South Asian Film Festival of Montreal

July 18, 2020
Important updates regarding SAFFMontreal 2020.
Bonjour. Greetings.
Because of the extraordinary Corona virus health crisis, we have had to make some important midcourse corrections. Two exciting new projects have emerged.
1) SAFFMontreal On-Line 2020. We have decided to forego the physical, cinema-hall festival that was originally slated for end October 2020. Instead SAFFMontreal will be an On-Line Festival which will be presented a month later.

SAFFMontreal On-Line festival is now scheduled from Nov 19-Nov 29.

Our aim is to seek a digital platform that addresses security and piracy concerns. It will provide an ease of participation for the viewer and a similitude of film screenings and
Q & A opportunities with filmmakers and other experts.
Most of our submitters have graciously given permission to screen their films, if selected, for SAFFM On-Line 2020. Although our extended deadline for film submissions closed on May 20th, we are accepting a few more films, on a case -by-case basis. The understanding is that the submitter agrees to an On-Line screening of the film if it is selected. A bonus of the On-Line format is that the filmmaker will have the opportunity to participate and answer questions in the post screening On-Line discussion, from their home base!

2) The Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals. CoSAFF On-Line festival
We are excited to collaborate with six other cities in North America to also present a separate combined On-Line festival from October 3-17, 2020.
Preparations are in high gear at present to bring this new combined On-Line festival to fruition. There is excitement and great synergy from bringing together talented people from each city festival’s organizing committee. CoSAFF’s newly created programming committee is hard at work selecting from interesting films suggested by each city. The aim is to select a cross-section of films from the different countries of the Indian sub-continent and its diaspora communities across the world.
We look forward to cinephiles registering and participating in both CoSAFF and SAFFMontreal On-Line festivals.
À bientôt. Sincerely,
Dushyant Yajnik,
Director, SAFFMontreal
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The bulk of our initial announcement of February 17, 2020, when SAFFM opened for submissions on FilmFreeway, still applies.
So please read:

Feb 17 2020 Bonjour cinephiles !! Greetings filmmakers!!

Let us make this year live up to its name- a year of bold and clear eyed 20/20 vision. We are ready to receive films that celebrate the joys and triumphs of the people of the Indian subcontinent. But we also want films that do not flinch from an honest and compassionate look at the struggles and difficult issues faced by ordinary South Asians.
In 2019 SAFFMontreal was graced by the presence of legendary actress Shabana Azmi. In her role as a film producer, she and director Sumantra Ghosal launched our festival with a powerful and absorbing documentary on Shabana Azmi's father, Kaifi Azmi-the progressive Urdu poet, film lyricist and screenwriter. A lively discussion and Q & A followed the screening. It further elaborated Kaifi Azmi's contribution in the pre and post independence years of South Asia's cultural and political history.
The Diaspora Panel again provided an opportunity for South Asian diaspora filmmakers to showcase their films and discuss them with the audience.
The second weekend of the festival was highlighted by the screening of the searing documentary, ''Untying the knot'', in the presence of Bangladeshi-Canadian director, Zana Shammi . It tells the story of three women in abusive marriages. One of them, Rumana Monzur, is a blinded survivor of a domestic attack, who went on to a courageous and successful pursuit of a career in Canada.
So send us an eclectic mix of films that blend artistry with cinematographic merit, in a broad range of stories. Our film festival is presented by Montreal's Kabir Centre for Arts and Culture. (www.centrekabir.com) From the point of view of its social vision, the festival aims to promote harmony and intercultural understanding between the various sections of the South Asian community as well as build bridges with the larger Canadian society. While all themes relevant to the society we live in are welcome, the festival shall not encourage the screening of films which pit one country of South Asia against another.
Film-lovers, come to enjoy these films, be stimulated and discuss them with our panelists after the screening. The panels include filmmakers, actors, academics, writers, activists, community workers, film critics and film buffs.