Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA) collaborates with the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival for the first time in presenting AFAA’s flagship film roadshow – Asian Cinerama. Financially supported by Create Hong Kong and the Film Development Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Asian Cinerama will take place online at reelasian.com.

The programme includes Hong Kong director Jun LI’s Drifting, his second feature after having made a significant impact with his directorial debut Tracey in 2018. It has garnered multiple nominations for the Asian Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards. Drifting takes a close look at the homeless, as it features an outstanding ensemble of actors and shows a sensitive approach to an important social issue. Malaysian rising filmmaker Muzzamer Rahman’s Hail, Driver, depicts two lost souls form an unlikely solidarity in front of the beautiful yet stark black and white backdrop of Kuala Lumpur. Its unique imagery could be a reflection of how Aman sees the world as a colourblind person, but also a metaphor for his bleak and bittersweet reality as he struggles to find a place he can call home.

Other outstanding Asian films that will showcase in the programme include, The Blind Rabbit, an allegorical fiction begins Pallavi Paul’s description of systemic police violence in Delhi, India, based on events suppressed from official history. Using scattered but historically significant fragments of documentation, including video and audio eyewitness accounts, Paul explores the intersections of power, gender, and the narrativization of memory. This Stained Dawn, in the electrifying lead-up to the multi-city Aurat March (Women’s March) in Pakistan, director Anam Abbas follows grassroots organizers as they navigate a deeply surveilled and violent environment to assert a growing, nation-wide feminist movement. Three Sisters, an emotional rollercoaster that samples contemporary Korean society. It critically questions how domestic violence, childhood trauma, and social standing are both seen and overlooked through the stories of the three unique characters. Moon So-ri, an award-winning actress and the film’s co-producer, plays Mi-yeon in a rare and strong women-led film with a cathartic ending. Digital Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro: The Real-World Guide to Set Up and Workflow, South Korean director Hong Seoung-yoon latest film, is an unexpected insider’s ride through filmmakers’ insecurities, petty squabbles, and the dangers of “fixing it in post.”