As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and things open up, we welcome our filmmakers to submit their works for our tenth year anniversary and the #MISAFF2023 edition. Please note that this year there might be entirely live, in-person theatrical screenings at MISAFF23 depending on the laws in Ontario.

The MISAFF film festival presented by CCAI features the best of new South Asian and select Middle Eastern film titles for our Mississauga and Toronto area cinephiles. MISAFF features ground-breaking and award-winning films, carefully curated for their cinematic excellence and social consciousness. The outstanding films, industry panels, and networking opportunities for filmmakers and film lovers alike make MISAFF the premier South Asian film festival in Canada.

MISAFF has featured OMDC and Telefilm industry brunch with filmmakers as well as industry talks called MISAFF CHAT. Industry events include film financiers in an exclusive setting that is a prime networking opportunity for film professionals. MISAFF Chats have included actors Rajkumar Rao, Agam Darshi, Gabe Grey, Supinder Wraich, Varun Saranga, and Marina Khan and filmmakers Hansal Mehta, Saqib Malik, Hardik Mehta, Deepa Mehta, Anu Menon to name a few. Every year MISAFF features an up-and-coming Canadian talent with the help of ACTRA Diversity.

MISAFF23 will have more opportunities for producers, directors, actors, and crew to meet and network with industry professionals from Canada and around the world.

MISAFF is a juried festival. Prizes are awarded and come with cash awards and gift certificates. Best fiction, best documentary, best short, best Canadian short, best cinematography, best sound, best performer and best production design are some of the categories considered for awards.

The Sabeen Mahmud award for courage in cinema is presented to the filmmaker with the most powerful and compelling story of social justice and/or social uplift.

Submissions will open for MISAFF2022 from April 25th, 2022 to Sep 1st, 2022. The early bird submission fee is $40 for feature-length films (over 50 minutes), $40 for mid-length films, and $20 for short films (Under 30 minutes).

The films have to be made by a South Asian or Middle Eastern identified filmmaker in a key creative role (director/writer/producer) or have to have content that deals with South Asia or the Middle East.

We get hundreds of submissions, therefore we will only get back to you if your film has been accepted by the festival for presentation. Results are announced to filmmakers by January 15th, 2023.

MISAFF accepts only online secure links to films for consideration. If your film is online or has already been screened in Ontario, it might be rejected.

PLEASE NOTE:
In case there are no live screenings this year, the filmmakers have to agree to online presentations of their films if submitted on this platform.

Overall Rating
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Value
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Hospitality
Networking
  • Attending MISAFF 2023 was one of the best experiences of my life! They screened my feature length debut documentary, Exegesis Lovecraft and it won a jury prize. I have been to alot of film festivals but I have never been to one with such a great selection of films! Arshad and his team really went out of their way to make sure everyone is so taken care. It's rare to see an event with this much heart and love put into it. I hope to attend again next year!

    March 2023
  • Samar Khan

    Absolutely brilliant! One of my favourite film festivals. Honoured to have screened my film at MISAFF.

    December 2021
  • Jaraad Virani

    Fantastic festival built by and for South Asian artists! Arshad and his team could not have been more supportive and passionate. Fingers crossed that next year's festival can be entirely in-person.

    December 2021
  • Tathagata Ghosh

    A terrific festival with one of the best programming! So humbled to screen our film "The Scapegoat" this year and even more honoured to win the Best International Short!

    December 2021
  • Andrew Chung

    It was a pleasure screening our film at MISAFF. The staff are so welcoming and hospitable. Their programming was outstanding, and they gave our particular film a lot of love. Had a great time!

    December 2020