Thank you to the filmmakers, artists, creators, and team members that make up the MAiFF community! We are excited to shae with you the comments and reflections received from all community members.
Park Hae-oh, Director of Broken Dawn
The 13th MAiFF was a truly meaningful and rewarding festival experience.
From the very beginning, the festival team communicated with warmth, professionalism, and genuine care for filmmakers. Every interaction reflected their commitment to supporting independent cinema and creating a welcoming environment for artists from diverse backgrounds.
I was deeply honored that our short film, "Broken Dawn," received the Dancheong Award for Best Cinematography. The recognition means a great deal to our entire team, and we are grateful to the jury and festival organizers for their thoughtful consideration of our work.
What makes MAiFF especially unique is its dedication to emerging Asian filmmakers and its ability to connect cinema with broader artistic and cultural conversations. The festival's interdisciplinary spirit and attention to detail made the experience feel personal, inspiring, and memorable.
Thank you to Arts East-West, the programming team, the jury members, and everyone who contributed to making this year's festival such a special event. I wholeheartedly recommend MAiFF to filmmakers around the world and would be honored to participate again in the future.
Nungshimeren Longkumer, Director of In The Blood
My name is Nungshimeren Longkumer, the director of In The Blood, a film featured at the 13th iteration MAiFF. First I wanted to say that this was my first film ever, and my second film festival experience as a director. So, to say that my time attending MAiFF as an audience member and a participant was transformative would be an understatement.
The festival team who consisted mostly of very young women were always warm, but professional in their communication. There was never any room for confusion because they either had all the details in the copies they sent me, or answered every question without delay. The festival director Mi-Jeong Lee was also extremely welcoming, and treated me and other filmmakers with kindness.
This was an extremely small film festival, but it had such a strong sense of community. Running almost on pure value, you wouldn't believe the amount of work that was put into this festival. It's smaller size ends up as its biggest strength too as it gives you an amazing opportunity to talk to your peers and connect, not just as filmmakers but as people.
This was also the first time I got paid for screening my film, so yes I will remember this forever :D
If there are any young Asian filmmakers out there reading this, I will recommend this 100% and you'd be surprised how people from different parts of the world come together for this small yet intimate festival. I work at a film festival myself, and I've learned so much from how this festival operates that I've implemented its values into my own work.
Alice Shin, Director of Landscapes of Home
It is a true honor to celebrate the transformation of the Korean Film Festival Canada into the Montreal Asian International Film Festival (MAiFF), marking an exciting new chapter that embraces a broader and more inclusive vision of Asian and Asian diasporic storytelling. Over the past 30 years, Arts East-West has played a vital role in creating space for diverse voices, and MAiFF continues this legacy by connecting artists and audiences across cultures, generations, and lived experiences.
The Montreal Asian International Film Festival is a fantastic platform for showcasing diverse Asian voices and connecting filmmakers with passionate audiences. The programming is thoughtfully curated, and the festival team is warm, professional, and genuinely supportive of independent cinema. The festival team creates a welcoming environment for both filmmakers and audiences, making it a truly meaningful festival experience.
Park Ri-Woong, Filmmaker and 13th MAiFF Jury Member
While watching these films, I was reminded of my time as a foreign student in the U.S. 25 years ago. I remember feeling lonely, struggling with the language, and feeling that nobody was on my side because I was a foreigner. For me, it was only a brief period of my life. But these films made me think about people who carry those feelings for a lifetime. I would like to express my deep gratitude and respect to all the filmmakers who brought those emotions to the screen through such diverse stories and cinematic voices.
Viola Picicur, Communications Intern at the 13th MAiFF
As I was completing my bachelor’s degree in East Asian Studies when I began my internship with the Montreal Asian International Film Festival, I was drawn to the opportunity because of my long-standing interest in Asian cultures. Through my work with MAiFF, however, I discovered a community that was entirely new to me: the film community.
Before joining the festival, I had never felt a particularly strong connection to film as a medium. Yet, working with MAiFF allowed me to appreciate its unique power to tell stories. The voices that MAiFF has given a platform to, and continues to do so, share perspectives and experiences that I had yet to see, despite my personal and academic interest in Asian arts and cultures.
Meeting directors, watching beautifully crafted films and documentaries that pushed me to question my own perspective on the experience that is life. It was a unique and truly valuable time, with amazing passionate people that sparked in me a newfound appreciation for cinema and its ability to create meaningful cultural connections.
William Dere, Filmmaker and 13th MAiFF Jury Member
I had the honour of being invited to be on the jury of the 13th MAIFF. It offered me the privilege of viewing so many wonderful, worthwhile and meaningful films from Asia and the Asian diaspora. MAIFF presents Asian films to Canadian and Quebec audiences who would not have had the chance to see great films with a different perspective and points of view. These films open our consciousness to other world outlooks. I congratulate and thank Mi-Jeong Lee and her dedicated and enthusiastic team for their hard work to bring this necessary cultural event to Montreal year after year. I look forward to many years of MAIFF.
