International South Asian Film Festival of Canada Announces Winners, Hosts North American Premiere of Oscar Hopeful ‘The Glassworker’
The International South Asian Film Festival of Canada (iSAFF) just completed its fourteenth edition and hosted the North American premiere of Usman Riaz’s “The Glassworker.” Riaz’s film is the first hand-drawn animated feature from Pakistan and the country’s official Academy Award entry for 2025.
The festival honors filmmaking in various categories; short films (international and North America), documentary filmmaking, feature filmmaking, and the annual Sher Vancouver Award for Best LGBTQ+ Film (with a $2,000 CAD prize). Jurors across categories were filmmakers, content creators, performers, and more, including “Ms. Marvel” star Iman Vellani and Shahani Goswami, star of the U.K.’s official Oscar entry, “Santosh.”
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This year also introduced the RBC Film Fund in partnership with Royal Bank of Canada, which will provide five thousand Canadian dollars to each of five different iSAFF films. A year from now, iSAFF plans to celebrate the first batch of recipients from this fund and the work they’ve achieved.
“We are thrilled to see RBC’s continued support for South Asian filmmakers through the launch of the RBC Film Fund,” iSAFF Festival Producer Mannu Sandhu said in a statement. “This initiative resonates with iSAFF’s vision to champion unique perspectives and nurture the next generation of creative storytellers. We look forward to seeing the impact this program will have on the careers of our filmmakers and the stories they bring to life.”
Keep reading for a complete list of winners from the 2024 International South Asian Film Festival of Canada.
Excellence in Short Filmmaking (International)
Jury Members: Mehreen Jabbar (Filmmaker), Ryan Fukuda (Filmmaker/Events Producer), Shiv Reddy (Content Creator), Sukhmani Sadana (Actor/Host)
Honorable Mention: “Night Queen” (Naireeta Dasgupta, India) Winner: “If” (Tathagata Ghosh, India)
Excellence in Short Filmmaking North America
Jury Members: Rabia Sultana (Filmmaker), Karen David (Actor), Bim Narine (Casting Director)
Honorable Mention: “Flight 182” (Rippin Sindher, USA) Winner: “Kumar Kumar” (Kiran Koshy, USA)
Sher Vancouver Award for Best LGBTQ+ Film
Jury Members: Onir (Filmmaker), Brandon Contreras and Matthew Curiano of The Homo Sapien Experience (Content Creators), Sundeep Morrison (Filmmaker/Actor)
Winner: “Amma’s Pride” (Shiva Krish, India)
Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking
Jury Members: Lu Mukerjee (Community Builder/Cultural Worker), Leena Minifie (Producer), Manu Chopra (Filmmaker)
Honorable Mentions: “This is TMI” (Subarna Dash and Vidushi Gupta, India) & “Wagging Tale” (Samagra Shah, Nepal)
Winner: “Agent of Happiness” (Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, Bhutan)
Excellence in Feature Filmmaking
Jury Members: Shahana Goswami (Actor), Rizwan Manji (Actor), Zarrar Kahn (Filmmaker), Iman Vellani (Actor)
Honorable Mention: “The Glassworker” (Usman Riaz, Pakistan)
Winner: “Boong” (Lakshmipriya Devi, India)
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