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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0 A Bicycle Lesson
A BICYCLE LESSON
When a young woman teaches her mother how to ride a bicycle she discovers a secret that has the potential to mend their fractured relationship.
SYNOPSIS:
When a phone call from home interrupts her fun weekend plans, SABRINA travels to the suburbs in order to visit her mother, RUBY.
A bi‐monthly endeavor that she does more out of obligation than desire. At the house, Ruby welcomes her impatient daughter with a home cooked lunch as well as a request: She wants Sabrina to teach her how to ride a bicycle.
Pressed for time, Sabrina begrudgingly obliges and together mother and daughter struggle through a bicycle lesson that becomes increasingly humourous as their personalities clash and frustrations increase.
But when Sabrina cuts the lesson short and returns the bicycle to the garage, she discovers a disturbing secret that her mother has kept from her. A secret that not only forces them to deal with their broken relationship but also has the promise to bring them closer together in a way that neither of them expected.
SHORT SYNOPSIS (116 words):
When a call from home interrupts her fun weekend plans, SABRINA travels to the suburbs to visit her mom, RUBY. Ruby welcomes her impatient daughter with a home cooked lunch and a request: teach her to ride a bicycle.
Sabrina begrudgingly obliges. Together mom and daughter struggle through a bicycle lesson that becomes increasingly humorous as personalities clash and frustrations mount.
But when Sabrina cuts the lesson short and returns the bicycle to the garage, she discovers a disturbing secret that her mother has kept from her. A secret that not only forces them to deal with their broken relationship but also has promise to bring them closer in a way that neither of them expected.
DIRECTOR: RENUKA JEYAPALAN
Renuka Jeyapalan is a Toronto-based writer/director and graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s prestigious Director’s Lab. Her Genie-nominated short film Big Girl (05) screened at the Berlinale, the Tribeca Film Festival, and TIFF, where it was awarded Best Short Film. She is currently developing several feature films and comedy TV series Girl in the Boys Room for the CBC.
MAIN CAST
Veena Sood
Supinder Wraich
Greg Calderone
CREW
Writer Renuka Jeyapalan
Director Renuka Jeyapalan
Producer Lauren Corber
Cinematographer Daniel Grant
Editor Tiffany Beaudin
Hair/Makeup Artist Edel Bedard
Costume Designer Judith Clancy
Production Designer Beth McLeod
Sound Recordist Sean van Delft
Continuity Consuelo Solar
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0 Baby Girl
Premiere Status: Canadian premiere
Title of the Film: “Baby Girl“
Country of Origin: Canada
Year of Production: 2017
Running Time in minutes: 5:20
Title of the Film: “Baby Girl“
Country of Origin: Canada
Year of Production: 2017
Running Time in minutes: 5:20
Synopsis:
Watching the world through my daughter’s eyes and how she interacts with that world has been the most incredible experience. Of all my creative output to date, “Baby Girl” holds a place very close to heart. I wrote this spoken word poem as a love letter of sorts, to my daughter Anoushka, and all daughters everywhere. Every word of this poem is inspired by conversations and moments I’ve had with her. Through the video, I wanted to convey two important things 1) the vantage point I have as I walk often behind her, as she navigates the world while we are together, and 2) the sense of journey and wonder from her perspective.
Most of the video has been shot during my adventures with my daughter around Toronto, and includes some travel as well. The vision of creating a seamless walk over time, and many locations creates a sense of journey that I wanted to pull the viewer into.
The official music video is available on Anuj’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/omnesia, and the song may be downloaded via his website at www.omnesia.com.
Director’s: Anuj Rastogi
Anuj Rastogi
[ poet + film composer + music producer ]
Anuj Rastogi is a Toronto-based spoken word poet, film composer and video artist. Anuj has cultivated his worldly sensibilities and uses elements of word play and storyline that thread together broad narratives about social, political, personal and human insights. His latest work, “Baby Girl“, is a heartfelt love letter in admiration of his daughter, and a dream for the world our daughters may one day grow up in.
As a musician, he has composed and produced music for film scores, studio albums, and has performed with diverse artists across Canada, the US, the UK and India. Anuj has also produced and created dozens of music video and film projects, including past documentaries and videos that have screened at Filmi.
Anuj is currently working on a number of projects including new albums, music video conceps, , his debut poetry manuscript, and new feature film scores.
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0 Silencer
Silencer
Water & Director
Julian Bate-Vergette
Starring
Steve Kasan
Dimitri Abdulnour
Vanessa Kammer
Valerie Robert
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0 PIZZA
PIZZA
First-time Filmmaker
Director: Arjun Amirthakumar
There is a new chef in town and his ultimate goal is to serve the emperor and empress of that country he is in, as his journey begins we see the chef come across many obstacles.
