curated by the fête chinoise editorial team
Images: Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival

Founded in 1997 by producer Anita Lee and journalist Andrew Sun, this non-profit community-based festival has grown into an eagerly anticipated annual event that attracts thousands of attendees to multiple days of galas, screenings, forums, workshops and parties. This year, it will be their 26th year.

Artist Brian Jiang chose vibrant forest green and orange-red colours for the carps and dragon characters in his artwork for this year's Festival, which depicts the storyline of individual versus community. The colours provide a platform for Asian Canadian voices, stories, creativity and art by supporting them for their 26th year as a film festival.

Documentaries, dramas, and comedies — The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival has a little bit of everything. Here's a sneak peek at some of the movies playing at the festival this year.

FEATUREs

BIG FIGHT IN LITTLE CHINATOWN

November 13th, 2022 @ 2:30 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

Taking a wide scope, Canadian documentary filmmaker Karen Cho’s Big Fight in Little Chinatown traverses Chinatowns in New York City, Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, and San Francisco, shining a light on the twin legacies of displacement and resistance that characterize these neighbourhoods. Through interviews with business owners, community groups, and academics, Cho draws a line between the midcentury urban renewal projects that decimated North American Chinatowns and the current development pressures that threaten to drive away residents and organizations – and the community struggles against both.

Amid rapidly gentrifying urban landscapes that jeopardize the future of not only Chinatowns but many other urban racialized communities across the continent, Cho offers an incisive look into what it means to decide to stay rooted in a place that, despite all odds, has become a home.

SOME WOMEN

November 12th, 2022 @ 2:00 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

In this reflective documentary, director Quen Wong turns the lens toward the intimate and vulnerable in her own life as a trans woman in Singapore, making time and space to honour acts of looking and being seen, moments of being fearful and working to communicate, and reflecting on past decisions in order to make new ones. Though gentle and quiet, these gestures are powerfully earnest, and refreshingly honest.

STAY THE NIGHT

November 11th, 2022 @ 8:30 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

When reserved, late-bloomer Grace gets passed up for a major promotion at work, she tries to break out of her shell by pursuing a one-night stand at the club. Kim’s Convenience’s Andrea Bang shines in a dramatic role as rigid Grace, whose acerbic stubbornness adds a bumbling comedy, as she learns where she can bend without breaking.

MAMA BOY 初戀慢半拍

November 12th, 2022 @ 9:00 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 4

In this oddly sweet and gentle story, Hong, a shy young man, opens his eyes to love when he coincidentally meets Lele, the mistress of a sex worker business. Two multi-talented singer-actor heartthrobs from different generations, Kai Ko and Vivian Hsu, play the awkward yet warm couple who find comfort in each other. After a break of almost 10 years since Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, Mama Boy is a welcomed return for Arvin Chen that will bewilder you with its magical colour palettes and characters that grow in you as well as on the screen.

SHORTS

SWALLOW 喰之女

November 12th, 2022 @ 10:15 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

Swallow is one of the features of Midnight Snack 2.0, a showcase for six talented female filmmakers who cook up tales full of intrigue and awareness, boldly confronting themes that are often left indigestible.

Xue-Lan, a striving actress, is invited to a mysterious gourmet club only to discover that her competition has prepared a horrifying banquet.

IN SILENCE, WE SING

November 12th, 2022 @ 3:45 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

Following her grandfather’s death in China during the pandemic, Ai is forced to confront her depression, the silences in her home, and her parents’ unsung frustrations—including the ancestor ghosts now possessing them.

ONCE IN A RED MOON 月出几时

November 12th, 2022 @ 3:45 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, a lonesome young Chinese immigrant finds comfort in a whirlwind romance with a mysterious hometown queer crush who seems too good to be true.

LUCKY FISH

November 12th, 2022 @ 7:00 pm | TIFF Bell Lightbox 4

Maggie and Celine meet in the bathroom of a Chinese restaurant while having dinner with their respective families.

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