Reel Asian Film Festival

REEL ASIAN KICKS OFF 15th ANNIVERSARY WITH FREE SCREENING OF “WHITE ON RICE” ON SEPTEMBER 24, 7PM, TORONTO UNDERGROUND CINEMA

UNVEILS SNEAK PEAK OF 2011 LINE-UP

Toronto, September 15, 2011

Reel Asian commemorates its 15th anniversary with a free screening of festival favourite White On Rice.  This special event kicks off a series of new initiatives to recognize the organization’s 15 years of celebrating the incredible diversity of Toronto, including larger venues to accommodate growing audiences, a multi-venue media art installation, special guest filmmakers from across Asia and the world, and a major expansion into Richmond Hill.  From November 8-13 (Toronto) and November 18-19 (Richmond Hill), the festival will present more than 50 films and videos from over twelve countries, including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the United States and Canada.

“Reel Asian gives voice to and represents the diversity of the Asian community … it’s not about breaking stereotypes, it’s about offering a more complex understanding of that multiplicity” – Heather Keung, Artistic Director of Reel Asian

FREE SCREENING TO CELEBRATE 15TH ANNIVERSARY

On September 24, Reel Asian will present a free screening of festival favourite White on Rice, first presented at the festival in 2009.  Directed by David Boyle and starring Hiroshi Watanabe, Lynn Chen and James Kyson Lee. 

Saturday, September 24, 2011, 7PM
Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave) – FREE Admission

SNEAK PEEK AT THE 2011 LINEUP

Overheard 2

Hong Kong 2011 | 99 min | Directors Felix Chong, Alan Mak

Hong Kong heavyweights Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu return in this crime thriller about greed and betrayal in the high stakes world of insider trading and corporate espionage.

Saigon Electric

USA/Vietnam 2011 | 103 min | Director Stephane Gauger

Hip hop dancers from the tough streets of Saigon befriend a ribbon dancer from the countryside. Together, they must dance for their lives to save the only home they know.

Fortune Teller

China 2010 | 129 min | Director Xu Tong

A revealing documentary about an eccentric but charming fortune teller who services a clientele of prostitutes and shadowy figures, who, like him, are living on the fringes of Chinese society.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos

Japan 2011 | 100 min | Director Murata Kasuya

The infamous Elric brothers’ continuing quest for the Philosopher’s Stone embroils them in a rebellion in the underground city of Milos. Based on Japan’s #1 manga series.

Pearls of the Far East

Canada/Vietnam 2011 | 96 min | Director Cuong Ngo

Based on stories by award-winning author Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc, Pearls of the Far East explores forbidden desire and true love in this cinematically stunning debut feature.

Reel Asian’s full festival line-up, including the Opening Night Gala film, will be announced at the Official Press Launch at the Japan Foundation on Tuesday, October 11, 2011.

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15 YEARS OF REEL ASIAN

Reel Asian is Canada’s longest-running and largest showcase dedicated to contemporary cinema by East Asian and Southeast Asian moviemakers from around the world.

Over the past 15 years, Reel Asian has risen to become the leading exhibitor of coveted Asian works with a film repertoire including over 330 premieres and over 15 gallery installations at exhibition spaces in the GTA.

Founded in 1997, Reel Asian began as a 3-day event, established in response to the strong interest in Asian films in Toronto, and has since grown to a two-week festival attracting over 10,000 audience members each year. Reel Asian brings highly-anticipated premieres of award-winning international films as well as a diverse showcase of independent work made by Asian-Canadian directors.

Today’s most talented and recognized Asian filmmakers presented Toronto debuts at Reel Asian – including Cannes Palme D’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Mysterious Objects at Noon in 2002), acclaimed Hong Kong directors Johnnie To, Stephen Chow and Tsui Hark (omnibus film 1:99 in 2003), Oscar-nominated Christine Choy (Ha Ha Shanghai in 2001), and Sundance Grand Prize nominee Lixin Fan (Last Train Home in 2010)

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Department of Canadian Heritage, Telefilm Canada, Celebrate Ontario, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council, and our festival major sponsor National Bank.