South Korea20198 minKorean with English SubtitlesCanadian PremiereAnimation, Documentary, Family, Open Captions, Women Filmmakers

Rated PG-13

Confronting patriarchy and societal gender norms aside, Tiger and Ox is about a fraught yet loving relationship between mother and daughter.

Canada202015 minEnglish with English SubtitlesDocumentary, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Open Captions, Women Filmmakers

Rated PG

Pairing personal home videos with audio-recorded stories from Katherine Chun, Wenda Li, Tamai Kobayashi, and Nancy Seto - four queer Asian women recall, relive, and reflect upon their adolescent years.  

China202019 minChinese Sign Language and Shanghainese with English SubtitlesCanadian PremiereDance, Drama, Family, Open Captions, Women Filmmakers

Rated PG-13
CW: Homophobic statements

Beautifully poetic, Handscape tells the story of Xia Qing and his desire to dance despite his mother’s outright disapproval.

Canada20202 minEnglish with English SubtitlesInternational Premiere Animation, Family, Open Captions, Women Filmmakers

Rated PG

Created by a community of local Filipinx creatives, Novena is an affectingly crafted poetry animation touching upon grief, mourning, and healing.

Directors Bio

Shirley Camia

Born in Winnipeg, Shirley Camia is a Filipina-Canadian poet who has lived across Canada, the Philippines, Japan and Kenya. Novena, based on her poem of the same name, is her debut poetry film.

Canada20195 minEnglishWorld Premiere Documentary, Family, Open Captions, Women Filmmakers

Rated PG

Pakistani-Canadian artist Wahab Jaffer endearingly retells his journey from collector to artist and imparts the lessons he’s learned along the way.

Directors Bio

Tanya Hoshi

Tanya Hoshi is a Pakistani-Canadian film and web series producer/director based in Toronto, Canada. When she’s not working, Hoshi is mentoring emerging filmmakers by helping them find their footing in the industry.

USA202013 minEnglishInternational Premiere Dance, Documentary, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Open Captions, Women Filmmakers

Rated PG

A love letter to the queer Asian community, director Allie Cuerdo finds the strength to come out and rebuild a relationship with her mom with a little help and inspiration from New York’s radical dance party Bubble_T.

USA202013 minEnglishToronto PremiereDance, Descriptive Captions, Documentary, Open Captions

Rated PG

Paving their own paths towards freedom and independence, Turf Nation follows the street dancers who perform on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains in Oakland as they navigate their interpersonal relationships, the system, and their burgeoning dance influence. 

Canada202022 minEnglishDocumentary, Family, Open Captions

Rated PG

Friend, immigration attorney, father, brother and ultimately a humanist, this inspiring documentary sheds light on the ways El-Farouk Khaki has dedicated himself to creating a world of wellness and oneness.

Directors Bio

Jinung Chung

Jinung Chung is the Producer at JbyJ, a team of award-winning documentary artists based in Toronto doing their part to make our world a more inclusive place for all. Chung makes his directorial debut with Accidental Activist.

Germany, Poland201984 minPolish, Vietnamese with English subtitlesDrama, Family, Family-friendly, Open Captions, Women Filmmakers

What does a hot bowl of lovingly prepared soup remind you of? The taste of home? The warm embrace of a loved one? For Long, a widower and cook at a Vietnamese restaurant in Warsaw, his famous pho is his pride, and his grade-school daughter Mia is his joy. But their world changes when the restaurant is sold, forcing Long to learn to make sushi. Meanwhile, Mia is frustrated by her father's caring but old-fashioned ways, while fearing he is moving on from the memory of her late mother.

Japan-born, Polish-educated director Mariko Bobrik’s first feature tells a tender and bittersweet look at an intergenerational immigrant family with a confidently light touch from (perhaps) an unexpected Eastern European source. While Poland is their home, Long and Mia both must navigate what the idea of home means for them when dealing with change, while finding a better understanding of each other.

– Aram Siu Wai Collier

Afghanistan, Canada202040 minPersian with English SubtitlesCanadian PremiereDocumentary, Family-friendly, Open Captions

Students at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music gather for the start of the school day. They laugh, practice, and take tests while preparing for a concert celebrating 100 years of Afghanistan's independence. Ranging from five-year-olds to young adults, some are middle-class kids and others are orphans, and they come from Afghanistan's many ethnic groups. Glimpses of the dangerous realities of their world outside school are a reminder that children are often on the front lines of crises. But I Do My Work is also a reminder that children's spirits are at the forefront of change.

As with his first feature Mina Walking (Reel Asian 2015 Official Selection), Yosef Baraki documents contemporary Kabul life through the eyes of young people. Ardently observational and shot with only one camera and one mic (the maximum allowed), Baraki provides a vessel to experience the vital sounds and rhythms of the students' routines.

– Aram Siu Wai Collier