Reel Asian is thrilled to co-present two films at the 2016 Hot Docs Festival in the month of May! In MY LAND, director Jian Fan presents the tension caused by the Chinese government when residents are evicted out of their homes and the Chen’s family refuses to leave. We’re also proud to screen THE APOLOGY, produced by Reel Asian’s co-founder Anita Lee, that follows 3 brave grandmothers seeking gender parity and a formal apology from a reluctant Japan government as they revisit their past as sex slaves during WWII.
The 2016 Hot Docs Festival will run from April 28 – May 8, 2016. Find out more HERE!
THE APOLOGY
dir. Tiffany Hsiung; producer Anita Lee
Sunday, May 1 @10:30am | TIFF Bell Lightbox, cinema 1 (350 King St. W)
Sunday, May 8 @12:45pm | Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles St. W)
Sunday, May 8 @6:30PM | Hart House Theatre (7 Hart House Circle)
Admission: $15.04
More film details here.
SYNOPSIS: “Comfort women” was the term used to describe the women and girls across Asia—more than 200,000 of them—who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. A handful of these women, now known as “grandmas” and all in their 80s and 90s, are demanding an official apology from a reluctant Japanese government. The film focuses on three: Grandma Adela from the Philippines, whose greatest regret is that she never told her husband about her past before he died; Grandma Cao from China, who rose above her tragedy to adopt and single-handedly raise a daughter; and the indomitable Grandma Gil from South Korea, who resolutely and tirelessly travels Asia to tell her story and end war crimes against women. Heart-wrenching and inspirational, beautiful and transformative, the journey of these grandmothers is a profound testament to the human spirit’s demand for justice. Trailer.
MY LAND
dir. Jian Fan; producer Ni Zang
Monday, May 2 @6:00pm | Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave)
Wednesday, May 4 @9:45pm | Scotiabank Theatre 7 (259 Richmond St. W)
Saturday, May 7 @4:30pm | Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave)
Admission: $15.04
More film details here.
SYNOPSIS: Chen Jun is a migrant farmer who moves his family from Hebei province to Beijing in search of a better life. The big city’s rampant expansion arrives on the Chen family’s doorstep when they’re suddenly evicted from their leased land to make way for a real estate project. The neighbours leave en masse under landlord intimidation but the Chens refuse to budge. As non-residents, they have nowhere to go and nothing to lose so they stand up to their evictors. Using a video camera as both a weapon and a witness, they document years of underhanded tactics and acts of sabotage meant to send them packing. Defiantly, they continue to grow their family and cultivate their vegetables. This seemingly small act holds serious power, since all around them nothing gets done or built. The Chens’ resistance and hardship is an astonishing lesson to their children, and to us all. Trailer.
In Co-presentation With:
