Montreal Asian Film Festival

06/17/2026

As the 13th edition of MAiFF comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to shine a light on a project that quietly shaped the festival from beginning to end.

⭐ Site-Specific Installation Art at MAiFF by Mi-Jeong Lee Mi-Jeong Lee ⭐

MAiFF was honoured to host several site-specific installations by Mi-Jeong Lee, a Montreal–Seoul based Korean-Canadian artist, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Arts East-West. Beyond the saekdong textile prize, Lee has been exploring care and relationship — between giver and recipient, host and guest — through paper, textiles, recycled materials, and live plants. Her work weaves through soil, body, and story, and always makes room for emerging artists to collaborate.

Three works-in-progress were presented at Cinéma du Musée and Goethe-Institut Montreal:
⭐ Little Hands, Big Mess: Kids' Creative Playground Zone (with Sarah-Maude Lemieux)
⭐ Worn Again: a plastic-free photo zone brought to life through Lee's recycled hanbok (with Samantha Chan)
⭐ Tender Passage, Green Runway: a living passage replacing the red carpet, where 18 seedling plants each bore the name of a MAiFF staff member. Only 10 survived the six weeks, and as a result, the second exhibition did not take place — and this living process, too, was part of the work.

We hope to see these works in completion in the seasons ahead, and we're grateful to Lee for bringing this vision to life throughout MAiFF.

New seedlings of Green Runway will return for the 14th edition of MAiFF, May 27 to June 12, 2027. For more information, visit www.mijeonglees.arts

06/17/2026

As MAiFF wraps up, there are still several activities available to the public until June 30!

MAiFF proudly co-presents a free online retrospective of 15 films curated by the Korean Film Archive 한국영상자료원 (KOFA), honouring Korea's beloved 'National Actor' Ahn Sung-ki, who passed away on January 5, 2026, at age 74. Across nearly 200 films and six decades, Ahn became the defining face of Korean New Wave cinema, starring alongside directors like Im Kwon-taek, Lee Jang-ho, and Park Kwang-su.

This retrospective looks at his work through a fresh lens — the remarkable women who shared the screen with him, from Jeong Yun-hee to Kang Soo-yeon, and the stories of their performances carried across decades of Korean social and political change.

All films are available to watch for free online through this link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL28d5JImIlH6NcFTLw2zaIj4vNwXxTmrd

Read more about the retrospective on our website: https://www.artseastwest.ca/maiff/ahn-sung-ki-retrospective

This program continues MAiFF's partnership with KOFA, first initiated by Arts East-West in 2020.

MAiFF events until June 30:
1. The Actor's Mirror: Ahn Sung-ki and the Female Lineage of Korean Cinema, in partnership with the Korean Film Archive.
2. Call for Essays on media arts events taking place in Quebec from January to June 30, 2026 — see our pinned post for more details!
3. Donation Campaign for Arts East-West — see our pinned post for more details!

06/16/2026

A thematically driven festival, the inaugural edition of the Montreal Asian International Film Festival (MAiFF/몬아제) — and the 13th edition in the evolution of the Korean Film Festival of Canada — closed this weekend to an enthusiastic response from local and international audiences alike.

MAiFF 2026 marked three significant milestones: the launch of its new identity under the motto UNBOUND; the inauguration of the Dancheong Competition and Silk Thread Awards; and a transformation from the KFFC into an inclusive platform for all Asian cinema and media arts. This is the year MAiFF took its place in the international festival community — dedicated to Asian cinema and the Asian diaspora experience, from Canada to the world.

⭐ THE AWARDS ⭐

The Dancheong Competition (단청 / 丹靑) takes its name from the ancient Korean art of painting palaces with vibrant, intricately woven colours. The Dancheong Awards honour emerging filmmakers painting bold new strokes through cinematic narrative, and are open specifically to directors presenting their first or second feature. The Silk Thread Awards are drawn from across all MAiFF categories, recognizing the rarest and most original works as selected by the jury.

Keep swiping to see the names of all competition winners again.

⭐ THE PRIZES ⭐
Each award is a handmade art bookmark crafted from saekdong and dancheong colour textiles. Far from a simple craft, the process involved travelling back and forth between Korea and Montreal in search of the right materials. The bookmarks' varied shapes are woven from new and recycled textiles, carrying both time and memory. Inspired by the vivid colours of Korean dancheong and the layered tradition of bojagi, each bookmark is a small artwork in its own right — conceived and designed by multidisciplinary artist Mi-Jeong Lee and brought to life through the hands of Kim Mi-Ja. (© mijeonglees.arts)
Each bookmark is accompanied by two books honouring the authors who led MAiFF's writing workshop: Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park and Annapurna's Bounty by Veena Gokhale, each signed by the author. The Grand Prix of the Dancheong Competition and the Best Director of the Silk Thread Awards also each carry a cash prize, funded by our film submission fees. Together, these prizes honour not only filmmakers, but the wider artistic community that makes cultural exchange possible.

⭐ THE JURY ⭐

The Dancheong Competition and Silk Thread Awards were decided by an international jury of filmmakers and artists. Keep swiping to learn more.

Thank you to all the filmmakers and artists whose work was featured at MAiFF 2026 — we are honoured to have shared your films and art with our audiences. MAiFF is guided by a single conviction: that quality matters more than quantity. Every work selected represents our commitment to that standard. Congratulations to all our filmmakers and artists.

For more information about the wrap-up of the 13th MAiFF, read our closing press release from the link in bio. Thank you for supporting our mission and see you again next year!

06/11/2026

ENG: As we prepare to close the 13th edition of MAiFF, join us on June 13 for a full day of conversation, cinema, and celebration.

We begin the day with our Donor Brunch at Goethe-Institut Montréal, bringing together supporters, artists, and community members to reflect on another incredible festival. Guests will enjoy a special meal inspired by our Opening Ceremony, offering a chance to experience the flavours that helped launch this year's edition.

At 1:00 PM, we invite you to attend *Interconnecting Dialogues: Navigating Montreal’s Cross-Cultural Landscape*, moderated by Guy Rex Rodgers. This panel will explore how we can strengthen connections across generations, artistic sectors, and cultural communities, while imagining new possibilities for collaboration within Montreal’s diverse cultural landscape.

The afternoon continues with a screening of *Loney and Havender* (2025), directed by Claudia Tuyết Scheffel, alongside *Hole* (1974) from our HAN OKHI retrospective. We are honoured to welcome Claudia Tuyết Scheffel to Montreal for the film’s premiere. A Vietnamese-German filmmaker travelling from Germany to join us, she will participate in a Q&A following the screening, offering audiences an opportunity to engage directly with her work and creative process.

To conclude the festival, join us at Cinema Moderne for our Closing Ceremony screening featuring *In the Sea of Strange Thoughts* (2025) by CHOI JEONGDAN and *ITCH* (2013) by SU-AN NG.

Thank you for being part of MAiFF’s 13th edition. We look forward to celebrating one final day of stories, dialogue, and community with you.

FR: Alors que nous nous préparons à clore la 13e édition du MAiFF, nous vous invitons à nous rejoindre le 13 juin pour une journée remplie d’échanges, de cinéma et de célébrations.

Nous commencerons la journée avec notre brunch des donateurs au Goethe-Institut Montréal, réunissant partenaires, artistes et membres de la communauté pour souligner une autre édition mémorable du festival. Les invités pourront déguster une version revisitée du repas servi lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture, permettant à ceux qui l’ont manqué de découvrir cette expérience culinaire.

À 13 h, assistez à *Interconnecting Dialogues: Navigating Montreal’s Cross-Cultural Landscape*, une discussion animée par Guy Rex Rodgers. Le panel abordera les moyens de renforcer les liens entre générations, secteurs artistiques et communautés culturelles, tout en imaginant de nouvelles formes de collaboration au sein du paysage culturel montréalais.

La programmation se poursuit avec la projection de *Loney and Havender* (2025) de Claudia Tuyết Scheffel, accompagnée de *Hole* (1974), présenté dans le cadre de notre rétrospective consacrée à HAN OKHI. Nous sommes ravis d’accueillir Claudia Tuyết Scheffel à Montréal pour cette première. Cinéaste germano-vietnamienne ayant fait le voyage depuis l’Allemagne pour présenter son film, elle participera à une séance de questions-réponses après la projection.

Pour conclure le festival, retrouvez-nous au Cinéma Moderne pour notre cérémonie de clôture, avec la présentation de *In the Sea of Strange Thoughts* (2025) de CHOI JEONGDAN et de *ITCH* (2013) de SU-AN NG.

Merci d’avoir fait partie de cette 13e édition du MAiFF. Nous avons hâte de partager avec vous cette dernière journée de découvertes, de dialogues et de célébrations.

06/07/2026

06/05/2026

Introducing our distinguished jury members for the 13th MAiFF 2026! We are honoured to welcome a diverse range of filmmakers and media arts professionals in our jury this year.

Yiou Wang
William Ging Wee Dere
Park Ri-Woong
Sarah-Maude Lemieux

Our 4 jury members will officially select the films for our DANCHEONG Competition and the Jury's Choice Silk Thread Awards. Bringing together bold cinematic voices from across the Asian diaspora and beyond, this selection highlights powerful storytelling, diverse perspectives, and visionary filmmaking from around the world.

DANCHEONG COMPETITION
• In The Sea of Strange Thoughts — CHOI Jeongdan
• Loney & Havender — Claudia Tuyết Scheffel
• JET LAG IN SUMMER — Yan Kunao
• Dad vs Bees — David Quach
• Broken Dawn — PARK Hae-Oh

JURY’S CHOICE — SILK THREADS AWARD
• The Final Semester — LEE Ran-Hee
• There Are No Words — Min Sook Lee
• Landscapes of Home — Alice Shin
• In the Blood — Nungshimeren Longkumer
• The Golden Village — Karen Cho
• Only for a Day — Kyungbin Park

MAiFF celebrates these remarkable filmmakers and looks forward to sharing their works with audiences during our 2026 festival edition. We thank our jury members for their time.

06/04/2026

The Final Semester (2025) | 9 juin
Réalisé par LEE Ran-Hee

Première canadienne

Chang-woo, dix-neuf ans, passe son dernier semestre scolaire non pas en classe, mais à l'usine, comme stagiaire. Malgré le regard froid de son superviseur, il découvre la joie du travail et la camaraderie qui règne avec ses collègues, goûtant à l'excitation et à l'appréhension du monde professionnel – ses joies et ses peines. Le film retrace ces premiers pas palpitants que chacun d'entre nous a faits : ce dernier semestre que nous partageons tous, ces débuts incertains empreints de courage et d'espoir.

Consultez le site artseastwest.ca pour plus d'information!
Billets : https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-final-semester-2025-13th-maiff-tickets-1989110804963

06/03/2026

We need your support - help us fundraise to sustain Asian-Canadian culture in Montreal, and continue to grow the Montreal Asian International Film Festival.

Support us: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/donation-form/support-asian-arts-in-montreal

This year, like many other arts organisations, Arts East-West is facing a major funding shortfall. Despite the hurdles, we're continuing to make an impact through the first edition of MAiFF. Our goal is simple but profound: bringing Asian-Canadian voices to local, national, and global stages without boundaries.

And to achieve this, we ask for your support.

Every cent goes directly to supporting artists and the local community.

If you feel like what we've built has value, then please consider donating to our fundraiser.

Visit our website at artseastwest.ca and stay tuned to our newsletter and social media for more updates - and thank you in advance for your support.