Will he ultimately get through all the negative judgement and prove himself or will he be kept aside from society for being different?
We shall find out in this short film P I Z Z A.
Film Type:
Animation, Short, Student
Runtime:
4 minutes 14 seconds
Completion Date:
May 11, 2017
Country of Origin:
Singapore
Film Color:
Color
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0 #Lilith
An engineer looks for love in a far distant future.
Directors Bio: Sarvan Singh is a Writer, Producer, and Director. He is operating
Dalewood Productions since 2010
Sarvan Singh has always enjoyed film-making. In fact, by the time he was 4 years old, he had already been acting in student films . Soon afterwards Sarvan Singh began writing, filming and directing his own films. After graduating in 2008 from the Toronto Film School; Sarvan went on to direct, edit and shoot projects from around the world. Some big names include Netflix, HBO, Worldstar Hiphop, Weedmaps, just to name a few..
Social Media Contact:
Instagram @Director6
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0 Automate
Synopsis
An unemployed man, two tech billionaires, and an economist navigate the waters of a world radically changed by automation and artificial intelligence.
Written, directed, and produced by
Elvis Deane
Executive Producer
James Deane
Starring
Aparajit Bhattacharjee
Jocelyn Lernout
Chris Peterson
Dan Sanderson
Marissa Soragnese
Neville Von Braun
Director of Photography
Matthew P. Wocks
Gaffer + Grip
Joe Simpson
Make-Up Artist
Sara Matos
Music
Ocean + Breakdown + Disruption by Ocean
Special Thanks
Aldo Parise
Michelle Herrin
The Wish Group
Director’s Bio
Elvis Deane makes things. He has directed the feature films Separation Anxiety (2014) and The Ex (2018). His short films include Automate (2017), Deadline Dawn (2015), and Victoria (2011).
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0 Mr. Moden
Mr Moden
SYNOPSIS
A man has been detained and is questioned by a police detective, who can’t figure out if the truth is being told or not.
Director:
Bruce Pringle
Praveen Raj Ganesan
Director: Praveen Ganesan
Praveen Raj Ganesan
Praveen is a Director, actor, editor and producer living in Pickering , Canada. Born in Sri Lanka to Indian Parents, raised in India, Salem, Tamil Nadu. By the age of 18 He had travelled all over India and the Philippines to study Aviation. He holds a Commercial Pilot license from the Philippines.
Acting, directing was always a passion for him from his early childhood days and that lead to a lot of stage plays and a few TV shows. Stage plays that he directed and acted in his school days won alot of awards between the year 2003 and 2005. To support his family financially he studied IT computer Networking he moved to Canada in December 2010. After finishing his studies he started working as an IT Network Security Consultant. This did not make him stop chasing his dream. He started networking and built his own team to produce short films and commercials. He learned photography, cinematography and editing to support his films. He is 9 to 5 as an IT geek and the rest of the time he has worked, learned and made movies. After about 5 years of working full time he quit is job to start his own IT, media and Digital Marketing company Kural Inc. so that he has more time on hand to make films.
His first Short film in Canada was Ethiri The Enemy(2015), a tamil Short film. In 2016, 2017 he founded Thamziha foundation a nonprofit to help Indian farmers that he has featured in a lot of political awareness videos. Some of his videos has earned around 1 Million views in Facebook.
FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/nnthamizha/videos/278548585926803/
2017 he has worked in the following short films
Mr Moden (2017) – Director, Producer
Happy Birthday Rahul (2017) – Director, Actor, Producer, Editor
Lecture (2017) – Actor, Producer
My Favourite Dinner (2017) – Director, Producer
Dumped (2017) – Director, Producer
Ethiri (2015) – Director, Actor, Producer, Editor
(Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yPJ_tLC8mQ)
His first feature film is in the pre-production phase and expected to be released by late Summer 2018
Bruce Pringle
Bruce Pringle
Born in Toronto , Bruce was first on stage at age 8 and first in front of a film camera at age 11 (commercial), he brings a long resume of film and commercial work.
In 2017 Bruce teamed up with Praveen Ganesan to jointly make films together. Bruce brings experience from the acting world along with writing skills developed over many years. Together and with other key people they have assembled a well rounded production team.
Mr.Moden is the first of four films that were filmed in 2017.
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0 Aquiver
World Premiere
Running Time: 3:49
When things don’t appear as they seem.
Director: Ash Varma
Staring: Steve Kasan
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0 Aryan’s World
Canadian Premiere
Running: 3 minutes
A parent struggles to find balance with his 8 year old child.
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0 VIVID
Toronto Premiere
Running time: 5:59
Viv, a beautiful young corporate climber
falls into the depths of fear
as she is stalked by a mysterious shadowy figure.
David, a corporate acquaintance witnesses her rapid decline
and must decide whether to save her or dismiss her mental state.
