FICTIONS FEATURES
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU - USA/Palestine - Drama
Director: Cherien Dabis
2hrs
Executive Produced by Mark Ruffalo & Javier Bardem and an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival, ALL THAT"S LEFT OF YOU was selected to be Jordan's official submission to the 98th Academy Awards. Its festival awards include The Golden Gate Award and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at San Francisco International Film Festival and the Best Narrative Feature at Sydney International Film Festival. . . From acclaimed filmmaker, Cherien Dabis (AMREEKA), ALL THAT"S LEFT OF YOU is a deeply moving, multigenerational drama that follows a Palestinian teenager who gets swept into a protest in the Occupied West Bank and experiences a moment of violence that rocks his family. The film unfolds as his mother recounts the political and emotional threads that led to that fateful moment. Spanning seven decades, the film traces the hopes and heartaches of one uprooted family, bearing witness to the scars of dispossession and the enduring legacy of survival.
ALL THAT’S LEFT OF YOU screens at MISAFF25 on Friday, 28th November 2025 at 8:30 PM at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga.
Anxious - USA - Comedy
Director: Nida Chowdhry
Ruby delves into surrealism and fantasy in an attempt to grapple with her tremendous social stress. It is a quirky take on anxiety.
4:00 PM Thursday, the 27th November 2025
Screening Room, Living Arts Centre
Nida Chowdhry is a Pakistani-American writer, director, and actor. She is the creator of the web series Unfair & Ugly and has written for numerous animated series, including Young Justice (HBO Max) and Kitti Katz (Netflix). Most recently, she wrote, directed, and starred in her debut feature film, ANXIOUS., a surreal dark comedy.
BRIDES - UK (Canadian Premiere) - Thriller
Director: Nadia Fall
Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their lives in the UK with a dangerous plan of travelling to Syria.
3:15 PM Saturday, the 29th November 2025
Screening Room, Living Arts Centre
CACTUS PEARS (India) - Drama
Director: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade
Anand, a 30-something city dweller compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India, tenderly bonds with a local farmer who is struggling to stay unmarried. As the mourning ends, forcing his return, Anand must decide the fate of his relationship born under duress. "This is the great modern love story. To say it's an honor to award this tender film is an understatement. We cried, we laughed, and we wished to be loved in the same way. It is exactly what the world needs right now. This authentic point of view opens the door to an an intimate language we all understand. We feel the humming heartbeat of the main character's inner life, and when it bursts, it wraps us with its sweetness. We award the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: to Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)."
Ava Cahen, Wanuri Kahiu, and Daniel Kaluuya (Jury, Sundance Film Festival 2025)
3:30 PM Friday, the 28th November 2025
Screening Room, Living Arts Centre
Calories - Canada - Drama
Director: Eisha Marjara
Two teen sisters visit relatives in India, where culture shock and family secrets unfold. Their single mom hoped the trip would reconnect them to their Punjabi heritage, but a hidden tragedy emerges.
CALORIE is screening with the short FLIGHT 182 directed by Rippin Sidher. Actors for CALORIE will be in attendance for Q & A
5:30 PM on the 26th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Evergreens (Sapins) - Canada - Comedy
Director: Stephane Moukarzel will be in attendance
Rémi, 20, a small-town French-Canadian boy, goes to New York to sell Christmas trees to pay off a debt. Sent to the depths of the Bronx, he meets Laura, a deadpan French activist, who will be his colleague for the next month. Together they will discover the vibrant community on their street corner and learn to survive the absurd and dramatic trials of the wild world of Christmas tree sales.
This film is in French with English Subtitles.
8:00 PM on Tuesday, the 25th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Director Stéphane Moukarzel is a multiple award-winning filmmaker recognized for his short films Nous avions (TIFF Top 10, Canadian Screen Award) and Black Friday (Durban, Trouville).
GHOST SCHOOL Pakistan - Comedy/Mystery
Director: Seemab Gul
A young girl tried to get an education and figure out the mystery of the ghosts that are haunting local schools.
8:00 PM on Sunday the 30th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
GIDH - Pakistan- International Premiere - Drama
Director: Kanwal Khoosat
A woman is visited by a mysterious guest. Their cryptic conversation over chai leads to revelations.
The film will be screened with the short film PERMANENT GUEST directed by Sana Jaffri.
Actor/Director Sana Jaffri will be in attendance.
INDUS ECHOES - PAKISTAN (International Premiere) - Drama
Director: Rahul Aijaz
In this meditative Sindhi language film. Aijaz uses the Indus river as a metaphor for lost souls and a confused nation. Indus Echoes explores the relationship between humans and the great Indus River through five stories set on, across and around the mighty river.
9:00 AM Saturday, 29th November 2025
Screening Room, Living Arts Centre
Rahul Aijaz is a Karachi-based writer and filmmaker dedicated to reviving Sindhi cinema in Pakistan. His groundbreaking work includes A Train Crosses the Desert, the first Sindhi short film from Pakistan to screen internationally, and his upcoming debut feature, Indus Echoes, which is the first Pakistan-Korea co-production and Pakistan's first Sindhi-language feature in 27 years.
Aijaz is an alum of prestigious programs, including the Busan Asian Film School and the Singapore International Film Festival's Asian Producers Network. Beyond filmmaking, he is an accomplished culture journalist with over 900 published articles and the founder of Film N' Chips Media Productions.
The Investigator - India - Comedy/ Thriller
Director: Kamil Shaikh
A determined investigator in Nashik is pressured to close the suicide case of a disabled, lower-caste woman found in a refrigerator. Suspecting murder by her high-caste husband, he uncovers evidence of a staged suicide, linking iron fertilizer to particles in her teeth. His superior dismisses the case, citing the husband's alibi and the wife's anemia.
Transferred and facing his own mental health crisis, the investigator later discovers a bribe linking the husband to his corrupt senior. The conspirators are eventually convicted. The story ends with a surprise twist.
1:00 PM on the 30th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Born and brought up in Mumbai. An actor by birth and director by choice, gradually also found screenwriting as his passion. He is graduated in Commerce and Post graduated in Sociology and Political Science. He has been associated with Theatre performances from the past 12 years along with direction. He has also been an Acting Coach for 12 years and he believes in a different perception to human story telling. Hence he finds human behavior and psychology closely associated in his story telling.
Kaalamega Karigindhi..?
Director: Singara Mohan
Country: India
In adulthood, a man revisits his past and memories of first love in this high school romance.
1:00 PM on Wednesday the 26th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Singara Mohan is an Independent Filmmaker from Kalasapadu, a small town in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. He is an award-winning Film Writer and Director known for his experimental short film titled 'A Date in the Dark'. He has no film school background and no prior experience in assisting any film director. A Date in the Dark which has won awards at multiple film festivals across the globe is his debut work and it was fully made during the COVID times by following the Lockdown guidelines of India. Kaalamega Karigindhi..? is his debut mainstream theatrical feature film which had its theatrical premiere in India on 21st March, 2025.
Lahari - India - Drama/Comedy
Direcrtor: Amartya Bhattacharya
In the director’s typical lyrical and comical fashion, LAHARI meanders through the lives of the indigenous and the tourists that come to gawk at them.
5:00 PM Sunday, 30th November 2025
Screening Room, Living Arts Centre
Amartya Bhattacharyya is a National Award-winning Indian filmmaker and writer whose work is celebrated for its surreal and psychoanalytic nature. His films, such as the acclaimed Adieu Godard and Khyanikaa – The Lost Idea, have been screened at over 140 international festivals, earning him numerous global accolades as a director, writer, cinematographer, and editor. Beyond cinema, he is also the author of two poetry collections exploring the darker facets of human nature.
Morning Sunshine
Director: Bobby Sarma Baruha
Assamese director Bobby Sarma Baruha tells beautiful stories. She is a master of her craft. In Morning Sunshine she has cast her own daughter as a disabled young woman being looked after by her ageing parents, who ends up becoming a famous author. The film is a poetic tribute to family, parenthood and the power of resilience.
6:00 PM on Friday, the 28th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Dr. Bobby Sarma Baruah is a National Award (Rajat Kamal) winning Indian filmmaker. Her acclaimed body of work includes features like "Sonar Baran Pakhi" (Audience Award, Dhaka IFF; Grand Jury Award, IFFLA) and "Mishing," which earned her the Silver Lotus at the 66th National Film Awards. Her films, such as the Tiwa-language "Sikaisal" (also a National Award winner), have been selected for major festivals worldwide, including Moscow, Kolkata, and the Indian Panorama. She holds a PhD in Mass Communication.
MUSTACHE - USA This film is presented after the MISAFF 2025 Awards
Director: Imran J Khan
Follows Ilyas, a 13-year-old boy who navigates the social hierarchy of his new school in California with a mustache his parents won't let him shave.
7:30 PM on Saturday, the 29th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Not In Vain - World Premiere - Canada 94 minutes
Director: Ahsan Khan
Ahsan Khan’s debut film shot in Toronto depicts the struggle of a man as he grapples with medical negligence.
8:00 PM on Wednesday the 26th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
After a career in real estate, [Your Name] transitioned into filmmaking, driven by a belief in storytelling's power to challenge systems and create impact. This led to the founding of Breaking Box Productions and the creation of the debut feature, Not in Vain.
Produced in Toronto with a small, diverse team, the film embodies a commitment to emotional honesty and cultural authenticity. It stands as a testament to what can be achieved with purpose and perseverance, marking the bold start of a new creative chapter.
Once Upon A Time In Gaza - Palestine - Comedy/Thriller
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
This Cannes award winner is delightful and engaging. It is a comedy thriller set in Gaza that defies logic when one thinks of how this film must have been accomplished. A drug dealer and his worker front as a falafel business and peddle drugs to a population under siege.
PALESTINE 36 - Palestine - Drama - 120 minutes
Director: Annemarie Jacir
Palestine's Official Submission to the 98th Academy Awards. Official Selection of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Coming to theaters in the US and Canada in 2026. A film by Annemarie Jacir Starring Hiam Abbass, Kamel Al Basha, Yasmine Al Massri, Jalal Altawil, Robert Aramayo, Saleh Bakri, Yafa Bakri, Karim Daoud Anaya, Wardi Eilabouni, Ward Helou, Billy Howle, Dhafer L’Abidine, with Liam Cunningham, and Jeremy Irons. In 1936, as the British Empire tightens its grip on Palestine, Yusuf is caught between his village home and his work in Jerusalem. Amidst an anti-colonial revolt, and Jewish refugees fleeing persecution from Europe, all sides converge in a decisive moment for the entire region.
Screenings: Living Arts Centre Screening Room
8:30 PM 27th November 2025
8:15 PM 30th November 2025
Please check out OPENING NIGHT GALA
Director: Vinod Kapri
This is the opening film for the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival 2025. The director will bein attendance for Q & A.
SECRETS OF A MOUNTAIN SERPENT – Canadian premiere - INDIA
DIRECTOR: Nidhi Saxena
Set in a remote Himalayan town during the Kargil War, Secret of a Mountain Serpent tells the intimate story of Barkha, a schoolteacher whose husband is away at the border. In a place where most men are gone and the days echo with silence, Barkha finds herself drawn to Manik Guho, a mysterious outsider who disrupts the fragile balance of waiting, restraint, and myth. As his presence reawakens long-buried yearnings, in Barkha and the other women of the village, a whispered local folklore comes alive: a serpent that lives in the forbidden river, still waiting after a thousand years for the promise of love unkept. This is a poetic exploration of desire and freedom, where myth and memory blur, inviting both women and men into a deeply sensual, haunting journey through love, longing and transformation.
2:30 PM Sunday, 30th Nov
Screening Room, Living Arts Centre
Umro Ayyar
Director: Azfar Jafri
4:15 PM on Sunday the 30th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Azfar Jafri is a Pakistani film director, screenwriter, actor, and VFX artist. He is best known for his Independent film Siyaah which earned him critical recognition and accolades, including a nomination for the ARY Film Award for Best Director at the 1st ARY Film Awards
Director: Meryam Joobeur
Aicha lives in the isolated north of Tunisia with her husband and youngest son. The family lives in anguish after the departure of the eldest sons Mehdi and Amine to the violent embrace of war. When Mehdi unexpectedly returns home with a mysterious pregnant wife, a darkness emerges, threatening to consume the entire village. Aicha is caught between her maternal love and her search for the truth.
