Reel Asian Film Festival, Canada’s biggest pan-Asian film festival, is back!
The festival, which celebrates and showcases contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora, returns for its 28th edition from November 13 to 24th, 2024. This year, the festival’s lineup is 17 features and 49 short films deep, with works from around the world.
Here are eight films we’re looking forward to watching at the 2024 Reel Asian Film Festival.
Ashima (Directed by Kenji Tsukamoto)
This documentary follows young Japanese American rock-climbing prodigy Ashima Shiraishi as she embarks on a trip to climb Golden Shadow, a famous boulder in South Africa, with her father and coach, Hisatoshi. If successful, Ashima would become the youngest woman to climb it. Director Kenji Tsukamoto followed the Shiraishi family for years, and even lived with the family, resulting in an intimate portrait of an Asian American family set against the backdrop of sport and celebrity.
Ashima is screening on November 17 at 4PM at the TIFF Lightbox.
Borrowed Time (Directed by Choy Ji)
This drama from China sees Ting on the precipice of being married in her hometown in mainland China. Her father, who left Ting and her mother years ago to be with his other family in Hong Kong, will not attend the wedding. In an attempt to find the father she’s never known, Ting ventures to Hong Kong. Through Ting’s story, director Choy Ji is able to showcase the Hong Kong of his youth.
Borrowed Time is screening on November 14 at 8PM at the TIFF Lightbox.
Can I Get a Witness? (Directed by Ann Marie Fleming)
Directed by iconic Canadian director Ann Marie Fleming, Can I Get a Witness? takes place in a near-future that’s been ravaged by climate change, where all technology has been abandoned and everyone dies by age 50. The film follows teenaged Kiah, who’s beginning her first day of work as a Documentor and begins to struggle with the emotional impacts of the job. Blending animation and live action, Can I Get a Witness?, also the festival’s opening night gala presentation, is a look at what memories and a world on the verge of collapse might look like.
Can I Get a Witness? Is screening on November 13 at 7PM at the Hot Docs theatre.
His Father’s Son (directed by Meelad Moaphi)
Aspiring chef Amir can’t seem to meet his own expectations, or those of his parents. But when a family friend in Iran suddenly dies and passes his entire inheritance solely to Amir’s golden child brother Mahyar, the mysterious gift begins to unravel the web of the family’s story, parents and the relationship between the brothers. Taking place within Toronto’s Iranian community, His Father’s Son, which is also the festival’s centrepiece gala presentation, is a look at how family roles shift as the past comes calling, especially for immigrant families with ties to faraway places and people.
His Father’s Son is screening on November 17 at the TIFF Lightbox.
Fresh Off Markham (directed by Kurt Yuen, Cyrus Lo and Trevor Choi)
Set in Markham, a Toronto suburb known for its big Chinese community, this film follows Shan, an immigrant from Dongbei, China who gets pulled into a scheme to rob a Japanese restaurant by a childhood friend. But when the heist goes wrong, they take to the streets of Markham, encountering other locals (a Hong Kong influencer, a Black Uber driver, other Chinese immigrants). The film is a comedic anthology of three interconnected stories exploring what it’s like living in a place like Markham and the specificity of an oft-ignored corner of the world.
Fresh Off Markham is screening on November 15 at 5:30PM.
Layla (directed by Amrou Al-Kadhi)
This film follows Layla, a struggling Palestinian drag queen looking for ways to make ends meet. When a corporate gig goes sideways and Layla goes viral, they have to meet with marketing executive Max. Despite their differences, a transformative love affair blooms, much to the chagrin of their friends who are skeptical of the relationship. It’s a fun, flashy and tender romance celebrating love and community set against North London’s vibrant queer scene.
Layla is screening on November 15 at 8PM at the TIFF Lightbox.
Nikah (directed by Mukaddas Mijit and Bastien Ehouzan)
As Dilber prepares for her younger sister Rena’s wedding, she contemplates her own future and her mother’s constant pressure to find a husband. At the same time, Uyghur people in Dilber’s community are arrested without due process. When Dilber’s friend in Paris convinces her to marry a Uyghur man in France, the proposition sounds great—but will the marriage work out?
Nikah is screening on November 20 at 7PM at Innis Town Hall.
Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement (directed by Quyên Nguyen-Le and Tadashi Nakamura)
This bold documentary captures the life of visionary artist and activist Nobuko Miyamoto. Depicting her life from her upbringing in a Japanese internment camp to her breakthrough as a performer in film and on stage, the artist reflects on how her experiences with racism inspired her to combine her art with Asian American advocacy. Weaving together interviews and archival materials, the directors tell the story of this remarkable “artivist,” mother, partner and friend.
Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement is screening on November 19 at 7PM at Innis Town Hall.
The 2024 Reel Asian Film Festival takes place from November 13 to 24th, 2024. Digital screenings are also available for Canadian Residents on VOD (video-on-demand) from Monday, November 18, 2024 to Sunday, November 24, 2024.
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