TIFF’s rich South Asian haul
Updated On: 01 September, 2024 08:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Meenakshi Shedde
TIFF has a long history of warm engagement with its multicultural audience, including South Asians, the city’s largest immigrant population
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Illustration/Uday Mohite
It’s that time of year again, when all eyes are on the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF, the festival that flags many Oscar contenders early on. But the 49th TIFF, that runs from September 5-15, offers many other riches besides. About 23 per cent of Canada’s overall population were immigrants, and a significant 46.6 per cent of Toronto’s population were immigrants, by the 2021 Census, according to Statistics Canada. Of these, South Asians are the most visible minority, at 14 per cent of Toronto’s population, followed by the Chinese (10.7 per cent) and Blacks (9.6 per cent). TIFF has a long history of warm engagement with its multicultural audience, including South Asians, the city’s largest immigrant population.
In fact, this year, there are at least 11 films from India, South Asia and South Asian Diaspora selected at TIFF, an amazing achievement. These include Reema Kagti’s Superboys of Malegaon (Gala) and Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light (Special Presentation). Two strong South Asian Diaspora films play in the Centrepiece: Sandhya Suri’s Santosh (starring Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar; UK film), and Lawrence Valin’s Little Jaffna (starring himself; from France). Lakshmipriya Devi’s Boong (a little boy, Manipuri), and Maksud Hossain’s Saba (Bangladesh), both play in the Discovery section for first or second features, along with two diaspora films—Durga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour Tristesse and Amar Wala’s Shook, both by Canada-based directors. There are two more films in the TIFF Classics—Raj Kapoor’s Awara and Srinivas Krishna’s Masala. Finally, there’s a short film, Sauna Day, by Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash, from Estonia, no less.
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