Nov 2, 2023

(TORONTO – October 18, 2023) – The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian), Canada's premier pan-Asian festival, today announced its 2023 programming lineup, which will open with Canadian filmmaker Fawzia Mirza’s debut feature The Queen of My Dreams. From November 8 to 19, 2023, the Festival will take audiences on a cinematic journey, transcending borders and bringing the world closer together. This year’s lineup consists of 15 features and 57 shorts from Canada, India, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Reel Asian will also present three thoughtful and creative multimedia experiences through their RA:X programme and welcome a number of esteemed industry professionals for their Reel Ideas conference. For the full programming lineup and ticket information visit reelasian.com.

“The continued success and popularity of Asian cinema in Hollywood has brought our collective stories and experiences to the forefront, leading to significant growth in our community’s industry both abroad and in Canada,” said Deanna Wong, Executive Director, Reel Asian. “We’re so proud to welcome audiences back to the festival, which aims to bridge cultural divides, inspire meaningful conversations, and celebrate Asian voices. There is a need for our stories now more than ever and we hope to continue offering a bigger and better festival each year.”

Below highlights Reel Asian’s programming. For the full Festival programme and schedule, please visit reelasian.com or view the 2023 Programme Guide here.

FEATURES
[*] indicates expected attendance

• THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS (Opening Night)
  Dir. Fawzia Mirza * | Canada 2023 | 97 min. | Urdu, English
  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.
  Official Selection at TIFF 2023
  WED, NOV 8 • 7:30 PM • HOT DOCS TED ROGERS CINEMA

