See below for the Digital Tickets and Festival Passes. For more information, refer to our Box Office.
We're welcoming back online screenings to the 29th edition of Reel Asian! This year, our virtual lineup brings the festival experience to your home with features and shorts. Grab your popcorn and enjoy cinema on your terms with flexible digital passes or individual feature tickets!
See below for the Digital Tickets and Festival Passes. For more information, refer to our Box Office.
Individual Digital Features – $18Select titles are available for one-time online viewing including:
Festival VOD Pass - $75The Festival VOD Pass is your one-stop digital access pass! View all our available content online from November 10 thru November 23. Not valid for in-person screenings or live events.
Shorts VOD Pass - $35The Shorts Pass gives you unlimited VOD access to shorts titles online from November 10 thru November 23.
Wee Asian VOD Pass - FREEThe 2025 Wee Asian Pass gives you unlimited VOD access to Wee Asian digital offerings, all for free! Valid from November 10 thru November 23.
10 Nov, 2025
to 23 Nov, 2025
Online
Available Online
CREATURA is a multimedia cross-programming stream at the 28th Reel Asian Film Festival, spotlighting the strange, wild, and untamed — concepts historically used to marginalize. This session will explore how these concepts manifest through stories of endangered traditions and reimagined realities. The documentary The Last of the Sea Women provides a vivid portrayal of South Korean fisherwomen preserving an ancient practice amidst modern developments. Meanwhile, Universal Language, set in a reimagined Canada where Farsi and French are official languages, presents a surreal world where societal norms are upended and loneliness is a common experience. Both films vividly embody the spirit of CREATURA by pushing the boundaries of human experience and challenging conventional perspectives.
Saffron Maeve
Critic, Curator
Saffron Maeve is a Toronto-based critic and curator. Her writing has appeared in Film Comment, The Globe & Mail, Sight and Sound, MUBI Notebook, Reverse Shot, Cinema Scope, Hyperallergic, Toronto Star, and Screen Slate. She is the curator of CONTOURS at Paradise Theatre, a monthly series of films which thematize visual art. Saffron is an active member of the Toronto Film Critics Association and GALECA: the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, as well as a past guest speaker and moderator for TIFF, International Film Festival of Ottawa, Dave Barber Cinematheque, Wavelengths, and Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies.
Iris Ng
Cinematographer (THE LAST OF THE SEA WOMEN)
Iris is a cinematographer known for work that focuses on human rights, marginalised perspectives, and POV filmmaking. She has extensive experience in documentary films but has also been lensing films for contemporary artists, as well as shot scripted shorts, prime time TV, and digital series. Her most notable work includes Stories We Tell, Shirkers, and celebrated socially-critical feature documentaries such as Twice Colonized, One Of Ours, Subjects Of Desire, A Better Man, Migrant Dreams, and most recently Exclusion: Beyond The Silence, and The Last Of The Sea Women.
Ila Firouzabadi
Screenwriter (UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE)
Born in 1980 in Tehran and based in Montreal since 2012, Ila Firouzabadi is an interdisciplinary artist who focuses on ambiguous and sensitive forms through drawings and a combination sculpture and installation. Firouzabadi received a BA in graphic design in 2005 from Azad University of Art and Architecture in Tehran and graduated from École national des arts décoratifs de Strasbourg in 2009. She has exhibited her work around the world, notably at Keramikmuseum and the Artforum Kunstlerkreis Ortenau Gallery (Germany,2009), the Espace Apollonia (France, 2010), at the Theodore Deck museum (France, 2010), at OBORO (Quebec,2013), at MAI (Quebec,2015) and at Etemad gallery (Iran,2016). In Canada, Firouzabadi’s practice has expanded into moving images in two collaborative projects with director Matthew Rankin; an Esperanto-language docu-fiction project presently in production, Kongreso, and the fiction film of Universal Language (2024) which premiered at the 55th Directors Fortnight in Cannes.
20 Nov, 2024 4:30 pm
OnlineIt’s no secret that filmmaking requires grit, stamina, and a whole lot of determination. Reel Ideas celebrates the behind-the-scenes perseverance that drive creators to follow their instincts and shape their stories.
