Torontoooooo! Toronto film lovers, this one's for you. The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival kicks off its 19th annual edition this week, presenting 72 films from over 10 regions including Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada and the United States. The festival runs November 5-15 at venues in Toronto, North York and Richmond Hill.
Here's the official Reel Asian trailer:
Here are some festival highlights:
TORONTO OPENING NIGHT GALA:
DRIVING WITH SELVI
Thu Nov 5, 7:30 PM - Isabel Bader Theatre
Director: Elisa Paloschi
Canada 2015 | 74:00 | Kannada with English subtitles | Rated PG | Ontario Premiere
An inspiring documentary that spans over a decade, the film follows Selvi, who ran away from an abusive child bride marriage and changed her life to become South India’s first female taxi driver.
CENTREPIECE PRESENTATION:
OUR TIMES
Sun Nov 8, 8:00 PM – AGO Jackman Hall
Mon Nov 9, 4:00 PM – AGO Jackman Hall
Director: Frankie Chen
Taiwan 2015 | 134:00 | Mandarin with English subtitles | Rated 14A | North American Premiere
It’s Taiwan in the 1990s, and high school student Truly Lin is a plain, clumsy girl who spends her days goofing around with friends and fawning over the most popular boy in school. An unfortunate incident leads Lin to become an errand girl for the school’s notorious troublemaker Taiyu. The pair soon forms an unlikely friendship forged with a similar goal: break up the school’s “perfect couple” so that Truly and Taiyu can win them over!
TORONTO CLOSING NIGHT GALA:
SEOUL SEARCHING
Fri Nov 13, 8:00 PM – Isabel Bader Theatre
Director: Benson Lee (in attendance)
USA 2015 | 105:00 | English and Korean with English subtitles | Rated 14A | Toronto Premiere
In the 1980s, the Korean government began a summer camp for gyopo (foreign-born) teenagers to visit the motherland. The camp would help the government re-establish ties with the diaspora, parents would get a sponsored trip, and teenagers would learn about Korean culture. What could possibly go wrong?
RICHMOND HILL OPENING GALA:
TWO THUMBS UP
Sat Nov 14, 7:00 PM – SilverCity Richmond Hill
Director: Lau Ho Leung (in attendance)
Hong Kong 2015 | 103:00 | Cantonese with English subtitles | Rated PG | Canadian Premiere
Disguised as police, Hong Kong gangster Lucifer and his gang of four steal abandoned police vans in order to create the perfect heist vehicle. Unfortunately for them, another team of robbers has the same plan in mind. How will Lucifer and his brothers save the day? Featuring favourite Hong Kong actors Francis Ng, Simon Yam and Patrick Tam and the nostalgic aura of '90s action comedy movies, Two Thumbs Up is among this year's best Hong Kong films.
RICHMOND HILL CLOSING:
FULL STRIKE
Sun Nov 15, 7:30 PM – SilverCity Richmond Hill
Directors: Derek Kwok and Henri Wong
Hong Kong 2015 | 108:00 | Cantonese with English subtitles | Rated PG | Toronto Premiere
Badminton. Kung fu. Cousin Suck Nipple Cheng. Full Strike is a hilarious sports comedy that combines all these three, and no sports knowledge is required to enjoy the film!
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES: INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES
- CHANGING SEASON: ON THE MASUMOTO FAMILY FARM (director Jim Choi, USA 2015)
- KIRUMI (director Anucharan Murugaiyan in attendance, India 2015)
- MISS INDIA AMERICA (director Ravi Kapoor, USA 2015)
- OFF THE MENU (director Grace Lee, USA 2015)
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES: NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERES
- I AM SOMEBODY (director Derek Yee, China 2015)
- MCDULL: ME & MY MUM (directors Brian Tse, Hong Kong 2015)
- BALI BIG BROTHER (director Toshio Lee, Japan 2015)
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES: CANADIAN PREMIERES
- INITIATION LOVE (director Tsutsumi Yukihiko, Japan 2015)
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES: TORONTO PREMIERES
- MISS HOKUSAI (director Keiichi Hara, Japan 2015)
- THE ROYAL TAILOR (director Lee Won-suk in attendance, South Korea 2014)
- SITI (director Eddie Cahyono, Indonesia 2014)
- ZINNIA FLOWER (director Tom Lin, Taiwan 2015)
- PORT OF CALL (director Philip Yung in attendance, Hong Kong 2015)
CANADIAN FEATURES: TORONTO PREMIERES
- MINA WALKING (director Yosef Baraki, Afghanistan/Canada 2015)
CANADIAN PROGRAMMING:
- Canadian Artist Spotlight with filmmaker Randall Okita in attendance
- Badlands: Shorts Presentation with director Sumit Judge in attendance
- Born to Run: Shorts Presentation with directors Alex Humilde and Aram Collier in attendance
- Hungry Heart: Shorts Presentation with directors Eui Yong Zong in attendance
- Lucky Town: Shorts Presentation with directors Celeste Koon, Shaleen Sangha, and Kendra Legault in attendance
- The World's A Stage: Shorts Presentation with directors Gloria Kim and Howie Shia in attendance
There's a lot more where that came from, film fans. For further information about the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, including schedules, tickets and venue details, head over to the festival website.