The Cinematheque

“Turning Red is a masterwork of adolescent awkwardness.”

Emily Landau, Toronto Life

The North American theatrical release of Domee Shi’s Oscar-nominated debut feature, a pop-tween fantasy that, in true Pixar fashion, melds car chases, emotional disequilibrium, and more than a glint of nostalgia, was shuttered at the eleventh hour last year. We’re rectifying this move with our May edition of Film Club! In turn-of-the-millennium Toronto, Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang) follows an A‑student routine, at least until the unruliest pages of her romantic imagination and cultural inheritance manifest in the form of an overnight red-panda body shift. Myths of transfiguration are among the most enduring and evocative in any culture, and Shi’s spin on the form is exuberant like few other films from the Silicon Valley studio—undoubtedly the first one to have Nichijou and Fruits Basket as animation touchstones! Sandra Oh (Double Happiness) and Orion Lee (First Cow) lend their voices as Meilin’s parents.

“A bright, moving, funny, happy film about adolescent angst, that doesn’t condescend but also doesn’t overload.” Jessica Kiang, Rolling Stone

The May 21 screening of Turning Red will be preceded by Barely Squeaking By, a short film created by Momoko and Peter during the Learning & Outreach 2022 Cinelab summer filmmaking camp for youth aged 14–19.