South Asian Film Festival of Montreal

An eclectic mix of thought-provoking films to entertain, inform & empower audiences

From Friday, May 24 to Sunday, June 2, 2024, the Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture presents the 13th edition of the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM), including short and feature-length documentary and fiction films, plus panelists and filmmakers from around the world. In-person screenings take place at Cinémathèque québécoise and J.A. DeSève Cinema (Concordia University) Friday, May 24 to Sunday, May 26 and Friday, May 31 to Sunday, June 2; and are available online from Friday, May 27 to Sunday, June 3.

The 2024 festival opens with the world premiere of the Indo-Canadian production Stealing Vows, a glamourous, fun-filled heist comedy.

Movie poster for Stealing Vows a Bobby Singh Brown Film. Gia Sandhu. Fuad Ahmed. Anand Rajaram. Ali Hassan. Amrit Kaur. In the centre, a photo of a woman with long dark hair, training a camera on us. To the left of her: A man in a suit, holding a microphone and another man in a suit holding a bouquet of flowers. To her right: A bald man with his arms folded across his chest, holding a cleaver. Below the photo: It's (the word "shaadi" is cross out) shady business.

Movie poster for Tiger Stripes a film by Amanda Nelleu featuring an illustration of a young woman dressed in white and wearing a white head scarf, bloodied on the left side and shoulder. She glares at us with bloody, bared teeth.

(Photo credits: Poster for Stealing Vows and Tiger Stripes. Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture / The South Asian Film Festival of Montreal.)

Now in its 13th year, SAFFM is the only South Asian film festival in Quebec. Truly unique, it is a cinematic journey, offering almost 50 eye-opening, thought-provoking, humanity-filled films to entertain, inform and empower audiences – films that audiences would likely never have a chance to see elsewhere. Film enthusiasts can expect to experience films about the lives of South Asians in a multitude of languages (such as Santali, Marathi, Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Malay, Dogri, Bengali, Bodo, Assamese, English and French, among others); almost all films will be presented in their original version with English and French subtitles. Panel discussions with filmmakers and experts follow many screenings, including prominent out of town invitees. Festival opening and closing films are free, along with all online programming. Diverse styles include fiction, documentary, animation, drama, science fiction and humour.

About the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM)

Presented by the Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture, a not-for-profit organization promoting various art forms and activities such as music, dance, cinema, literature and poetry, the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM) is committed to showcasing new artistic work that fosters discussion and delves into universal issues. The only festival of its kind in Quebec, it’s a platform for filmmakers worldwide whose films have a focus on South Asia and the South Asian diaspora – and many of the films presented are award-winning productions and/or Canadian premieres. All films are in competition for awards to be decided by an independent, international jury.

Illustrated poster for South Asian Film Festival of Montreal, with white and yellow font on a blue patterned background, featuring the a yellow film projector and a white piece of film.

(Photo credits: Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture / The South Asian Film Festival of Montreal.)

Event details

Hosted by: Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture

Type of event: film festival

Dates & times: Friday, May 24 – Sunday, June 2, 2024. Please refer to the program schedule below for individual film screening dates and times.

Duration: Please refer to the individual film screening listings in the program schedule below.

Schedule: See the program schedule here

Cost: Free – C$15.00, depending on the film (+ a small fee)

Locations:

Cinémathèque québécoise, 335 De Maisonneuve Blvd E., Montréal, QC, H2X 1K1
J.A. DeSève Cinema (Concordia University), 1400 De Maisonneuve Blvd W., Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8
For online screenings, please refer to the program schedule above.

Booking links: Book your tickets here

Contact Details: Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture, 315 René Lévesque Blvd. E., #4, Montreal, QC, H2X 3P3, Canada; 514-926-4182, info@saffm.centrekabir.com, saffm.centrekabir.com

Content warning: Please refer to the individual film synopses.

Accessibility: The Cinémathèque québécoise is accessible to everyone. Their screening rooms offer reserved seats for people using wheelchairs and the person accompanying them. For the J.A. DeSève Cinema, there is space at the back of the cinema reserved for a maximum of four audience members using wheelchairs. At this time, the J.A. DeSève Cinema is not equipped with automatic doors and there is no access to the stage due to the stairs on either side.

Refund policy: Please contact the organizer.