This film is a part of the Encounters shorts programme.
Canada202220:00English and Urdu with English subtitlesComedy, Drama, Family, Sci-fi
When Imran suddenly loses his dad, an opportunity to travel back in time for an evening gives him a chance to face him again.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Kashif Pasta
Kashif Pasta is an award-winning director, writer, and producer using film and storytelling to tell character-driven stories centered on South Asian and Muslims with a sense of joy and wonder.
This film is a part of the Encounters shorts programme.
Canada, South Korea202279 minutesKorean, Turkish, German, Polish, Khmer, Chinese, French, Yoruba with English SubtitlesCanadian PremiereSci-fi
In 1993, UFOs suddenly appeared over key cities around the world. The huge structures remained in the sky, stationary, silent, and unknown. Twenty-nine years later, with neither the origins nor the intentions of their arrival deciphered, humanity succumbs to speculations that aliens are walking among us.
Allegorical, humanistic, and poetic, Unidentified reflects on mankind's primordial need to seek for answers. Through disparate, cohesive vignettes, Jude Chun's existential debut uses fundamental science-fiction concepts to examine our inner selves, as only then may we know the things that bind or alienate us from one another. Combining multi-genre elements such as comedy, mystery, and even musical theatre to delve into the depths of soulful connection and the universal theme of social identity, the film also subtly comments on the repercussions of a nation’s traumatic past—and the vision of a transformative future.
Sponsor: Korean Consulate
Sun Jang
Hyoin Kim
Hohyeon Jeon
OFFICIAL SELECTION
FantasticFest, 2022
BendFilm Festival, 2022
Jude Chun
Jude Chun is a Korean Canadian director currently working in Seoul. Unidentified is his first feature film. His 2016 short film The Time Agent won multiple awards at international film festivals, and has been optioned for feature development by Black Label Media.
The screening for Unidentified will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3. This feature film will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – Nov 20.
RATED PG
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with director Jude Chun.
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.
Taking a wide scope, Canadian documentary filmmaker Karen Cho’s Big Fight in Little Chinatown traverses Chinatowns in New York City, Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, and San Francisco, shining a light on the twin legacies of displacement and resistance that characterize these neighbourhoods.
This year’s Reel Ideas Conference gathers industry professionals, filmmakers, and performers to reflect on the specificity in their works, representing their own nuances along with their communities' lived experiences.
Japan202170 minJapanese with English subtitlesComedy, Sci-fi
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.
A lean, DIY sci-fi written and performed by members of the Kyoto-based Europe Kikaku theatre group, the film uses its talents, resources, and smarts to their fullest potential, with long takes, simple locations, and finely tuned performances. But this is no modest project. It is equal parts an ambitious, mind-bending, and joyous ride of twists and turns through the (very near) future.
-Aram Siu Wai Collier
Kazunari Tosa
Riko Fujitani
Gota Ishid
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, 2021
Fantasia Film Festival, 2021
Sitges Film Festival, 2021
Junta Yamaguchi
Born in 1987 in Osaka, Junta Yamaguchi joined Europe Kikaku in 2005. He has worked as a director for short films, dramas, commercials, and documentaries. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is his first feature film.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
This presentation has English subtitles.
Due to popular demand, we're screening ISLANDS once again, for free on the last night of our 25th anniversary festival at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema at 4PM ET.
Aman, a young aspiring writer, moved to Kuala Lumpur to follow his dreams, but all he has is his late father’s old car and nowhere to live. To make ends meet, he uses his room on wheels to illegally earn money through a driving-service app. This is how he meets Bella, a student from Penang.
Mi-yeon seems to be living the perfect life as a choirmaster and the wife of a successful man. In comparison, her sisters Hee-sook and Mi-ok seem to be miserable, making Mi-yeon frustrated. But in the shadow behind her perfect smile, Mi-yeon’s also suffering from the three sisters’ shared childhood trauma that they’ve yet to come to terms with.
Canada, Vietnam202180 minEnglish and various languages with English SubtitlesAnimation, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Sci-fi, Women Filmmakers
Carefully set and intentionally crafted, the site-specificity of these short films recognize the role of place as a character integral to offering layered understandings of self, community, and purpose.
Canada202113 minTamil with English subtitlesToronto PremiereDrama, Experimental, Women Filmmakers
Trina encounters another version of herself as a paramilitary fighter for the Tamil Tigers and begins to question the ways in which we rebel.
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.
Maya Bastian
Maya Bastian is an award-winning filmmaker and writer with roots in conflict journalism. She specializes in exploring untold stories, integrating the voices of each unique community through active engagement, research, and open dialogue.
