ANNOUNCEMENTS

💫 Thank-You Note from our Artistic Director

Before we turn the page to the next chapter of MAiFF, allow me to look back with gratitude for a moment. On behalf of our team, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the enthusiasm and support with which you welcomed the new birth of the Montreal Asian International Film Festival (MAiFFmontreal | 몬아제) in its 13th edition, presented by Arts East-West. 

2026 marked our organisation’s 30th anniversary. We took a courageous and bright step by transforming KFFC into MAiFF, opening inclusively as a pan-Asian film and media arts festival, and it was a heartfelt success beyond all our expectations.

A new discovery hub of Asian and Asian diaspora media arts, with 60+ activities: screenings, exhibitions, workshops, mentorship, our famous ART-Talks, and more. New premieres woven with classic arthouse cinema, celebrating Asian and Asian diaspora screen culture. 30+ features in the media, both locally and internationally, sharing our story with the world. The success of MAiFF has strengthened our confidence in our mission and vision as a two-year consecutive thematic festival. We uniquely resonate with our beloved Montreal audiences — full of people who love to discover and rediscover Asian and Asian diaspora screen culture in conversation with the world. 

For the past 30 years, we have worked in the direction of cultural decolonization. We amplify diverse voices, stand up to rooted systemic discrimination, reclaim our traditions through our Call My Name movement. We respect weekends as sacred rest for art workers, because an art worker's rest matters just as much as any other worker. Through it all, we have kept highlighting art-house cinema, discovering new storytelling, and nurturing a youth-oriented research-creation media arts hub outside institutional norms, regardless of budget. Each year, seeds planted in new ground have burst into projects supported by the response of our public and our artists.

Now, we turn the page. The Book Dongne project becomes Festival Book Dongne, expanding from one day to two, taking place in February 2027. The 14th edition of MAiFF — following the second year of our theme "Tangibility: Soil, Body, Stories" — will run from May 27 to June 12, 2027. And in the second half of this year, a lineup of new projects is already in development.

If you are interested in joining us as a partner, sponsor, or volunteer staff member, please contact us. We are always looking to discover and support emerging new voices — and I am so proud of what our small team and community have built together over these 30 years.

For more details, visit our website: www.artseastwest.ca

With gratitude,

Mi-Jeong Lee

Founder & Artistic Director, Arts East-West