Growing up with Reel Asian: How the festival impacted these four filmmakers

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is turning 20 this year — and the festival isn't the only thing that's grown. To mark the anniversary, CBC Arts spoke to four filmmakers who have developed with Reel Asian over the past two decades to see how it has impacted their careers.

Jeff Chiba Stearns, an Emmy-nominated animation and documentary filmmaker from Vancouver, British Columbia, has screened five films over the last 11 years at Reel Asian, starting with his first short animated film What Are You Anyways? in 2005. "Being of mixed Japanese and European descent, I feel it's important to create films that are self-reflective and based on personal experiences to help address issues of identity," says Stearns.

Stearns' 2007 short film Yellow Sticky Notes won the first Animasian Award at the festival — sponsored by Ann Marie Fleming, who would go on to become this year's Canadian Spotlight Artist — which carried a $500 cash prize. "Considering the film was made with no budget and I was a struggling filmmaker at the time, any extra cash to help promote and market the film was a huge asset," said Stearns. "The film went on to screen at over 90 film festivals and win over 10 international awards — and it all started at the 2007 Reel Asian." Mixed Match, Stearns's latest documentary feature, screens at the festival this year.

Casey Mecija, a Toronto-based musician and emerging filmmaker, premiered her first short film My Father, Francis at the 2013 Reel Asian Festival, winning the WIFT-T Award. "I was anxious about debuting the story of my father and I in front of a large audience," said Mecjia. "The audience and festival were so generous with their reception. I felt incredibly honoured and motivated to continue working in film and video formats."

Film festivals like Reel Asian help bring a voice to filmmakers who won't normally have the opportunity to share their films with audiences based on their diverse and niche subject matter of Asian cast.- Jeff Chiba Stearns

Mecjia co-directed Sounds That Mark Our Words, which screens in this year's "Rites of Passage" program — a series of silent shorts featuring a live performance score by Mecjia's former band Ohbijou.

Randall Okita, a Calgary born, Toronto-based artist and filmmaker, has been making work for over a decade and describes Reel Asian "as family." The festival has screened numerous shorts by Okita over the years, starting with Machine with Wishbone in 2008, and the 2015 edition honoured him as its Canadian Artist Spotlight with a retrospective of his work. This year, Okita was a mentor for the festival's summer youth filmmaking workshop, and presents his first feature film The Lockpicker, a visually arresting debut.

Shasha Nakhai, of Filipino-Iranian heritage, first encountered Reel Asian in 2009. "I had just graduated from journalism school and pitched my very first independent project, The Sugar Bowl, at the Reel Asian pitch competition," says Nakhai. "I ended up winning the pitch prize and it was the first time an industry organization had ever taken a chance on me as an emerging filmmaker."

The festival has screened numerous shorts by Nakhai over the years, including the commissioned short 18 Roses this year. Nakhai's latest award-winning short documentary FRAME 394 (produced for CBC Docs) is one of the ten shorts selected for the 2017 Oscar shortlist for best documentary short.

When asked what the Reel Asian Film Festival has meant to them personally, the filmmakers don't hold back.  

"It's so incredibly important that film festivals like Reel Asian exist. They help bring a voice to filmmakers who won't normally have the opportunity to share their films with audiences based on their diverse and niche subject matter or Asian cast," says Stearns.

"I'm still just beginning to build my practice and have so much to learn," says Mecjia. "The festival's commitment to mentorship and support of its filmmakers has been integral to my development as a filmmaker."

We have to ask what effect it has on all of us to consistently be exposed to media that does not reflect our reality, our communities or histories.- Randall Okita

The filmmakers were unanimous in their enthusiasm for how vital it is to have an environment that showcase films reflective of their experiences.

"It is so important to have a festival that champions Asian filmmakers and Asian stories, especially since the status quo does not yet reflect Canada's cultural makeup," says Nakhai. "It's also such a valuable community to be a part of."

"We have to ask what effect it has on all of us to consistently be exposed to media that does not reflect our reality, our communities or histories," says Okita. "There are no words to describe how powerful it is to recognize ourselves in the stories we see presented to us — or the damage that is done when we are excluded from them."

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Until November 19. Various locations, Toronto. www.reelasian.com