This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: HERE WE ARE shorts programme.
Philippines202322 minEnglish, Cebuano, and Tagalog with English subtitlesDark Comedy, Fiction, Monster, Science Fiction
Between nuclear reactors and military curfews, 14-year-old Jani lives in a dystopian world oppressively devoid of empathy. Together, she and her slippery new friend Kiefer the talking catfish gear up to strike a surreal blow for freedom.
Stephen Lopez
Stephen Lopez graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in 2012 with a degree in nursing. But due to the glut of underpaid health-care professionals in his country, he decided to be broke on his own terms and become a filmmaker instead.
CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of bullying, blood and violence
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: HERE WE ARE shorts programme.
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.
You rarely couple poop and romance together, but Okiku and the World does it effortlessly in the most genuine and adorable way.
For our Closing Night Event, come celebrate the live So You Think You Can Pitch competition at the 27th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Reception to follow.
Philippines, Singapore202315 minTagalog with English subtitlesComedy, Drama
The audition process for an exploitative game show becomes the latest test of a long-suffering mother’s fortitude and tenacity.
Sonny Calvento
Sonny Calvento is a director, writer, and producer based in Manila. At the age of 19, he worked as a drama writer for ABS-CBN, the largest broadcasting network in the Philippines.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
From the team behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Reel Asian Official Selection, 2021) comes Junta Yamaguchi’s latest time loop comedy, River. Set in a quaint inn along the Kibune river near Kyoto—a one-street village wedged between a riverbed on one side and mountains on the other—staff and guests find themselves stuck in a continuous two-minute time loop.
Following our Building Forces: The Director Producer Relationship panel, stay for a reception with Canadian Media Producers Association, a chance to network, ask questions, and enjoy snacks and refreshments. Especially good for Producers!
The Good Guise is an artist collective in Toronto formed to spark conversations around healthy masculinity.
Malaysia202312 minEnglishExperimental, Fantasy
Two crocodilian men go to a swimming pool to cool off. One of them is seemingly of a different and special kind; the other is unable to control his desire.
Mark Chua & Lam Li Shuen
Mark Chua and Li Shuen Lam are a filmmaker and artist duo. Their films often employ absurdist imagery, thinking on place, histories and the peculiarity of human desire.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
Catch author Jeff Yang in conversation with RepresentASIAN Project's EIC and founder Madelyn Chung about his new book, THE GOLDEN SCREEN. Purchase a copy and get it signed!
Be warmed by friendship and held by the depth of feelings in this collection of wholesome shorts for all ages in a relaxed screening environment. Stick around to participate in fun and simple art activities post-screening.
We are kicking off the 27th edition Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival with a night to remember! Celebrate with us at our Festival Launch Party, co-hosted by New Ho Queen!
Singapore, USA20238 minNo dialogue2slgbtq+, Animation, Experimental, Romance
One night, a person brushes the teeth of a dog and turns into a bus.
This film has no dialogue and is presented without captions.
Elizabeth Xu Yuan Li (EXYL)
EXYL is a filmmaker and animator born and raised in Singapore. They were trained in painting and drawing, but moved slowly but surely into time-based mediums like live action and animation.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
When Azra, a queer Muslim grad student, hears of her father’s sudden death, she flies back to her ancestral home in Karachi, Pakistan for the funeral, where she is received by her conservative mother, Mariam, perpetually disappointed by Azra’s choices. As a self-assured Azra wrestles with Karachi’s customs and norms, we time travel back to Mariam’s own life in the city 30 years ago, a remarkably different era in Pakistan’s political and cultural history.
For our Closing Night Event, come celebrate the live So You Think You Can Pitch competition at the 27th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Reception to follow.
At the heart of Baby Queen is a tender and joyful relationship between Singaporean drag queen Opera Tang and her 90-year-old grandmother, who makes many of her performance costumes.
South Korea202227 minKorean with English subtitlesDirected By Women, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
Sujin, who was recently fired and is planning to go to Canada on a working holiday, lives with her family after her parents’ return.
Eun-uk Jeong
Eun-uk Jeong is studying film at Myongji University.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
In our inaugural First Films event, award-winning Asian Canadian filmmakers show the first films they’ve ever made. They will reveal their origin stories—that time they caught the movie bug; the place their creative voices first started cracking.
Delve into the profound connections filmmakers Fawzia Mirza (The Queen of My Dreams) and Zarrar Kahn (In Flames) forge when revisiting their roots in Pakistan, through a cinematic lens. This in-depth conversation explores how filmmakers turn place into its own dynamic character, and unpacks the emotive pull of returning, despite its tensions and contradictions. Join us as they showcase how "home" can transcend geographical boundaries, ignite stories with new interpretations of place, and animate narratives with the rich tapestry of personal heritage.
Ho-jun, a flailing actor, has found relative success as a social media influencer, hawking fishing hacks. He preps his live stream at his preferred fishing spot, only to be disrupted by an obnoxious stranger whose bad vibes are ruining the morning.
UK20223 minEnglishAnimation, Experimental, Science Fiction
A mad clock takes the viewer on a time trip to a random planet where the concept of time is experienced differently from the one we know...
*Shunny Kim & Taewan Kim
Shunny Kim and Taewan Kim are animators based in London. Co-directing their BA graduation film, their interests aligned through experimental animation, character design and collaboration.
CONTENT WARNING: Flashing lights
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
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.
Hmm … this doesn’t seem right?! This programme asks us to sit with the discomforting feelings that arise when we begin to confront the unknown in what we believe to know.
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.
Canada202315 minEnglish and Tagalog with English subtitlesDirected By Women, Drama
In this complex family thriller, Gian has been plotting revenge since the day Janine, his mother, was sent away.
Nushi Sharma
Nushi Sharma is a Filipino Indian undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
These shorts look at the soft to even slightly off-kilter bonds we find in one another, the realms we exist in, and ultimately, ourselves, despite ongoing change—no friendship bracelets required.
Discover the comedically honest and heartwarming story of the CBC Gem original short-form series How to Fail as a Popstar in our screening of the first three episodes followed by a panel discussion, "The Clumsy Art of Finding Yourself."
From the team behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Reel Asian Official Selection, 2021) comes Junta Yamaguchi’s latest time loop comedy, River. Set in a quaint inn along the Kibune river near Kyoto—a one-street village wedged between a riverbed on one side and mountains on the other—staff and guests find themselves stuck in a continuous two-minute time loop.
Canada202310 minEnglish2slgbtq+, Music
Filmmakers Njo Kong Kie and John Greyson (using their highlighter compositional method) have created an original short opera about the last day on Earth for Li Shiu Tong, the lover of Berlin sexologist and legendary gay-rights pioneer Magnus Hirschfeld.
Njo Kong Kie & *John Greyson
Njo Kong Kie is an award-winning Toronto composer who has been a long-serving music director of La La La Human Steps in Montreal.
John Greyson is a Toronto filmmaker who is a pioneer of the new queer cinema. His films have won four Berlin Teddies, five Canadian Screen Awards, and over 50 Best Film prizes at festivals internationally.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: THE STRANGE, THE ODD, AND THE FAMILIAR shorts programme.
In our inaugural First Films event, award-winning Asian Canadian filmmakers show the first films they’ve ever made. They will reveal their origin stories—that time they caught the movie bug; the place their creative voices first started cracking.
At the heart of Baby Queen is a tender and joyful relationship between Singaporean drag queen Opera Tang and her 90-year-old grandmother, who makes many of her performance costumes.
Blue Ant Media is looking for its next hit factual paranormal series with T&E and HauntTV's global free streaming channel. Join us for a spooky information session with Blue Ant Media's Sam Linton, VP Production and Development and Julie Chang, EVP Business Strategy and Co-productions, to get all of your questions answered.
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.
Alina Wong JinKei
Alina Wong is a Malaysian writer-director who strives to tell stories that incite wonder, conversations and emotions.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: S-EXPRESS MALAYSIA shorts programme.
You rarely couple poop and romance together, but Okiku and the World does it effortlessly in the most genuine and adorable way.
In our inaugural First Films event, award-winning Asian Canadian filmmakers show the first films they’ve ever made. They will reveal their origin stories—that time they caught the movie bug; the place their creative voices first started cracking.
The Sari-Sari Xchange is a project that seeks to amplify Asian representation in the creative emerging media industries in Canada, particularly through a community-building residency program that engages artists with digital and extended reality (XR) technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, 360 cinema, game-engine animation, and 3D scanning.
Malaysia202215 minMalay with English subtitlesExperimental, Horror
A religious officer and a journalist embark on a close-proximity case in a house that seems to have other plans.
Aldina Lydia Nabilah Azani
Although she shines with positivity, Aldina Lydia Nabilah binti Azani’s head is still full of sadness and darkness.
This film is part of the Shorts Presentation: S-EXPRESS MALAYSIA shorts programme.
Discover the comedically honest and heartwarming story of the CBC Gem original short-form series How to Fail as a Popstar in our screening of the first three episodes followed by a panel discussion, "The Clumsy Art of Finding Yourself."
Step into the thrilling world of TV writing with a range of talented writers as they share their insights into crafting a successful TV series, advancing careers in the writers' room, and promoting diversity in showrunning.
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