Canada20214 minEnglishCanadian PremiereDocumentary, Women Filmmakers
Two Filipino Canadians candidly reflect on how separating from their mothers during immigration has affected their mental health and family cohesion.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Thea Loo
Thea Loo is a producer and director from Vancouver. She is currently producing To Make Ends Meat 結束肉, a documentary project premiering this fall at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival.
Canada202110 minEnglish, Mandarin, Japanese with English subtitlesLGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Sci-fi, Women Filmmakers
In the year 2090, Sam tries to bring her lover back to life.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Lovina Yavari, Lance Fernandes
Lovina Yavari is a Canadian actor, director, artist, fashion designer, and internationally published model in Toronto. She can be seen in DC’s Shazam, Polar, and The Boys.
Lance Fernandes, a graduate of the Toronto Film School, is a commercial director and visual-effects artist.
Canada202011 minNo dialogueAnimation, Family, Reel Asian Award Winner, Women Filmmakers
Oscillating between the past and the present, a woman sits in a hospital room, alone with her dying father.
Jordan Canning, Howie Shia
Jordan Canning, a graduate of the Directors’ Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, has made more than a dozen short films.
Howie Shia is an illustrator, animator, writer, and director whose work combines a love for ancient mythologies with a fascination for modern urban environments.
Canada202110 minNo dialogueToronto PremiereAnimation, Women Filmmakers
A disquieting fable with dark humour, a child tries to gain her father's affection, but the family dog proves to be a fierce rival.
This presentation has no captions and no dialogue.
Alisi Telengut
Alisi Telengut is a Canadian artist of Mongolian descent. She creates animation frame by frame under the camera, with painting as the medium, to generate movement and explore handmade and painterly visuals for her films.
Canada20215 minEnglish, Cantonese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDocumentary, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Reel Asian Award Winner, Women Filmmakers
Highlighting the rich tenacity of Toronto’s East Chinatown community, this film explores the area’s people, sidewalks, and businesses, giving voice to their experiences of community, identity, anxieties, and hopes for the future.
This presentation has English subtitles.
This presentation has open captions.
Amanda Ann-Min Wong
Amanda Ann-Min Wong (she/they) is a Toronto-based film director, writer, sound artist, and musician exploring themes of loss, nostalgia, and memory, as well as finding purpose and community through the arts.
Canada20205 minEnglish, Cantonese with English subtitlesDocumentary, Women Filmmakers
Filmmaker Christine Wu wayfinds her shifting relationship to Hong Kong, as someone who is now observing the region from afar.
This presentation has closed captions.
Christine Wu
Christine Wu is a Hong Kong-born filmmaker and cultural worker living on the territories of the Williams Treaties First Nations (Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ont.). She creates from a place of self-compassion, reflecting an ongoing process of self-education about systemic injustice and healing.
Vietnam202022 minVietnamese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDrama, Sci-fi
On a quest to rebuild home, an alien encounters a reverent worshipper, a cynical construction worker, and a mysterious medium, observing their varying ideas of home.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Ostin Fam
Born and raised in Hanoi, Ostin Fam is a member of Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, the first and largest collective of independent filmmakers in New York, and a 2017 recipient of Sony Pictures’ IFP Marcie Bloom Fellowship in Film.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
This panel is specifically built for filmmakers working in children’s programming. Join this informative discussion with CBC to learn how to break into and develop a career in the field in a way that can create a better future for kids.
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.
This panel is specifically built for filmmakers working in children’s programming. Join this informative discussion with CBC to learn how to break into and develop a career in the field in a way that can create a better future for kids.
Canada, Malaysia, USA202182 minEnglish and various languages with English subtitlesComedy, Dance, Documentary, Drama, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Sci-fi, Women Filmmakers
Amid the abundance of narratives revolving around kin, this presentation of shorts brings refreshing and surprising takes into the un/intentional family-centric storytelling landscape, offering room for possibilities and reimaginings.
Malaysia202110 minTeochew, Mandarin with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDrama, Family, Women Filmmakers
While offering a proper funeral to a severed bird’s head, Ah Ger is unexpectedly visited by the ghost of her grandmother, who urges her to help find and care for her egg.
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 topic of domestic aggression.
Audrie Yeo
Audrie Yeo is a Malaysian Chinese filmmaker of Teochew descent who graduated from the National Academy of Arts Culture and Heritage with a major in film and video directing.
USA202111 minEnglish, Tagalog with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDocumentary, Family, Women Filmmakers
76-year-old Arturo Madrid reminisces on the hardships, wonders, and realities of migrating from the Philippines to the United States in this tender and poetic documentary.
This presentation has closed captions.
Keone Madrid, Mari Madrid
Keone and Mari Madrid take an approach to utilizing human movement in visual and emotional ways through their inventive dance vocabulary.
