In early October, Toronto Reel Asian Int’l Film Festival had its Press Launch. We got to meet the festival’s programmers as well as some of the local talent/filmmakers that will be part of it this year.
Now on its 13th year, Reel Asian has become one of the largest film festivals in Toronto. I look forward to it every year because I know I’ll get to sample some films that didn’t make it into other festivals or which will not get a release on this part of the globe.
What do you have to look forward to this year? Well, for starters the opening night film is Overheard by the same producers of Infernal Affairs… This promises to be an interesting film with a car chase filmed on “the Ngong Shuen Chau Bridge, the second-largest suspension bridge in the world.” Yes, let’s begin with some action and suspense please.
Reel Asian’s Artistic Director Heather Keung (above left) and International Programmer Raymond Pathanavirangoon (above right) announced many of the other films being showcased. Another film that I’m looking forward to is the Centrepiece Presentation: Red Heroine, a silent film from 1929 about a female warrior with live score by Devil Music Ensemble. For those of you looking for something “different and a little crazy,” as Pathanavirangoon suggested, how about the film Fish Story? The premise is that a song by a Japanese punk band may actually save all of humanity… sounds like a cult film to me.
Reel Asian also has the So you think you can pitch? competition. This competition gives six filmmaking teams a chance to pitch their idea in six minutes. Some of the finalists and filmmakers that will be part of Reel Asian are shown below.
For more info visit http://www.reelasian.com/
Photo credit: Hye!