• THE TASTE OF MANGO
  Dir. Chloe Abrahams | United Kingdom 2023 | 73 min. | English
  Chloe Abrahams’ debut feature, is an enveloping, hypnotic, urgently personal meditation on family, memory, identity, violence, and love. At its centre are three extraordinary women: the director’s mother, Rozana; her grandmother, Jean; and the director herself. What emerges is a delicately layered, personal and collective portrait of coping with physical and sexual violence, the damage of grief and estrangement, and the possibilities of hope, joy, healing, and reconciliation.
  THURS, NOV 9 • 5:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• OKIKU AND THE WORLD せかいのおきく
  Dir. Junji Sakamoto 攫㘭朇㮼 | Japan 2023 | 90 min. | Japanese with English subtitles
  Set near the end of the Edo period, the film presents a fresh take on the time and on samurai culture. Okiku (Haru Kuroki) is the daughter of a fallen samurai. The two of them now live in a tenement far from luxury. One day, she meets Chuji (Kanichiro) and love blooms. The problem is that Chuji is a manure man who collects excrement to sell to farmers. Despite the downfall of samurais, there is still a social gap between them.
  THURS, NOV 9 • 8 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• SMALL FRY
  Dir. Joongha Park * | South Korea 2023 | 95 min. | Korean with English subtitles
  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, Director Nam, a hotshot independent film director about to shoot his first feature. He’s invited rising actress Hee-jin for a quiet pondside chat to convince her that his film will be a star-making breakout role—only Hee-jin isn’t sure about Director Nam’s film, or his ulterior motives. As the day progresses, links between Ho-jun, Director Nam, and Hee-jin entwine and unravel to reveal each character’s ambition, pettiness, and pathos as they try to reel in their respective dreams.
  FRI, NOV 10 • 5:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• IN FLAMES
  Dir. Zarrar Kahn * | Canada, Pakistan 2023 | 98 min | Urdu with English subtitles
  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.
  Official Selection at Cannes 2023 and TIFF 2023
  FRI, NOV 10 • 8 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• RIVER リバー、流れないでよ
  Dir. Junta Yamaguchi | Japan 2023 | 82 min. Japanese with English subtitles
  From the team behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Reel Asian Official Selection,2021) comes Junta Yamaguchi’s latest time loop comedy. Set in a quaint inn along the Kibune river near Kyoto, staff and guests find themselves stuck in a continuous two-minute time loop. Mikoto, a waitress, returns to the river bank after each loop, plunging into a relentless cycle of perplexing scenarios. Her coworkers, the cook, and the mystified guests all grapple with mounting confusion. Despair and disorientation engulf those at the inn, as the uncanny sensation of repeatedly returning to the same moment leads to a frantic quest for answers.
  FRI, NOV 10 • 8 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• WE WILL BE BRAVE
  Dir. Chrisann Hessing * | Canada 2023 | 78 min. | English
  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.
  SAT, NOV 11 • 12 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF
  Dir. Law Chen | USA 2023 | 75 min. | Mandarin, English
  A genre-bending mystery that shakes up notions of traditional storytelling. Jerry Hsu is a loving father of three, a recent divorcé, and has been keeping a secret. The Taiwanese immigrant and Orlando resident has been accused by the Chinese police of being an accomplice in an international money-laundering scheme. In an effort to clear his name, Jerry agrees to help the police with busting the operation. Hiding his role in the investigation from his family, Jerry’s world begins to unravel with each step he takes deeper into the conspiracy.
  SAT, NOV 11 • 2:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• Q
  Dir. Jude Chehab * | USA, Lebanon 2023 | 93 min. | Arabic, English
  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.
  Best New Documentary Director Award, Tribeca Film Festival 2023
  SAT, NOV 11 • 5 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• TIGER STRIPES
  Dir. Amanda Nell Eu | Malaysia 2023 | 95 min. | Malay with English subtitles
  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 rumoured to be roaming the surrounding jungle. Exposed by her peers, Zaffan eventually learns to embrace herself in the face of exclusion and cultural condemnation.
  Critics’ Week Grand Prize, Cannes 2023
  Selected to represent Malaysia at the 96th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category
  SAT, NOV 11 • 7:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• TERRESTRIAL VERSES
  Dir. Alireza Khatami * and Ali Asgari | Iran 2023 | 77 min. | Persian with English subtitles
  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 o!screen 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.
  Official Selection at Cannes 2023, Un Certain Regard
  SUN, NOV 12 • 2:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• SEAGRASS
  Dir. Meredith Hama-Brown * | Canada 2023 | 115 min. | English
  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.
  FIPRESCI Prize, TIFF 2023
  SUN, NOV 12 • 5 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• MUSTACHE
  Dir. Imran J. Khan * | USA 2023 | 83 min. | Urdu, English
  When 13-year-old Ilyas’s parents yank him out of his comfortable Islamic private school and force him to adjust to life in public school, he develops a plan to change their minds. After a staged fondness for non-halal food and explicit music fails to sufficiently scandalize his parents, Ilyas asks his whip-smart former classmate, Yasmeen, to help devise a more foolproof plan. However, underneath those faux concerns, what really preoccupies prepubescent Ilyas is his wispy, dark mustache growing much sooner than that of his peers, prompting a self-loathing born and reinforced by the taunting and teasing of classmates.
  Audience Award, Narrative Feature, SXSW 2023
  SUN, NOV 12 • 7:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• RELICS OF LOVE AND WAR
  Dir. Keith Lock * | Canada 2023 | 40 min. | English
  The venerated Chinese Canadian filmmaker Keith Lock narrates the story of how his mother married his father in Australia, who was training with other Chinese Canadian veteran volunteers for the top secret suicide mission, Operation Oblivion. This incredible story is set against the backdrop of the Second World War, a time when Chinese Canadians could not vote, swim in pools, or hire white women for their businesses.
  TUES, NOV 14 • 7 PM • INNIS TOWN HALL

• BABY QUEEN
  Dir. Lei Yuan Bin | Singapore 2023 | 62 min. | Mandarin, Malay, Teochew, English
  A tender and joyful relationship between Singaporean drag queen Opera Tang and her 90-year-old grandmother, who makes many of her performance costumes. The film follows the rhythm of Opera Tang’s day-to-day activities and conversations with chosen family, loved ones, and community, capturing the struggles and joys of being queer through the quiet notation of the personal.
  WED, NOV 15 • 7 PM • INNIS TOWN HALL

SHORTS
This year’s Shorts programming includes:

