TIFF 2021 Asian Heritage Month Programming: Asia Unbound

In honour of Asian Heritage Month in May, TIFF will be highlighting excellence in Asian cinema. The month-long programme, Asia Unbound, focuses on youthful narratives that transcend borders, generations, memories, and identities. Films and digital events throughout the month feature well-known talent from the diaspora, emerging artists, and also renowned auteurs from the Asian continent. Through storytelling that is authentic, touching, humorous, and powerful, Asia Unbound intends to explore — and find inspiration in — the joys, fears, vulnerability, and in-betweenness that underscore Asian identity in today’s world.

FEATURING

ACTRESS Sandra Oh. Photo Credit: BBC AMERICA + JAMES WHITE + CORBIS OUTLINE

In Conversation With... Sandra Oh

May 3 at 7pm ET

Click Here for Recording

SPONSORED BY Hublot.

Sandra Oh has been a leading voice in Canadian and US film and television for the past three decades. A dedicated performer in front of the camera, the Korean Canadian actor has balanced her success in such hit television shows as Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve with starring roles in films like Mina Shum’s Double Happiness, Don McKellar’s Last Night, Alexander Payne’s Sideways, and, most recently, Shum’s Meditation Park and Iris K. Shim’s upcoming Umma. Oh has also lent her voice talents to the celebrated animation projects Over the Moon and Raya and the Last Dragon. As we celebrate Asian Heritage Month, Sandra Oh joins TIFF to discuss her career, the ongoing lack of diversity on film sets, and the need for all of us to address anti-Asian hate and racism in everyday life. 

Fête Chinoise x TIFF Instagram Giveaway. ENTER BY May 12, 2021.

TIFF Cinematheque Presents 

Center Stage 

Dir. Stanley Kwan

Available April 30, 2021

The most important actress of prewar Chinese cinema, Ruan Lingyu took her own life at the age of 24 after she was savagely attacked by the press over an adultery scandal, but her extraordinary legacy continues to be a significant source of inspiration for Chinese artists.

Rebels of the Neon God

dir. Tsai Ming-Liang (Central Motion Picture Corp) HD Restoration!

Available May 21, 2021

A luridly lyrical vision of adolescent rage and lust in Taipei.

ASIA Unbound Programme

Meditation Park

Dir. Mina Shum

Available April 30, 2021

In Meditation Park, Mina Shum returns to the themes that propelled her early work. The film opens with Maria (Cheng Pei Pei) hosting a birthday celebration for her workaholic accountant husband, Bing (Tzi Ma). Maria reveres Bing and remains in awe of the sacrifices he has made for the family, so much so that she even respects his insistence that she not speak to their son.

Better Days

Dir. Derek Tsang

Available April 30, 2021

Chinese screen idols Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee star in this blockbuster about a pair of star-crossed lovers: a brutally bullied high-school student and her unlikely protector, a teenage street thug in need of redemption.

Spa Night

dir. Andrew Ahn (Strand Releasing)

Available April 30, 2021

A closeted Korean American teenager, desperate to support his struggling family, finds work at a Korean spa — where he experiences both fear and a strange thrill as he discovers his own sexuality.

Eve and the Fire Horse

dir. Julia Kwan (Mongrel Media)

Available April 30, 2021

Vancouver writer-director Julia Kwan’s intimate and affecting look at first-generation immigrant life in Canada follows two young sisters, Eve and Karena, as they begin questioning cross-cultural values — each with her own unique brand of whimsical imagination and candour.

Ramen Shop

dir. Eric Khoo (MK2)

Available April 30, 2021

A young Japanese chef embarks on a culinary journey to his mother’s home country of Singapore, looking to reconnect with his past — but he uncovers a lot more than family secrets and delicious recipes. 

Talks & Events

Images Matter: Anti-Asian Racism and Hollywood

April 29, 2021 at 7pm ET

Click here for recording

Sociologist and pop culture expert Dr. Nancy Wang Yuen and University of Guelph professor Dr. Elaine Chang join TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey for a conversation on the history of anti-Asian racism, representation in American cinema, and the evolution of Asian excellence on screen. 

Asian Canadian Creators

May 25, 2021 at 5pm ET 

Free on TIFF Industry’s Twitter and Facebook, and the TIFF Originals YouTube Channel

TIFF Industry spotlights four Asian Canadian filmmakers — Joyce Wong, Shasha Nakhai, Fawzia Mirza, and Romeo Candido — as they dive into the creative process of feature filmmaking. These recent TIFF Talent Development alumni will also examine the state of Canadian film financing and distribution, and discuss tactics to help elevate the work and careers of all creators in Canada.

Deep Focus Workshop: Photography and Personal Storytelling

May 26 at 6:30pm ET

click here to register

This hands-on workshop with photographer May Truong — inspired by the themes of authenticity, vulnerability, and the complexities of cultural identity articulated through TIFF Asia Unbound programme — is about telling personal stories and building community through photography. Truong will offer insight into her career journey and creative practice, with a particular focus on her project The Maytriarchy, “a space for female-identifying/non-binary BIPOC to tell their stories about coming of age in Canada.” Participants will then be invited to share their own stories through individual photo-based writing and small-group sharing.

This workshop will be hosted live on Zoom. Participation is open to all, but capacity is limited and priority will be given to registrants who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour).