Written by EXPRESS FEATURES SERVICE |

Published: August 7, 2020 5:52:46 pm

IFFSA Toronto, which shifted its latest edition to the online platform, will continue till August 16.

With a catalogue featuring over 100 movies in 16 languages, International Film Festival of South Asia, Toronto (BMO IFFSA Toronto), a major South Asian film festival in North America, has opted for a virtual edition this year. The festival opened with a tribute to Irrfan Khan, followed by the streaming of Anup Singh-directed Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost. The much talked about movie features the late actor as a patriarch with a complex idea of masculinity.

The global pandemic has severely affected the annual film festival calendar of 2020, including the much-awaited MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. IFFSA Toronto, which shifted its latest edition to the online platform, will continue till August 16 and showcase some of the critically acclaimed recent titles from the South Asia region. Prominent among them are Pushpendra Singh’s exploration of female desire Lajwanti: The Honour Keeper; Rubaiyat Hossain’s Made in Bangladesh that talks about factory workers’ fight for their right; Achal Mishra’s Gamak Ghar, an intimate movie about the life in a village home; and Geetu Mohandas’s Moothon: The Elder One which questions the idea of masculinity.

“As a cinematic arts institution, IFFSA has a long history of showcasing cutting-edge cinema and thought-provoking conversations to advance the South Asian Canadian narrative. We’re very proud of our 2020 programming that will feature globally-celebrated films and filmmakers. We’re also especially proud of how our team was able to quickly innovate in the face of current challenges and develop a world-class portal to present the IFFSA experience to audiences at home,” said Sunny Gill, IFFSA founder and president. The festival is also hosting a series of panel discussions and masterclasses.

The 11-day long festival will also stream animated feature Bombay Rose by Gitanjali Rao, The Song of Scorpions by Anup Singh, Aamis by Bhaskar Hazarika, Bitter Chestnut by Gurvinder Singh, Eeb Allay Ooo! by Prateek Vats, and Miss Man. They will be available on IFFSA Toronto website for 24 hours after their first screening. Bombay Rose is an exploration of harsh realities of life in Mumbai while Eeb Allay Ooo! examines the disparities in the contractual labour system and Aamis is a tale of repression and desire.

To view the full festival schedule, visit iffsatoronto.com.

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