Akashi directed by Mayumi Yoshida will open the FascinAsian Film Festival which will take place from April 30 – May 16, in Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, Canada.

Festival Schedule
April 30 until – May 3, 2026 – Calgary
May 1 – 3, 2026 – Winnipeg
May 12 – 16, 2026 – Edmonton

Opening Night:
May 1, 2026 | Friday | Calgary Central Library | 7:00 pm

Akashi by Mayumi Yoshida – Canada, Japan | 2025 – 100 minutes

Akashi is a multigenerational love story told across parallel timelines. Kana, a struggling artist in Vancouver, returns to Tokyo for her grandmother’s funeral, feeling out of place after ten years abroad. As she reflects on a secret only she and her grandmother shared—that her grandfather had another lover—she unexpectedly reconnects with an old love, Hiro. Intercut with the past, which traces her grandfather’s decades-long affair, Kana confronts hidden family truths and begins to navigate the complexities of love, sacrifice, and the choices that shape a life between desire and duty. (Fascinasian 2026)

Trailer:

About the director:
Born in Japan and raised across three continents, Mayumi Yoshida is a Vancouver-based director, actor, writer, and producer. She is an alumna of Women In the Director’s Chair, TIFF Writer’s Studio, TIFF Series Accelerator and WBD Access x Canadian Academy Writers & Directors Programs. Her directorial debut short film, AKASHI, which she wrote and starred in, won Outstanding Writer at the NBCUniversal Short Film Festival and Best Female Director at the Vancouver Short Film Festival. In 2019, she received the Newcomer Award at the Vancouver Women in Film Festival’s Spotlight Awards. Her music video Different Than Before won a Vimeo Staff Pick, SXSW Jury Award, and was nominated for a JUNO Award. Recently, she was Associate Producer on the A24/Apple TV+ series SUNNY. She was also selected for JETRO x CAPE’s Beyond Japan Filmmakers Directing Program, mentored by Hirokazu Koreeda. Her debut feature, AKASHI, filmed in Japan and Canada, premieres in 2025.

For more information, please visit: https://fascinasian.ca/