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
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Category: Uncategorized
0 FILMI Shorts: Small Talk Denial
Friday, September 27th, 2013
World Premiere
Title: Small Talk Denial
Directed by Chris Green
Length: 5:00 Minutes
Country: Canada
Year: 2013
Synopsis:
Roger is doing everything great at his new job, except for one little thing: Small Talk. And when his boss and fellow employees confront him about it, Roger sees how tragically large office small talk really is.
CREW
Writer & Produce: Richard Young
CAST: Richard Young, David Sparrow, Kristopher Turner, Marjorie Malpass,Glenda Braganza
Director’s Bio:
Chris Green is a graduate of the Ryerson University Film Studies diploma program, and he has produced several short films including Arnie Juice, which played in four film festivals across Canada. Green’s first feature length film, “Zombie Werewolves Attack!” a horror/comedy is now being distributed by Troma Entertainment, and has also played in two film festivals. Green was recognized for his talents as a filmmaker by being accepted into the 2010 ReelWorld Emerging 20 program. His current projects include a Horror Anthology film with 6 other directors about the last man on earth, titled “The Last”, and development of his second feature film, a Sci-Fi thriller called ‘Memory Lost’.
Social Media Links:
facebook: www.facebook.com/off2kali
twitter: www.twitter.com/RichardYoungRY
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0 Filmi Music Video: “Aaja” by Prita Chhabra
Friday, September 27th, 2013
Prita Chhabra “Aaja” music video directed by Omar Shaikh
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0 Filmi Shorts: Shameless
Thursday, September 26th, 2013
Canadian Premiere
Title: Shameless
Director: Geeta Malik
Length: 4 Minutes
Country: USA
Year: 2013
Cast: Omi Vaidya, Geeta Malik, Reena Dutt
Synopsis: A woman on trial for prostitution turns the tables on her accusers.
Director’s Bio:
Geeta Malik received her M.F.A. from UCLA’s graduate film program in production. She has created several acclaimed narrative short films, including her viral narrative short, “Aunty Gs,” which earned a College Television Award (a “student Emmy”) in comedy production from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her narrative thesis film, “Beast,” was funded in part by the Edie and Lew Wasserman Film Production Award. Geeta is a recipient of the Coppel Screenwriting Award and the Jack Nicholson Distinguished Director Award.
Geeta is the founder of Shetani Films, a full-service production company. Her first feature film, “Troublemaker,” premiered at the 2011 Cinequest Film Festival, and was the first feature completed under the Shetani Films banner. Her work has been shown and broadcast worldwide.
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0 OPENING NIGHT FILM – BIG IN BOLLYWOOD
Thursday, September 26th, 2013 @ 6:30
Celebrating 100 Years of INDIAN CINEMA
OMI VAIDYA COMING TO FILMI 2013!
Filmi 2013 will be celebrating their opening night with American born – Bollywood Star Omi Vaidya.
Filmi’s Ambassador and in attendance will be Actor Omi Vaidya of ‘3 Idiots’ fame
Q&A with Actor Bollywood Actor Omi Vaidya Moderated by SAFTV’s Sunny Joshi
Thursday, September 26th, 2013 @ 6:30
Opening Night Film
6:30 Opening Remarks
6:45PM Canadian Premiere of ‘Shameless’ starring Omi Vaidya
7:00PM Screening of film ‘Big in Bollywood’ with Omi Vaidya
8:00PM Q&A with Actor Bollywood Actor Omi Vaidya Moderated by SAFTV’s Sunny Joshi
Big in Bollywood
Big in Bollywood
Directed by Bill Bowles & Kenny Meehan
Length: 69 Minutes
Country: USA
Cast: Omi Vaidya
Synopsis:
27-year-old American-born Omi Vaidya, a struggling actor in L.A., miraculously lands a dream role in the Bollywood film “3 Idiots”. Curious to better understand the world of Bollywood, four of Omi’s buddies armed with cameras fly to Mumbai to document his big premiere. Within a week of release, “3 Idiots” skyrockets to box office success, becoming the most successful Indian film in history and transforming Omi into an overnight megastar. But being a national sensation in India is not all glitz and glamor. Aside from the language barrier, Omi struggles with the pressure of his newly acquired fame and continuing his career momentum while trying to maintain a healthy domestic life back in Los Angeles. Set against the backdrop of Mumbai, Big in Bollywood is a film about what it is to be successful in show business, seen through the eyes of Omi’s best friends, who witness his career transformation firsthand.
Short Film prior to Big in Bollywood
Canadian Premiere
Title: Shameless
Director: Geeta Malik
Length: 4 Minutes
Country: USA
Year: 2013
Cast: Omi Vaidya, Geeta Malik, Reena Dutt
Synopsis: A woman on trial for prostitution turns the tables on her accusers.
Director’s Bio:
Geeta Malik received her M.F.A. from UCLA’s graduate film program in production. She has created several acclaimed narrative short films, including her viral narrative short, “Aunty Gs,” which earned a College Television Award (a “student Emmy”) in comedy production from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her narrative thesis film, “Beast,” was funded in part by the Edie and Lew Wasserman Film Production Award. Geeta is a recipient of the Coppel Screenwriting Award and the Jack Nicholson Distinguished Director Award.
