The Mulan International Film Festival (MulanIFF) is Canada’s largest film festival of its kind, dedicated to championing Chinese-language films and pan-Chinese cinemas. At its fifth edition, this year’s festival places a special emphasis on emerging talented filmmakers, while continuing to advocate for female filmmakers, LGBTQ+ films, and Hong Kong films. Founded in 2018 by a small group of University of Toronto alumni, the festival is now listed in Telefilm Canada’s Development Program, as a qualifying festival for the stream for Black and People of Colour.
The 2024 Mulan International Film Festival will be held from August 9 to August 17, 2024, at Innis Town Hall, University of Toronto St. George.
The festival will open with the Canadian Premiere of Love Is a Gun. Directed by Taiwanese actor and director LEE Hong-Chi, this highly anticipated film has already received acclaim at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Lion of the Future – “Luigi de Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. The film tells the story of a young man named Sweet Potato (LEE Hong-Chi), who returns to his hometown after serving time in prison. Seeking redemption, he tries to find a job. However, his past catches up with him and pulls him back into a life of crime. Ultimately, Sweet Potato finds himself confronting a mysterious “boss”, wielding a gun and determined to redefine his fate.
The festival will close with the Canadian Premiere of director LIANG Ming’s Carefree Days, which won the Best Director and Best Actress (LYU Xingchen) of Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) in 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival. In a storm of fate, XU Lingling (LYU Xingchen) develops uremia, and her mother (Ailiya) unexpectedly passes away. Her neglectful father (LI Congxi) returns to her side, but they are no more than blood-tied strangers. Her best friend TAN Na (LI Xueqin) and old classmate ZHAO Dongyang (ZHAO Bingrui) become her anchors, and the three embark on a journey to Shanhaiguan, where both her life and Northeast China stand boundless and intertwined.
The 2024 festival consists of four main programmes: Fountainhead, Lili vs. Leviathan, Yin and Yang, and Retrospective. Across the four programmes, MulanIFF will feature 39 titles, with 24 premieres:
- The Fountainhead programme celebrates and promotes emerging talents and their works with creative originality. Two Audience Awards, and two jury-selected awards will be given directly to the directors of the winning shorts and features, with cash prizes of $300 and $1,000. The eight short film directors in competition include JIANG Geng, Ocean CHIN, Jacqueline CHAN, LAI Yuqing, YU Chih-Chieh, LIN Yihan, XU Peiyao and ZHONG Hongshi. The five feature film directors in competition are WANG Ping-Wen/PENG Tzu-Hui, Nicole Chi Amén, Nelson YEO, LIU Taifeng and CHOY Ji. They form an international tapestry of diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, ready to astound and captivate Toronto with their cinematic brilliance of telling authentic Chinese and Asian stories.
- The Lili vs. Leviathan programme serves to advance the appreciation of female filmmakers’ and actresses’ endeavours, as well as to recognize the identity and power of female protagonists in films. Highlights include the Toronto Premiere of Alan ZHANG’s This Woman, which tells a story of an ordinary Chinese woman juggling the roles of wife, mother, and daughter, finds herself navigating the complexities of intimate relationships at the onset of the pandemic. In this pseudo-documentary, her journey poses bold questions to traditional expectations of womanhood. Through her unwavering desires and actions, Beibei mirrors the pioneering spirit of women who dare to express their wants and needs, redefining what it means to be a modern woman in contemporary China. This year there are also four short films in the Lili vs. Leviathan programme.
- The Yin and Yang programme is dedicated to films that reflect on social issues related to gender inequality, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, thereby advocating equality and solidarity. Highlights of the featured film section (this section is co-presented with Gal Pal Society) include the North American Premiere of SU I-Hsuan’s Who’ll Stop the Rain, Ray YEUNG’s All Shall Be Well (these two films are co-presented with Inside Out Film Festival, All Shall be Well is supported by HKETO), Canadian Premiere of HAN Shuai’s Green Night, and GENG Zihan’s A Song Sung Blue. This year there are also five short films in the Yin and Yang programme.
- The Retrospective programme provides a vantage point to delve into the ebb and flow of history, society, culture, and the spirit of the times. Through these cinematic wonders, we embark on a journey upstream, seeking the essence of being Chinese, of being of Chinese descent, and of the Chinese cultural heritage. This year we focus on one of the most important characters in modern Chinese literature – Eileen CHANG. Eight films that were written, partially written by Eileen, or adapted from Eileen’s novels or her translation, will be brought to our audience this year. Highlights include the North American Premiere of Ann HUI’s Eighteen Springs (4K Restoration), Stanley KWAN’s Red Rose White Rose (35mm film) and HOU Hsiao-Hsien’s Flowers of Shanghai (4K Restoration).
Beside our main screening programmes, from August 12th to August 15th, MulanIFF 2024 will also bring “In Depth With” Industry Sessions to all filmmakers, industry professionals, film critic, and students who are interested in getting into the industry, and die-hard cinephiles eager to know the actual ins and outs of film productions. All “In Depth With” sessions feature in-person speakers and Q&A opportunities, and most also feature industry or educational screenings of films the speakers participated in making. Guest speakers include NAI An, YANG Chao, MEI Feng, TAN Chui Mui, FENG Xi, Jessica Kiang, Yun CHANG and Jonny MA.
This year also marks the launch of the inaugural Debut Narrative Feature Development Lab, scheduled to take place from August 12 to August 16, 2024 during the film festival. This initiative is designed to provide support to emerging directors of Chinese backgrounds who are preparing to embark on their debut narrative feature-length film in the Chinese language.
The 2024 Mulan International Film Festival is supported and sponsored by the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, Ontario Cultural Attraction Fund, Ontario Creates, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at Toronto and small local businesses including Audemus Law Firm, Aspect Med SPA, Fantuan Delivery Toronto, AimStar Capital Group, Amoment BookStore, CERTN and MarsRock Financial Group.
Time: August 9th to 17th
Location: Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave)
Tickets
This year, MulanIFF offers the following three festival pack options:
- 3-Ticket Festival Pack: Redeemable for 3 tickets to any screenings.
- 6 + 2 Festival Pack: Redeemable for 6 tickets to any screenings and 2 tickets to any “Fountainhead” programme screenings.
- 10 + 4 Festival Pack: Redeemable for 10 tickets to any screenings and 4 tickets to any “Fountainhead” programme screenings.
For festival pack prices and more information, please visit MulanIFF Festival Pack page.
Individual tickets:
Fountainhead Programme Individual Ticket: $10 + processing fee
All other programmes Individual Ticket: $20 + processing fee
Please visit MulanIFF Homepage
“In Depth With” Industry Session tickets:
Regular tickets start at $10 and student tickets start at $5, with two free sessions available. For a full access pass with the best value, check out the Filmmaker Pass, exclusively offered to filmmakers and students.
