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Meet the Team!
Managing Editor
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is a Singaporean-born interdisciplinary artist, arts programmer, and researcher based in Tkaronto. She is the co-founder of TACLA (The Asian Canadian Living Archive), a community archive initiative, and runs Teh People Studio and San micropress. Her creative research practice explores translations, traversals, memory, and grief. She is the author of two chapbooks and does experimental paper arts as one half of the creative duo jabs. She is currently working on her PhD at York University.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?Assembling and working with this team! I cannot overemphasize enough how much of a dream team this group was. Making books is only as good as the people who are involved in it and the energy, talent and skill that everybody brought into their respective areas of work was just so nourishing to me. As the pacemaker and project lead for this anthology, there was immense pressure but also immense privilege to be so intimate with every aspect of creation for this book and to support and be supported by so many people, from the anthology staff, to the contributors and also our many partners who print the book into existence.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of! Referent 2! I make books and paper arts with Abby Ho (the anthology's pinch hit designer) and we've just released preorders for a new iteration of our put-it-together-yourself zine that features a book full of photo corner inserts and a pack of 20 image cards and 20 poetry cards. Check it out ︎here!
Commissioning Editor
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is a director, producer, and writer. She is an alumni of the CFC Directors’ Lab, CBC Workshop for Diverse Creators, and Hot Docs Doc Accelerator Program. Currently, Nayani is in post-production for her first feature drama, This Place (Telefilm Canada) and in development for her first scripted series.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!My first narrative feature THIS PLACE is currently in post-production and will be ready for 2022. After a long indie filmmaking journey, I am grateful to know that we will finally realize our original vision and witness this film baby come to fruition!
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Commissioning Editor
KHANH TUDO
︎ ︎
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is a multidisciplinary artist straddling between set work, programming at Insomniac Film Festival, and winging it in sculpture work. They are drawn to the magic and spontaneity DIY and low-budget artmaking can possess when working from a relationship-nurturing and care-centric framework.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!This is not really about a project per say, but I have been returning to running as a hobby on and off the past few years after a long hiatus from competitive running. I feel like recently was I able to let go of my competitive racing teenage instinct that prioritized improvement, personal bests and pain as a signal of productivity. I'm really proud and happy to find time in some of my days to move my body in a way that is purely for the sake of pleasure for myself. I've been able to experience running in a completely different form than what I grew up with and it feels like I'm exploring a whole new side of myself! Weeee
Graphic Designer
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is a graphic designer and artist based in Tio'Tia:ke (Montreal). While completing a bachelor’s degree in design at Concordia University, she creates for Sticky Rice Magazine, a non-profit E-zine promoting interculturalism within the Asian Canadian community. Her approach focuses on the research of sustainable designs without compromising the coexistence of present and future generations. Graphic art and photography are her main platforms to express her bold and speculative ideas.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I worked closely with Jasmine to design the layout and artistic direction for the anthology. Having a strong background in graphic design, my goal was to visually communicate the long history of the Reel Asian Festival while building a visual disruptive from the conventional design of anthologies. It is meant to be a space to showcase the vibrancy and eccentricity of the contributors and staff and to open a dialogue around the notion of being Asian Canadian.
The design team and I gathered inspiration from vintage Asian zines, books and publications and we found them so rich in history that we had to include some of our favourites in the anthology. It was important for our team to honour the students, non-profit organizations, and individuals who pioneered some of the iconic print magazines and newspapers focused on preserving and celebrating the voices of Asian communities. We wanted to challenge ourselves to build a publication to not only sit on the shelves, but to build one that is exciting to the eyes and hands to flip through from cover to cover.
While the process was extremely demanding, I found myself driven to work on the anthology during late nights because I was using my design skills to preserve and immortalize the voice of my community that is not often celebrated in the mainstream media. I found peace to work with Jasmine and Yiu Hei, two talented creatives young at heart, who constantly pushed me to explore the boundaries of print publication design. They taught me what it’s like to work in a dream team, even from a city away.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.Cabin in the Woods
The movie in itself is a parody of typical horror movie. I highly recommend watching this one without looking it up on Wikipedia and watching this on your next trip to a cottage is a must.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!Last month, I celebrated the one-year anniversary of Sticky Rice Magazine, a non-profit magazine from Montreal. I worked with the design team on the direction of the second volume called "(BE)LONGING: The Queer Edition" and it is available online to read for free on ︎Sticky Rice's website.
Auxiliary Materials Designer
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is a multidisciplinary designer with a piqued interest in constructing and reconstructing physical products. Expanding on the skills and ideology acquired through a background in architecture, Yiu Hei aspires toward fulfilling his childhood dreams of turning imaginations into tangible objects. With earnest excitement (and a tinge of hubris), Yiu Hei is currently exploring representations of mortality through jewelry as the brand manager of Isochron and attempting to build his dream wardrobe as an amateur clothing designer.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!I help manage a jewelry label alongside my friends, Isochron. It's not the most recent, but we shot a beautiful campaign over the summer! Hoping to release it next year :) It was nice as we had some first-time models mixed with professional models, hobbyist photographers and videographers mixed with professionals... everybody got to learn from each other and come out of their comfort zones a bit!
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Pinch Hit Designer
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is a community arts organizer and multidisciplinary artist working in Tkaronto. Her artistic practice uses sculptural drawings, papercuts, and painting to create alternative scapes of rediscovering “home” or visualizing intangible desires.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!I recently worked with some friends to create an immersive exhibition and live performance night in Kensington Market called, Living in Technicolour! We wanted to highlight the vibrancy of the market by exploring different emotions found in our new realities. There were art installations in several shops, a bingo game and raffle that you had to go around the market for, and a closing live music night. Check it out ︎here.
JASMINE GUI
︎ ︎
is a Singaporean-born interdisciplinary artist, arts programmer, and researcher based in Tkaronto. She is the co-founder of TACLA (The Asian Canadian Living Archive), a community archive initiative, and runs Teh People Studio and San micropress. Her creative research practice explores translations, traversals, memory, and grief. She is the author of two chapbooks and does experimental paper arts as one half of the creative duo jabs. She is currently working on her PhD at York University.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?Assembling and working with this team! I cannot overemphasize enough how much of a dream team this group was. Making books is only as good as the people who are involved in it and the energy, talent and skill that everybody brought into their respective areas of work was just so nourishing to me. As the pacemaker and project lead for this anthology, there was immense pressure but also immense privilege to be so intimate with every aspect of creation for this book and to support and be supported by so many people, from the anthology staff, to the contributors and also our many partners who print the book into existence.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.
I've just binged the first season of Baking Impossible on Netflix. I love a good skill-based reality TV competition and after ep 1's highlights of competitors' cake boats capsizing in a giant tank of water, I was hooked.
I've just binged the first season of Baking Impossible on Netflix. I love a good skill-based reality TV competition and after ep 1's highlights of competitors' cake boats capsizing in a giant tank of water, I was hooked.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of! Referent 2! I make books and paper arts with Abby Ho (the anthology's pinch hit designer) and we've just released preorders for a new iteration of our put-it-together-yourself zine that features a book full of photo corner inserts and a pack of 20 image cards and 20 poetry cards. Check it out ︎here!
Commissioning Editor
V. T. NAYANI
︎ ︎
is a director, producer, and writer. She is an alumni of the CFC Directors’ Lab, CBC Workshop for Diverse Creators, and Hot Docs Doc Accelerator Program. Currently, Nayani is in post-production for her first feature drama, This Place (Telefilm Canada) and in development for her first scripted series.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I was fortunate to be part of the Commissioning Editors team working on the 25th anniversary anthology (re)Rights of Passage. What I enjoyed most as part of this journey was collaborating with a multitude of magical artists, each bringing a needed and unique lens to the this collective heartwork.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.
I just finished re-watching NEW GIRL! The way that show still makes me laugh out loud after (way) too many binge watching sessions is wonderful!
I just finished re-watching NEW GIRL! The way that show still makes me laugh out loud after (way) too many binge watching sessions is wonderful!
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!My first narrative feature THIS PLACE is currently in post-production and will be ready for 2022. After a long indie filmmaking journey, I am grateful to know that we will finally realize our original vision and witness this film baby come to fruition!
Commissioning Editor
KHANH TUDO
︎ ︎
is a multidisciplinary artist straddling between set work, programming at Insomniac Film Festival, and winging it in sculpture work. They are drawn to the magic and spontaneity DIY and low-budget artmaking can possess when working from a relationship-nurturing and care-centric framework.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?As one of the anthology editors, I had the honour of reaching out to artists and filmmakers that I deeply admired to make work in response to some Asian-Canadian films I was interested in. I really loved having conversations with the contributors about their pieces and ideas and being able to watch how they interpreted the concepts that I pitched to them.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.
I recently rewatched Jennifer's Body and it's now one of my favourite Halloween movies. So campy, fun, and filled with quotables. Megan Fox kills it (literally) and Karyn Kusama is an absolute legend!!
I recently rewatched Jennifer's Body and it's now one of my favourite Halloween movies. So campy, fun, and filled with quotables. Megan Fox kills it (literally) and Karyn Kusama is an absolute legend!!
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!This is not really about a project per say, but I have been returning to running as a hobby on and off the past few years after a long hiatus from competitive running. I feel like recently was I able to let go of my competitive racing teenage instinct that prioritized improvement, personal bests and pain as a signal of productivity. I'm really proud and happy to find time in some of my days to move my body in a way that is purely for the sake of pleasure for myself. I've been able to experience running in a completely different form than what I grew up with and it feels like I'm exploring a whole new side of myself! Weeee
Graphic Designer
ATIMA NG
︎ ︎
is a graphic designer and artist based in Tio'Tia:ke (Montreal). While completing a bachelor’s degree in design at Concordia University, she creates for Sticky Rice Magazine, a non-profit E-zine promoting interculturalism within the Asian Canadian community. Her approach focuses on the research of sustainable designs without compromising the coexistence of present and future generations. Graphic art and photography are her main platforms to express her bold and speculative ideas.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I worked closely with Jasmine to design the layout and artistic direction for the anthology. Having a strong background in graphic design, my goal was to visually communicate the long history of the Reel Asian Festival while building a visual disruptive from the conventional design of anthologies. It is meant to be a space to showcase the vibrancy and eccentricity of the contributors and staff and to open a dialogue around the notion of being Asian Canadian.
The design team and I gathered inspiration from vintage Asian zines, books and publications and we found them so rich in history that we had to include some of our favourites in the anthology. It was important for our team to honour the students, non-profit organizations, and individuals who pioneered some of the iconic print magazines and newspapers focused on preserving and celebrating the voices of Asian communities. We wanted to challenge ourselves to build a publication to not only sit on the shelves, but to build one that is exciting to the eyes and hands to flip through from cover to cover.
While the process was extremely demanding, I found myself driven to work on the anthology during late nights because I was using my design skills to preserve and immortalize the voice of my community that is not often celebrated in the mainstream media. I found peace to work with Jasmine and Yiu Hei, two talented creatives young at heart, who constantly pushed me to explore the boundaries of print publication design. They taught me what it’s like to work in a dream team, even from a city away.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.Cabin in the Woods
The movie in itself is a parody of typical horror movie. I highly recommend watching this one without looking it up on Wikipedia and watching this on your next trip to a cottage is a must.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!Last month, I celebrated the one-year anniversary of Sticky Rice Magazine, a non-profit magazine from Montreal. I worked with the design team on the direction of the second volume called "(BE)LONGING: The Queer Edition" and it is available online to read for free on ︎Sticky Rice's website.
Auxiliary Materials Designer
YIU HEI CHEUNG
︎ ︎
is a multidisciplinary designer with a piqued interest in constructing and reconstructing physical products. Expanding on the skills and ideology acquired through a background in architecture, Yiu Hei aspires toward fulfilling his childhood dreams of turning imaginations into tangible objects. With earnest excitement (and a tinge of hubris), Yiu Hei is currently exploring representations of mortality through jewelry as the brand manager of Isochron and attempting to build his dream wardrobe as an amateur clothing designer.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I helped design (well, the ones that weren't already designed by contributors) and produce the auxiliary materials that were slipped, clipped, glued, and stuck into the book! My favourite part was getting to bring one of the contributor's daughter's drawings "to life" by turning them into stickers on a sticker sheet. The stickers populate my waterbottle and laptop now :)
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.What's Wrong with Secretary Kim!!!!! It's the funniest K-drama/comedy I've watched, great de-stressing material!
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!I help manage a jewelry label alongside my friends, Isochron. It's not the most recent, but we shot a beautiful campaign over the summer! Hoping to release it next year :) It was nice as we had some first-time models mixed with professional models, hobbyist photographers and videographers mixed with professionals... everybody got to learn from each other and come out of their comfort zones a bit!
