This is an Asian Heritage Month incantation that calls upon ancestral power, animist cosmologies, and embodied intention. 符籙 Fúlù (Protection Ritual) gathers Asian-Canadian artists whose film and performance works gesture toward the energetic boundaries of the unseen, through ritual, rhythm, and the resonance of the land.

Through moving image and movement of ink, this entire event is conceived as a protection rite, where spirit, sound, and language are invoked to shield, hold, and care for all who enter.

Doors at 6:30pm
Films and performances at 7:00pm

Admission is by a suggested donation of $10-$20, courtesy of BMO Financial Group

RSVPs are helpful

The Fourfold (2020)
Dir. Alisi Telengut
Duration: 7min

Based on the ancient animistic beliefs and shamanic rituals in Mongolia and Siberia, The Fourfold is an exploration of Indigenous worldview and wisdom. Against the backdrop of the modern existential crisis and the human-induced rapid environmental change, there is a necessity to reclaim the ideas of animism for planetary health and non-human materialities.

not so distant yet eons away (2024)
Dir. Sophia Mai Wolfe & Chick Snipper
Duration: 14min

who are we
will we ever know or understand
perhaps not
yet we keep on searching

Kisyuu Calligraphy, accompanied by Anny Lin & John Nguyen
In this live ritual of ink and movement, Kisyuu transforms the ancient practice of Japanese calligraphy (shodō) into a powerful act of protection and presence. Using a three-foot-long brush and black ink, she conjures large-scale calligraphy on white paper, each stroke a gesture of intention, energy, and meaning. Accompanied by the elemental sounds of Fue 笛/ふえ and taiko drum (feat. Anny Lin & John Nguyen), this performance invites us into a shared moment of stillness, flow, and sacred invocation.

Image: Kisyuu Calligraphy

About the Artists

Alisi Telengut is a Canadian artist and filmmaker of Mongolian roots. Her work has been screened and exhibited internationally, such as at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (USA), Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art (USA), Sundance Film Festival (USA), TIFF and TIFF Canada's Top Ten, Annecy International Animation Festival (France), Biennial VIDEONALE at Kunstmuseum Bonn - Museum of Painting and Contemporary Art Bonn (Germany), OSTRALE Biennale (Germany), Anthology Film Archives (USA), CICA Museum (South Korea), UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein (Germany), Images Festival (Canada), Image Forum (Japan), among others. Telengut is currently an assistant professor in Film Animation at Concordia University in Montreal (Canada). alisitelengut.com

Anny Lin and John Nguyen are multi-instrumentalist musicians, and members of Dahaza (Pounding Waves Group). “Daha” (Pounding Waves) is the title of a famous classical shakuhachi meditation piece which is a metaphor for breaking through one’s obstacles in life to reach success, happiness, and ultimately enlightenment. They perform original and contemporary pieces on a variety of traditional Japanese instruments including taiko, shakuhachi, shamisen, sanshin, and shinobue.

Kisyuu · 姫洲 is a Japanese calligrapher with over 30 years of experience in both traditional and modern styles of Japanese calligraphy. She uses a variety of brushes that are up to 40 inches long, creating large pieces of calligraphy art during live performances.

Born and raised in Japan, Kisyuu started learning calligraphy when she was seven and was given a calligraphy master name “Kisyuu” from her master Kosyuu Kobayashi at the age of 18. She earned numerous awards from calligraphy competitions both in Japan and Canada. Since moving to Canada in 2007, she has devoted herself to calligraphy through installations, workshops, lessons, exhibitions, live performances, and commissioned works. Her work has appeared in film and television including Shōgun and Deadpool 2. Through her calligraphy art, she wishes to create peace, both inner and outer. kisyuu-calligraphy.com

Sophia Mai Wolfe is a queer, Japanese-Canadian independent artist whose practice is ever-changing. She holds an MA in Screendance from the London Contemporary Dance School, and is the founding Artistic Director of F-O-R-M (Festival Of Recorded Movement). She is interested in making work that challenges and slows our attention, and uses film and dance to invite connection and empathy towards the bodies we witness on screen, as well as invite sensation within the bodies of those witnessing.

Banner Image: 宇宙 Space/Cosmos, Kisyuu Calligraphy