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 Filmi 23!

Filmi Toronto’s South Asian Film Festival – 23 Years!

December 6th – 7th, 2025

Stay tuned for some great films!

  21st Filmi: Toronto’s South Asian film festival  

Harbourfront Centre

 
 
 

Tingling

A man watches a soothing ASMR video to help him sleep, but the voice meant to calm him soon reveals a chilling connection to his past.

Director Biography – Swaroop Elamon
Swaroop Elamon is an independent director, producer, and scriptwriter. Now based in Toronto, Swaroop hails from a background in political science and pursued his passion for storytelling through cinema, earning a postgraduate diploma in film direction from the prestigious LV Prasad Film Academy in Chennai, India.

His creative journey spans various mediums, including short films, music videos, short documentaries, and digital content. He has directed 20 short films, 2 music videos, and 2 short documentaries, demonstrating his versatility as a filmmaker. His writing contributions include scripts for numerous short films, feature film spec screenplays, and documentaries.

Since relocating to Toronto in 2022, Swaroop has further developed his craft and gained recognition at various film festivals such as Reelworld film Festival, Insomniac Film Festival, and International Film Festival of South Asia, among others. Beyond film, Swaroop has worked in the theatre community as a writer, sound designer, and actor.

Director Statement

“Tingling” began with a simple question: what happens when something meant to soothe us becomes the very thing that unsettles us? I’ve recently been fascinated by how rituals of comfort like guided sleep videos and ASMR, can create a strange intimacy between strangers.

The rise of these practices speaks to a very real hunger for calm amidst the chaos. In today’s world, where anxiety is constant and genuine connection often feels fleeting, we turn to these digital spaces hoping to feel less alone.

But what if those spaces carried more than just comfort?

Through quiet tension and whispered horror, this story asks: can we ever truly escape what we’ve done, especially in a digital world where nothing ever really disappears?

In search of lost time

Synopsis:
Two South Asian immigrants arrive in Canada in hopes for a better life, but slowly learn it’ll cost them their soul. In today’s world, what does it cost to leave everything behind and make a new-life in a “First World” country? In Search of Lost Time is a tragic comedy which explores the longing for something worth calling “home”, and what someone must do to have “la dolce vita”, as they love to call it.

STARRING: Ali Kazmi, Gia Sandhu, Mikaela Lily Davies, Rouvan Silogix, Steph Crothers & Athena Kaitlin Trinh

Director: A film by Rafeh & Rouvan Mahmud

Rafeh Mahmud is a Pakistani-Tanzanian-American, recent Canadian immigrant, Director, Writer, Daytime Emmy award winning Producer & Editor. He has worked for ABC News “Good Morning America” and as a Production & Post Production Engineer’s Associate for Light Iron, Panavision on Netflix’s “Queens Gambit”, Amazon’s “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, CBS’s “The Good Fight” among other TV-shows and films. Since moving to Toronto, he has worked with Cineflix Productions on a Lifetime MOW “Jodi Arias: Bad Behind Bars”, and on CBC Gem’s “Virgins” and “True Dating Stories.” He has also worked with the Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival, Crow’s Theatre & Modern Times Theatre Company.

Rafeh latest film ‘When Life Gives You Lemons’ (2022) has 3 Official Selections, including Oscar-qualifying Martha’s Vineyard AA Film Festival Virtual Experience. His previous film ‘In Defense of Civil Society’ (2021) has received 18 Official Selections, including Cannes’ Diversity in Cannes Shortfilm Showcase, Sarasota Film Festival, & Richmond International Film Festival. 2 Award Wins in Best Picture & Best Editing, 5 Nominations in Best Dark Comedy, including a Grand Jury Nomination, and 3 Honourable Mentions.
Outside of his work in film, he works as a director, playwright, and actor in theatre, and is a multiple grant-winning theatre artist. Prior to his recent immigration to Toronto, he lived and worked in New York City, and Karachi, Pakistan.

Previous experience includes: “Jodi Arias: Bad Behind Bars” Assistant Editor; Lifetime (Cineflix Productions). CBC Gem’s “Virgins” (Lead Editor) & “True Dating Stories” (DIT, BTS Photographer, Assistant Editor). Stratford Theatre Festival Digital Content (2020), Ruby Waters Live (2021), Associate Producer, ABC News [2018 Daytime Emmy]. Post & Production Engineer’s Associate, Light Iron, Panavision (2019), Artistic Associate & Coordinator, Williamstown Theatre Festival (2017), The New School for Drama, BFA, 2013-2017.

The Mermaid Waits


A showcase of multiple seasons’ worth of designs and products by 18 Waits, through the meet-cute of a man and a mermaid

Director Biography – Nadeem Umar-Khitab

Director Statement

Nadeem Umar-Khitab is a classically trained actor who has spent most of his career performing
Shakespeare. He studied acting at Toronto Metropolitan University with Ian Watson of the Stratford
Conservatory and Dr. Cynthia Ashperger of the Michael Chekhov Association. Most recently, he played
Hamlet in a bold reimagining by director Stephen Drover. His performance was lauded as “eminently
watchable, sympathetic” leading “a first-rate cast [in]…the must-see show of the summer.”
Nadeem’s career spans two decades and three countries, performing at London’s Barbican Centre, the
Brooklyn Centre for the Performing Arts, and across Toronto and Vancouver. Notable credits include the
world premieres of the smash hit Beatles musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It (Bard on
The Beach), Anosh Irani’s The Men In White (Arts Club), Carmen Aguirre’s Anywhere But Here (Electric
Company), Chris Abraham’s Macbeth, and the national tour of the award-winning Canadian musical
Onegin (Arts Club).
Recently, his focus has shifted to Film & Television, working on network shows like The Handmaid’s Tale
(Hulu), Brilliant Minds (NBC), and Robyn Hood (Global). Spring 2026 will see the release of his third major
studio feature Ready or Not: Here I Come (Fox Searchlight).
A recent graduate from Toronto Film School’s Screenwriting program and soon-to-be graduate of
Yorkville University, Nadeem is now forming a banner to produce his own projects under – uplifting
original narratives that put him and other up-and-coming diverse artists at the forefront.