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The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival®is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora. Works include films and videos by East, South and Southeast Asian artists in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world. As Canada’s largest 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.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 10 exciting days of galas, screenings, forums, workshops and parties.Reel Asian®is a not-for-profit charitable cultural organization that advocates for Asian representation through media arts.

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival

Reel Asian 2019 • Pulse Section | Youth Shorts Programme | 10:30 AM • Tuesday, November 12, 2019 | Total runtime: 76min | Rated PG

Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space

Short animation films showcasing the breadth of artistic craft and talent while inquiring deeper about the world we live in. Featuring works by Kenny Leoncito, Kevin Feng*, Ng Kai Chung*, Esther Cheung, Julia Kwan, Tigris Alt Sakda, Renee Liang*, Dal Park, Zozo Jhen, Tena Galovic, Marine Varguy, Liu Yen-Chen, Ellis Kayin Chen, Jungmin Cha, and Boyoung Kim.* filmmaker in attendance

PORTRAIT OF A LADY | Dir: Kenny Leoncito (Canada, 2019) | 6:12Andrés navigates memories of his deceased Mother through his father’s paintings. 
Kenny Leoncito is a Filipino Canadian designer and art-maker based in Toronto, Canada recently graduated from Sheridan college. He is an optimistic guy who makes background art for the animation industry and has a passion for representative media and Asian Canadian visibility.I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW | Dir: Kevin Feng* (Canada, 2019) | 6:10A letter written to the director’s mother, this tender and haunting animation shares the process of working through grief from losing someone you love.
Kevin Feng was born in Taipei, Taiwan, 1997. He is an animation and creative writing student at OCAD University. Motivated by his life experiences, Feng’s work deals with themes of grief, loss and death. He has come to find the multifaceted nature of mourning both beautiful and magical. His dream is to tell personal stories with emotional pictures that will stay with the audience.ANOTHER WORLD (世外) | Dir: Ng Kai Chung* (Hong Kong, 2019) | 14:01 | In Cantonese with English subtitlesLittle Ghost seems to be aimless until he encounters a little girl who is trying to find her baby brother. Together they search for him, only to uncover the dark past of what seemed best forgotten.
Ng Kai Chung graduated from the School of Creative Media in Hong Kong City University in 2003. Ng has directed several award-winning animation shorts earning high acclaim as an emerging animation director in Hong Kong. His works are selected in the animation festivals in Asia, Europe and America. He is also active in creative for commercials such as Assassin's Creed and Nike Air Max.IN PASSING | Dir: Esther Cheung (Canada, 2019) | 4:08 | In Cantonese with English subtitlesA snapshot of Hong Kong in the 70s as the director’s parents remember it.
Esther Cheung is an artist based in Toronto and a recent Sheridan Animation grad with a great appreciation for art and cinema. Animation being the perfect marriage of the two, she hopes to create animated films that explore her cultural identity and heritage.THE ZOO | Dir: Julia Kwan (Canada, 2019) | 11:39Tuk and a baby polar bear’s life seems entwined as they both witness the gradual changes in their living environment.
Julia Kwan is a Vancouver-based filmmaker who studied film at Ryerson University and was a director resident at the Canadian Film Centre where she made her award-winning short, Three Sisters on Moon Lake. In 2005, Kwan made her feature film debut with Eve and the Firehorse. The film premiered at TIFF and played at Sundance, where it won the coveted Special Jury Prize for World Cinema.NOT YOUR PANDA | Dir: Tigris Alt Sakda (Canada, 2019) | 5:19Who doesn’t love pandas? Think again with this experimental film that offers an insight into the critical and alternate history of this charismatic animal.
Tigris Alt Sakda, blue banner Manchu, is born in Beijing and moved to Canada as a teen. She first studied biology and anthropology, later found herself graduating in film animation. She lives and works in Montreal.
YOLK | Dir: Renee Liang* (Canada, 2019) | 2:45Ever wonder what an egg experiences? This wacky animation follows the life-cycle of one particular egg.
Renee Liang loves to eat eggs. They were her go-to student meal, and now she’s pleased to ruin it for everybody else. She still loves eggs though. In the future, she hopes to keep making experimental film of different mediums and genres. Keep a look out!WEST QUESTION EAST ANSWER | Dir: Dal Park (United Kingdom, 2019) | 6:26 | In English, German, and Korean with English subtitlesA documentary that explores the historical and cultural communication gaps between a Korean grandmother and her granddaughter who grew up in Germany.									
Dal Park is a German animation artist based in Berlin. She graduated with an MA in Animation from the Royal College of Art in 2018. She enjoys combining a naive visual style with playful movements, camera transitions and exaggerated and metaphorical imagery to capture and evoke deep emotions.GRANDPA (阿公) | Dirs: Zozo Jen, Tena Galović, Marine Varguy, Yen-Chen Liu &amp; Ellis Kayin Chan (France, 2019) | In Mandarin with English subtitlesA 7-year old boy processes the death of his grandfather during the traditional Taiwanese procession of the funeral.
Zozo Jhen is a visual artist and illustrator from Taipei, currently based in Paris, France.
Born 1995 in Zagreb, Tena Galovi´c is currently an MA animation student in GOBELINS, in Paris, France.
Marine Varguy is a student in Animation Cinema in GOBELINS.
Liu Yen-Chen is a visual artist born in Taiwan and currently based in Paris. He is studying animation at GOBELINS.
Ellis Kayin Chan is an animator, animation director from Hong Kong, based in Barcelona.WHERE I WAS BORN | Dir: Jungmin Cha (South Korea, 2019) | 4:26A playful inquiry into the various societal issues that exist in South Korea. 
Jungmin Cha is a filmmaker and animator, born in Seoul, South Korea in 1993. She received her BA degree in Television &amp; Film from Ewha Womans University in Seoul in 2017. She is currently a MFA student in the Experimental Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, California.THE LEVERS | Dir: Boyoung Kim (South Korea, 2019) | 9:24 | In Korean with English subtitlesWhat would you do for money? A man is given an opportunity too convenient to let up.
Boyoung Kim is a Korean animator, graphic designer and independent filmmaker. She is the creator of animated short films, including Replacement, Impersonation, Prey and The Levers. She is currently working on a new animation with the working title, A Guitar in a Bucket.

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