Fresh off its world premiere at TIFF, Amar Wala’s SHOOK serves as an ideal case study for filmmakers, particularly those transitioning from shorts to feature films. Set in Scarborough, Ont., the film captures the area's multicultural essence and reflects on identity, place, and personal growth through rich, site-specific details. This panel explores the craft of the film, the intricate score, and the writing process, capturing a slice of life that local audiences can resonate with. As a family story, SHOOK presents a narrative that showcases the beauty of everyday life, balancing complex personal narratives with broader cultural commentary. By examining Wala’s experience with Shook, we'll shed light on how an honest love letter to a city and its diverse communities can be crafted.
Join us for an exclusive Work-In-Progress presentation of SPACE CADET, a captivating animated film directed by Kid Koala. Work-In-Progress events at Reel Asian give audience members a chance to explore the development stages of a piece of work. In this session, we will hear insights from the creative team of SPACE CADET, including director Kid Koala, head of story and production designer Lillian Chan, and artistic director Corinne Merrell, who will guide us through the artistic process and illustrate how animation brings this heartfelt narrative to life.
Canada, Philippines200182 minutesEnglishDrama, Music
Amidst a mountain of food, jokes, prayers, joints, songs and Filipino Elvis impersonations, Lolo's Child questions, criticizes and celebrates the intricate underbelly of the Filipino-Canadian community. Reel Asian's Opening Night Film in 2002.
Romeo Candido is a CSA winner and proud Filipino Canadian story teller with experience in film, television, theatre, documentary and advertising. Recent credits include writing / directing a film for the NBA called SHORTY, directing on S29 of THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES, directing two episodes of the upcoming CIRCUIT BREAKERS for Apple TV and writing an episode of the hit comedy SON OF A CRITCH. He is currently the co-showrunner of S8 of popular dance series The Next Step for CBBC and YTV. His ten part musical series TOPLINE, which he serves as creator, writer, director and composer premiered to rave reviews on CBC Gem March 31 2022. His original musical PRISON DANCER will have its world premiere as a stage musical at the Citadel Theatre in spring of 2023.
This screening will be online from Nov 9 – 20. The ROMEO CANDIDO RETRO VOD PASS will give FREE access to
Rated PG
This screening is part of the Canadian Spotlight: Romeo Candido programme.
In this reflective documentary, director Quen Wong turns the lens toward the intimate and vulnerable in her own life as a trans woman in Singapore.
Set in the 1990s, South Korean immigrant and single mother So-young looks to make a fresh start in a West Coast Canadian suburb with her son Dong-hyun.
Canada2022103 minutesEnglish, SnslxcinCanadian PremiereDocumentary
When a man from the “extinct” Sinixt people in what’s called British Columbia’s Slocan Valley challenges his deportation to the United States, the question arises: How can his people be extinct when he is very much alive? Decorated filmmaker Ali Kazimi’s new documentary traces a decades-long fight by Sinixt elder Marilyn James to have her people’s existence recognized amid threats from colonial bureaucratic erasure, corporate interests, and land claims from other groups.
Told with the hallmarks of Kazimi’s style, Beyond Extinction involves a mixture of observational footage, contemporary interviews, oral histories, survival stories told by matriarchs, and personal as well as public archives, to tell a story that’s never told before. Shot over decades from the 1990s to our present day, the temporal trajectory of the film and its featured subjects gives us vital perspective on our collective place on this land and how we choose to fight for our legacies.
- Aram Siu Wai Collier
OFFICIAL SELECTION
DOXA Documentary Film Festival, 2022
Planet in Focus International Environment Film Festival, 2022
Ali Kazimi
Ali Kazimi is an India-born and -raised Governor General’s Award-winning filmmaker whose work deals with issues of race, history, and memory. He is a full professor in the Department of Cinema & Media Arts at York University, where he has also served as department chair. Kazimi was also Reel Asian’s 2021 Canadian Spotlight Artist.
12 Nov, 2022 2:30 pm
OnlineThe screening for Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4. This feature film will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – Nov 20.
RATED PG
Content Warning: Racism
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with director Ali Kazimi VIA ZOOM.
These films do not shy away from difficult and layered stories, distant memories, and buried feelings. Our characters ground, trace, and reconnect pathways toward recognizing the resiliency within oneself through their roots and relations to the places around them.
The story of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean American who was falsely convicted of a 1973 murder in San Francisco. After activists led a pan-Asian American movement to free him, he was finally released after 10 years in prison.
Tune into this beloved section online to access free programming for all ages that will spark joy, inspire creativity, and encourage wonder.
