This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
WEE ASIAN
This film also screens as part of the Let’s do the Time Warp Again! Shorts Presentation
Germany202413 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online
Sam, a deviant artist and proud flower person, is spending one last day in a flower spa with his mother before his final performance act.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is fully captioned in closed captions (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Ariel Victor Arthanto
Ariel Victor Arthanto is an Indonesian-born animation filmmaker and illustrator based in Berlin, crafting vibrant 2D worlds that mix playful compositions, bold figures, and character-driven storytelling across film and illustration.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
This film also screens as part of the Let’s do the Time Warp Again! Shorts Presentation
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallPG
Canada20258 minEnglish2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Queer, Romance
After Bug’s ex-girlfriend June calls to pick up her stuff from their apartment, he makes his best attempt to win her back.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is fully captioned in closed captions (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Silverfish Pictures
Silverfish Pictures, a 13-member stop-motion studio, thrives on pushing the boundaries of stop-motion filmmaking and creating fun and thoughtful stories.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
This film also screens as part of the Unquenchable Shorts Presentation
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallPG
Canada20254 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, Experimental, Family-friendly
The director’s 81-year-old father — an ever-determined and resourceful gardener — attempts to grow the Sri Lankan winged bean in his suburban backyard garden in Markham, Ont.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Champika Fernando
Champika Fernando is a Sri Lankan Canadian filmmaker whose work explores magic in the everyday. They are especially interested in telling deeply personal stories through approaches that are technically accessible.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallGA
Canada20254 minEnglishAvailable Online, Environment, Experimental, Sports
Hand-processed, solarized, tinted, and toned, Serene Hues is a meditative journey into the tranquility and vibrant beauty of nature.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Rita Tse
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rita Tse is an experimental filmmaker based in Toronto, with specific interests in gender, ethnicity, and memory. Her latest works have mainly explored artisanal manipulation techniques on celluloid.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallGA
USA20254 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women
Tonight, dinner starts with a slice of tomato.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Huayi Yi
Huayi Yu is a BFA4 character animation student at CalArts. She makes still and moving images inspired by shapes that seem to tell stories, blending playful animation transitions with subtly humorous characters.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallGA
Japan202512 minJapanese with English subtitlesAnimation, Available Online, Drama, Family-friendly
At a midnight highway rest area, weary travellers quietly relax their minds.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Saki Muramoto
Born in Japan, Saki Muramoto graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts’ Graduate School of Film and New Media, in the animation department, in 2013. She now works as a freelance animation director and illustrator.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallGA
Canada, Germany, Japan, USA2024–202545 minVarious languages with English SubtitlesAvailable Online
With free drop-in programming for all ages and all generations to come together, Wee Asian returns with free relaxed screenings accompanied by storytelling, arts activities, and play!
From sharing meals to counting planes and planting beans, these films lead us through stories of unexpected vulnerability, resilience, and companionship.
For: budding gardeners; critters and crawlers; day — and night — dreamers; those ready to make art and then take a nap
*Directors in attendance starred.
Canada20258 minEnglish2slgbtq+, Animation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Queer, Romance
After Bug’s ex-girlfriend June calls to pick up her stuff from their apartment, he makes his best attempt to win her back.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is fully captioned in closed captions (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Silverfish Pictures
Silverfish Pictures, a 13-member stop-motion studio, thrives on pushing the boundaries of stop-motion filmmaking and creating fun and thoughtful stories.
Canada20254 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Directed By Women, Documentary, Experimental, Family-friendly
The director’s 81-year-old father — an ever-determined and resourceful gardener — attempts to grow the Sri Lankan winged bean in his suburban backyard garden in Markham, Ont.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Champika Fernando
Champika Fernando is a Sri Lankan Canadian filmmaker whose work explores magic in the everyday. They are especially interested in telling deeply personal stories through approaches that are technically accessible.
Germany202413 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Non-binary, Queer, Transgender
Sam, a deviant artist and proud flower person, is spending one last day in a flower spa with his mother before his final performance act.
IN PERSON: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is fully captioned in closed captions (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
Ariel Victor Arthanto
Ariel Victor Arthanto is an Indonesian-born animation filmmaker and illustrator based in Berlin, crafting vibrant 2D worlds that mix playful compositions, bold figures, and character-driven storytelling across film and illustration.
Canada20254 minEnglishAvailable Online, Environment, Experimental, Sports
Hand-processed, solarized, tinted, and toned, Serene Hues is a meditative journey into the tranquility and vibrant beauty of nature.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated).
*Rita Tse
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rita Tse is an experimental filmmaker based in Toronto, with specific interests in gender, ethnicity, and memory. Her latest works have mainly explored artisanal manipulation techniques on celluloid.
