Canada, Pakistan202398 minUrdu with English subtitles First Feature

Mariam, a medical student, is dealing with her grandfather’s passing, her grieving mother, and preparing for upcoming exams. When an estranged and suspiciously helpful uncle re-enters their lives and promises support with their property and finances, Mariam senses trouble. At school, she meets a charming fellow student who presents a tempting option of marriage and financial security, a supposed avenue of freedom and autonomy. When Mariam begins to feel haunted by the presence of men around her and the spirits of those long gone, escape starts to seem elusive.

In this chilling feature debut by director Zarrar Kahn, Mariam’s story evokes the sharply suffocating experience of gendered oppression that’s situated in but nowhere near unique to Pakistan. A visceral and unsettling yet ultimately triumphant narrative, and the first South Asian horror film to premiere at Cannes, In Flames is a remarkably bold and unwavering portrayal of how women navigate and conquer countless forms of violence and control in patriarchal societies.

– Mariam Zaidi

Canada202378 minEnglishToronto Premiere2slgbtq+, Directed By Women, Documentary, First Feature, Social Issue/Justice

The Good Guise is an artist collective in Toronto formed to spark conversations around healthy masculinity. From photography and beat-boxing to poetry and martial arts, these talented artists share their unique lived experiences with inspiring confidence and welcome others to join in their mission of finding radical alternatives to shame and punishment. As each of them grapple with upheavals in their personal lives, their resolve is further tested by a dire lack of resources and the burden of racialized discrimination.

An intimate and deeply compassionate feature debut by director Chrisann Hessing, We Will Be Brave is an evocative glimpse into a narrative shift around masculinity. Unafraid to express vulnerabilities, the group’s affirming work recognizes healing as non-linear and our worth as inherent. A bond held together by an extraordinary commitment to do right by their communities, the collective and the documentation of their work promises to leave an impact in the Toronto arts landscape for years to come.

– Mariam Zaidi

Lebanon, USA202393 minArabic, English Canadian PremiereDirected By Women, Documentary, Drama, First Feature

Jude Chehab, a Lebanese American cinematographer and filmmaker, has always known her mother and grandmother to be women devoted to their Muslim faith. During a trip to Lebanon, Chehab is propelled by a curiosity to understand the quest for love, acceptance, and meaning that brought three generations of women in her family to pledge loyalty to a secretive matriarchal religious order operating clandestinely in the country.

Deftly balancing a delicate and determined approach to uncovering and documenting her family’s reflections, Chehab illuminates the unspoken ties and long-lasting consequences of loyalty that have not only bonded the women in her family, but left an unshakeable sense of longing and ostracization—for some, years after leaving the religious order. Utilizing incisive imagery and rich aural textures to evoke the sublime, Chehab asks us to question the line between love and devotion in this commanding and precisely crafted debut feature.

– Mariam Zaidi

Malaysia2023 95 minMalay with English subtitlesToronto PremiereHorror

Free-spirited 12-year-old Zaffan is the first of her friends to get her period and experience the body-changing horrors that come with puberty and menstruation. Set in a kampong, or a Malaysian village, structured around patriarchy and religious expectations, she tries to conceal her pubescent traits out of fear of ostracization. Panic spreads in the village when a monster or demonic spirit is rumored to be roaming the surrounding jungle. Exposed by her peers, Zaffan eventually learns to embrace herself in the face of exclusion and cultural condemnation. A coming-of-age body horror that playfully weaves elements of Southeast Asian folklore, Tiger Stripes is a roaring celebration of embracing monstrosity and otherness.

– Sarah Barzak

Iran202377 minPersian with English subtitlesToronto Premiere

A job interview, a children’s clothing store, a government registry office. These are just some of the everyday sites for which the characters of Terrestrial Verses must navigate cultural, religious, and institutional constraints imposed on them. Featuring dynamic and fine-tuned performances, the 11 vignettes with conversations (and confrontations) between onscreen citizens and offscreen interrogators are striking in their ability to feel absurd and regrettably real at the same time, a place where the mundane and the menace coexist. Through these stories, we see how citizens respond to and resist these restraints until the final vignette’s staggering conclusion.

Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari’s most recent collaboration came together after authorities shut down one of Khatami’s films. The two drew solace from Ghazal poetry, directly citing the poet and filmmaker Forugh Farrokhzad’s poem, “Terrestrial Verses.” Deceptively simple and brilliantly composed, Khatami and Asgari’s Terrestrial Verses emerged from the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran and draws upon empathetic connections to how ordinary people everywhere navigate and struggle in relation to power.

– Aram Siu Wai Collier

Canada2023115 minEnglish Directed By Women, Family, First Feature

Judith, a Japanese Canadian woman, and her reluctant white husband attend a week-long couple’s retreat on a coastal British Columbia island, their two daughters in tow. With Judith grieving the recent loss of her mother, and her connection to her Japanese Canadian identity, the couple’s disconnect grows as she finds herself infatuated with another, seemingly perfect, interracial couple at the retreat. The parents’ rift impresses upon their daughters, as Emmy, the fearful younger sister, becomes increasingly anxious, while the eldest, Stephanie, cautiously navigates the preteen social dynamics of day camp.

Set in the mid-90s and shot on 35 mm film, Meredith Hama-Brown’s tense, layered family drama is a nuanced look into the legacy of Japanese Canadian internment and how trauma weaves through generations in silences, detachment, and ambiguity. Standout performances by Shortcomings’ Ally Maki (Judith) and Nyha Breitkreuz (Stephanie) anchor the film as it explores womanhood, sisterhood, grief, and racial identity in this remarkable debut feature.

– Vidhya Elango

Malaysia2021-2022TRT: 1h07English, Bahasa Melayu, Malay, Cantonese, Mandarin Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Experimental Horror, Family-friendly, Mockumentary

Initiated in 2002 by Yuni Hadi (Singapore), Amir Muhammad (Malaysia) and Chalida Uabumrungjit (Thailand), S-Express has become an annual showcase of programming from Southeast Asia, spotlighting the abundant filmmaking talent and a nuanced insight into the stories of each participating region. This year, Reel Asian presents S-Express Malaysia, programmed by Chong Lee Yow of Mini Film Festival, featuring five films depicting one's ability to (un)trap themselves from limitations set upon them, be it bodily, mind, or soul, to achieve relief and victory.

Directors Bio

Canada2023TRT: 50 minEnglish, Kurdish, VietnameseWorld PremiereComedy, Directed By Women, Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Family-friendly, History, Romance, Science Fiction

Six fearless emerging filmmakers embarked on a summer-long filmmaking journey online. We’re proud to present their world premiere here in the 12th edition of Reel Asian’s filmmaking program.

*Directors in attendance starred. 

Directors Bio

Malaysia202122 minEnglish and Bahasa Melayu with English subtitlesComedy, Directed By Women, Mockumentary

A beloved horror actress questions the triviality of her career starring in Pontianak films, all the while being filmed by a group of documentary filmmakers.

Directors Bio

Alina Wong JinKei

Alina Wong is a Malaysian writer-director who strives to tell stories that incite wonder, conversations and emotions.

Malaysia20217 minMalay with English subtitlesExperimental

Two sisters seeking revenge for the murder of their sister, Isabel.

Directors Bio

Yazeid Suhaimi

Extremely attentive to visual details and storytelling, Yazeid Suhaimi is proficient in directing and cinematography roles especially in short film, commercial, photography, and music video.