Canada, Pakistan202189 minUrdu, English with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDocumentary, Reel Asian Award Winner, Women Filmmakers

In the electrifying lead-up to the multi-city Aurat March (Women’s March) in Pakistan, director Anam Abbas follows grassroots organizers as they navigate a deeply surveilled and violent environment to assert a growing, nation-wide feminist movement. Negotiating freedoms with fearful relatives and dodging constant scrutiny, activists move with unbreakable commitment to galvanizing their communities with a radical feminist agenda.

Using observational footage of heated organizing conversations and extensive coverage of the movement and its backlash across 11 cities, Abbas constructs a layered narrative, astutely tracing state suppression of women’s resistance in Pakistan to the damage caused by its colonial past. This Stained Dawn (Dagh Dagh Ujala), which borrows its title from a verse by revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz about the tainted dawn after a violent partition, is a powerful record of a turning point in Pakistan’s history, as one of the most urgent displays of large-scale feminist organizing gains remarkable momentum and promise.

- Mariam Zaidi

South Korea2021115 minKorean with English subtitlesDrama, Reel Asian Award Winner

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. On the day of their father’s birthday, the monstrous truth breaks free from its bubble, leading to turmoil.

Three Sisters is an emotional rollercoaster that samples contemporary Korean society. It critically questions how domestic violence, childhood trauma, and social standing are both seen and overlooked through the stories of the three unique characters. Moon So-ri, an award-winning actress and the film’s co-producer, plays Mi-yeon in a rare and strong women-led film with a cathartic ending.

- June Kim

Taiwan202045 minTaiwanese Mandarin with English subtitlesToronto PremiereDrama, Reel Asian Award Winner

In a society different from what we know, a hotel in Taipei welcomes suicidal people and assists them in committing the act by providing several methods that they can choose from. Over the course of one night, a receptionist starts to defy the rules and develops an unusual friendship with a hotel guest who can't make up her mind on whether she wants to live or die. 

Thoughtful and poetic, Taipei Suicide Story uses a few glimpses of grim dystopia to enforce transcendental and deeply human connections. The narrative explores the suffocating sensation of loneliness with a casual, empathetic and sweet approach, thus removing the social stigma and neutralizing the fleeting experiences between the two characters. KEFF's new film reflects on the mundanity of existence, the possibility of death or the opportunities of life, and the gift of choice—and the difference it makes.

- Roland Basmayor

USA202189 minEnglishDrama, Reel Asian Award Winner, Women Filmmakers

After being met with the destabilizing news of her parents’ divorce, Angie, a teenage, mixed-race Asian girl, reckons with her multiracial identity and sexual awakening in this quirky coming-of-age story. Her Asian-ness is called to question when her Chinese father begins dating a Chinese woman with a daughter who shares his culture and language. Angie’s feelings of inadequacy are met with her white-dominated surroundings in Galveston, Texas, fetishizing her mixed-race identity. 

Angie, an unpopular highschooler, secretly ignites a sexual relationship with Liam, an all-American popular high school boy. She questions her morality when she befriends Sheryl, Liam’s popular Instagram-influencer girlfriend. Inbetween Girl explores Angie’s journey of girlhood using a whimsical variety of animation and mixed-media to explore her teenage angst, looking at young love, race, desire and belonging. 

- Sarah Barzak

Singapore20203 min JapaneseAnimation, Women Filmmakers

Sentient and existential, Sushi begins to wonder if there’s more to life than serving himself out to consumers.

Accessibility

This presentation has English subtitles.

Directors Bio

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.

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.

Accessibility

This presentation has English subtitles.

Directors Bio

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).

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.

Accessibility

This presentation has English subtitles.

Directors Bio

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.

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.

Accessibility

This presentation has English subtitles.

Directors Bio

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.

USA20214 minEnglish, Tagalog with English subtitlesToronto PremiereComedy, Women Filmmakers

Looking to pick up something new? In this lesson, Kayla teaches you conversational phrases, common expressions, and much, much more in Tagalog.

Accessibility

This presentation has English subtitles.

Directors Bio

Kayla Abuda Galang

Kayla Abuda Galang is a second-ish-generation Filipino American making films rooted in nostalgia, everyday absurdity, and girlhood. She is based in Austin, Texas, with her partner and two cats.

Belgium, China202016 minMandarin with English subtitlesNorth American PremiereDocumentary, Women Filmmakers

Wistful and witty, director Viv Li succinctly recounts the nine days she spends in her hometown of Beijing after being abroad for 10 years.

Accessibility

This presentation has English subtitles.

Directors Bio

Viv Li

Viv Li is a Chinese filmmaker, writer, and comedian based in Berlin and Beijing. Before turning to film directing, she was an active standup comedian and performed around the U.K. and China.