USA20254 minEnglishAnimation, Available Online, Comedy, Directed By Women
Tonight, dinner starts with a slice of tomato.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Huayi Yi
Huayi Yu is a BFA4 character animation student at CalArts. She makes still and moving images inspired by shapes that seem to tell stories, blending playful animation transitions with subtly humorous characters.
Japan202512 minJapanese with English subtitlesAnimation, Available Online, Drama, Family-friendly
At a midnight highway rest area, weary travellers quietly relax their minds.
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Saki Muramoto
Born in Japan, Saki Muramoto graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts’ Graduate School of Film and New Media, in the animation department, in 2013. She now works as a freelance animation director and illustrator.
15 Nov, 2025 10:00 am
Innis Town HallRelaxed Screenings take place
at 10AM and 1PM.
Wee Asian is free and drop-in.
No tickets required!
This programme is presented with a mix of open captions, and English subtitles.
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
From 11AM to 3:30PM, participate in a range of playful and expressive arts activities on a drop-in basis!
Courtesy of Annick Press and Penguin Random House, disocver a new world or meet your next favourite author from this seleciton of books! The Wee Asian Mini-Book Nook will be open for visitors at the TIFF Atrium from Fri, Nov 7 to Sun, Nov 9, and take place in Innis Town Hall for Wee Asian on Sat, Nov 15.
11AM–3:30PM Drop-In
Encapsulate your time at Wee Asian at the live-portrait booth with local artist Rebecca Hong! Portraits limited per session so make sure to sign-up for a spot on the day-of.
11AM–12:30PM, 1:30–3PM
Rebecca Hong
Rebecca Hong is part creative, part momo and part corporate worker. She loves doodling cute things.
Ahead of the live reading of RA!TA!MA!CUE! by Howie Shia at 2:30PM, make your own hand drum with beans and plates! Let's make some noise!
11AM–2:30PM Drop-In
Enter the ecosystem of Muse by festival creative artist Janet Mac! Draw in your own critters and/or add your own caption into the environments that bring you joy and peace.
11AM–3:30PM Drop-In
Janet Mac
Janet Mac is a Chinese-Canadian 3D illustrator and animator based in Tkaronto. Her personal art practice explores the joy, beauty and silliness in the small details of everyday life.
Come and meet the team of Embrace Learning, a community supporter at Wee Asian, to hear about the range of services they provide!
11AM–3:30PM Drop-In
Embrace Learning and Development Centre
Embrace Learning and Development Centre: Embrace, engage, empower.
ABA therapy and personalized support for growth, independence and connection.
March and beat to your own drum in the cinema with author Howie Shia during the live reading of his just released children’s book RA! TA! MA! CUE!
A unique picture book adventure for music lovers of all ages about how to never be quiet, never give up, and never underestimate the power of percussion.
Months have passed since the Grown-Ups were taken captive, forced to brush the teeth and scratch the backs of the Growlies. One day the children make a decision: Ratamacue! It means “no more waiting.” It means it’s time for a rescue mission! They set off on a wild and uncertain journey, forming a drumline to overcome the many obstacles in their way. In the end, the Growlies’ meanness is no match for the children’s magic: their collective music.
2:30PM
Howie Shia
Howie Shia is an illustrator, writer, and animation director. He has worked with Disney, Netflix, and the National Film Board of Canada. He lives in Toronto, Canada, with his most excellent wife, two kindly children, too many books, and not enough drums.
Check out this year’s volume of DIY creative activities from the comfort of your home on our YouTube channel!
Ever had questions you'd like to ask your sibling, parents, or another family member? NIHAL'S GARDEN director Champika Fernando offers some tips and tricks on how to interview your family.
Champika Fernando
Champika Fernando is a Sri Lankan Canadian filmmaker whose work explores magic in the everyday. They are especially interested in telling deeply personal stories through approaches that are technically accessible.
Curious to learn how festival creative artist Janet Mac captured sunprints for her artwork? You can create your own at home with some common ingredients and lots of window-time.
Janet Mac
Janet Mac is a Chinese-Canadian 3D illustrator and animator based in Tkaronto. Her personal art practice explores the joy, beauty and silliness in the small details of everyday life.
Kana, a struggling visual artist, returns to Japan after years away in Vancouver to attend her beloved grandmother’s funeral. The familiar cadence of family dynamics endure and yet, everything feels different. While in Tokyo, Kana discovers her grandfather had a love of his life outside of his arranged marriage to her grandmother. Meanwhile, Kana reluctantly confronts her own messy romantic past with old flame Hiro to see if the embers of their love still flicker.
