Feature doc We Will Be Brave wins audience choice at Reel Asian

The festival also unveiled the winner of its annual So You Think You Can Pitch? competition.

Toronto-based director Chrisann Hessing’s debut documentary feature We Will Be Brave has won the Blue Ant Media Audience Choice award at the 27th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.

The audience award winner was announced on Monday (Nov. 20). Winners in several categories, including Best Canadian Feature Film, were announced on Nov. 11.

The audience award winner is picked after a tally of votes by viewers of the festival, and comes with a $2,500 cash prize.

We Will Be Brave (pictured) is described as “an evocative glimpse into a narrative shift around masculinity.” The film is produced by Hessing and Tanya Hoshi.

Nedda Sarshar’s Unibrow, meanwhile, picked up the Front Row Insurance Audience Choice Short Film Award, which includes a cash prize of $800.

The festival wrapped on Sunday (Nov. 19) with the annual So You Think You Can Pitch? competition, which saw five finalists pitch their projects in front of a live audience of jurors, including Aram Siu Wai Collier, Maya Bastian and Jay Carolyn Wu.

The competition was won by Kay Chan for the animated, silent short film project Bison’s Farewell, receiving a cash prize of $5,000, a one-hour one-on-one session with Blue Ant Media, and a one-hour consultation with a Wattpad development executive, among other assistance.

Photo courtesy of Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival