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The 18th annual edition of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, presented by National Bank came to a close after 11 days in downtown Toronto, North York and Richmond Hill and announces the award winners of its juried feature and short film prizes including this year’s So You Think You Can Pitch? competition.

As Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, Reel Asian continues to fuel growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Toronto and presented 45 dynamic titles from 11 regions this year including Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Nepal, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, USA and Canada.

Highlights include:

· Full house for Opening Gala THE MIDNIGHT AFTER with Hong Kong pop star and actor Chui Tien-you in attendance
· International Premiere of sports documentary 9-MAN with director Ursula Liang in attendance
· Canadian Premiere of Centrepiece Gala and Taiwanese hit KANO with first-time director and veteran actor Umin Boya in attendance
· Sold-out screening of Hong Kong action thriller OVERHEARD 3 in Richmond Hill
· A new partnership with the stunning Aga Khan Museum featuring Sundance favourite HIMALAYA SONG, a live film and music multimedia presentation
· International guests including director Oh In-Chun (MOURNING GRAVE, South Korea), producer Vivek Kajaria (FANDRY, India), director Amit Kumar (MONSOON SHOOTOUT, India), directir Ryan Moore (MANNY, USA) and American actor Sendhil Ramamurthy (BRAHMIN BULLS, USA)

The annual SO YOU THINK YOU CAN PITCH? LIVE COMPETITION featured 7 teams competing for cash and industry prizes in front of a live audience. As Reel Asian becomes the hub for Asian filmmakers to make connections and exchange ideas, the festival will continue to provide essential industry opportunities both at the festival and year-round.

2014 Reel Asian Award Winners:

Menkes Audience Award
MANNY (Director Ryan Moore, Philippines/USA 2014)
All feature films at the festival are eligible for this prize. The favourite feature film is selected by the audience and includes a $2,000 cash prize.

Fasken Martineau Best Feature Film or Video Award:
MANSHIN: TEN THOUSAND SPIRITS (Director Park Chan-kyoung, South Korea 2013)
All feature films are eligible for this prize. $2,000 cash prize

With Manshin, director Park Chan-Kyoung offers a fascinating and ambitious exploration of Korean shamanism, which effortlessly fuses the narrative and documentary forms. The film blends the biographical and the historical, the personal and the collective, the local and the universal, in such a way that it transcends the limits of its subject-matter to embrace larger questions about history and society, and ultimately lends a voice to the inexpressible and the invisible.

CHCH Best Canadian Film or Video Award:
90 DAYS (Director Timothy Yeung, Hong Kong/Canada/USA 2013)
All Canadian works are eligible for this prize. $500 cash prize

90 DAYS was selected for its solid direction, remarkable pacing, and compelling performances, all of which played to the specific strengths of short filmmaking. We were drawn into the story from the first scene and touched deeply by the sensitivity in which the director transported us into the world of underground prostitution in Hong Kong.

Honourable Mention:
LEFTOVER (Director Daniel Yong, Canada 2014)

National Bank Best First Feature Film Award:
FANDRY (Director Nagraj Manjule, India 2013)
All first feature films are eligible for this prize. $500 cash prize

Director Nagrai Manjule perfectly casts a story of a young boy’s growing awareness of being locked into a family of social pariahs; a heart-breaking realization that fate is sometimes stronger than choice.

Animasian Award:
RAINY DAYS (Director Vladimir Leschiov, Canada/Latvia 2014)
All animated films and videos are eligible for this prize. $500 cash prize

The jury would like to note that this year’s animation selection was a challenging task picking only one winner among so many wonderful stories. Ultimately two films stood out for us both with deeply personal and moving tales, told with amazing technique and innovative voice.

Air Canada Best Short Film or Video Award:
All short films and videos are eligible for this prize. Opportunity to broadcast on Air Canada’s international in-flight entertainment movie channel in May 2015.

The winners are:
90 DAYS (Director Timothy Yeung, Hong Kong/Canada/USA 2013)
WOMAN IN FRAGMENTS (Director Zhou Quan, USA/China/Japan 2013)
THE HOME PROMISED (Director Betty Xie, Canada 2014)
THE BUSY YOUNG PSYCHIC (Director Chen Ho-Yu, Taiwan 2013)
MOONCAKE (Director Francois Yang, France/Switzerland 2014)

WIFT-T Award:
100 CRUSHES: THE TIE (Director Elisha Lim, Canada 2014)
All films made by female GTA-based artists are eligible for this prize.
$1,200 programming pass and one-year membership from WIFT-T

For more info on the awards or festival please visit website