Reuniting with the cast of her highly acclaimed 2017 festival hit, Village Rockstars, Rima Das returns with a standalone sequel centering Dhunu, now a teenager, who lives in a small village in Assam, India, and dreams of becoming a musician. While Dhunu and her friends navigate the vulnerable transition between childhood and adulthood, weighing new responsibilities and priorities, the elders around them face harsher circumstances brought on by predatory land developers and climate change, affecting their livelihoods and sense of community.
This workshop spotlights the Sari-Sari Xchange Assetory, a storytelling-led virtual asset library prototype created with and for the Asian diaspora. Participants will be asked to bring an object with a personal meaning, which they will learn how to scan and create a 3D reproduction of. They will also be able to share what memories, stories, and histories the object holds and contribute to the SSX Assetory if they wish.
India202472 minHindi, KurukhCanadian PremiereAvailable Online
Nehma belongs to the Oraon tribe and lives with her children on the outskirts of Jharkhand, India. Embroiled in a custody battle and a messy divorce, she secures a job at an AI data-labelling centre under the supervision of a stern manager. As we watch her navigate the steep learning curve of her new job and quickly confront the stark realities of biased data, the distortions in the very systems designed to help us become impossible to ignore.
In this remarkably fresh and timely narrative, director Aranya Sahay invites us to consider the volume of marginalized labour and detailed proficiency required to uphold the current growth of AI and our reliance on it. Serving as a cautionary reminder that technology may never replace human wisdom and indigenous knowledge systems, Humans in the Loop is as bold as it is urgent in its depiction of the cracks in widely held perceptions of progress and modernity.
– Mariam Zaidi
Sonal Madhushankar
Ridhima Singh
Gita Guha
OFFICIAL SELECTION
MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, 2024
International Film Festival of Kerala, 2024
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, 2025
AWARDS
Grand Jury Prize, Best Feature, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, 2025
Aranya Sahay
Aranya Sahay is an Indian filmmaker based out of Mumbai. He studied direction at the Film and Television Institute of India and went on to assist Imtiaz Ali and Patrick Graham as an associate director and director’s assistant. Sahay has directed five short films, of which two have screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival, SiGNS Film Festival and Jaffna International Cinema Festival.
12 Nov, 2025 7:30 pm
Innis Town HallPG
Ticketing is required for the in-cinema presentation of this title, but tickets are free. Limit 2 tickets. This event will have open seating – sit anywhere in the venue that isn’t specifically reserved.
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON & ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Join us for a virtual Q&A immediately after the screening with director Aranya Sahay and Anita Li, moderated by Mariam Zaidi.
Anita Li
Publisher & CEO
Anita Li is publisher and CEO of The Green Line, an award-winning news outlet in Toronto that delivers community-driven solutions journalism. She also recently served as Journalism Innovator-in-Residence at Toronto Metropolitan University. With over two decades of industry experience across North America, Anita is recognized for her expertise in community-driven journalism, news entrepreneurship and media innovation.
This panel will explore how racialized and independent creators bring their films to communities and audiences.
Reuniting with the cast of her highly acclaimed 2017 festival hit, Village Rockstars, Rima Das returns with a standalone sequel centering Dhunu, now a teenager, who lives in a small village in Assam, India, and dreams of becoming a musician. While Dhunu and her friends navigate the vulnerable transition between childhood and adulthood, weighing new responsibilities and priorities, the elders around them face harsher circumstances brought on by predatory land developers and climate change, affecting their livelihoods and sense of community.
We each bring our own style to the table — whether that's upholding tradition or breaking it, following the rules or bending them. These films explore familial complexity through play, transformation, agency, and hope.
USA202598 minEnglish, Vietnamese with English subtitlesCanadian PremiereDocumentary, First Feature
How far would you go to uncover a family history that has been purposefully buried? What are the consequences of resurfacing these stories to fulfil your own?
In an extremely candid documentary, filmmaker Tony Nguyen embarks on a scrappy investigation to reconnect to his father, who was estranged from his family due to the Vietnam War. Challenging family members who don’t want to disturb the dust, Nguyen is determined to find the potential truth, and the value of it. Nguyen’s film is a rollercoaster ride of DIY detective work to uncover family secrets, ultimately questioning the role and power of a filmmaker.
On the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, YEAR OF THE CAT offers a sincere look at piecing together a family story post war, offering a personal reflection of how displacement and trauma gets passed down to a generation who are now parents.
– Khanh Tudo
Tony Nguyen
Tony Nguyen is an Oakland, Calif.-based filmmaker whose work explores the Vietnamese refugee experience (Enforcing the Silence, Giap’s Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory) and the overlooked stories of individuals and communities that make up the fabric of the town (Fresh Frozen, I See Me).