Shreya Patel
A recent graduate from Seneca College Documentary Filmmaking Institute, model-turned- actress and dancer Shreya Patel has been featured in short lms, commercials and television segments. Some of her commercial credits include: Much Music Canada, Rogers Cup, and York- dale Mall. She is also a veteran of runways, having walked for international designers in North America, Asia and the Middle East and was showcased in Vogue India’s fth anniversary show and Fashion Fund Award.
Since coming back to Canada, the spotlight has turned into acting and lm production. She directed and edited a documentary called “Girl Up”, a lm about a girl who was a victim of domestic violence and human tra cking. Lastly, she also co-directed and acted in a fashion lm “One Left” for the Elle Canada Fashion Film Competition.
FRANCIS LUTA WRITER, DIRECTOR, EDITOR
Francis Luta is an emerging Canadian filmmaker with works ranging from fiction and non-fiction. His most recent film “Vivid” (2017) a short horror film about one woman’s rapid decline into paranoia and the struggles of mental illness, produced by Canon Canada for their launch of the EOS C700 cinema camera, lensed by award winning cinematographer Jeremy Benning csc (The Expanse, Killing Lincoln). “Attention of Men” (2016) is a short drama about the inner battles with sexuality and religion which stars Adam Kenneth Wilson (Manson, Reign, Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments). “Explorer” (2016) a short adventure documentary about modern day explorer Adam Shoalts which premiered at the Victoria Film Festival and Silveron International Film Festival. “The Legendary Mickey Parker” (2016) an introspective documentary about a 97 year old cancer and tuberculosis survivor which premieres at the Windsor Independent Film Festival. “Turbulence” (2016) a short dramedy about a breakup mid-flight which premiered at the Video Drunk Film Festival. “Butterfly” (2015) a short film shot entirely with a drone, explores the theme of grief and the supernatural which premiered at the Flying Robots International Film Festival. “The Story of 90 Sumach” (2015) a short documentary about the history of the CBC design building converted into one of the most iconic lofts in Toronto. “Wolf” (2015) a coming-of-age short mystery film about obsession and sexual urges which premiered at the Newfilmmakers New York Film Festival and archived at Cannes Short Film Corner. “The Hammer Band: Music Child” (2015) a short documentary about the organization that teaches kids learn how to play the violin in low-income neighborhoods of Toronto which won Best Music Video at the Toronto Short Film Festival. “Project Gelb” (2014) a 43 minute documentary about Asian-men-problems available on Amazon and Bell Fibe TV1 which premiered at the Equality International Film Festival in Kiev Ukraine, and “Seeing” (2014) a short film about blindness and revenge, lensed by powerhouse cinematographers Jeremy Benning csc and Adam Marsden csc (River, Hotline Bling Drake music video) produced by Cooke Optics. With a background in fine arts and graphic design, Francis Luta has exhibited art works in Berlin Germany and Toronto Canada, shows include Toronto International Art Fair, Berliner Kunstsalon and Preview Berlin.
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0 GRIN
Canadian Premiere
http://grinthemovie.com
A lonely starlet unravels when a photographer crosses the line.
Starring: Sheetal Sheth
Director: Tanuj Chopra
WINNER, Best Short – SACRAMENTO HORROR FESTIVAL
WINNER, Best Actress – SACRAMENTO HORROR FESTIVAL
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0 Cowboy and Indian
Toronto Premiere
Trailer:
Website:
http://www.cowboyandindianfilm.com
Running Time: 8 minutes, 13 seconds
Synopsis:
A young Bengali bride materializes out of the barren, desert landscape like a mirage. She collapses in the dry heat and wakes up in a cowboy’s bedroom. The unlikely pair discover things aren’t always what they seem.
Cast/Crew
Sujata Day – Director, Writer, Producer, Indian
Cameron Fife – Cowboy, Editor
Noel Maitland – Cinematographer, Editor
Malcolm Fife – Sound Designer
Megan Lee Joy – Production Manager
Brenna Haukedahl – Makeup Artist
Joshua Simpson – Gaffer
Mason Hankins – Sound Mixer
Michael Hanna – Production Assistant
Eric A. Wahl – Colorist
Director Bio
With her infectious personality and unique sense of humor, Pittsburgh native Sujata Day has established herself in Hollywood as a multi-talented actress, creator/writer, producer and director. She honed her comedy skills at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, graduating from the improv program. Sujata is known for her starring role as CeCe in Issa Rae’s The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Recent onscreen credits include a recurring role on HBO’s Insecure, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Life in Pieces and The Grinder. She is a 2016 Sundance | YouTube New Voices Lab fellow. Sujata makes her narrative directing debut with the short film Cowboy and Indian.
