South Asian Film Festival of Montréal
12th edition
In cinemas April 28 – May 7, 2023
Online May 1-10, 2023
Kabir Cultural Centre, along with festival Director and Head of Programming, Syeda Nayab Bukhari, has announce the 12th edition of the South Asian Film Festival of Montréal (SAFFMontréal) in collaboration with Cinémathèque Québécoise and Ville de Saguenay. This year’s festival will be both in cinemas and online, along with live Q&As from around the world.
Many films are available for free, including opening night All That Breathes at the Grande Bibliothèque, an award-winner both at Cannes and Sundance and an Oscar- nominee. This is the only film festival of its kind in Quebec.
A platform for filmmakers of South Asian origin worldwide, the festival presents a wide choice of inspiring and thought-provoking films with a focus on the South Asian region and its diaspora. Every screening is subtitled in English and French. It present 58 award-winning films from 12 countries. Short, long, documentary and feature selections are all up for juried awards.
The jury of distinguished professionals from South Asia and Canada are: Vijaya Rao (New Delhi), Tom Waugh and Philippe Spurrell (Montreal) Ali Kazmi (Toronto) and Rana Faizan Ali (Lahore). Eight prizes will be awarded during the closing evening, going to four winners and four finalists in each of the 4 categories- short and feature films, both fiction and documentary.
In addition to entries from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Norway, Czech Republic, UK, Canada and the USA, every year the festival showcases films from neighbouring South Asian countries. This year there are also films from Iran and Turkey. The presented films are in languages as varied as Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, Kashmiri, Bodo, Marathi, Assamese, Nepali, Malayalam, Punjabi, Persian, Turkish, Kannada, Czech, Chinese, Norwegian, English and French.
Bukhari states:
“We are proud to bring such a diverse lineup of stimulating films that challenge stereotypes and shed light on the complex social and political issues facing South Asia today, as well as its rich and varied cultures. One example is films that highlight gender-based oppression and its consequences for women in certain countries... We believe that film has the power to spark social change; we hope our festival inspires audiences to take action and create a more just and equitable world.”
One of the key films being presented in the festival is Jhini Bini Chadariya (The Brittle Thread), winner of Film Critics Circle of India Award at New York Indian Film Festival 2022. The lead actor, Ms. Sivan Spector, will be present in Montreal to present the film on April 30.
Festival projection venues: Cinémathèque Québécoise, La Grande Bibliothèque, DeSève Cinema, and online
Online films run May 1-10 without geo-blocking, so films can be seen by audiences around the world, including the countries with films featured at the festival.
Tickets and program: https://www.saffm.centrekabir.com/en/
Information: info@centrekabir.com
Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/saffmtl
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