MISAFF takes place in two locations over five days. The opening night Red Carpet Gala is taking place at the Cineplex Mississauga on the 30th of September 2026. The Symposium and other screenings will be at the Living Arts Centre (LAC) and Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga from 1-4 October.
2026 MISAFF PROGRAM
Film Program
Opening Night Red Carpet Gala
Opening Night: A Night for Film. A Night for MISAFF.
On September 30, we’re opening MISAFF 2026 at the Cineolex Mississauga with an evening celebrating 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
Your fundraiser ticket includes:
5PM: VIP cocktail reception.
7PM: Red carpet photos.
8PM: Canadian premiere screening of LALI.
10PM: Post-screening Q&A with director Sarmad Khoosat (screening only ticket $50).
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.
Feature Films
Lali (Pakistan) – Directed by Sarmad Khoosat (Berlinale Panorama). Canadian Premiere.
A Bit of Light (Iran) – Directed by Ali Asghari (Venice Orizzonti). Canadian Premiere.
Universal Language (Canada) – Directed by Matthew Rankin (TIFF).
Rehmat (India) – Directed by Gurvinder Singh, starring Naseeruddin Shah (Locarno). Canadian Premiere.
Badnam Basti (India, 1972) – The restoration of Badnam Basti was undertaken by Arsenal Filminstitut in collaboration with the National Film Development Corporation and the Film Heritage Foundation and made possible with funding from the German Federal Foreign Office’s Cultural Preservation Program.
Flowers of Acacia (India/Punjab) – Directed by Anmol Siddhu. Canadian Premiere.
Roid – Directed by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon. Canadian Premiere.
…. more soon.
Documentary Films
There Was A Sky (Pakistan) directed by Ammar Aziz – World Premiere.
Everybody to Kenmure Street (Scotland) – Sundance selection.
Marriage Cops (India)- directed by Shashwati Talukdar and Cheryl Hess. Canadian Premiere.
The Colour of My Heart (Pakistan) – Directed by Umar Riaz.
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony (Pakistan) - Habiba Nosheen
Short Films
Student Shorts
A Little Bit of Glitter
Sarhad
Outfit Cost
Try Hard
The Audition
The Dying Sky
MandalaIndian in a Box
If You Can Catch Me
Canadian Shorts
Sorry, It's A Girl
Roots
City of Bystanders
A Good Day Will Come
November
More Chai Please
Behen
Sonia Honey
Lefty
Am I the Skinniest Person You've Ever Seen?
Locally Sourced
After Prayer
Finding Shelter
Kya Poem
International Shorts
The Third Dream
Avagunthan
The Sale
Aunty Ji
Barber of the Gods
Our Bodies Ours
The First Bite
The Last Glance
Awkward
Goodbyes
RELAY The Stolen Tales
Muntazir
Gulmina
Tara
Cineplex Screenings
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.
6 PM. Saturday 3rd October 2026. Cineplex Mississauga. There is a cocktail reception post screening for VIP pass and ticket holders.
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
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.
Living in near isolation, a husband repeatedly attempts to break free from his volatile wife, to no avail. Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s Roid examines desire and attachment with haunting, elemental imagery and compelling performances.
Inspired by a true story, Flowers of Acacia follows wedding orchestra dancers whose dreams collide with the harsh realities of patriarchy and misogyny.
Elephants in the Fog
Abinash Bikram Shah
Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil, Norway | 2026 | 108m | Nepali
Film Description
A village matriarch (Puspa Thing Lama) must choose between her heart’s desires and her duty to her community when a young woman disappears into the forest in this delicate, riveting thriller.
The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony
Documentary Competition
Feature Documentary | Canada, Pakistan, United States | 93 MINUTES | Urdu, Bengali, English | English subtitles
The birth of a gymnastics team in Pakistan provides an inspiring spark of light for a small group of girls on the margins. The Gymnasts of FishermaThe birth of a gymnastics team in Pakistan provides an inspiring spark of light for a small group of girls on the margins.
Directed by
Habiba Nosheen
Producer
Habiba Nosheen
Amar Lohana
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.
7 PM 1st October 2026 Screening Room - Living Arts Centre
Mohammed Ali (Mo) Naqvi Director / Producer / Writer
Bilal Sami Producer / Writer
Acclaimed director Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s(Netflix’s Turning Point, Showtime’s Shame) latest documentary feature, Hanging By A Wire, is the gripping true story of a daring cable car rescue that captivated the world. The rescue unfolded live on national television and social media, captured from every angle: panicked families on the ground, military helicopters, first responders scrambling, drones circling the car, and footage filmed from inside the cable car itself. Blending a 360° real-time archive with cinematic re-stagings performed by those who lived through the events, the film fuses lived memory with archival footage—creating the tension, scale, and emotional stakes of a classic Hollywood action thriller.
Mera Lyari
Directed by Abu Aleeha
6:30 PM Saturday, 3rd October 2026. Living Arts Centre
Synopsis
MERA LYARI is a Pakistani dramatic feature set in the Lyari district of Karachi about the struggle of a young woman soccer player and her coach. The film is a response to the Bollywood film Dhurandhar which depicts Pakistan in a jingoistic manner.
Written & Directed by: Abu Aleeha
Executive Producer: Ayesha Omar
Produced by: Waqas Rizvi & Sania Sohail Khan
Starring: Ayesha Omar, Dananeer Mobeen, Trinette Lucas, Sammiya Mumtaz, Nayyar Ejaz, Paras Masroor, Adnan Shah Tipu and others.
World Premiere screening of Khizer Khairi’s MIDNIGHT DREAMERS with cast and crew in attendance.
Canada
Film Trailers
MISAFF Film Trailers.
Mo Naqvi’s Sundance title HANGING BY A WIRE is an edge-of-your-seat thriller.
The Bangladeshi film ROID directed by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon is spectacular.
In a place where girls and sport rarely mix, THE GYMNASTS OF FISHERMAN COLONY directed by Habiba Nosheen is a coming-of-age documentary where joy, ambition, and quiet rebellion take root as three teenage girls carve out space for themselves, one somersault at a time.
MERA LYARI directed by Abu Aleeha makes its international debut at MISAFF.
Anmol Siddhu’s brilliant Punjabi film Flowers of Acacia will make it’s Canadian debut.
Elephants in the Fog
Director: Abinash Bikram Shah
Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil, Norway | 2026 | 108m | Nepali
A village matriarch (Puspa Thing Lama) must choose between her heart’s desires and her duty to her community when a young woman disappears into the forest in this delicate, riveting thriller.
Opening Night Film LALI by Sarmad Khoosat. Filmmaker in attendance. Pakistan.
Sundance award-winner EVERYBODY TO KENMURE STREET directed by Felipe Bustos Sierra. Documentary. Scotland.