Canada202113 minEnglish, Chinese with English subtitles World PremiereDrama, Family, Reel Asian Award Winner, Women Filmmakers
Struggling with finding her artistic voice, Jessie is an aspiring photographer and art student trying to balance her role as a daughter in her larger family.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Alice Charlie Liu
Alice Charlie Liu is a photographer, designer, and director based in Toronto and New York City. She is an alumni of TIFF Next Wave, Telluride Film Festival’s Student Symposium, and a Tribeca Film Institute Film Fellow.
Canada20203 minEnglishFamily
An endearing portrait of director Ian Bawa’s father as he attempts to give life and marital advice to his bodybuilding and image-obsessed son in this hybrid semi-autobiographical short.
This presentation has no captions.
Ian Bawa
Ian Bawa is a filmmaker from Winnipeg. Bawa is currently adapting Strong Son into a feature film, set to shoot in 2022.
Canada202114 minEnglish, Punjabi with English subtitlesFamily, Sci-fi, Women Filmmakers
When a highly respectable family moves into the neighborhood, Kira grows suspicious of her new neighbors' seemingly flawless daughter.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Jasleen Kaur
Jasleen Kaur is an award-winning filmmaker based in Vancouver, best known for directing Maple and producing the Blumhouse film, Pharma Bro, chronicling the rise and fall of the infamous pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli.
Canada20216 minEnglish, Tagalog with English subtitlesCanada PremiereComedy, Family
Independence Day takes a shallow-end dive in presenting what a picnic might look like within the Filipinx diasporic experience in North America.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Tier Zero is a set of individuals who collectively agree on finding synergies between clients, ourselves, and talent. Expect fun, loose banter, and intention.
USA202114 minEnglish, Mandarin with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDrama, Women Filmmakers
When Frances and her children come upon a seemingly abandoned little girl, their attempts to help have unforeseen consequences.
This presentation has closed captions.
Courtney Loo, David Karp
Courtney Loo and David Karp are a directing duo based in New York. They co-founded Thrice Cooked Media, a music-management and film-production company, representing Pink Sweat$ and KIRBY.
Canada, USA202111 minEnglishComedy, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
All cards are on the table when Noor brings Luz home for the first time on the family's annual game night.
This presentation has closed captions.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Fawzia Mirza
Fawzia Mirza is a queer, South Asian, Muslim (she/they) writer and director. Her feature Me, My Mom & Sharmila, inspired by her one-woman play, has been supported by Telefilm Canada and will enter production in 2022.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
Community Supporter
Mi-yeon seems to be living the perfect life as a choirmaster and the wife of a successful man. In comparison, her sisters Hee-sook and Mi-ok seem to be miserable, making Mi-yeon frustrated. But in the shadow behind her perfect smile, Mi-yeon’s also suffering from the three sisters’ shared childhood trauma that they’ve yet to come to terms with.
First programmed as part of last year’s festival, this panel continues to reckon with the function of art, festival, and gallery spaces in a time of crisis.
Canada202110 minEnglish, Mandarin, Japanese with English subtitlesLGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Sci-fi, Women Filmmakers
In the year 2090, Sam tries to bring her lover back to life.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Lovina Yavari, Lance Fernandes
Lovina Yavari is a Canadian actor, director, artist, fashion designer, and internationally published model in Toronto. She can be seen in DC’s Shazam, Polar, and The Boys.
Lance Fernandes, a graduate of the Toronto Film School, is a commercial director and visual-effects artist.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
This film is part of the Ecologies of Place shorts programme
PG13
Vietnam202022 minVietnamese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDrama, Sci-fi
On a quest to rebuild home, an alien encounters a reverent worshipper, a cynical construction worker, and a mysterious medium, observing their varying ideas of home.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Ostin Fam
Born and raised in Hanoi, Ostin Fam is a member of Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, the first and largest collective of independent filmmakers in New York, and a 2017 recipient of Sony Pictures’ IFP Marcie Bloom Fellowship in Film.
Canada202114 minEnglish, Punjabi with English subtitlesFamily, Sci-fi, Women Filmmakers
When a highly respectable family moves into the neighborhood, Kira grows suspicious of her new neighbors' seemingly flawless daughter.
This presentation has English subtitles.
Jasleen Kaur
Jasleen Kaur is an award-winning filmmaker based in Vancouver, best known for directing Maple and producing the Blumhouse film, Pharma Bro, chronicling the rise and fall of the infamous pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli.
10 Nov, 2021 10:00 am
to 19 Nov, 2021 11:59 pm
This film is a part of the familycore shorts programme
PG-13
Canada, China, South Korea, USA202055 minutesEnglish and various languages with English SubtitlesAction, Animation, Comedy, Dance, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Family, Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Reel Asian Award Winner, Sci-fi, Women Filmmakers
Abundant with hope, desire, and resiliency, all six of these films make a statement to queer histories, presents, and futures—in front of and behind the screen.
