The 25th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (TRAIF) will take place virtually from Nov. 10 to 19. Two Taiwanese films that received best picture awards, "My Missing Valentine (消失的情人節)" and "Taipei Suicide Story (安眠旅舍)," will be available online throughout the duration of the festival.
The festival will present 81 total films, including features and shorts from around the world. Along with Taiwanese films, films from Canada, the US, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Pakistan, India, and Norway will also be presented.
"My Missing Valentine," directed by Chen Yu-Hsun (陳玉勳), is a fantasy romance set in a rural county. "Taipei Suicide Story," directed by KEEF (王凱民), is set in a society different than our own, at a hotel in Taipei that welcomes suicidal people and assists them in committing the act by providing several methods which they can choose from.
This year's title for the festival's Ideas Conference is "Here in The Future Past," as the festival wishes to use the energy of the community to reminisce while maintaining an eye towards the future. Gathering industry professionals, filmmakers, performers, media artists, programmers, and curators, this conference reflects on racialized filmmaking, the function of art in a time of crisis, working in other mediums, and children's programming.
TRAIF is one of the most important Asian film festivals in Canada, and the Taipei Culture Center in New York partners with TRAIF to present Taiwanese cinema. Since 2005, Taiwanese films have been presented at TRAIF every year.
(Photo courtesy of the TRAIF)