Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF 2023) returns this year to Cineplex Square One and Living Arts Centre for 3-days of South Asian Film screenings and Q&A’s.
Now in its 10th successful year, MISAFF is Canada’s premier festival of new South Asian cinema. We pride ourselves in presenting thought-provoking and conscientious cinema that uplifts humanity and promotes peace and harmony. We present films from Canada, USA, UK, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Caribbean. We invite filmmakers and actors to walk the red carpet and engage with our audience. We have been supported by Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates and we connect filmmakers to the industry. We will be hosting an in-person festival with live screenings followed by Q & A sessions. With cutting-edge programming the festival will run from March 23rd – March 26th, 2023.
Features
Kamli – Pakistan
Director: Sarmad Khoosat
KAMLI by Sarmad Khoosat (Opening Night Film/North American Premiere) – PAKISTAN
Three women grapple with their restrained desires in a tale of love, loss and hidden secrets wherein their stories intertwine. Pakistan’s leading actresses Saba Qamar (Hindi Medium), Sania Saeed (Joyland) and Nimra Bucha (Ms Marvel) star in this stunning film. 6PM Red Carpet Gala and 8 PM screening. Cineplex Mississauga.
Joyland – Pakistan
JOYLAND by Saim Sadiq – PAKISTAN
In inner-city Lahore, a severe patriarch is the head of the middle-class Rana family, which includes his two sons, daughters-in-law, and four granddaughters. He wants his children to give him a grandson and forces his daughter-in-law Mumtaz to quit her job after Haider, his younger son and her husband, finds work at an erotic dance theater. But all changes when Haider falls in love with Biba, a transgender dancer.
Friday, 24th March 2023. 9:15 PM Cineplex Mississauga
SANAA – India
SANAA by Sudhanshu Saria (Canadian Premiere)
The film is about an ambitious young woman who is raging against an internal battle that is rooted in unhealed trauma. Sanaa, like Suds last film LOEV, also world premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival to great acclaim.
6 PM. Saturday, 25th March 2023. Cineplex Mississauga
Hawa – Bangladesh
HAWA by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon – BANGLADESH
The film depicts the journey of an all-men team on a fishing trawler, eventually where the mystery of life and relationships gets re-interpreted. The usual fishing mission of a group of seasoned boatmen of Cox’s Bazar finds an unheard-of catch in the deep of the sea. They caught a beautiful yet mysterious young girl and then entered the world of men on the boat. The story of the film is based on a fairy tale.
25th March, 2023. 6 PM at the Living Arts Centre Mississauga.
Doda – Pakistan
DODA by Adil Bizanjo (International Premiere) – PAKISTAN
This first feature revolves around a former boxer DODA from a small town. The film goes through the journey of Doda, and how he can survive and overcome his past and make things right once again. The Balochi language film is an attempt to push Baloch representation in the film industry.
Saturday, the 25th of March at 9PM at the Cineplex Mississauga.
Shankar’s Fairies – India
Shankar’s Fairies by Irfana Majumdar – INDIA
A very nice slice-of-life movie set in rural 1960s India. It revolves around Shankar, the very competent lead servant in the household of a middle-class Indian family. He is a very important presence in the life of the young girl of the family. Yet he is treated like a brainless idiot by the bossy, unsympathetic mother of the family.
26th March 2023. 2 PM at the Cineplex Mississauga at Square One.
POWAI – India
POWAI by Kuldip Patel – INDIA
Powai is a triptych of stories about three women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds living in the titular developing suburb of Mumbai – a domestic worker, a govt preschool teacher and a software professional. As they struggle to realize their aspirations and claim their autonomy in a fast-changing, male-dominated, chaotic and often unforgiving urban landscape, their lives intersect in small, unexpected ways.
Sunday 26th of March at 6:30 PM at the Cineplex Mississauga.
What’s Love Got To Do With It? – UK
What’s Love Got To Do With It by Shekhar Kapur – UNITED KINGDOM
Set between London and Lahore, a filmmaker documents her childhood friend and neighbour’s arranged marriage to a bride from Pakistan. The film stars Academy Award winning actress Emma Thompson, Indian parallel cinema diva Shabana Azmi and beloved British star Lily James.
Closing film will start at 8 PM on the 26th of March 2023 at the Cineplex Mississauga.
Documentries
An Act of Worship – USA
Director: Nausheen Dadabhoy
AN ACT OF WORSHIP is a polyphonic portrait of the last 30 years of Muslim life in America. Told through the lens of Muslims living in the United States, the film offers a counter-narrative of pivotal moments in U.S. history and explores the impact of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policy on young Muslims who came of age after 9/11. Due to their first-hand knowledge and intimate access to the Muslim community, the filmmaking team is able to take charge of the account, which has previously been shaped by outsiders.
4:30 PM Saturday 25th if March 2023. Living Arts Centre
While We Watched – India
Director: Vinay Shukla
A turbulent newsroom drama intimately chronicling the working days of broadcast journalist Ravish Kumar as he navigates a spiraling world of truth and disinformation. As factual reporting is in freefall globally, ‘While We Watched’ is a dignified lens into the abyss.
12:00 PM. Sunday, 26th March 2023 at the Cineplex Mississauga.
Exegesis: Lovecraft – Canada
Director: Qais Pasha
Friday 24th March 2023 at 12 PM at the Living Arts Centre.
To Kill A Tiger – Canada
Director: Nisha Pahuja
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Friday 24th of March at 7:45 PM at the Cineplex Mississauga. Director in attendance. Presented by the NFB
Still Standing
Director: Mirko Pincelli
As the homeland of the Indus-Valley Civilisation, the Sindh region of Pakistan is one of the cradles of human civilisation. It was also the only region of Pakistan left undivided by the Partition of 1947. That same year, the Sindhi Diaspora emerged: Sindhi Hindus fled Pakistan for India and other countries, while Muslims from all over India fled into Pakistan, with large numbers reaching Sindh. Suddenly, the Sindhi community found itself to be a minority.
Still Standing searches for the footprints of those who left, as well as digging into the stories of those who remained. A tale of nationalism, radicalisation, and division in a land which, once upon a time, was home to florid cultures and peaceful coexistence.
5:30 PM. Saturday, 24th March 2023. Living Arts Centre
Shorts
It was a tough year for the shorts programmers. There were too many excellent films and not enough slots for them. There are three international shorts programs and one Canadian shorts program brought to you by BIPOC Film & TV. Some of the mid-length films are going to be screening on their own. Please consult the schedule for timings. Some films will not have an actual screening as they are available online.
Canadian Shorts
The Canadian shorts are presented with BIPOC FILM & TV. There will be a Q & A following the film presentations. 26th of March 2023 at the Cineplex Cinema at 4 PM.
PLEASE NOTE: Angel Dose, Marginalizing Minorities and Chinna Chinna Aasai will be presented on the 25th of March 2023 at the Living Arts Centre starting at 1 PM.
