In Asia, watching films with the family has become one of the modern traditions of the Lunar New Year holiday. This year, the Vancouver International Film Festival and LNY Splash are bringing this tradition to Canada. A special film program, Lunar New Year at VIFF, will take place at VIFF Centre from February 16 to 18. This event is in partnership with The Society of We Are Canadians Too and the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association. The screenings include works from Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. The audience is invited to explore the cultural and social nuances of various Asian cultures through these stories.

Charlie Wu, the general manager of The Society of We Are Canadians Too, stated, “Although the project was inspired by the Asian Lunar New Year holiday, we selected films with interesting perspectives on topical issues so that diverse communities can have a deeper understanding of each other’s backgrounds.” Under the theme of “freedom”, these seven films explore constraints of gender, migration, and the impacts of cultural and social systems on individuals. Simultaneously, the core of these films is about the bonds between family and community, from conflicts to reconciliation.

The 1998 classic Grandma and Her Ghosts depicts the symbiotic relationship between humans and ghosts. It also shares the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, all told through the eyes of a young boy. Despite many film festival critics, the film is a childhood memory for an entire generation of Taiwanese people. Lunar New Year at VIFF will screen the 2021 remake, allowing grownups and children to find new revelations.

Be With Me combines Taiwanese folk beliefs and local religions to tell an intergenerational family story from the perspective of the granddaughter. The film contemplates how contemporary women may still hesitate between pursuing a successful career and fearing loneliness. Director Wern-ying Hwarng has worked alongside famous Asian director Hsiao-hsien Hou for many years as an art director. This is her debut feature film, based on her own life story. She will participate in a post-screening discussion with the audience on February 18.

Five of the seven films feature women as the protagonists. They are Taoists, filmmakers, political prisoners, shop owners, and middle-aged aunties who love Korean dramas. They are also grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and granddaughters. Ajoomma, co-produced by Singapore and South Korea, and the Vietnamese comedy The House of No Man, reflects society's expectations for mothers and how women shift against them. Taiwan's first epic film starring female political prisoners, Untold Herstory, will also have its North American premiere at this event.

​​The Malaysian drama film Abang Adik, starring Wu Kang-ren who won Best Actor at the Golden Horse Awards, captures the struggles of the country’s long-standing and unresolved issues of identity and migrant worker conditions. It received widespread response from across Asia. The film will premiere in Canada on February 16. Director Jin Ong will join Helena Wu, an Asian cinema film studies professor from the University of British Columbia, in a post-screening discussion on February 17.

The Sunny Side of the Street is also by a Malaysian director. The drama focuses on similar issues of identity and hope. Through the unexpected bond of an old refugee who had smuggled himself out of Guangdong, and a young refugee boy who escaped from Pakistan with his family, director Kok Rui Lau brings a new side of Hong Kong society to the big screen, from the perspective of new immigrants.

The seven films include humorous and heartwarming ruminations on family. They also face our histories and societies without flinching. Without a doubt, they are all works that bring us closer to each other and our loved ones. For more information on the screenings, please visit the event website LNYSplash.ca.

More Lunar New Year programming:

Exhibitions, workshops, concert: LunarFestVancouver.ca

Lantern installations: TheLanternCity.ca

Films, other installations: LNYSplash.ca