Beyond Tradition: Rethinking “Home” with LNY Splash

This Lunar New Year, Vancouver’s cultural scene is looking beyond the traditional red envelopes and fireworks to explore a more intimate side of the Asian experience. LNY Splash, presented by the Society of We Are Canadians Too, has returned with a curated selection of contemporary cinema that dives deep into the meaning of “Home”.

In partnership with the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) and the Vancouver Public Library, this year’s festival moves past stereotypical narratives to highlight stories of migration, belonging, and intergenerational relationships. As the Society notes, home is rarely a fixed place; it is a fluid concept shaped by memory, movement, and the courage to build something new.

Whether you are looking for a free community screening or a weekend of gripping drama, here is what to catch at LNY Splash this February.

The Screening Schedule

February 10: Special Free Screening

• Venue: VPL Central Library
• After Spring, the Tamaki Family… (Taiwan, Japan): A moving documentary following a family’s 80-year journey as they accompany their aging matriarch from Okinawa back to her motherland of Taiwan.

February 15: Deep Dives into Identity

• Venue: VIFF Centre
• Girl (Taiwan): Set in the late 1980s, this drama follows a young girl navigating inherited trauma and buried memories as she attempts to imagine a future beyond her family’s past.

February 16: Family Ties and Resilient Bonds

• Venue: VIFF Centre
• Family Matters (Taiwan): A sweeping story spanning four time periods that reveals how love and resilience coexist within the deepest family conflicts.
• A Good Child (Singapore): A drag performer returns home to care for an estranged mother in this blend of comedy and drama that explores “chosen family” and acceptance.
• Renoir (Japan): A poetic meditation on childhood loneliness seen through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl watching her family quietly unravel in 1980s suburban Japan.

Through these diverse lenses, LNY Splash reminds us that Asia is not a monolith, but a collection of evolving societies with stories that continue to shape the Canadian experience.

For full screening details and to grab your tickets, visit LNYSplash.ca. —Noa Nichol