South Asian Film Festival of
Montreal celebrates 12th year

Festival organizers discuss how they selected this year’s showcase and the growth of the Festival

By Irwin Rapoport

May 4, 2023

The South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM), celebrating its 12th year, is being held at cinemas between April 28 and May 7 and online from May 1 to 10.

The Festival offers film enthusiasts world-class films about the lives of South Asians in 21 different languages with wide-ranging and newsworthy current topics highlighting immigration and displacement, LGBTQ+ issues, religious freedom, women’s rights, aging and the generation gap, the environment, gender parity, parenthood, various art forms and the struggles of rural life.

Nearly 60 films, including documentaries, animation, drama, science fiction and humour, cover a wide-ranging gamut of themes. One of the films to be screened is the Oscar-nominated All That Breathes.

The movie, the opening film for the Festival, organized by the Kabir Cultural Centre in collaboration with Cinémathèque Québécoise and Ville de Saguenay, is set in the darkening backdrop of Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence, with two brothers devoting their lives to protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.

The South Asian Film Festival of Montréal is committed to showcasing new and artistic work that promotes discussion and explores the world, aiming to entertain, inform and empower audiences.

TK Raghunathan, long-time president of SAFFMontréal is delighted with the way the Festival is growing. “This important annual event is gaining wider audiences every year”, he said. “We have now brought it forward from the greyness of late autumn to the cheer and light of the mid-spring season.

Well-known filmmakers are eager to have their films shown here. Our closing film Joyland was the first Pakistani film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation, as well as the Jury Prize and Queer Palm prize for best LGBTQ-relevant film.”

Some of the top-notch online films to be enjoyed from anywhere are Gauri, highlighting the vulnerability of journalists in India; Chavittu, a thought-provoking satire juxtaposing earnest folk theatre with the bourgeois values and behaviour of society’s middle class; and Transkashmir, about the difficulties facing transgender people in Kashmir.

The South Asian Film Festival of Montréal is committed to showcasing new and artistic work that promotes discussion and explores the world, aiming to entertain, inform and empower audiences.

Syeda Nayab Bukhari, Director of SAFFMontréal and TK Raghunathan, President of SAFFMontréal and the Kabir Cultural Centre, spoke about this year’s Festival and its overall mission.

WM: You had many films and documentaries to choose from for the Festival. Was it a difficult process, and do you believe that people will be satisfied with the result?

Bukhari: Every year, we follow a rigorous process to select films. We start with a group of expert pre-screeners who watch the films and give us their evaluations and feedback. Then, the films go to our programming committee. We have a quarterfinal, semi-final, and final stage where we decide which films to show. However, the selection process becomes challenging because we receive so many good films with excellent reviews every year.

‘These are beautiful and thought-provoking films – some followed by panel discussions with the filmmakers, lead actors, and industry experts, and we are confident that the audience will appreciate our selection.’

– Syeda Nayab Bukhari

Unfortunately, we can only choose a select number of them based on diversity of topic, theme, language, and ethnic/cultural and regional representation. We also have to limit the number of films because all have both English and French subtitles. This takes time, and we sometimes have to let go of very good films, making the process difficult.

We have included films with all sorts of themes, different languages, and for everyone, including seniors, kids, women’s stories, transgender lived experiences, and environmental films. These are beautiful and thought-provoking films – some followed by panel discussions with the filmmakers, lead actors, and industry experts, and we are confident that the audience will appreciate our selection.

WM: When many people think of South Asian cinema, an immediate go-to is Bollywood productions. This is unfair as the region and the diaspora of people have many stories to tell. How would you describe the scope and depth of South Asian films and themes?

Bukhari: The scope and depth of South Asian films and themes are incredibly vast and diverse, extending far beyond just Bollywood productions. South Asian cinema encompasses a range of different genres, styles, and narratives, including independent and art-based films, regional cinema, and documentary films, to name a few.

One of the unique aspects of South Asian cinema is its ability to reflect the diverse cultures, languages, and experiences of the people in the region and the diaspora. For example, films from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal often showcase distinct storytelling styles and themes that reflect their specific cultural contexts and also explore a wide range of themes, from love and romance to social issues like poverty, gender, and caste discrimination. Many films also explore historical events and political struggles, providing a nuanced and complex perspective on the region’s past and present.

‘South Asian cinema encompasses a range of different genres, styles, and narratives, including independent and art-based films, regional cinema, and documentary films, to name a few.’

– Syeda Nayab Bukhari

WM: For those who are beginning their journey into South Asian cinema, which films would you suggest they watch?

Bukhari: This is a tough question because everyone will have different tastes and interests. I would say that visiting our website, checking out our collection, and then deciding which films they want to see makes the most sense. We have a variety of films, including documentary and feature films of different lengths.

Some of these films are available in cinemas, while there is a beautiful collection of films available online. It also depends on the audience’s preference for how they want to watch the films. They can choose to see some in the cinema, while others can be watched from the comfort of their living room online. I think it is up to the audience’s interest, as we have something for everyone.

WM: The Festival is growing and helping to spread the word about the South Asian community in Quebec and the South Asian world. Why, in your view, is the Festival flourishing?

Bukhari: The Festival is flourishing due to a combination of factors. Firstly, the effort put into the rigorous selection process, ensuring high-quality content from diverse languages and cultures, has helped to showcase the best films from South Asian countries. Additionally, the Festival’s practice of showcasing films from neighbouring countries has helped to acknowledge their issues and promote collaboration.

Furthermore, the Festival’s commitment to highlighting important social issues, such as gender-based oppression and violence, environmental and poverty-related issues, art and culture, mental health issues and partition stories, etc., has helped to create awareness and increase audience engagement.

Overall, the Festival’s focus on quality content, diversity, and social issues has contributed to its success and growth in promoting the South Asian community in Quebec and the South Asian world.

‘The artistic vision [of the Kabir Cultural Centre] is based on the conviction that South Asian Classical Arts… are part of world heritage and so, they need to be part of the cultural offerings for everyone in Canada.’

– TK Raghunathan

WM: This is the 12th edition of the Festival, and it brings many excellent films to the screen. While based in Montreal, it is also attracting audiences from other parts of Canada and the U.S. How influential is the Festival, and what do you hope to achieve in the future?

Raghunathan: The South Asian Film Festival of Montreal appeals to the largest number of people among the various offerings of the Kabir Centre. However, in the post-pandemic world, it remains a challenge to get people into cinema halls. For select films, filmmakers will be present either in person or via Zoom, and the public can interact through discussions on many important themes relevant to the world that we live in.

WM: Could you tell us more about the Kabir Cultural Centre and its goals?

Raghunathan: The Kabir Cultural Centre has two visions, artistic and social. The artistic vision is based on the conviction that South Asian Classical Arts (arts, music, classical dance forms, etc.) are part of world heritage and so, they need to be part of the cultural offerings for everyone in Canada. The social vision of the Centre, to which its artistic vision is anchored, aims to promote harmony and mutual respect among the members of the South Asian diaspora living in Canada and to build bridges with the larger Canadian society.

Important initiatives such as monthly book club discussions (sometimes with the writers present), biannual poetry sessions and the annual South Asian Film Festival of Montreal reinforce this vision and make our activities known and accessible to a large section of the public.

    *     *     *     *     *

The films are being shown at the Cinémathèque Québécoise (335 de Maisonneuve E), the Grande Bibliothèque (475 de Maisonneuve E), and the DeSève Cinema (1453 Mackay, Concordia’s LB Building). All of the films are subtitled in English and French.

For all SAFFMontréal film descriptions, film trailers and schedules, visit saffm.centrekabir.com

Images: courtesy of SAFFMontréal

Other articles by Irwin Rapoport

Other recent articles

Irwin Rapoport is a freelance journalist with Bachelor degrees in History and Political Science from Concordia University.