Biography

The Artist

Reiko has been producing and directing documentary films since completing her MFA in Documentary Media at Ryerson in 2013. Her most recent documentary, Mandala Beats, screened at several film festivals and on the CBC documentary channel. Her goal for each of her films is to bring attention to unconventional stories and appeal to a mainstream audience. She has made movies in Dakar, Reykjavik, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Toronto and around India. Working on documentaries abroad has taught her to capture stories in any kind of circumstance. It has also taught her to compassionately interact with a wide range of individuals

Reiko’s passion for filmmaking, photography and travel is a family legacy.  Her maternal Zaide, Ralph Silverstone, was a war veteran and dentist who spent every spare moment behind his 35mm lens and Super 8 camera. Growing up amid vibrant images of the life he shared with Reiko’s Bubby Ann – seven children, the Park-Ex vintage shop Ann ran, rustic cottage weeks, community, Expo ’67, family trips– instilled in Reiko an instinctive desire to capture it all herself.

Since the age of 17, she has journeyed the globe solo, experiencing nearly every continent through her viewfinder. Along with her youth and gender perspectives, Reiko brings an acute awareness of and appreciation for the multifaceted histories that influence every present moment, into her work. Themes of family, geography, emotion and spirituality filter the lens of every frame she chooses. It is this openness to all that the world offers that stokes a constant flow of inspiration, and an easy ability to reveal the untold stories that cross her path.