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.
This presentation has no captions.
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.
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 Dosanjh
Neesha Dosanjh was born a Libra in Punjab, India. At the age of five she moved with her family to Toronto, where she completed an undergraduate degree in media arts and founded SamiYoni, a journal for lesbians of South Asian descent.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
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.
10 Nov. - 19 Nov.
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.
10 Nov. - 19 Nov.
On the pastoral North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, the end is near for Masao, an ill and elderly man with regrets to spare. As he looks back, his family history, dreams, and mythology swirl around him as ghosts he carries with him in his final days.
10 Nov. - 19 Nov.
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.
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
PG13
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.
This presentation has English subtitles.
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.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
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 no captions.
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.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
14A
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 closed captions.
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.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG13
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 no 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
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
G
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 closed captions.
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.
10 Nov, 2019
to 19 Nov, 2021
14A
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 no captions.
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.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG13
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.
10 Nov, 2021
to 19 Nov, 2021
PG
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 no captions.
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
PG13
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from Asia and the Asian diaspora. Works include films and videos by artists in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world. As Canada’s largest Asian film festival, Reel Asian provides a public forum for Asian media artists and their work, and fuels the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
(416) 703 – 9333
info@reelasian.com
Charitable number: 870021383RR0001
