Actor and director Zehra Nawab sits down for an exclusive interview with award-winning Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker and the co-founder and Festival Director of the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF), Arshad Khan. The conversation explores MISAFF’s mission to nurture cinema, champion filmmakers, and bring bold stories to audiences. This Canadian film festival celebrates ambitious, socially engaged cinema while expanding opportunities for filmmakers through its programming and symposium.
Arshad started off with his own documentary, ‘Threadbare’, and through his experiences, realized he wanted to bring films together in a more inclusive fashion. Beyond it all, Khan is an accomplished filmmaker whose feature documentary ‘Abu’ screened internationally at festivals including the BFI London Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival.
In this exclusive interview, Zehra Nawab had an in-depth conversation with Arshad Khan, the filmmaker and visionary behind MISAFF.
MISAFF is taking place in Mississauga from September 30th – October 4th, 2026 with a lineup of incredible, thought provoking films and a symposium.
Zehra Nawab: Arshad, you’re a filmmaker and the founder of MISAFF. What has your journey from making films to creating a space to showcase them looked like?
Arshad Khan: I am a storyteller and an activist. When 9/11 happened, and Canada became a part of the war on terror, I was very angry about the association of terror with brown skin. That became a catalyst for me to drop out of architecture school, pick up the cheapest camera I could buy, and tell stories through my lens. I understood the power of the filmmaker, and that started this journey. I was working on my documentary ‘Threadbare’ while being shortlisted for fellowships like Sundance Sloan, and when I started submitting my films to festivals, I realized a lot of festivals have gatekeepers who are perpetuating a kind of exclusionism.
In 2013, a beautiful Pakistani film called ‘Zinda Bhaag’ was released, and we tried to get it into A-list festivals. When this incredible piece of cinema was having a hard time reaching audiences, I decided we would organize a proper world premiere, and it would be at a festival called the ‘Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival’. And that is how MISAFF came into being, and the festival just took off. Audiences and filmmakers realized that in the Toronto suburbs there is a home for good cinema. Very quickly, MISAFF had a very distinct identity because it is a festival run by artists, and as my films got into more festivals, I learnt about what, as a filmmaker, I like about a screening or what are the ways that I felt uplifted. That then really began to show in our programming and the industry events organized by us.
MISAFF was a pioneer in many ways because I worked with really good people like Anya Mackenzie, who is my co-founder and managed the business aspect of things; Asma Mahmood, who is our Artistic Director; Namrata Narayan and Virinderpal Singh, without whom the past few MISAFFs could not have happened. Our programming has always been solid with high production value. We had on board Ontario Creates, Telefilm Canada, and Cineplex, so MISAFF started getting a lot of success. Meanwhile, I still work as a full-time filmmaker, which has started to become harder and harder as the festival became very big very fast. As MISAFF was becoming a community, I was hoping that this would translate into sponsorships and advertising money, but that did not happen. So every year we struggle; we don’t have big budgets, but we still always have the symposium as the centrepiece of the festival.
Zehra Nawab: Speaking of that, the symposium last year was exceptional. Can you talk about the MISAFF Symposium and what it offers filmmakers? Because when we think of film festivals, we think of audiences enjoying films, but festivals also play an important industry role.
Arshad Khan: MISAFF started an industry component a long time ago. We started with the Ontario Creates brunch, which brought filmmakers together with film funders. 2019 was a highlight festival for MISAFF, and then COVID happened… and then it all became very challenging. Even during that time, we started the Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals (COSAFF) and kept our audiences entertained. But instability came into the whole picture. Online screenings became common, audience viewership patterns changed, and funding became more difficult to access. And even today, funding and community support are just not strong enough. But the programming is very strong. We bring India and Pakistan on one stage, SAWANA region films, Iranian cinema, Palestinian films, North African cinema, Arab cinema, West Asian films… making room for good cinema. The number one thing I want to do is uplift the standard of good storytelling in the suburbs. Because mainstream films often have agendas that they want people to buy into, and our own people forget what good cinema and storytelling is in the meantime.
The symposium is so important. 2025 MISAFF focused on sessions surrounding scripted format, and in 2026, the focus is the unscripted format. We have executives coming from CBC, which is wonderful. It is a way for our filmmakers to connect with film executives without feeling intimidated. It breaks that barrier and makes the conversations easier. They see your face, you see theirs, and this humanization is very important for us to be able to access funding and resources.
The symposium came out of the idea that it is important to continue training filmmakers and to also make them aware of their skill sets and rights. Otherwise, film sets can be very exploitative of creative talent. Which is why I said I want a place for producers to come to – where they can learn from some of the best people in the industry, where film professionals can learn how to apply for grants, and where they can meet other collaborators.
The 2026 symposium is presented by the Canadian Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, and Mississauga Arts Council is also one of our sponsors this year. We have created a beautiful platform for creatives to come and gain knowledge from, and everyone is welcome to MISAFF. You don’t have to be South Asian to be here! We have filmmakers talking about their process; we have a session on editing. Oscar-nominated Nisha Pahuja will be there, award-winning filmmakers Mo Naqvi and Sarmad Khoosat will be there, and this should not be missed! I hope the Symposium will help better the understanding of how Canadian film systems work, uplift the film community, and our storytelling.
Zehra Nawab: A common argument is that with so many films now accessible online and through streaming, why do film festivals still matter? What keeps Arshad Khan committed to this format of bringing films to audiences?