Meryam Joobeur believes wholeheartedly in the transformative power of storytelling and hopes that her films can capture the beauty, complexity and universal nature of the human condition. Her short films Gods, Weeds and Revolutions (2012) and Born in the Maelstrom (2017) screened internationally. Her Oscar nominated short Brotherhood (2018) screened at 150+ festivals and won 75 international prizes. “Who Do I Belong To” is her first feature film.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Director: Amy Miller
CANADA 84 minutes
Shining a light into the murky world of police infiltration, incitement, and agent provocateurs, Manufacturing The Threat shows how Canada's policing and national security agencies, granted additional powers after 9/11, routinely break laws with little to no accountability or oversight.
Amy Miller is an award winning writer, director and producer based in Montréal. Her documentaries have been screened in over 100 festivals throughout the world, and have been broadcast in over a dozen countries. She remains dedicated to developing critical documentaries for transformative social change and helping out grassroots campaigns for justice.
Director: Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar
A friendship walks the distance between life and death in Nilesh Maniyar and Shonali Bose's "A Fly on the Wall." As Shonali is tasked with filming her friend Chika Kapadia's physician assisted suicide, Nilesh Maniyar asks Shonali to turn the camera towards herself too. Together, Shonali, Nilesh and Film Editor Tushar Ghogale weave a tale of dignity in death through the lens of friendship.
6:00 PM on Sunday the 30th of November 2025, at the Noel Ryan Theatre at the Mississauga Central Library
Nilesh Maniyar: The power of this film lies in the difficult conversation it sparks about the choice for dignity in death. Shonali's courage to be vulnerable while supporting Chika's courageous decision created a journey that will stay with me.
Shonali Bose: My friend Chika wanted to show how peaceful assisted suicide could be, hoping to make it an accessible right, not an elite privilege. Filming his death was the highest-stakes moment of my career—there would be no second take. Experiencing that peaceful moment was transformative, and though I would want the same for myself, I'm not sure I would be as brave.
Director: Baljit Sangra
The story of Judi Singh, an unwitting trailblazer who, as a Punjabi-Black singer, steps onto jazz stages during tumultuous times and leaves a musical imprint to be discovered.
Baljit Sangra is a Vancouver-based documentary filmmaker known for her compelling explorations of social and cross-cultural issues within the South Asian community. She directed the acclaimed documentary Because We Are Girls, which delves into the story of three Punjabi Canadian sisters confronting the trauma of childhood sexual abuse within their family. Sangra's work often focuses on themes of resilience, identity, and representation, aiming to give voice to underrepresented narratives. Her films have been featured at various international film festivals, highlighting her commitment to authentic storytelling.
Director: Kaveh Nabatian
In 1791, in Haiti, Dutty Boukman presided over a Vodou ritual in Bois-Caïman that led to the creation of the first Black republic. Since then, rituals of transformation and artistic expression have been at the core of a thriving culture as the country faces oppression, poverty, and natural disasters. "Kite Zo A” (Leave the Bones) is a sensorial film about rituals in Haiti, from ancient to modern, made in collaboration with poets, dancers, musicians, fishermen, daredevil rollerbladers, and Vodou priests, set to poetry by Haitian author Wood-Jerry Gabriel.
Kaveh is an Iranian-Canadian artist whose evocative filmmaking has brought to life stories from the margins of society and across the world: Cuba, Haiti, Nunavut, India, and beyond. His film work ranges from "A Crack in Everything", a feature doc about Leonard Cohen, to masterminding the Rotterdam-premiering, experimental, seven-director anthology feature "The Seven Last Words", to his award-winning feature narrative debut, the Cuba-set and shot "Sin La Habana".
As a composer and trumpet player, he’s toured the world and released several critically-acclaimed albums with his Juno award-winning band Bell Orchestre.