11 Nov, 2025 7:30 pm
Innis Town HallPG
Ticketing is required for the in-cinema presentation of this title, but tickets are free. Limit 2 tickets. This event will have open seating – sit anywhere in the venue that isn’t specifically reserved.
This film is available online from Nov 10–19, 2025
CONTENT ADVISORY
Discussions of sexual violence
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue in closed captions (no sound cues indicated).
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Tony Nguyen moderated by Vinh Nguyen.
Vinh Nguyen
Moderator
Vinh Nguyen is a writer and educator. He is the author of The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse. His film criticism can be found in Current (The Criterion Collection), MUBI Notebook, and Ricepaper Magazine. In 2025, he curated “Flights: Vietnam on Film” for TIFF Cinematheque.
Kana, a struggling visual artist, returns to Japan after years away in Vancouver to attend her beloved grandmother’s funeral. The familiar cadence of family dynamics endure and yet, everything feels different. While in Tokyo, Kana discovers her grandfather had a love of his life outside of his arranged marriage to her grandmother. Meanwhile, Kana reluctantly confronts her own messy romantic past with old flame Hiro to see if the embers of their love still flicker.
The discussion will explore how festivals can better support accessibility — from accommodating filmmakers with disabilities and reaching diverse audiences, to guiding creators on inclusive practices like budgeting for captioning.
This immersive workshop will introduce the practice of traditional tai chi. Participants will experience its calm, flowing movements under the guidance of Mr. Zuo, a sixth-generation successor of traditional Yang-style tai chi.
Canada202599 minEnglish, KoreanDirected By Women, Documentary
In There Are No Words, award-winning filmmaker Min Sook Lee searches for stories of her mother, Song Ji Lee, who died by suicide when Lee was just 12 years old. Through an intimate archive, Lee confronts public, private, and imagined histories in the wake of trauma while negotiating her relationship with her aging father, who met her mother while serving in the Korean Counterintelligence Corps under dictator Park Chung Hee in 1960s Korea. Despite being an unreliable narrator, Lee’s father is her last direct tie to her mother.
Lee turns the camera on herself to trace her experiences from Toronto to her birthplace in South Korea's Hwasun County and back, documenting tender efforts to speak her mother into collective memory. There Are No Words is a brave meditation on grief, loss, memory, and longing, reminding us that even when language fails us, there is still so much to say.
– Jasmine Gui
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Toronto International Film Festival, 2025
Min Sook Lee
Min Sook Lee is an award-winning director with acclaimed documentaries including Migrant Dreams (2016) and The Real Inglorious Bastards (2012). As an associate professor at OCAD University, Lee’s area of research and practice focuses on the intersections of art and social change in labour, border politics, migration, and social justice movements.
13 Nov, 2025 7:30 pm
Innis Town HallAA
Ticketing is required for the in-cinema presentation of this title, but tickets are free. Limit 2 tickets. This event will have open seating – sit anywhere in the venue that isn’t specifically reserved.
CONTENT ADVISORY
suicide, depictions of mental illness, self-harm, trauma, death/dying, discussions of sexual and gendered violence
IN PERSON ACCESSIBILITY
This film is scheduled to be presented fully captioned (all dialogue subtitled + sound cues indicated). This screening will have a Held Space on-site on the third floor. A Held Space is a calm setting hosted by HELD Agency where you can decompress. This space has a designated Active Listener present, who uses a Peer-Based approach to support you through discussing, distracting, and/or de-escalating – whatever you choose and need in the moment. The Active Listener will be available for attendees throughout this event until 10:30pm.
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
York University’s Korean Office for Research and Education with funds from the Academy of Korean Studies, and the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Korea
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Min Sook Lee moderated by Hoa Nguyen.
Hoa Nguyen
Moderator
Hoa Nguyen is a poet and educator teaching writing and poetics at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her books include Red Juice, the Griffin Prize-nominated Violet Energy Ingots, and A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure, a finalist for the National Book Award and the General Governor’s Literary Award.
For the 29th edition of Reel Asian, we’ve teamed up with a group of amazing local Toronto artists to create a collection of limited handmade merch, each piece designed with care, creativity, and a whole lot of love for our community. From one-of-a-kind trinkets to thoughtfully crafted keepsakes, these custom pieces celebrate the artistry and collaboration that make Reel Asian so special.
Six emerging filmmakers embarked on a months-long filmmaking workshop this past summer. We’re proud to present their world premieres here in the 14th edition of Reel Asian’s filmmaking program.
Finch and Midland, an intersection in Scarborough, is like many others in the suburbs of Canada's largest city. But every intersection has a story to tell.
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