Canada20213 minutesEnglishDocumentary, Experimental, Women Filmmakers
A fleeting and poetic retrospect of a young woman who develops a chronic illness.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and closed English subtitles digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Shubhi Sahni
Shubhi Sahni is an Indian Canadian filmmaker based in Los Angeles and Toronto. She makes intimate films in the space between documentary and fiction. Sahni is an Annenberg Fellow at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
This film is part of the Muscle Memory shorts programme.
In a crucial feminist interrogation of inter-Korean politics and U.S. imperialism, Crossings follows international women activists attempting to cross the 38th parallel, demanding an end to the ongoing Korean War. This film is free and also available online.
These films do not shy away from difficult and layered stories, distant memories, and buried feelings. Our characters ground, trace, and reconnect pathways toward recognizing the resiliency within oneself through their roots and relations to the places around them.
Brothers Saud and Nadeem live in a working-class, predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in New Delhi, where they have made it their lives’ work to care for injured black kites falling from the polluted skies of the city.
Canada, USA202210 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesDrama, Family, Women Filmmakers
In the face of uncontrollable sorrow, Bo desperately suppresses a “grief flower” sprouting from his face before his big speech at his father’s funeral.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Wendy Xu
Wendy Xu is a rising Chinese Canadian filmmaker whose narrative recipes never fail to include just a pinch of absurdity and humour.
This film is part of the Muscle Memory shorts programme.
Hye-jeong leaves a protest group of closely knit families, mourning the victims of an industrial accident, to which she also lost her husband.
In this reflective documentary, director Quen Wong turns the lens toward the intimate and vulnerable in her own life as a trans woman in Singapore.
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.
Singapore202210 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitlesAnimation, Comedy, Women Filmmakers
Following three separate stories, four average Singaporeans encounter a sexual situation in the course of their day.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content warning: Self-harm, blood, sexist language and situations, abortion, strobing lights
Calleen Koh
Calleen Koh is BAFTA-nominated animated-film director and artist from Singapore. She loves to make people laugh but also be disturbed by her sexy, manic, animated films.
This film is part of the Muscle Memory shorts programme.
Festival favourite Midnight Snack returns for another bite! This time, 2.0 features six talented female directors who cook up tales full of intrigue and awareness, boldly confronting themes that are often left indigestible.
Join us for a deep-rooted dive into Uprooted: The Plantemic, a show about houseplants surviving the pandemic. We’ll explore the narrative of this CBC Gem short-form series, the development from concept art to animation, and contextualize the series not only in its time, but also in contemporary conversations, as storytelling methods evolve. In an era of remote working, what would my houseplants think of me? Do they root for me? Find out from the creative team behind Uprooted.
When reserved, late-bloomer Grace gets passed up for a major promotion at work, she tries to break out of her shell by pursuing a one-night stand at the club.
Canada20229 minutesEnglish and Urdu with English subtitlesDrama, Family
Sania must take her mother, Noor, for a doctor’s appointment—serving as her parent and translator.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Haaris Qadri
Haaris Qadri is an emerging filmmaker based in Brampton and a graduate from York University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production Specialized Honours. Qadri is drawn to diasporic stories, contemplating questions of identity, home, and belonging.
This film is part of the Muscle Memory shorts programme.
From dusk ‘til dawn, the night takes centre stage as a mood, setting, tone, and place for our characters’ lives and their environments to be illuminated on screen.
A collaborative exhibition by Jasmine Gui (special projects programmer, RA) & keiko Hart (co-curator), RA:X Puncta aims to present a plurality of punctum moments (as defined by Roland Barthes) that disturb and prick at diasporic Asian narratives and slip beyond an easy legibility of “Asianness”.
Considering the need to keep creating within Asian Canadian cinema, this panel gathers filmmakers and artists to discuss the implications, complexities, and pressure one might face when delivering their second artistic work. Together, they offer tips, anecdotes, and lessons learned in bringing their stories into the foreground for the second time around.
Canada, India, Singapore, USA2022English and other languages with English subtitlesAnimation, Drama, Experimental, Family, LGBTQ+ Filmmakers, Non-binary Filmmakers, Women Filmmakers
From dusk ‘til dawn, the night takes centre stage as a mood, setting, tone, and place for our characters’ lives and their environments to be illuminated on screen.
India202213 minutesBengali with English subtitles
Satakshi and Madhyama reunite at a celebration during Durga Puja. Over the course of the night through rides, snacks, and glances, we feel their relationship charged with an energy that lasts years.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Tanmay Chowdhury and Tanvi Chowdhury
Tanmay Chowdhury is a cinematographer, editor, photographer, and filmmaker. His photography has been published in various magazines and publications worldwide, including Rolling Stone and Vogue.