Canada2019 6 minEnglishAnimation, Experimental, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
Rated PG
With pulsating neon-light animation, Reviving the Roost is about community complexity and longing—an elegy to a lost space as much as it is director Vivek Shraya’s ode to a closed popular Edmonton gay bar.
Vivek Shraya
Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, and film. She is also the founder of the publishing imprint VS. Books.
USA2019 3 minEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesInternational Premiere Drama, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers
Rated PG
Though brief and contained, Bind provides an extensive glimpse into the trans Asian diaspora when Jules is confronted by a surprise visit from their mother with their chest binder.
Hua Chai
Kate Chang
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Frameline, 2020
NewFilmmakers LA, 2020
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2020
Emory Chao Johnson
Emory Chao Johnson is a MFA film student at the University of California. They were a Trans Filmmaking Fellow on director Sam Feder’s Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen in 2018 and an intern on director Lisa Leeman’s Trans*Formed in 2019.
Canada20203 minEnglishDocumentary, Experimental, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
Rated PG-13
An unapologetic statement about queer joy, resistance, and resilience in the face of abuse, trauma, and transphobia.
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival, 2020
Social Justice Film Festival, 2020
Asian American International Film Festival, 2020
Jordana Valerie Allen-Shim
“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is my favorite movie. Fight me.” Jordana Valerie Allen-Shim is a Toronto-born, U.S.-raised filmmaker, dog mom, and aspiring graphic novelist passionate about empowering marginalized communities through art.
Canada20187 minEnglishAction, Comedy, Women Filmmakers
Rated PG-13
This action-comedy short features Sedina Fiati as Super Zee, a kickbutt queer Black superhero who swoops in to save her crush from the microaggressions at the office.
Sedina Fiati
Christina Song
Kevan Kase
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Outfest Fusion, 2020
Caribbean Tales International Film Festival, 2020
Women’s International Film & Arts Festival, 2019
Nathalie Younglai
TV writer and director, Trini Chinese provocateur, and founder of BIPOC TV & Film, Nathalie Younglai hauled her parents to the Daytime Emmys after being nominated for her writing on “Dino Dana.” She supports Black Lives Matter.
USA20199 minEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Experimental, Family, Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Reel Asian Award Winner, Sci-fi
Rated 14A
Filled with evocative imagery, this queer futuristic short follows Jia, who develops the ability to teleport when she dissociates and must learn how to control her powers.
Poppy Liu
Lea Cai
Vera Lam
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Blackstar Film Festival, 2020
Outfest Fusion, 2020
CAAMfest, 2020
LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2020
AWARD
National Film Board of Canada Best Canadian Short Film Award, Reel Asian 2020
Jess X. Snow
Jess X. Snow is a director, artist, poet and community arts educator creating queer Asian immigrant stories that transcend borders, binaries, and time. They are currently a guest on the unceded traditional land of the Lenape people (Lenapehoking/Brooklyn, NY).
South Korea202025 minKorean with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDance, Drama, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Open Captions, Reel Asian Award Winner
Rated 14A
CW: Transphobic comments
Shin-mi, a dancer, bravely faces forward with grace and style as she takes the physical examination at the Military Manpower Administration.
Choi Haejun
Kim Wookyum
Lim Hojun
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival, 2020
AWARDS
Change Connect Award, Reel Asian 2020
Sungbin Byun 변성빈
Born in 1991, Sungbin Byun studied film, TV & multimedia and eastern philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University. His films Horn (2014), The Chicken of Wuzuh (2015), and Hands and Wings (2018) have screened at festivals internationally.
12 Nov, 2020 10:00 am
to 19 Nov, 2020 11:59 pm
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
This panel considers how digital tools have been mobilized through varying methods to adapt, respond and address changing socio-cultural contexts, and engage with communities. This event is part of the Reel Ideas Symposium.
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.
Catch Sahar Te's KHAAREJ No. 3 this year at the festival, featuring a mixed media sound and text digital installation, and an artist talk.
USA20199 minEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Experimental, Family, Fantasy, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Reel Asian Award Winner, Sci-fi
Rated 14A
Filled with evocative imagery, this queer futuristic short follows Jia, who develops the ability to teleport when she dissociates and must learn how to control her powers.
Poppy Liu
Lea Cai
Vera Lam
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Blackstar Film Festival, 2020
Outfest Fusion, 2020
CAAMfest, 2020
LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2020
AWARD
National Film Board of Canada Best Canadian Short Film Award, Reel Asian 2020
Jess X. Snow
Jess X. Snow is a director, artist, poet and community arts educator creating queer Asian immigrant stories that transcend borders, binaries, and time. They are currently a guest on the unceded traditional land of the Lenape people (Lenapehoking/Brooklyn, NY).
12 Nov, 2020 10:00 am
to 19 Nov, 2020 11:59 pm
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
