Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival

Hollywood North News will be covering the 25^th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.

The event runs from 10-19 November 2021 and is a mostly digital event.

The opening night will feature the award-winning film Islands from filmmaker Martin Edralin. Islands was awarded the Special Jury prize at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. The film will screen at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on November 10 at 7:30 pm. The film will be followed by an in-person Q&A with Edralin and cast members Sheila Lotuaco and Esteban Comilang.

The festival will be closing with So You Think You Can Pitch? Featuring a total of five finalist individuals or teams, the winner will walk away with a prize package to kickstart or finish their short film. This includes the largest cash award in pitch history, in-kind support from our generous partners, and the opportunity to premiere their work at next year’s festival! Running from 7 – 9:30 pm, the event will be live, online, and free of charge.

A Global Film Festival

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian) is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora. As Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, Reel Asian® provides a public forum for Asian media artists and their work and fuels the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada. This year Reel Asian will be showcasing special projects featuring prominent artists, content creators, up-and-coming filmmakers. It will also include the “Reel Ideas” program for creative minds in the industry to connect online. Works presented include films, videos, and presentations by artists in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world.

As we celebrate the 25th year of the festival and examine things. We consider the gaps that exist in the organization, and also welcome the possibilities. Earlier this year, we amended the language of the organization’s eligibility to be reflective of the communities we serve. Instead of as we had previously focus on regional-based markers.

Keep checking back to get our reviews on the films that caught our eye.

Find out more information about Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival here