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Public Screens: Unfolding Lineages


  • Asiatic Itineraries (OCAD University) 205 Richmond Street W Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3Y8 Canada (map)

Film still of HOME - 家 by Bai Li Wiegmans

Public Screens: Unfolding Lineages 

Presented in Partnership with Asiatic Itineraries

November 6-20 2026
Location: 205 Richmond Street West, Toronto

Handwritten letters to grandparents and heartfelt reflections from childhood selves reveal lineages that unravel across time, space, and distance. This collection of short films investigates disconnection and ritual through an embodied multi-media lens, offering earnest meditations on how identity is shaped and transformed. 

About Asiatic Itineraries:

Asiatic Itineraries is a research centre dedicated to creating more inclusive, representative cultural frameworks within diasporic media praxis. Storytelling has long been important in Asian diasporic communities, but these narratives are underrepresented in Canadian digital archives, online storytelling projects, and other technology-based humanities research. Led by Prof. Immony Mèn, Canada Research Chair in Diasporic Digital Humanities, Asiatic Itineraries aims to develop new ethical models for research creation and humanities-based scholarship around diasporic narratives, cultural expression, network formation, and knowledge-sharing.

Full list of screening dates and times:

2026 Films
Vết Sẹo Lòng: Tiếng Ngân Nga Của Quê Nhà (Heart Scars, Where Homeland Hums)
Vết Sẹo Lòng: Tiếng Ngân Nga Của Quê Nhà (Heart Scars, Where Homeland Hums)

cát nguyên (Vietnam) EMERGING
Canadian Premiere
Duration: 14:11

Trigger Warning: Death

In the living video-performance-collage, “Heart Scars, Where Homeland Hums,” cát nguyên embodies their grandfather’s poetry alongside their own through mud calligraphy: the bountiful harvest of soil, sun, and soul from their family’s burial site. Their palms channel the rivers flowing within the smooth stone skin of a mortar and pestle carved of rock native to Quảng Nam. From the earth, cát nguyên divines ink, then incarnates their bloodlines onto ancient photographs, a hand-woven sedge mat, and banana leaves – corporeal transmission of memory and prophecy, déjà vu that travels generations. What the fields and mountains of homeland engrave are not merely crops of tragedy, but rather a sky that offers ancestral reconnection. This poetic inscription-ceremony is therefore an organic, transcendent act of reintegration and regeneration, a poem that grandfather and grandchild have written together throughout more than a century.

A film by cát nguyên

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HOME - 家
HOME - 家

Bai Li Wiegmans (Netherlands) EMERGING
Canadian Premiere
Duration: 10:35

HOME - 家 is an autobiographical dance short film telling the story of a Chinese adoptee in The Netherlands.

Director Bai Li takes you on an intimate exploration of self-discovery and acceptance in search of a sense of belonging. Through dance, music and poetry, she delves into the diverse emotions surrounding her adoption journey.

The story serves as an ode to those who navigate the complex terrain of adoption and dual identities. Giving voice to those without a fixed feeling of home and offering comfort and understanding to anyone who has ever felt caught between worlds.

Director: Bai Li Wiegmans
Dancer and choreographer: Bai Li Wiegmans
Composer and music producer: Bongjin Jung
Director of photography: Christopher James Viñalon
Voices: Xiaojie Pan, Bai Li Wiegmans, Henri Wiegmans
Poem: Li Bai - Quiet night thoughts

Special thanks to: Het Cultuurfonds

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No Less Asian
No Less Asian

Melissa Lam (Canada) EMERGING
Duration: 1:36

In honour of this year's AANHPI History Month in May, I wanted to showcase the rich diversity of the Asian-Canadian experience through the art of dance. As a Chinese-Canadian who grew up in Singapore and later moved to Vancouver, I faced my own challenges in navigating my cultural identity. Today, I feel more grounded and embrace my multicultural heritage. Dance provides a vibrant way to celebrate our unique stories, connect with our roots, and build a shared understanding with others.

Director, Editor, Mix Media Artist: Melissa Lam
Producer: Ann Dinh
DP, Cam Op: Stefan Feldmann
Dancers: Melody Meilin, Lamya Rahman, Tegvaran Sooch, Caleb Agno
Post Supervisor: Bronwyn Davies
Sound Designer: Adam Johnson
Colorist: Tyson Rider
Designer: Andy Burdin

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Earlier Event: November 6
Public Screens: Elongating Pace
Later Event: November 6
From the Cypher to the Screen