Pinch Hit Designer
ABBY HO
︎ ︎
is a community arts organizer and multidisciplinary artist working in Tkaronto. Her artistic practice uses sculptural drawings, papercuts, and painting to create alternative scapes of rediscovering “home” or visualizing intangible desires. Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I laid out the stills for the anthology and created a couple of the risograph prints book inserts. Seeing the whole book laid out together has been super exciting. Finally, after working on my parts on my own, I got to see the entire picture come together!
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.
I recently watched Only Yesterday, the 1991 Studio Ghibli film for the first time. It was so god with all the summer missing and nostalgic youth vibes. Of course, the animation is stunning, and how can you not want to eat pineapple afterwards?
I recently watched Only Yesterday, the 1991 Studio Ghibli film for the first time. It was so god with all the summer missing and nostalgic youth vibes. Of course, the animation is stunning, and how can you not want to eat pineapple afterwards?
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!I recently worked with some friends to create an immersive exhibition and live performance night in Kensington Market called, Living in Technicolour! We wanted to highlight the vibrancy of the market by exploring different emotions found in our new realities. There were art installations in several shops, a bingo game and raffle that you had to go around the market for, and a closing live music night. Check it out ︎here.
Commissioning Editor
is a writer, editor, and film curator based in Toronto and New Delhi. He has worked in marketing and curatorial roles at Mercer Union, Images Festival, Regent Park Film Festival, Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. Aaditya has contributed writing to Canadian Art, The New Inquiry, POV Magazine, Rungh Magazine, and Ethnic Aisle, as well as exhibition texts to Trinity Square Video, South Asian Visual Arts Centre (SAVAC),Koffler.Digital, and FADO Performance Art Centre. His work seeks to blur the lines between creative nonfiction and narrative forms.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?
As a Commissioning Editor, I worked with Mahdi, Saroja, Kendra, Rupali, and Saira in shaping and defining their varied projects. My favourite part was witnessing each contributor's unique writing and designing inclinations, instincts and research-based interests. I treasure our conversations and their receptivity to my suggestions and feedback.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.
Satin Rouge (2002) by Raja Amari — A lonely, widowed mother Lilia, played by the grossly underrated Hiam Abbas, secretly performs as a cabaret dancer by night, finding love and thrill on the way.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!
Review of Priya Sen's Yeh Freedom Life for POV Magazine which you can read ︎here!
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is a multimedia producer, interdisciplinary artist, and filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada, with roots in Hong Kong. For over a decade, he has worked with various non-profit, cultural, and arts organizations such as Kollaboration Toronto, the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, and The Japan Foundation. His artistic practice examines speculative narratives and genre fiction within mediums of film, video, poetry, and zine-making. Whenever there’s a chance, Philbert will temporarily abandon time and space to deep dive into an endless watchlist of films, comics, and video games, often with a bag of chips within arm’s reach.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I worked as one of the commissioning editors for the anthology. My favourite part was conducting the speculative fiction roundtable. I was really nervous about "hosting" something like that for the first time but it was incredibly humbling and educational hearing the dialogue with all the participants. I really hope we can do an in-person version of it sometime in the not-so-distant future. There's so much more to discuss and I felt that we only scratched the surface!
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of! I'm honestly most proud of being able to contribute to the anthology. To this day I'm still not entirely sure I was asked, but I'm thankful. Other than that, I am most proud of recently joining the board of directors of the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, and helping design their ︎covidracism.ca website last year, as well as creating animated clips for their Voice of the Pandemic podcast.
Special Projects
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is a Hongkongese-Canadian curator, artist, and archivist currently existing in Markham, Canada. Her devotion to meaningful connection and collaboration is reflected in projects centering storytelling, visibility, and kinship. Stemming from her own experience of hybrid diasporic living, both her current curatorial and lens-based projects narrate her journey as she navigates her place in community, archival, racial, and sexual politics.
Graduating from the criticism and curatorial practices program at OCAD University in 2020, Charisse’s work has exhibited locally at the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Ryerson Artspace, the Gladstone Hotel, and OCAD University; and internationally in Mexico, Scotland, and Finland.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!I’ve been on a little bit of an art hiatus, but I’m still in love with this series I shot in 2020 during the first stages of worldwide lockdown called 馮 Family Jewelry. It’s a series of photographs and a video of my mama showing off our family heirlooms. I had the honour of having it featured by Myseum in the Quarantine Qapsule. View the full series ︎here!
