"Paladin" Release

We are so excited to announce the digital release of 'Paladin' our dark fantasy short about a young woman struggling with her identity as she imagines herself as a superhero. "While I wouldn't call it autobiographical it was very much inspired by learning to accept who I am" said writer and director Lu Asfaha. The film combines live action, animation, and still illustrations to tell a story of change.

A young black queer woman struggles with her own identity while imagining herself as her favourite superhero. Paladin is a beautiful and fierce warrior who shows no fear in the face of danger, representing a means of escape for the young conflicted Sam. As Sam is bombarded with traumatic memories, and unable to run from her life anymore, she faces her greatest villain: herself. 

Often times when we talk about diversity, the focus is on who is in front of the camera but true representation is in diversity of story. This is a QTBIPOC story and I can’t imagine who would be best at telling that story. Led by director Asfaha, the film was produced by Carolyn Lu, lit by Setti Kidane, designed by Samay Arcentales Cajas, and audio recorded by Amanda Ann Min Wong, all queer women or non-binary people of colour. Toronto itself has an amazing community of independent filmmakers of colour supporting one another, and the crew of this film is simply a microcosm of that. 

We’re so excited to bring you this film, so without further ado.