Arshad Khan: Because cinema brings so many different people under one roof, and that experience we have of watching a story unfold in a dark cinema surrounded by a hundred people is unmatched. We all enjoy the same film, and we all feel the same emotion – that is the power that brings people together. Storytelling brings people together. Our world has so much division and hate; we are lucky that through cinema we can cross those borders and bring people together and tell our stories, which is so important. That is the magic that film festivals like MISAFF bring to audiences. A lot of smaller festivals function for the love of the community and are run by people who love cinema because, unfortunately, there is no financial gain. It’s actually very difficult to sustain, but we do it so that our audiences will step out in large numbers and come see their stories being told on the big screen. This all happens through word of mouth as smaller festivals never have large marketing budgets.
Zehra Nawab: And I see that love for the community, as MISAFF has always had a strong presence within Toronto’s wider film-festival community. How important has that sense of camaraderie and collaboration been to you?
Arshad Khan: MISAFF has always collaborated with Toronto International Film Festival, with HotDocs, Reel Asian Film Festival, Reelworld Film Festival, Regents Park Festival; we have supported their festivals, and they have supported ours. I am a filmmaker and film festival director; not a lot of festivals are helmed by filmmakers, which makes MISAFF special. So the impediments I saw when trying to break into the industry – I don’t want those obstacles to be in the way of emerging and mid-career filmmakers. I want them to have better, easier access and for them to be connected with other mainstream Toronto film festivals through us.
Zehra Nawab: That camaraderie with festivals and with filmmakers reflects in MISAFF’s programming, and the 2026 lineup is particularly strong.
Arshad Khan: I’m so glad you think so. MISAFF is having the Toronto, Canada, premiere of ‘Lali’, which had its international premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival at the prestigious Panorama section. It is a feminist thriller from Pakistan, a stunningly beautiful film by Sarmad Khoosat, who is attending our festival – which is very exciting. Mo Naqvi’s thriller documentary ‘Hanging by a Wire’ premiered at Sundance and is also at MISAFF. ‘Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony’ by Habiba Nosheen (after premiering at Tribeca Film Festival) can be enjoyed by Toronto audiences. Iranian film ‘A Bit of Light’, by Ali Asghari, is a centerpiece film which received a standing ovation at Venice Film Festival and is now having its Ontario premiere. One of my favorite filmmakers is Gurwinder Singh from India, and he is bringing his film, ‘Rehmat’, starring Naseeruddin Shah. It is absolutely sublime cinema and a great way to close the festival. And then Anmol Sindhu is so kind. He gave us his film, ‘Flowers of Acacia’, which is excellent. We have ‘Badnam Basti’, a 1971 film which has been restored, and we are delighted to be showing it. And of course there is Bangladeshi film ‘Roid’. We have some great shorts from Canadian filmmakers: ‘More Chai Please’, by Roha Hena, and ‘City of Bystanders’. The latter is Anubhav Singh’s film. Both of these films are world-premiering with us. Also, we are showing two important Canadian films: ‘Universal Language’, by Matthew Rankin, which won Midnight Madness at TIFF. It was Canada’s entry into the 2025 Oscars. ‘The Things You Kill ’, directed by Alireza Khatami, which was Canada’s official Oscar entry for 2026, will also be shown!
We have some very exciting lineups at MISAFF this year, and we are so happy about that!
Zehra Nawab: Festivals truly give audiences access to films they might never encounter in theatres or on streaming platforms. MISAFF is bringing critically acclaimed cinema to our very own doorsteps.
Arshad Khan: Exactly, audiences get to see these films in cinemas, alongside cinema enthusiasts, and often get to meet the filmmakers as well. If you buy the MISAFF day pass, you get to attend some talks at the Living Arts Centre, grab lunch with friends you make, walk across to the Cineplex to watch movies, and now you have five days of fulfilling, nurturing cinema, and that is what our theme is: cinema that nurtures the soul.
The hope is to elevate cinema culture, bring good films to Toronto suburbs so people feel engaged, audiences come; they meet filmmakers, we all interact at cocktail parties, events, we enjoy each other’s company over food, filmmakers, audiences, film funders all get to mingle and talk, and everyone watches good cinema, which launches more conversations about collaborations. We bring very courageous cinema to our audiences. I hope that people will turn out in big numbers and realize the importance of this tiny little piece of paradise in the middle of the Fall season.
I have seen audiences year after year say, ‘We love your festival; we want more of this; we can’t believe you don’t have more resources, how little you’re working with’. All of us and all such festivals want to cultivate a better culture of cinema, demanding better for and from our audiences. Demanding better from our city, from our country, demanding better, better, better. Be it local storytelling or international critically acclaimed cinema, bringing it all to our doors.
I have so much empathy for film festivals and for everyone in the cultural sector trying to help uplift other voices. I see the hard work that everyone is putting in. And because I am on both sides- I am a filmmaker and a festival runner- there is a different love that MISAFF has. We have lunches, we house our filmmakers, we make sure our guests are well taken care of. Of course, our volunteers are awesome as well.
Zehra Nawab: And I think the festival poster beautifully captures all the conversations that we have been having. Can you tell us about its symbolism and what it represents for MISAFF this year?
Arshad Khan: It’s our mascot eating the papaya, which is a symbol of nourishment, vitality, and fertile ideas. The watermelon represents activism and Palestine. The cockroaches represent the inspiring Indian student movement. The Lego flowers are for Iran. The MISAFF poster is super political and is illustrated by Andrea Cossu by hand, digitally.
Life is very ephemeral, and I think people should realize that and understand that what is there today might not be there tomorrow, so we must thank our lucky stars that all this beauty exists. And I hope to see everyone there at MISAFF to enjoy beautiful, powerful, courageous art.
All Images Courtesy of the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival.
