Guest post by Stephanie, a member of the 2014 Reel Asian Marketing Committee.
Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival held their press launch on October 8, 2014 where they officially announced their full line-up of films. The launch kicked off with a festival trailer that showed glimpses of all the films being showcased this year in November. Interim Executive Director, Louanne Chan announced it is their second year programming South Asian films and the fifth year in Richmond Hill. Two locations have been added, which include the newly constructed Aga Khan Museum and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. The opening night film will be the Hong Kong thriller The Midnight After directed by Fruit Chan. The Centerpiece presentation film is Kano, a Taiwanese baseball film directed by Umin Boya. Other films announced included: 9MAN, Mourning Grave, The Continent, and Awesome Asian Bad Guys. For the South Asian programming, there will be three films: Monsoon Shootout, Fandry, and Himalaya Song. Himalaya Song will be screened at Aga Khan Museum with a live music component. In Richmond Hill, the opening film is Manny a documentary about Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. The full festival program is available now on the Reel Asian’s website.
The press launch was very successful as all the guests, sponsors and media expressed great enthusiasm towards the films being shown this year. Films that especially piqued many people’s interest included Himalaya Song, The Midnight After and Kano. After the presentation ended, the room was packed full of people engaging in friendly conversations, while enjoying the delicious complimentary sushi and drinks provided by the fantastic staff and volunteers. This year’s Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival will be held November 6-16th and it is an event that absolutely should not be missed. – Stephanie