Managing Copy Editor
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is an editor and musician writing cinematic night songs for the daydreamer. Her years of creating impressionistic blends of harp, piano, dreamy vocals, and visceral lyrics culminated in the release of her debut EP, Night Dress, last autumn. She is also a vocalist, harpist, and songwriter for the band Tiger Balme.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I oversaw copy editing and fact checking. My favourite part was reading through the final proof of the anthology while playing Ghibli-inspired ASMR ambience in the background and soaking in all the insight, heart, and artistry that form this special book.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!My first EP, Night Dress! You can find this collection of ambient, cinematic songs at ︎andazeng.bandcamp.com or any major streaming platform.
Proofreader
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is a multidisciplinary artist based in Tkaronto by way of Houston, Texas. They have a keen interest in storytelling, focusing on the subject of history and its effects in interpersonal relationships today. Saba bops from sketch comedy and improv to filmmaking, fictionalized prose, and even installation art. They have been published in Ultra ZINE (2020, 2021), M.E.H.A.R (2020), and Black Solo 2: Canadian Anthology of Monodrama (2017). Their most recent short film, Where My Thoughts Take Me, has been showcased at the National Arts Centre (2021), and they are a member of the Assembly Improv’s inaugural sketch troupe: The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Harry (or TAFKA).
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!My short film, Where My Thoughts Take Me, has been showcased by the NAC and Volcano Theatre as part of the Transformation Project. Watch it ︎here.
Resources Editor
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is an emerging Filipino-Canadian multimedia artist living and working in Brampton, Ontario. Legaspi received an HBA from the University of Toronto and an advanced diploma from Sheridan College, along with the Dr. Annie Smith Travel Award upon graduation. Legaspi has screened and exhibited work in Toronto, Seattle, and Quezon City, with recent activity including work with the Blackwood Gallery, the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, and Visual Arts Mississauga.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!Is 2020 recent? I still feel attached to magnolia, which is a piece of video art I did in my last year of my undergrad, it is a bit long though at 18 minutes.Watch it ︎here.
AADITYA AGGARWAL
︎ ︎
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?
As a Commissioning Editor, I worked with Mahdi, Saroja, Kendra, Rupali, and Saira in shaping and defining their varied projects. My favourite part was witnessing each contributor's unique writing and designing inclinations, instincts and research-based interests. I treasure our conversations and their receptivity to my suggestions and feedback.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.
Satin Rouge (2002) by Raja Amari — A lonely, widowed mother Lilia, played by the grossly underrated Hiam Abbas, secretly performs as a cabaret dancer by night, finding love and thrill on the way.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!
Review of Priya Sen's Yeh Freedom Life for POV Magazine which you can read ︎here!
Commissioning Editor
PHILBERT LUI
︎ ︎
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I worked as one of the commissioning editors for the anthology. My favourite part was conducting the speculative fiction roundtable. I was really nervous about "hosting" something like that for the first time but it was incredibly humbling and educational hearing the dialogue with all the participants. I really hope we can do an in-person version of it sometime in the not-so-distant future. There's so much more to discuss and I felt that we only scratched the surface!
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.Last year at the height of the lockdown I decided to put together a watchlist of Japanese films as an affordable form of 'vacationing', and the film that stuck with me the most was LINDA LINDA LINDA directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita. It was one of the best slice-of-life films I have seen; the meditative crescendo to the punk rock climax was very well-paced, it was hilarious and humbling with just the right amount of teen angst, and most of all, I think it helped me get hired at my current job at The Japan Foundation.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of! I'm honestly most proud of being able to contribute to the anthology. To this day I'm still not entirely sure I was asked, but I'm thankful. Other than that, I am most proud of recently joining the board of directors of the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, and helping design their ︎covidracism.ca website last year, as well as creating animated clips for their Voice of the Pandemic podcast.
Special Projects
CHARISSE FUNG
︎ ︎
is a Hongkongese-Canadian curator, artist, and archivist currently existing in Markham, Canada. Her devotion to meaningful connection and collaboration is reflected in projects centering storytelling, visibility, and kinship. Stemming from her own experience of hybrid diasporic living, both her current curatorial and lens-based projects narrate her journey as she navigates her place in community, archival, racial, and sexual politics.