• S-EXPRESS MALAYSIA: MADE BY MALAYSIA: Initiated in 2002, S-Express has become an annual showcase from Southeast Asia. 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. FRI, NOV 10 • 5:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• LET’S BE FRIENDS: 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. SAT, NOV 11 • 12 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• UNSUNG VOICES 12: Six fearless emerging filmmakers embarked on a summer-long filmmaking journey online. Reel Asian is proud to present their world premiere here in the 12th edition of Reel Asian’s filmmaking program. SAT, NOV 11 • 2:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• EMERGENCE: There’s no need to be certain about what’s next as this collection of shorts places us in a position to face specific pivotal moments of reckoning. Whether feeling stuck or turbulent in the chaos of transition, can we remain gentle to ourselves? SAT, NOV 11 • 5 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• UNDER THE INFLUENCE: More to the situation than what it seems, these shorts choose to examine, tease, and redefine the forces that pull us to make a decision. SAT, NOV 11 • 7:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

• HERE WE ARE: With societal, political, and magical forces at play beyond our control, this programme brings together a variety of filmmaking approaches to reflect on what can remain in troubling times, and along with it, agency to construct the narrative. SUN, NOV 12 • 2:30 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX
  

• THE STRANGE, THE ODD AND THE FAMILIAR: 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. SUN, NOV 12 • 5 PM • TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

RA:X
Storytelling beyond the screen. RA:X is Reel Asian’s programming section with interactive elements and innovative storytelling tools that seek to engage audiences in new and exciting ways. All exhibitions and accompanying events are free.

• MULTIMEDIA EXHIBITION AND PROGRAM – PIGEONHOLE
  Visit the Pigeonhole, nest and rest from the festival chaos, listen to collaborative pigeon music, watch raw footage, compose your own ditties, and collage a flock of desired futures together with other attendees. This immersive multimedia installation is inspired by artist Emmie Tsumura’s evolving relationship with a motley crew of pigeons who visit her kitchen windowsill to eat snacks and hang out on toy keyboards. NOV 8–19, BACHIR/YEREX PRESENTATION SPACE, 401 RICHMOND ST, 4TH FLOOR, VARIOUS TIMES

• INTERACTIVE WALK AND TALK – EIGHTY THOUSAND STEPS
  As a child, Crystal Chan loved when her “Pawpaw” (“grandmother” in Chinese) shared life lessons through fables as the two took walks together. Now Crystal realizes Pawpaw was sharing her journey as a child refugee, hiding tragedy behind adventure. Listeners gradually learn about the heartbreaking contrast between real violence and a child’s interpretation of it. As the listener walks to the store or through a park, they’re forced to examine their steps and stories next to a refugee’s. THURS, NOV 16, THE COMMONS AT 401 RICHMOND ST, 4TH FLOOR, VARIOUS TIMES

• MINI SYMPOSIUM AND EXHIBITION – THE SARI-SARI XCHANGE
  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. There will be a mini-symposium in the morning around issues and accessibility of XR technology, and a public exhibition of works-in-progress will follow in the afternoon. FRI, NOV 17, THE COMMONS AT 401 RICHMOND ST, 4TH FLOOR, 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

CANADIAN SPOTLIGHT – FIRST FILMS
In the inaugural First Films event, three award-winning Asian Canadian filmmakers will present and discuss the first films they’ve ever made. The program celebrates their earnest creation, irrational confidence, and the miracle of early- (or pre-)career filmmaking. FRI, NOV 17 • 7 PM • INNIS TOWN HALL

HERE I AM, Dir. Sami Khan, 2010, 10 min.
Sami Khan’s most recent film The Last Out, co-directed with Michael Gassert, won the 2023 Emmy for Outstanding Business and Economics Documentary.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, Dir. Renuka Jeyapalan, 1999, 5 min.
Renuka Jeyapalan’s debut short Big Girl won the TIFF 2005 Best Canadian Short Film Award and she also directed episodes of Kim's Convenience, Workin' Moms, Murdoch Mysteries, Ginny and Georgia, among others. Renuka’s acclaimed feature Stay the Night screened at 2022 Reel Asian.

HACKING ‘TIL MY LEGS FALL OFF, Dir. Joyce Wong, 2004, 8 min.
Joyce Wong’s directing credits include the popular shows Workin’ Moms, Baroness von Sketch, and Run the Burbs and she directed the critically acclaimed feature Wexford Plaza (2016).