Geeta is the founder of Shetani Films, a full-service production company. Her first feature film, “Troublemaker,” premiered at the 2011 Cinequest Film Festival, and was the first feature completed under the Shetani Films banner. Her work has been shown and broadcast worldwide.
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Filmi Doc – Thani Nayagam: Ambassador of Tamil
Sunday, September 29th, 2013 @ 6:30
WORLD PREMIERE
Thani Nayagam: Ambassador of Tamil
Directed by Senthil Vinu
Canada
As a learned scholar, Thani Nayagam Adigal served as a roving cultural ambassador for the Tamil language and devoted his life to propagate the greatness of Tamil to the whole world. He launched the historic International Association of Tamil Research to popularize the richness of the Tamil language and it’s culture. He attempted to create a worldwide community of Tamil scholars and pioneered the establishment of the International Institute of Tamil Studies. He founded the World Tamil Conference and was the Publisher of Tamil Culture (A Quarterly Journal) from 1952 to 1966. The contribution of his wisdom and experience for the Tamil Language is of immense value.
Documenting and archiving the work of Thani Nayagam Adigal is of paramount importance to the perseverance of the Tamil language.
Trailer:
Director’s Bio:
Senthil Vinu is an award winning Director/Producer. He has produced several short films, documentaries and feature films. His first feature film, ‘Waiting For Summer’ was shown in six International film festivals and has won “Best Picture award” at Film-North Huntsville International Film Festival and Hamilton Film Festival. ‘Waiting for Summer’ is currently available on Channel 100 on Rogers On-DemanD. He recently worked as Line Producer for the film ‘A Gun and A Ring’ which has played in Shanghai International Film Festival and plays in Montreal World Film Fest in August 2013. Senthil is very happy to be involved in making a documentary film on a great scholar like Thani Nayagam Adigal.
FaceBook : http://www.facebook.com/waitingforsummerfilm
Feature Trailer : http://youtu.be/dLN9Q9pl-II
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Filmi Docs – MOM
FILMI DOC SERIES: Sunday, September 29th, 2013, 6:30PM
MOM
Written and Directed by Ryan Singh
Length: 7 MInutes
Country: Canada
Year: 2013
Director will be available for Q&A after screening
Synopsis:
MOM is a short documentary about a man who reflects on the tradition of absent fathers in his family and how he wants to break that trend as he prepares to be a father
http://www.ryansinghenterprises.com/apps/blog/mom-debuts-at-reelworld-film-festival
Director’s Bio:
Ryan Singh is a Photograher, Filmmaking, Actor and Producer.
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Filmi Docs – Daadi the Movie
Sunday, September 29th, 2013 @ 6:30PM
Country: USA
Year: 2013
Cast:
Laj Bedi, Rizwan Manji, Purva Bedi, Nana Mensah, Shelle Davis, Chuk Obasi, Yehuda Hyman
Synopsis:
She was a star during Bollywood’s Golden Age; now, she’s an 87-year-old grandmother living in a senior home in Harlem. Daadi is the true story of magic and memory, and the difference between living and being alive.
Purva Bedi Bio:
Purva Bedi is an actress of film, television and theater and also a producer of independent film and not-for-profit theater.
As an actress, Purva is best known for her starring role in the cult classic,American Desi, for which she received an Ammy-Award nomination for Best Actress in a Feature Film. Purva’s other films include the award winning, Cosmopolitan, which was critically acclaimed at numerous film festivals and premiered on the PBS Independent Lens series. Purva’s other feature films include Green Card Fever, The Emperor’s Club, Wings of Hope, Ball & Chain,Love ‘N Dancing, Adjustment Bureau and Goat.
Purva has worked extensively in television drama and comedy. Her television guest and recurring appearances include Gossip Girl, Cashmere Mafia, House, Boston Legal, Alias, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Drew Carey Show, ER, Strong Medicine, and The West Wing.
In theatre, Purva is an Associate Artist of Target Margin Theatre and has acted in numerous roles regionally and in New York City. With Target Margin:Second Language, 10 Blocks on the Camino Real, Old Comedy From Aristophanes’ Frogs (Classic Stage Company), These Very Serious Jokes, Sonoma, 5 Hysterical Girls Theorem, Family Affair, The Seagull. Other theater includes: There or Here (Hypothetical Theatre), As You Like It (Colonial Theatre, RI), Frida Kahlo in Rise of Dorothy Hale (St Luke’s), My Wandering Boy (South Coast Rep), East is East (Manhattan Theatre Club & New Group), Kingdom of Lost Songs (Lincoln Center Dir. Lab), Rice Boy (Mark Taper),Merchant on Venice (Mark Taper, EWP, Cornerstone, Lark), Bad Women(Talking Band).
As a producer, Purva was Associate Producer and appeared in Kumare which premiered in March 2011 at SXSW and won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. She is Producer on Sameer Butt’s feature Off Duty and Executive Produced the short film Kosu. Purva is Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the not-for-profit New York-based South Asian theatre company Disha Theatre which was started in 2000.
Purva’s education and training includes Williams College, The British American Drama Academy in London, and The Public Theatre Shakespeare Lab in New York.
Purva lives in New York with her husband, the novelist and screenwriter David Andrew Stoler.
http://www.purvabedi.com/
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Filmi Docs – Honeybee Mine
FILMI DOC SERIES: Sunday, September 29th, 2013, 6:30PM
Honeybee Mine
A documentary film by Saskia Laufer
Length: 4:58 min
Country: Canada
Year: 2013
Director will be available for Q&A after screening
Synopsis:
One summer afternoon, filmmaker Saskia Laufer discovers a live bee colony in the rafters of her cottage basement. In the ensuing process of trying to remove the honeybees, she experiences the pain of the bee sting, the sweet taste of honey and the joy of capturing it all on video.
Submission to the 2013 Jump Cuts TIFF Kids International Film Festival
Shortlisted TVO Kids Choice Award 2013
Director’s Bio:
This is 11 year old Saskia’s 2nd film and both have been screened at FILMI. Saskia is a writer, director and editor with an extremely bright future.
Saskia was named after the Irish word for banana and her
lifelong dream is to live up to that name. her favourite foods are shitaki mushrooms
and fudge nuggets and her favourite pastime is chewing on eucalyptus leaves.
when she grows up she wants to either be a court jester or a banana. she has a phd in catlibrarianolog
chasing a ball of yarn, eating shitaki mushrooms and fudge nuggets, feeding her
pet banana bananas, therefore making him a cannibal, and watching thea turn
lives on roan inish with her siblings fiona, jamie and eamon.
est subject is lunch. her favourite things to do include
bananas into librarians.
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Filmi Docs – The Lion’s Cage
FILMI DOC SERIES: Sunday, September 29th, 2013, 6:30PM
The Lion’s Cage
Directed by Tandy Tatter
Length: 14:00
Country: Canada/UK
Synopsis:
The award winning MadTatter Films travelled to the world famous TriStar Gym in Montreal to capture a rising star within the MMA world, Gary ‘Saint Lion’ Mangat. Along with The Glass Museum, we delved into the mind of such a focused individual on his journey to the top.
Directors Bio:
Tandy Tatter
He is a photographer/director/producer/editor and if needs be an actor. No project is too big or too small. From films to music videos to short promotion work, each will have the full time and attention of The MadTatter.
http://www.madtatterfilms.com/
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Filmi Docs: Ahluwalia+Abbasi: Unplugged on the Upper East Side
Sunday, September 29th, 2013 – 6:30PM
Toronto Premiere
Ahluwalia+Abbasi: Unplugged on the Upper East Side
Director – Punam Kumar Gill
Length: 7 Minutes
Canada
Q&A with Director Punam Kumar Gill, Singer Kiran Ahluwalia and Musician Rez Abbasi
Industry Panel:
Sunday, September 29th, 2013
Magic Lantern Theatres Carlton Cinema – 20 Carlton St, Toronto, ON M5B 2H5
In the Carlton Lobby
1:00 PM – Growing up as South Asian Artist
Panel Will Include from, New York, Singer Kiran Ahluwalia and Musician Rez Abbasi and Calgary filmmaker Punam Kumar Gill
Admission is Free
3:00 PM – Documentary Filmmaking: The challenges in 2013 and the future
Panel will include filmmakers Punam Kumar Gill, Mad Tatter, Ash Varma, Senthil Vinu
Ahluwalia+Abbasi: Unplugged on the Upper East Side
Film synopsis and logline: Kiran Ahluwalia invites you into her Upper East Side apartment. In this intimate video portrait, the Juno-winning Indian songstress allows viewers a rare glimpse into her life in New York City, shared with her husband and jazz guitarist, Rez Abbasi. A one-woman crew (director Punam Kumar Gill) films the entire sequence, achieving a level of comfort and vulnerability which reveals much about Kiran and Rez. Includes a raw and soulful jam session between these two artists in love.
TRAILER: http://tinyurl.com/mpvpdr9
Awards 2013 AMPIA Awards, Finalist “Best Cross-Platform Production”
Twitter
@PunamArts
Directors’ Bio:
Punam Kumar Gill is a self-taught, award-winning independent filmmaker who produces short films with a big heart. Her films are like layered portraits, and to date, she has captured her own dad, Ramesh Kumar – a monk-like man who taught a neighborhood of new immigrants in Edmonton how to drive, Vikram Vij – an iconic Indian fusion chef in Vancouver, Amrita Singh – an Indian jewelery designer in New York, and most recently, JUNO-winning Indian folk musician, Kiran Ahluwalia and her husband Rez Abbasi– a celebrated Pakistani-American Jazz artist. Her films have received official selection from film festivals in Seattle, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, and most recently, Kerala and Delhi, India. She has won the the Ming Short Film Festival, the ‘Audience Favorite Award’ of the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers, a finalist in the Radio-Canada International Competition, and received 2 AMPIA Award nominations. She has been a jury member for both Canada Council for the Arts and Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
23rd Filmi: Toronto's South Asian Film Festival Dec 6-7 2025 