan Wang graduated with a MFA degree in film production from Art Center College of Design. His past works have won awards at several international film festivals, including SXSW, Warsaw Film Festival, and Sitges Film Festival.
Canada20214 min English World PremiereFamily-friendly, Music, Romance, Women Filmmakers
Sweet Memories is an ode to nostalgic memories of childhood crushes, featuring the 1977 Hawaiian track “Lihue” by Nohelani Cypriano.
This presentation has closed captions.
Jessica JM Wu
Jessica JM Wu is a director and producer based in Toronto. She wrote, directed, and produced her first short film, White Dragon, in 2019. Wu is currently represented for commercial work at Undivided Creative
Singapore20203 min JapaneseAnimation, Women Filmmakers
Sentient and existential, Sushi begins to wonder if there’s more to life than serving himself out to consumers.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Calleen Koh Yee Lin
Calleen Koh Yee Lin is currently in her final year of animation art at LASALLE College of the Arts. In her free time, she enjoys sipping tea, listening to old Chinese folk songs, and petting her three cats: Yuki, Mako, and Momo.
Malaysia201914 min Chinese with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereFantasy, Horror, Women Filmmakers
A fresh take on the Malaysian female monster Penanggalan, Chin is an overworked nurse at the maternity ward who finds joy when she is alone and can finally eat.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Amanda Nell Eu
A graduate of the MA in filmmaking at the London Film School, Amanda Nell Eu has directed short films based in the U.K. and Malaysia. She is developing her first feature film, Tiger Stripes.
USA202114 min English World PremiereComedy, Fantasy, Romance, Women Filmmakers
Mi-Wen, an elderly widow, combs the beach in search of treasure and discovers a gold tooth that magically changes her lonely life.
This presentation has closed captions.
Azumi Hasegawa
Azumi Hasegawa is a New York-based writer, originally from Tokyo. Her articles appear in the Japanese editions of Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar.
China202114 min Mandarin with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDrama, Fantasy
A film you won’t forget, One Night Elsewhere takes place in a sleepy rural village, offering a surrealistic countryside night journey with a monk, a villager, and a piece of meat.
This presentation has no captions and no dialogue.
Zhichao Zhu
Zhichao Zhu is a Chinese filmmaker and visual artist based in Shanghai and Hamburg who has exhibited internationally. Zhu works as a registered university lecturer in Shanghai.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
Community Supporters
Join us in conversation with directors and special guests in attendance! ASL interpretation will be made available thanks to Toronto Sign Language Interpreter Services. Ticket holders can watch on the CineSend Reel Asian portal.
November 13, 2020 at 8PM
Follow Canadian Spotlight artist Ali Kazimi on a deep dive into his archive-infused films Continuous Journey and Random Acts of Legacy. Topics will include technical looks at film preservation, editing, music composition, and creative considerations of perspective and collaboration.
So You Think You Can Pitch is back! Celebrate our 15th year of pitch competitions by supporting your favourite emerging filmmakers in our live event! Featuring a total of five finalist individuals or teams, the winner will walk away with our amazing prize package to kickstart or finish their short film, including a cash award, in-kind support, and the opportunity to premiere their work with us at next year’s festival!
Monica (Sujata Day), a former spelling-bee champion, lives at home with her ailing mother and tutors young spelling-bee hopefuls whose parents hover around, in hopes that their children will follow in her footsteps. When she is offered a dream job in another city, she considers accepting it, until her estranged brother Sonny (Ritish Rajan) shows up unexpectedly, opening up old wounds and familial tensions.
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
