What could be a better way to celebrate the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) 50th anniversary, than with a record 17 films and series in official selection from India, South Asia and Diaspora? In 2024, 11 films were selected, and in 2023, 14 films were selected from India, South Asia and Diaspora. Competition is fierce: in 2024, about 280 films and series were selected from over 8,000 submissions. The selection is also significant, as TIFF both flags off the awards season (Oscars, Golden Globes), and is an important gateway to the North American market. 

The 17 films and series include eight films and series from India, four South Asian films beyond India, and five Diaspora films. The Indian films and series are: Anurag Kashyap’s Monkey in a Cage (Bandar, a prison drama with Bobby Deol, Special Presentations), Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound (Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor on a friendship tested by contemporary realities, Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese; Gala Presentation; Cannes’ Un Certain Regard), Bikas Mishra’s Bayaan (an investigation drama led by Huma Qureshi, Discovery) and Jitank Singh Gurjar’s In Search of the Sky (Vimukt, Centrepiece). There’s also Gandhi, the series co-created by Hansal Mehta and Sameer Nair, produced by Applause Entertainment, in Primetime. Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest, 1970), restored in 4K, is in TIFF Classics. Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay, 1975, restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation and Sippy Films, will have a Gala Presentation on its 50th anniversary. Sohrab Hura’s short film Disappeared (India/Nepal) is in Wavelengths Shorts 1: Map of Traces. 

From South Asia beyond India, there’s Seemab Gul’s Ghost School, Pakistan, in Discovery; Adnan al Rajeev’s Ali, Bangladesh/Philippines in Short Cuts-4, that had earned a Special Mention in Cannes’ Shorts Competition, and Sana Zahra Jafri’s Permanent Guest, Pakistan, in Short Cuts-6. There’s Agapito by Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero, Philippines (Short Cuts-1), one of whose production companies is Katalog Films, a Philippines-Bangladesh collaboration with Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Danelle Romero, Adnan al Rajeev and Tanveer Hossain (they also produced Ali, so they have two films at TIFF.)