Graduating from the criticism and curatorial practices program at OCAD University in 2020, Charisse’s work has exhibited locally at the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Ryerson Artspace, the Gladstone Hotel, and OCAD University; and internationally in Mexico, Scotland, and Finland.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I did a little bit of everything! I helped with some admin tasks, but my main focus was on designing, building, and launching a website to house Reel Asian’s Special Projects and the anthology’s digital content (if you’re reading this you’re on it now, wow!). I also did the same for our instagram - follow us at @rarara.ca!! Not gonna lie, both of these tasks were incredibly intimidating, but I learned so much from the experience and having my hard work finally seen by everyone is so rewarding :)
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.The Commuter!! I have an obsession with all movies starring Liam Neeson where he plays some regular guy trying to just live his life when, suddenly, he’s thrown the craziest bs and has to fight for his life lol
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!I’ve been on a little bit of an art hiatus, but I’m still in love with this series I shot in 2020 during the first stages of worldwide lockdown called 馮 Family Jewelry. It’s a series of photographs and a video of my mama showing off our family heirlooms. I had the honour of having it featured by Myseum in the Quarantine Qapsule. View the full series ︎here!
Managing Copy Editor
ANDA ZANG
︎ ︎
is an editor and musician writing cinematic night songs for the daydreamer. Her years of creating impressionistic blends of harp, piano, dreamy vocals, and visceral lyrics culminated in the release of her debut EP, Night Dress, last autumn. She is also a vocalist, harpist, and songwriter for the band Tiger Balme. Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I oversaw copy editing and fact checking. My favourite part was reading through the final proof of the anthology while playing Ghibli-inspired ASMR ambience in the background and soaking in all the insight, heart, and artistry that form this special book.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.I recently rewatched Bojack Horseman. One of the funniest and also most heart-wrenching shows you'll ever watch, and I love that it was obviously an absolute creative playground for the writers and animators involved.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!My first EP, Night Dress! You can find this collection of ambient, cinematic songs at ︎andazeng.bandcamp.com or any major streaming platform.
Proofreader
SABA AKHTAR
︎
is a multidisciplinary artist based in Tkaronto by way of Houston, Texas. They have a keen interest in storytelling, focusing on the subject of history and its effects in interpersonal relationships today. Saba bops from sketch comedy and improv to filmmaking, fictionalized prose, and even installation art. They have been published in Ultra ZINE (2020, 2021), M.E.H.A.R (2020), and Black Solo 2: Canadian Anthology of Monodrama (2017). Their most recent short film, Where My Thoughts Take Me, has been showcased at the National Arts Centre (2021), and they are a member of the Assembly Improv’s inaugural sketch troupe: The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Harry (or TAFKA).
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I was the proofreader and fact-checker. My favourite part was getting the opportunity to read so many pieces of writing with many different perspectives and stories. I learned so much about our history and our relationship to media in that time.
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.I'm watching Mad Men for the first time and I have binged through almost all of it, but last few seasons kind of drag and don't really get into meatier subject matters (as much as I would like them too). I really love history and the 1960's is a decade that I am really interested in, as well as the use of dialogue and amazing costume design.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!My short film, Where My Thoughts Take Me, has been showcased by the NAC and Volcano Theatre as part of the Transformation Project. Watch it ︎here.
Resources Editor
JAMES LEGASPI
︎ ︎
is an emerging Filipino-Canadian multimedia artist living and working in Brampton, Ontario. Legaspi received an HBA from the University of Toronto and an advanced diploma from Sheridan College, along with the Dr. Annie Smith Travel Award upon graduation. Legaspi has screened and exhibited work in Toronto, Seattle, and Quezon City, with recent activity including work with the Blackwood Gallery, the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, and Visual Arts Mississauga.
Tell us a little bit about your role - what did you most enjoy from the process?I was the Resources Editor for the anthology and part of the Copy and Image team, and some tasks falling under my role included editing citations for the written pieces, receiving/soliciting all the wonderful film stills, and compiling and editing all the bibliographic information. As for my favourite part, I think that'd be the small tangents we'd have in our check-in meetings—whenever I think of Saba I can't help but think of a certain musical about law and then proceed to imagine Saba doing some Vaudeville dancing (sorry Saba).
Recommend a movie you watched or a show you binged recently.The Sopranos (there's a new movie out) on behalf of my sister who won't stop bringing it up—look up "The Sopranos Ohs and Hos!" on YouTube either before or after watching and let that guide your opinion.
Share a recent project with us that you're proud of!Is 2020 recent? I still feel attached to magnolia, which is a piece of video art I did in my last year of my undergrad, it is a bit long though at 18 minutes.Watch it ︎here.