Where does the story begin? These films invite us to uncover the ongoing and concurrent influences we find ourselves in oscillation with whether through format, content, or style.
NO CRYING AT THE DINNER TABLE
Carol Nguyen • Canada • 2019 • 15:48 • English, Vietnamese with English Subtitles • Other • Documentary
A collection of family secrets, confessions and confrontation are heard for the first time.
Carol Nguyen* is a Vietnamese-Canadian filmmaker based in Montreal. Nguyen is a TIFF Share Her Journey ambassador, an Adobe Creativity Scholar and a 2018 Sundance Ignite Fellow. Today, Nguyen is continuing her passion for filmmaking at Concordia University.
* In attendance
GHOST
SJ Son & Woody Fu • USA • 2018 • 4:28 • English • Other • Comedy
What do ghosts and Asian Americans share in common?
SJ Son is a Korean American actor, writer, and director. She is known for writing and starring in the Amazon & Funny Or Die short film, Soojung Dreams of Fiji, which won the Audience Award at AAIFF41. She’s appeared on Search Party and will be in the upcoming A24 feature, False Positive and Servant for Apple TV. As a duo, SJ and Woody created and star in the UCB/Nerdist series, UR Asian Friend.
Woody Fu is an actor, writer and comedian. He performs at UCB on Maude Night, Characters Welcome, and in his one-man show Too Many Asians! He stars in the feature Lucky Grandma opposite Tsai Chin, which premiered this year at Tribeca. His series Asian American Studies was an official selection at Slamdance 2019. He is 100% Irish.
SKIN
Alexander Desouza • Canada • 2019 • 13:58 • English • World Premiere • Drama
Addison and Brandon struggle with their respective insecurities about body image, especially when it begins to erode the trust in their relationship.
Alexander Desouza* is an award winning Canadian Director, Producer and the founder of the creative production house Wonderlight Studios. His work in shorts have been shown at festivals internationally across three continents. Alexander currently holds a BFA in Film from York University and is a graduate of the 2019 Reykjavik Film Festival Talent Lab. He currently works in Toronto.
* In attendance
LIFE IS LIVE
Keziah Wei • China, Singapore • 2019 • 15:27 • Mandarin with English Subtitles • Canadian Premiere • Documentary
A short documentary following the life of Danny, a live-streaming celebrity living in China.
As a child, Keziah Wei* was glued to the television for hours on end, enthralled by the nature of film and storytelling. She started her career with assisting under all types of roles on of all kinds video shoots to learn about the art of filmmaking, before managing to score a larger role of assistant producer and assistant director on the music video Robot by The Sam Willows (2017). Life is Live is her capstone project and the biggest piece of work she has directed and embarked on thus far.
* In attendance
VIDEO HOME SYSTEM
Sharlene Bamboat • Canada • 2018 • 19:11 • English and Urdu • Other • Experimental / Documentary
An experimental documentary that traces the convergence of popular culture and politics in Pakistan during the 1980s and 1990s. This video showcases the connections between pop culture and nationalism, and how bootleg economies kept the cinema industry alive during periods of censorship.
Sharlene Bamboat* is a video and installation artist. Her work is anchored in the absurd and mundane retracing of history through queer aesthetics and popular culture. She has exhibited internationally, including: the Sharjah Film Platform (U.A.E.), the Berlin Film Festival: Forum Expanded (Germany), Aga Khan Museum (Canada), London Film Festival (UK), Malmo Queer Film Festival (Sweden) and Vasakh Film Festival (Pakistan). Bamboat frequently works in collaboration, most notably with artist Alexis Mitchell under the name Bambitchell. Bamboat lives and works between Toronto and Montreal, Canada.
* In attendance