The EMW (EastMeetsWest) category at MAiFF 2026 carries the core of  “Where East Meets West,” a foundational pillar of Arts East-West and a guiding vision behind the organization’s work. Bringing this vision to the screen, EMW presents a vibrant selection of pan-Asian cinema and Asian diaspora films from around the world. Featured in this category are films from across Asia, works by Asian diaspora filmmakers outside North America, and films that center cross-cultural narratives, encounters, and perspectives between East and West. Through bold storytelling, distinctive cinematic voices, and diverse reflections on layers of  culture and identity, EMW invites audiences to a cinematic horizon where different voices, histories, and worlds come together.

Program #1

New Wave Asian Cinema 1

Location: Cinema du Parc
Time: Saturday May 30 | 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Ticket: $14.50 GA, $10 Student/Senior

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PROGRAM

1. Days of Being Wild by Wong Kar-Wai

With his signature sunglasses and a revolutionary visual style, WONG Kar-wai captured the ephemeral nature of time, memory, and longing. His collaboration with cinematographer Christopher Doyle created a lush, neon-soaked aesthetic that has influenced countless filmmakers worldwide. His films are less about plot and more about mood—a mesmerizing dream state you can’t forget. Experience the film that started it all: his 1990 classic, Days of Being Wild (阿飛正傳). Starring legends like Leslie Cheung and Maggie Cheung, it’s a heartbreakingly beautiful exploration of restless youth and unrequited love in 1960s Hong Kong.

Directed by

Wong Kar-Wai

Origin

Hong Kong

Length

94 mins

Year

1990

Language

Cantonese

Medium

Fiction

2. Winds of Spring by Keyu Chen

Unfolding with the rhythm of the seasons, Winds of Spring tells the tender story of a young girl who, driven by the irrepressible need for self-fulfillment, decides to leave the family nest. Keyu Chen employs her signature style of fluid transitions and fine, spare lines inspired by Chinese ink painting in her delicately crafted first film.Keyu Chen makes use of fine lines and fluid transitions in her delicately crafted first film, which tells the tale of a young girl who, driven by the irrepressible need for self-fulfillment, dreams of leaving the family nest.

Directed by

Keyu Chen

Origin

Canada

Length

6

Year

2017

Language

Medium

Animation

Program #2

Let's Have a Cup of Doodh Patti Chai

Location: Goethe-Institut Montreal (1626 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC)
Time: June 6 | 1:00 PM
Ticket: $10 GA, $8 Student/Senior

PROGRAM

1. The Middle Dog Days by Han Okhi

Synopsis | The film uses rope as its central motif, presenting a visual and metaphorical exploration of its various images and implied meanings. As a silent film composed only of the movements of objects and people, it emphasizes motion, rhythm, and the flatness of the image.

2. Let's Have a Cup of Doodh Patti Chai by Brian Hung

Kam Tin is home to people of many ethnicities, like a miniature United Nations. Chris moves there from the city with his wife Erica and their daughter, Wing Yan. As they adjust to their new life, they must also learn how to get along with neighbours of different ethnicities. Chris starts a business with an Indian partner, though Erica has little faith in it. Wing Yan befriends an African asylum seeker, sparking gossip. Haunted by unpleasant past experiences, Erica carries racial stereotypes, growing increasingly anxious and unsettled as tensions rise...

Directed by

Brian Hung

Origin

Hong Kong

Length

99

Year

2026

Language

Cantonese, English

Medium

Fiction

Program #3

Goethe-Institut Montreal

Location: Goethe-Institut Montreal (1626 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC)
Time: Friday June 12 | 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Ticket: $10 GA, $8 Student/Senior

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PROGRAM

1. Dad vs Bees by David Quach

A 79 year old Asian man is on a quest to rid his beloved garden of a bee infestation. In his way are not just bees but age, language, intergenerational trauma and the struggles of being a refugee in Australia.

Directed by

David Quach

Origin

Australia

Length

20 mins

Year

2026

Language

English

Medium

Documentary

2. Jet Lag in Summer by Yan Kunao

After a hard time finding a job in New York, Jiaqi decides to go back to China during the pandemic while her boyfriend Pingu insists to stay for his ambitious thesis film production. However, a sudden announcement interrupts Jiaqi's plan, and during their separation, both of them have a chance to experience a special period of their lives.

Directed by

Yan Kunao

Origin

Hong Kong

Length

92

Year

2025

Language

Mandarin, English

Medium

Fiction

Program #4

Love Letter

Location: Cinema Moderne
Time: June 8 | 6:00 PM
Ticket: $14.50 GA / $10 Student/Senior

PROGRAM

1. Submerge by Cindy Mochizuki

This short animation film is a “water poem,” set in a Japanese ofuro hot bath. It explores water as a medium and repository for collective stories and was created in a hybrid new media form using animation, video and split screens.

2. Love Letter by Iwai Shunji

Hiroko attends the memorial service of her fiancé, Itsuki Fujii, who died in a mountain-climbing incident. Although Itsuki’s mother says that their old house is gone, Hiroko records the address listed under his name in his yearbook and sends him a letter. Surprisingly, she receives a reply, and discovers it came from his old classmate, a girl who also happens to be called Itsuki Fujii. Iwai’s work in the 1990s defined a new era of Japanese filmmaking, creating what became known as the "Iwai aesthetic"—a dreamy, poetic style marked by stunning cinematography and a deep sensitivity to the nuances of youth and memory. His influence extends beyond cinema into music videos and pop culture, capturing the hearts of a generation. We are thrilled to present his 1995 masterpiece, Love Letter (ラヴレター). A heart-wrenching story of mistaken identity and lost love, this beautiful film became a cultural phenomenon across Asia and remains a timeless classic of romance cinema.

Directed by

Iwai Shunji

Origin

Japan

Length

117

Year

1995

Language

Japanese

Medium

Fiction

Program #5

Loney & Havender

Location: Goethe-Institut
Time: June 13 | 2:30 PM
Ticket: $10 GA / $8 Student/Senior

PROGRAM

2. Loney and Havender by Claudia Tuyết Scheffel

To experience snow and learn German, the young Vietnamese woman Trúc Lâm moves to a little town in the Erz Mountains. During a guided tour of a mine, she leaves her group and reaches the other side of the mountain through a secondary shaft. The world there is similar to the one she left – only all the people are different. She meets Duc, who is also from Vietnam and whose parents have an Asian snack bar. And she meets a mysterious spirit who offers to make a deal with her to enable her return to her old world.

Directed by

Claudia Tuyết Scheffel

Origin

Germany

Length

116

Year

2025

Language

German, Vietnamese

Medium

Fiction