Interest: Asian Filmmaker
- Own Voice
Midnight’s Children
Two children are born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment that India claimed its independence from Great Britain — a coincidence that has profound consequences on their lives. Switched at birth in the hospital, the boys — one from a wealthy family, the other belonging to a poor single father — must live out each other’s intended fates, their lives strangely intertwined and linked to their country’s journey through the tumultuous 20th century.
“Boiling over with passion every step of the way.”
— Peter Debruge, Variety
Director
Deepa Mehta
A member of the Order of Canada, Mehta is an award-winning filmmaker who gained acclaim for her trilogy, Fire, Earth and the Oscar-nominated Water. Her adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children was nominated for eight CSAs. She has also directed Bollywood/Hollywood, Beeba Boys, Anatomy of Violence, and many other films. Her film Funny Boy won multiple awards, including the CSAs for best direction and best screenplay. Her television credits include episodes of Leila, Yellowjackets, and Little America.
Writer
Deepa Mehta
Cast
Seema Biswas, Rajat Kapoor, Shahana Goswami, Satya Bhabha
Producer
David Hamilton
Genre
Drama
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, History, Literary Adaptation, Social Justice & Politics
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media
- Own Voice
Meditation Park
Meditation Park opens with Maria (Cheng Pei Pei), the matriarch of a Chinese-Canadian family, hosting a birthday celebration for her workaholic husband, Bing, (Tzi Ma), along with her similarly overworked daughter (Sandra Oh in a brilliant performance) and her own family.
Maria clearly reveres Bing and the sacrifices he has made for their family – so when she discovers another woman’s panties in his pocket, she's forced to confront the harsh reality that her world may not be what it seemed.
As Maria wrestles with what to do about her discovery, she befriends a group of local eccentrics and a grumpy neighbour (Don McKellar). Maria’s journey of self-discovery soon teaches her everyone’s lives are more complicated than she has been led to believe.
“Shum mines her favourite theme – immigrant experience in Canada – in what seems at first to be a gentle slice of life but eventually develops a powerful emotional force.” – Susan G. Cole, NOW MagazineDirector
Mina Shum
Vancouver-based Shum is best known for her feature films Double Happiness and Meditation Park, both starring Sandra Oh. Her documentary Ninth Floor was on TIFF’s 2015 list of Canada’s top ten films. Other features include Long Life; Happiness and Prosperity; Drive She Said; and One (Nine). She has also directed episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries, The Good Doctor, and October Faction.
Writer
Mina Shum
Cast
Tzi Ma, Cheng Pei-Pei, Sandra Oh
Producers
Raymond Massey II, Mina Shum, Stephen Hegyes
Genre
Drama
Interests
Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, ESL, Female Filmmaker, Newcomer Stories, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media
Long Time Running
Long Time Running chronicles the emotional and epic 2016 tour that The Tragically Hip embarked on after iconic frontman Gord Downie announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Intimate moments, behind-the-scenes and on-stage footage, personal interviews with the band and close friends reveal the heart-breaking final performances of that now-legendary final tour.
No other band encapsulated the rugged soul of Canada quite like the Hip, and it was completely in character for Downie – the everyman poet laureate of Canada – to go out on his own terms, with a powerfully galvanizing tour that delivered some of the most exhilarating performances of band’s history.
“Long Time Running, named after a languid blues song from the band's second album, is both a history lesson and a eulogy for a group with 16 Juno Awards to its credit.” – Brad Wheeler, The Globe and MailDirectors
Nicholas de Pencier
De Pencier is an award-winning documentary cinematographer and producer known primarily for his work with director Jennifer Baichwal. They made the CSA-winning Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark and Anthropocene in collaboration with Edward Burtynsky. Their other credits include The Holier It Gets, Payback, and Long Time Running, which won the DGC award for Excellence in Documentary. De Pencier also produced the drama One Week, directed the documentary Black Code, and was cinematographer on The Colour of Ink, for which he won a CSA.
Jennifer Baichwal
Baichwal is an award-winning director who has collaborated with her partner, producer and cinematographer Nicholas de Pencier, on documentaries such as the CSA-winning trilogy Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark, and Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, with Edward Burtynsky. Her other credits include Act of God, Payback, and Long Time Running, among others. She has won 13 awards, including three CSAs.
Writer
Jennifer Baichwal
Cast
Gord Downie, Rob Baker, Paul Langlois, Davis Manning, Johnny Fay
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Arts and Culture, Asian Filmmaker, Biography, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Elevation Pictures
Window Horses
When she receives an invitation to a poetry festival in Shiraz, Iran, Rosie embarks on a journey that unravels a personal mystery and brings her closer to her Persian roots.
Voiced by an all-star cast including Sandra Oh, Elliot Page and Don McKellar, Window Horses is a beautiful and poignant story about family, imagination, culture and finding your own voice.
"This is not just a visual treat, it's a rewarding and unexpectedly engrossing piece of female-led storytelling." - Wendy Ide, Screen International
Director
Ann Marie Fleming
Fleming is a visual artist, filmmaker and writer who has animated over 20 films, including the shorts Stories Sarah Tells, Big Trees, A Short Film About Tegan & Sara, Question Period, and Old Dog. Her features include New Shoes, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, The French Guy, and Can I Get a Witness, which premiered at TIFF 2024. Fleming has won nearly 20 awards and nominations for her films, including 15 for Window Horses.
Writer
Ann Marie Fleming
Cast
Shohreh Aghdashloo, Sandra Oh, Nancy Kwan, Don McKellar, Elliot Page
Producers
Michael Fukushima, Shirley Vercruysse, Ann Marie Fleming, Sandra Oh
Genres
Action/Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family
Interests
Arts and Culture, Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, ESL, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads
Original Language
English
Canadian Distributor
Mongrel Media