12th Edition
New Cinema, New Stories
30th September - 4th October 2026
14 Features
✳︎
30 Shorts
✳︎
Industry Symposium
✳︎
Awards
✳︎
Red Carpet Galas
✳︎
Full Schedule COMING SOON
14 Features ✳︎ 30 Shorts ✳︎ Industry Symposium ✳︎ Awards ✳︎ Red Carpet Galas ✳︎ Full Schedule COMING SOON
LALI
Director: Sarmad Ali Sultan (Punjabi with English Subtitles)
Opening Night: A Night for Film. A Night for MISAFF.
On September 30, we’re opening MISAFF 2026 at the Cineplex Mississauga with an evening that celebrates independent cinema — and helps sustain it.
Join us for the Canadian premiere of Sarmad Khoosat’s critically acclaimed LALI, followed by a post-screening Q&A with the director.
Opening Night Red Carpet Gala Fundraiser — $150
(screening only ticket available for $50) click here
Your fundraiser ticket includes:
5PM: VIP cocktail reception
7PM: Red carpet gala and photos
8:PM: Canadian premiere screening of LALI
10PM: Post-screening Q&A with director Sarmad Khoosat
And, importantly, your support for MISAFF
This year, Opening Night is also a fundraiser for the festival.
MISAFF has spent more than a decade creating a platform for independent filmmakers and stories that too often have to fight for space, audiences and investment. At a time when arts organizations face growing financial pressures, our community's support has become even more important.
Your $150 ticket helps us continue bringing independent cinema to audiences, creating opportunities for filmmakers and building a festival where stories and artists from underrepresented communities can be seen, discussed and celebrated.
Rehmat
Director: Gurvinder Singh
Three interconnected stories in present-day Punjab. A woman secretly shelters a wounded stranger in her home, while his family endures the weight of grief and impossible choices. Meanwhile, a mysterious elderly man arrives in a village. This remarkable film stars Naseeruddin Shah in an omnipresent role.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
"In a region marked by political and religious conflict, Rehmat depicts the lives of a people who are caught up in forces seeking to divide them. Against all odds, they go about their lives with hope and compassion."
Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 after 15th September 2026.
Set in contemporary Iran, A Bit of Light tells the story of a doctor arrested for secretly treating injured protestors. Following the closure of his practice, and with his faith in the future shattered, he decides to take his own life. Determined there is no way forward, he visits his siblings and mother, intending to say goodbye — but things do not go as planned. Encountering affection, concern, and companionship in the presence of his family, the certainty of his decision slowly begins to crumble.
A Bit of Light ultimately asks what might reconnect a person to life when faith in institutions and the future has been exhausted. Throughout his filmography, Ali Asghari has explored individuals caught between personal vulnerability and the pressures of social and institutional structures, and it’s remarkable to witness how beautifully and effortlessly he renders his protagonist’s internal conflict.
Director
Cast
Misagh Zareh, Sadaf Asgari, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Ramtin Daghigh, Mina Rahimzadeh
Credits
Country of Origin
Iran/Switzerland/Italy/
Canada/Turkey
Year
2026
There are two dates for Lali film screenings. Opening Night on the 30th of September is $150 red carpet gala and the regular ticket price is $50 for film plus Q & A (click to purchase opening night regular ticket). Saturday night screening of Lali is $45. This is the ticket for Saturday night only.
2023
Mississauga
“No one showcases such brave and spectacular cinema from our part of the world. MISAFF is magnificent.”
Former Customer
