Experiencing Interruptions?

ABU

To date ABU has won ten international awards. Soon after emigrating from Pakistan to Canada with his family, Arshad realized he was gay. Merging clips from Bollywood films, animation, and home movies that capture awkward teen phases as well as significant life revelations, Arshad narrates his own cathartic journey, alongside his entire family’s. With charming lyricism and a dash of good humor, director Arshad Khan shares a deeply personal story of self-discovery and familial reconciliation, as he explores the challenges that can threaten the bonds between children and their parents. ABU is an intimately open and dazzling visual memoir about the complex dynamic the filmmaker has with his father, who was at once extremely modern and also rigidly traditional and unaccepting of his son’s true self.

  • Arshad Khan
    Director
    Valery's Suitcase, Doggoned, Zen, Threadbare, Ziddi Larki, What Have I Become, Can
  • Arshad Khan
    Writer
    Doggoned, Threadbare, Zen, Ziddi Larki, What Have I Become, Can
  • Arshad Khan
    Producer
    Valery's Suitcase, Doggoned, Zen, Threadbare, Ziddi Larki, Can, What Have I Become
  • Sergeo Kirby
    Producer
    H2Oil, Fennario the good fight, Shiners, Patsy, Waltown, Roadsworth
  • Etienne Gagnon
    Editor
    Fennario the good fight, Revolution, Roadsworth
  • Michael Robert Snow
    Music
    Doggoned, Brownie
  • Sylvain Bellemare
    Sound Design
    Arrival, Incendie
  • Arshad Khan
    Narration Writers
  • Matt Jones
    Narration Writers
  • Etienne Gagnon
    Narration Writers
    H2Oil
  • Omar Majeed
    Narration Writers
    Taqwacore
  • Davide Di Saro
    Animation
  • Deepa Mehta
    Narration Director
    Midnight's Children, Anatomy of Violence, Beeba Boys, Water, 1947 Earth, Fire, Sam and Me
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 10, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    3,500,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English, Panjabi, Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Red, HD, VHS, 16m
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LA Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    June 15, 2017
    World Premiere
  • Frameline Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    June 22, 2017
    Northern California premiere
  • Fantasia Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    July 16, 2017
    Canadian Premiere
  • Transatlantyk Film Festival
    Lodz
    Poland
    July 29, 2017
    European Premiere
  • Reel World Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    October 11, 2017
    Toronto Premiere
  • BFI London Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    October 5, 2017
    UK Premiere
  • One World Film Festival
    Ottawa
    Canada
    September 30, 2017
    Ontario Premiere
  • Austin LGBT Film Festival - WINNER
    Austin
    United States
    September 9, 2017
    Texas Premiere
    Jury Prize - Best Documentary Feature
  • Chagrin Film Festival
    Chagrin Falls
    United States
    October 5, 2017
  • Third I Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    November 9, 2017
  • Sandiego Asian Film Festival
    San Diego
    United States
    November 15, 2017
  • WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY
    Austin
  • Twist Seattle Queer Film Festival - WINNER
    Seattle
    United States
    October 21, 2017
    Jury Prize Best Documentary
  • Vancouver International Film Festival - WINNER
    Vancouver
    Canada
    November 19, 2017
    British Columbia premiere
    Jury Prize - Best Feature Film
  • Image + Nation LGBTQI Film Festival - WINNER
    Montreal
    Canada
    November 25, 2017
    Audience Choice Award - Prix du public
  • River to River Florence Indian Film Festival - WINNER
    Florence
    Italy
    December 10, 2017
    Italian Premiere
    Audience Choice Award best documentary
  • New York Indian Film Festival - WINNER
    New York
    United States
    May 10, 2018
    Winner Best Documentary Feature
  • Indiememe Film Festival - WINNER
    Autsin, Texas
    United States
    April 21, 2018
    WINNER BEST FETURE
  • Festival du Film Sud Asie
    Paris
    France
    February 16, 2019
    France Premiere
    Winner Student Jury Prize
Distribution Information
  • Loaded Pictures
    Country: Canada
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Arshad Khan

Arshad Khan is a director, writer, producer, production designer, film curator and film educator with several short and long form film credits in fiction and documentary. He has worked on Deepa Mehta's film Midnights Children (2012), designed productions such as the Canadian-Punjabi feature SARDARJI (2015) and the short CASE CLAUS'D (2015) and recently finished his short film VALERY'S SUITCASE (2016). Khan is the director of award-winning documentaries such as ZEN (2012) and THREADBARE (2008). Khan is currently developing two fiction feature films. Khan is an advisor and programmer for several film festivals around the world and the director of Canada's premier South Asian film festival MISAFF.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I like to explore the grey in an often black and white mainstream media world. With my films I hope to amplify marginalized voices and contribute to the struggle of people living at the intersections of identity.