Tanvi Chowdhury is a writer and filmmaker who seeks to explore and tell stories about human dynamics, identity, and gender.
Canada202214 minutesEnglish and Vietnamese with English subtitles
Titled after the term “nanitic,” referring to first-generation worker ants who care for their offspring as well as the Queen Ant, we witness the structure of a multigenerational family through the eyes of Trang and Mai.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content warning: Death and dying
Carol Nguyen
Carol Nguyen is a Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker based in Montreal who is working toward her first documentary feature as well as an animated short.
Singapore, USA20224 minutesEnglishAnimation, Women Filmmakers
Why should I make dinner if we are both in love? A story of gendered roles and the ethics of care.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film has no dialogue and is not captioned.
RATING
RATED PG
Content warning: Gender violence, queer violence, nudity
Elizabeth Xu
Born and raised in Singapore, Elizabeth Xu attends the Rhode Island School of Design for animation. They are excited by the potential of analogue mediums and tangible surfaces, and in their free time, they make books and think about conversation as a beautiful medium.
USA202215 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitles
One night for Lu, a New York City delivery driver.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Lloyd Lee Choi
Lloyd Lee Choi is a Korean Canadian writer and director living in Brooklyn who was named 30 Under 30 by Marketing Magazine. Choi is compelled to tell stories that reflect the real world around us.
USA202222 minutesEnglish and Mandarin with English subtitles
In an isolated desert motel, Mengmeng digs up a rotting carcass. Later that night, something long buried is unearthed in her mother.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open captions in-person and closed captions digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Content warning: Death
Yvonne Zhang
Yvonne Zhang is a British Chinese director and writer who uses folklore, dream logic, and digital media to explore immigration, memory, and loss.
13 Nov, 2022 5:30 pm
OnlineThe screening for Night Shifts will be shown at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4.
This shorts programme will also be shown as an online screening from Nov 14 – 20. Purchase the shorts VOD pass to watch this programme online and all other shorts in selection at the festival.
Rated PG
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the theatrical presentation with attending guests from this shorts programme, moderated by Blythe Shulan Hunter.
Blythe Shulan Hunter
Blythe is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and member of Reel Asian’s Programming Committee. She holds an MA in Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto, where she focused on race and aesthetics of ‘yellowness’ in East Asian music videos. Her core interests include contemporary Chinese cinema and learning K-pop dances.
Join us for a deep-rooted dive into Uprooted: The Plantemic, a show about houseplants surviving the pandemic. We’ll explore the narrative of this CBC Gem short-form series, the development from concept art to animation, and contextualize the series not only in its time, but also in contemporary conversations, as storytelling methods evolve. In an era of remote working, what would my houseplants think of me? Do they root for me? Find out from the creative team behind Uprooted.
The story of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean American who was falsely convicted of a 1973 murder in San Francisco. After activists led a pan-Asian American movement to free him, he was finally released after 10 years in prison.
In a crucial feminist interrogation of inter-Korean politics and U.S. imperialism, Crossings follows international women activists attempting to cross the 38th parallel, demanding an end to the ongoing Korean War. This film is free and also available online.
Cambodia202224 minutesKhmer and Bunong with English subtitlesDrama
Indigenous Bunong siblings spend one last day in their rural village in northeastern Cambodia, before an impending move to the capital city in search of a more prosperous life.
ACCESSIBILITY
This film is presented with open English subtitles in-person and digitally.
RATING
RATED PG
Polen Ly
Polen Ly paused his studies in medicine to pursue filmmaking in 2012. He has directed several shorts and documentaries, exploring environmental and human rights issues, including LGBTQ+ and Indigenous experiences.
This film is part of the Muscle Memory shorts programme.
CBC and Reel Asian are proud to present a special evening celebrating the traditions and spirit of Tết beautifully shown in “Li Xi”, season 1, episode 9 of Run The Burbs.
The Class of 2019 at Cawthra Park Secondary School is gearing up for their senior year. Friends Ethan and Justin set out to shoot a film under the pretense of being a yearbook project, recording pivotal moments and character portraits during this tumultuous stage of adolescence.
Missed chances, unspoken conversations, fated meetings, connections sparked in the most unexpected places: these shorts delve into the weight of all our relations in their fullness and in their absence.
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
