#FIRSTLOOK: TORONTO REEL ASIAN 2026 PITCH! LIVE FINALE FINALISTS

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian), Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, today announces the five finalists for its 2026 Pitch! Live Finale competition. Celebrating 20 years of championing emerging filmmakers, Pitch! returns as the closing event of the festival’s milestone 30th edition, bringing audiences together to cheer on the next generation of Asian Canadian and Asian diasporic storytellers.

The five festival filmmakers will pitch their short film projects to a live jury and audience, with one winner receiving a prize package designed to help bring their film to life. The package includes a $5000 cash award, in-kind studio services and the opportunity to screen the completed film at the 31st edition of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival in 2027.

This year’s event will be hosted by Award-winning comedian and actor Andrew Phung (Run the Burbs, Kim’s Convenience), also a frequent guest artist, collaborator and supporter of Reel Asian. Andrew will again contribute to the Andrew Phung Jury Prize for Second Chances, a $1000 award to support a new filmmaker and fresh perspectives.

“It’s an honour to be back at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival to support the festival’s 30th anniversary and 20 years of Pitch!. Pitch! is such a meaningful platform to find new voices, and I can’t wait to see what this year’s finalists bring to the stage,” says Andrew Phung.

The Pitch! shortlist was selected by a jury composed of Reel Asian Board Member and Producer Michael Fukushima, filmmaker Prajj Rajj (Butter Chicken To Go) and Reel Asian Industry Coordinator, Chantal Leong.

Industry experts Zarrar Kahn, filmmaker of In Flames and Sara Jade Alfaro-Dehghani, filmmaker of Hair!, mentored the five finalists as they prepared to present their projects.

2026 PITCH FINALISTS

Project: Cerys and Cade Make A Curse

Sal Eigh
Born and raised in downtown Toronto, filmmaker Sal Eigh’s works explore the whimsically mundane moments of growing up. Gritty and pretty are two sides of the same coin in her universe. Her debut narrative short premiered at Korean Film Festival Canada in Montreal in 2022. Set in a skatepark, it showcases Sal’s interest in the lives of East Asian diaspora in urban spaces. A second short film furthers her world-building, centred around a trio of Korean protagonists in a fictional high school circa 1980. In 2023, Sal co-founded Productions Mauvais Oeil with her partner and collaborator Jonathan Degousée.

Jonathan Degousée
Jonathan is a French-born Canadian indie filmmaker. Through bold writing and striking visuals, his films explore modern existential dread and decaying urban landscapes. His debut short, Rats (2013), screened at festivals and markets in Toronto, Montréal, Atlanta, New York City and Clermont-Ferrand. Bad Dreams (2026) is his second short film.

Project: READ 2 FILTH

Nikita Zhang
An alum of the BIPOC TV & Film Writers Lab, Nikita aspires to bring honest queer and immigrant stories to screen. Her scripts have been selected to read at Writing The Scene in Rainbow and TIFF Next Wave. Currently, she’s developing a CBC Short Documentary on the phasing out of TTC tokens.

Roanna DeGuzman
Roanna is a lover, writer, and small faker when it comes to big truths. She is currently trying to find flow in her unravelling, hopefully she’ll gain some common sense!

Project: ABHAVA

Kalpit Patel
Toronto-based South Asian writer-director-producer telling stories most people avoid, where immigrant family silence, mental health stigma, and queer desire collide. His films explore the cost of living truthfully.

Project: Riflery

Ellie Tripp
A queer, Toronto and New York based filmmaker with a focus on documentary. They are currently finishing their BFA at NYU Tisch.

Project: Loving Living Things

Ellen Yuna Ahn
Toronto-based Korean-Canadian filmmaker trained in theatre directing at Central Saint Martins and participated in Reel Asian’s 2024 Unsung Voices Cohort. Her directing explores themes of faith, aging, and human connection.

This year’s Pitch! Live Jury comprises filmmaker and journalist Saman Malik, Impact Producer Chrisann Hessing and Filmmaker Marushka Almeida.

The 30th anniversary of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival runs from November 11 to 21, 2026, with selected feature films and all shorts available online across Canada from November 16 to 29, 2026. Reel Asian’s milestone edition celebrates three decades of contemporary cinema and work from Asian, Asian diasporic, and Asian Canadian filmmakers and artists.

Pitch! Live Finale Prize Packages

About Reel Asian
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival and a year-round cultural organization dedicated to championing Asian, Asian diasporic, and Asian Canadian artists and storytellers. Founded in Toronto in 1997, Reel Asian® presents film screenings, industry programs, educational initiatives, and community events that support emerging and established creators from Canada and around the world. This year, Reel Asian celebrates its 30th anniversary in-person from November 11–21 in downtown Toronto and online November 16–29 across Canada. Reel Asian is generously supported by Telefilm Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, the Province of Ontario, Canadian Heritage, Ontario Creates, the City of Toronto, and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund.