CANADIAN

• Kharish (Itch) – To keep men from misinterpreting the scratching of an itch as a sexual invitation, a young Pakistani woman tries to find a safe place from the male gaze in Karachi.

• The Midnight Hour – A grieving woman’s hope for marriage is reignited when the ghost of her dead fiancée appears. As much as she tries to keep him, she will soon have to learn to let him go.

• Portrait of Consumption – A young woman’s entire existence depends on the interactions of her social following as if she is a mere puppet on strings desperately seeking approval through the digital form of likes, comments and emojis.

• WINNER: The Teacup – A teacup triggers a woman’s childhood memories and her bittersweet relationship with her father, who was both a victim of and an abuser within the cycle of family violence.

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CHINESE

• Dog Days – After being fired, a financial manager decides to blow the whistle on his former boss, but he first must send his 80-year-old mother with Alzheimer’s to a nursing home, dealing with nagging from his confused mother and his worried boss.

• WINNER: Lion Sister – A Chinese girl born in Canada is determined to learn the traditional Chinese high-pole lion dance skills.

• Under the Kasaya – After an unexpected interaction with her Buddhist mentor, a 14-year-old girl faces a terrifying dilemma: to stay silent, or to risk it all by confessing the ugly truth to her deeply devout Buddhist mother.

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INTERNATIONAL

• Drunken Man – A Kung-Fu Sifu tries to teach his reluctant son before he is murdered in the street. Motivated by revenge, the son learns Kung-Fu and seeks his father’s killer.

• Lay – A retired priest enters the dating scene.

• The Golden 50 – A documentary celebration of Mak Fai Kung Fu Dragon & Lion Dance Association on its 50th anniversary, charting the organization and founder’s history in Seattle.

• WINNER: The Last King – World-famous Iranian detective Shahriar and his ward Vahid investigate the murder of a shipping magnate. The suspects, the victim’s three daughters and wife, tell their version of the events leading up to the patriarch’s death.

STUDENT

• The Magic Book – A young boy who faces bullying at school goes to talk to his teacher and receives a magic book that contains a surprising way to confront adversity.

• WINNER: Karen Comes Home – Returning home to attend a relative’s funeral wake, Karen’s parents can’t seem to stop bickering.

• One of My Own – When a young Chinese girl becomes more aware of her differences in her adopted Caucasian family, she attempts to find her place of belonging with others and herself through artistic expression.

• Silence – A high school senior and her mother navigate cultural barriers during their nightly routine of watching TV. As college dreams clash with familial expectations, unspoken tensions rise, and music becomes the language of their hidden desires and unexpressed love.