WEE ASIAN
Free selection of wholesome shorts for all ages and generations to come together, in a relaxed drop-in screening environment. Attendees will also have an opportunity to participate in fun and simple art activities post-screening. SAT, NOV 18 • 10:30 AM – 3 PM • INNIS TOWN HALL

This year’s Wee Asian short film lineup includes:
MON AMI – Canada
EID MUBARAK – USA, Pakistan
GORO GORO – USA
HI ADING – Canada
EVERYWHERE – Hong Kong
SPIRIT OF THE FOREST – India
THE OLD YOUNG CROW (今昔カラス) – Japan
HAIR UNIVERSE (ݚܵசڿਅફ) – South Korea
DANCE ON! NONOKO! – USA, Taiwan

REEL IDEAS
The Reel Ideas conference unites industry professionals, including screenwriters, producers, filmmakers, and performers, to engage in candid discussions about the challenges and successes of starting from scratch, all while drawing inspiration from our roots. Paving a new pathway for today’s storytellers and advocates, celebrating their contributions and giving them their well-deserved recognition.

This year, Reel Ideas presents From the Ground Up, learning from our origins, creative journeys, and the path to forging unique trajectories.

HOW TO FAIL AS A POPSTAR: THE CLUMSY ART OF FINDING YOURSELF (screening and panel)
Discover the comedically honest and heartwarming story of the CBC Gem original short-form series How to Fail as a Popstar. Unravel the creative evolution of the series, which was adapted from Vivek Shraya's hit play and subsequent book, tracing its journey from page to stage to screen. Vivek and the creative team will join for an insightful conversation about adapting for film, the realities of the music industry, and the power of one’s intersecting identities.
Panelists: Vivek Shraya (creator/artist), Vanessa Matsui (director), Ayesha Mansur Gonsalves (actor)
THURS, NOV 16 • 7 PM • HOT DOCS TED ROGERS CINEMA

JOURNEY BACK: EXPLORING ORIGIN IN FILMMAKING AND CREATING CHARACTER OUT OF “HOME”
There is a profound connection filmmakers forge when revisiting their roots through a cinematic lens. This in-depth conversation explores how filmmakers turn places into their own dynamic character, and unpacks the emotive pull of returning, despite its tensions and contradictions.
Panelists: Fawzia Mirza (director/writer), Zarrar Kahn (director/screenwriter)
THURS, NOV 9 • 2:30 PM • FESTIVAL LOUNGE (401 RICHMOND ST W SUITE 440)

BUILDING FORCES: THE DIRECTOR PRODUCER RELATIONSHIP
The producer/director relationship is a partnership constantly in flux. What is required for these roles to work harmoniously? Panelists will explore the vital but tumultuous collaboration behind every successful film.
TUES NOV 14 • 1 PM • FESTIVAL LOUNGE (401 RICHMOND ST W SUITE 440)

TO THE WRITERS' ROOM: CANADIAN TV WRITERS ON CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION AND RESISTING TOKENISM (Online YouTube Live Roundtable)
Step into the thrilling world of TV writing as talented writers share their insights into crafting a successful series, advancing careers in the writers' room, and promoting diversity in showrunning. Explore their creative processes, approach to pitching, and how they navigate tokenism and stereotypes while fostering collaborative writers’ rooms.
Panelists: Rob Michaels (writer/director/comedian), Léa Geronimo (writer/director), additional TBA
WED, NOV 15 • 4:30 PM • ONLINE YOUTUBE LIVE ROUNDTABLE

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN PITCH?
A fun and exciting way to support emerging filmmakers, as the five finalists pitch their projects to esteemed jurors for a chance to win an amazing prize package toward kick-starting or finishing their film. Cheer on a new generation of filmmakers, and let the future of Asian Canadian cinema inspire!
SUN, NOV 19 • 5 PM • CSI ANNEX

Reel Asian 2023 Digital Programme Book here.

For more information, visit reelasian.com.

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of government partners Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Province of Ontario, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Creates, and Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund; and the support of Premier Partners Crave and Warner Bros. Discovery Access Canada.

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