Inaugural Pride Asian Film Festival Debuts in Toronto with 2025 Feature Lineup
Images Provided by Pride Asian Film Festival
Written by Fête chinoise Editorial Team (Kayla Lo)
Toronto will welcome a new addition to its cultural calendar this spring with the inaugural Pride Asian Film Festival (PAFF), taking place from May 29 to June 1, 2025, at Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk. Presented as an official affiliate of Pride Toronto, the festival aims to highlight East Asian cinema while centering LGBTQ2S+ voices and gender-diverse storytelling.
Organized by a non-profit collective, PAFF was founded on the belief that film can amplify underrepresented voices and foster community through shared stoires. The festival will feature a curated selection of films from across Asia and the diaspora, highlighting the experiences of women, queer communities, and individuals living at the intersections of race, gender, and accessibility.
PAFF has been laying the groundwork since 2023 through community engagement and year-round screenings, including Elegies, After School, BIG, and Fly Me to the Moon. Its mission is rooted in inclusivity and cultural exchange, offering a space where diverse Asian identities can be seen, heard, and celebrated.
Tickets for individual screenings is now available, with a VIP All-Film Pass offering access to the full lineup.
For more information, visit Pride Asian Film Festival.
Festival LIneup:
Blossom Under Somewhere
Opening Night, May 29 | Canadian Premiere
A daring and intimate debut from director Riley Yip, following a stuttering high school girl navigating a double life ending up with selling her panties. With themes of fetishism, morality, and female empowerment, this Hong Kong drama is produced by Fruit Chan and earned a Best New Performer nomination at the HK Film Awards.
The screening will be followed by a Live Q&A with director Riley Yip.
Yen and Ai-Lee
May 30 | Canadian Premiere
Director Lin Shu-Yu’s emotionally layered drama follows two women with shared secrets and mirrored identities. As a mother-daughter relationship unravels across time, the film explores trauma, inheritance, and the thin line between love and pain.
Shunga: The Lost Japanese Erotica
May 31, Matinee | Canadian Premiere
This visually stunning documentary uncovers the artistry and history of Edo-period erotic art. With humor and elegance, it reclaims the beauty of shunga, celebrating sexuality as joy and self-expression.
The Handmaiden – Extended Version
May 31, Evening | Canadian Premiere
Park Chan-wook’s sensual, twisted thriller in its uncut theatrical form. Set in colonial Korea, this tale of deception and forbidden love is a cinematic feast—and a queer feminist classic.
Queerpanorama
June 1, Closing Night | Canadian Premiere
Jun Li’s third feature is a poetic, semi-autobiographical reflection on queer identity. Shot in black and white and primarily in English, it follows a man who morphs with each past lover, blurring memory, performance, and truth.
The screening will be followed by a Live Q&A with lead actor Jayden Cheung.
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