Press:
http://splinternews.com/i-want-to-write-my-indian-girl-story-how-insecures-suj-1795031665
http://www.rookiemag.com/2017/05/screen-time-30/
http://www.wearemovingstories.com/we-are-moving-stories-videos/2017/5/6/ifs-film-festival-cowboy-and-indian
· List of all Festivals the film as played in the U.S.:
CAAM Fest (SF), LA Asian Pacific, Hollyshorts, New York Indian, IFS, Colorado Dragon, Asian American International (NY), HAAPI (Houston)
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0 Pedro the Pornstar Puppet
Director: Andrew Hing
The life and times of Pedro, as he recounts his climb to the top of the world of porn star puppetry.
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Web Series – Calm Down Paul
CALM DOWN PAUL
Web Series
Director: Jen De Lucia
Calm Down Paul, is a raunchy workplace comedy about the lives of the mundane nine-fivers who vent “TMI” to their office pal, Paul.
Episode 2.
It’s Tuesday at the office: Mike, a self obsessed close talker, confides in Paul about his lack of social media attention. Whether it’s too much information at the workplace or too much information online, Mike feels the burning desire to share. (NSFW)
Episode 5. (WORLD PREMIERE)
It’s Friday at the office: Why some of us hate kids. TMI at the office.
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0 Interview
Interview
Director: Ryan Kayet
Duration: 19:00 Minutes
Synopsis:
An eager applicant walks into the pivotal interview of his career. When the employer rejects him before it begins, the young man shows him just how tenacious he can be.
Director: Ryan Kayet
Director
Ryan is an up-and-coming filmmaker that excels as a screenwriter, director, and producer. After receiving high praise for his thesis film, Lurker, Ryan co-founded Riverlife Productions with a desire to focus on strong character driven narratives. He has directed the bravoFACT funded short film One Day at a Time, based on the award winning Canadian play Cancer Can’t Dance Like This, and several music videos that have been featured on Much Music and many online websites. Interview, a dramatic short about race, power, and the importance of choosing your words carefully, was funded by the Ontario Arts Council and has just begun the festival circuit. His most recent project, Cancel the F—ING Internet, is a comedic short that has just completed.
Dave Gibson – Producer
Dave is an accomplished creative and corporate media producer. His first project was the acclaimed student film Lurker, which lead him to co-found Riverlife Productions in 2008 and he has never looked back. Working in corporate media, Dave has obtained ample experience in the planning and execution of video production. His work has gained him considerable respect in the community, and has lead to him becoming a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee award recipient in 2012. The leadership and project management skills he has developed have enabled him to produce powerful short films and music videos. His video Where Would I Be has been featured in publications like Urbanology Magazine. He has also produced for broadcast, such as his bravoFACT funded short film Cancer Can’t Dance Like This: One Day at a Time for bravo in 2010 and One in Eleven for Much Music in 2012. More recently, Dave produced the short film All for Davey which was a finalist in the 48 Hour Film Project and produced the Ontario Arts Council funded short film Interview which is currently on the festival circuit.
Ahsan Butt – Writer
Ahsan Butt is a writer and essayist. His first two screenplays were official selections of the Toronto International Teen Movie Festival in 2002, while his short fiction and essays have appeared, or are forthcoming, in The Offing, The James Franco Review, Eclectica Magazine, LitroNY, as well as The Monarch Review. Recently, he acted as Fiction Editor for an issue of The James Franco Review, a literary magazine focused on the visibility of marginalized writers, especially those who are not James Franco. Ahsan was born in Toronto, is of Pakistani descent, and currently lives in Los Angeles.
Richard Young – Lead Actor
Richard Young is an actor who most recently acted opposite Sir Derek Jacobi
in the feature The History of Love, based on the internationally bestselling novel. His acting credits include The Strain, Rookie Blue, Saving Hope, Degrassi, Mayday, the digital series MsLabelled (Shaftesbury/Smokebomb) and the feature English Butler Masala Chai (Vision TV). Richard is also a co-creator/writer/actor on the Bell Media OMNI/Rogers digital Kung Fu series Sudden Master, and he produced/wrote/acted in the digital series Off2Kali, featuring a who’s who of Canadian talent such as Colin Mochrie (Who’s Line Is ItAnyway?), Charlotte Hegele (Bomb Girls), Huse Madhavji (Saving Hope) and Katie Boland (Reign). Off2Kali was profiled by CBC’s Punchline and screened at the ReelWorld, Filmi and Toronto Web Festivals. In theatre, Richard is an alumnus of the Nightwood Theatre Emerging Actor Program, was part of the Second City’s Educational and Family Companies, and performed to sold-out audiences across the country in the touring romantic-comedy play 30 Dates.
Twitter: @RichardYoungRY
Charlie Ebbs –Lead Actor
A founding member of the stage and TV comedy group, Ottawa Sketch, Charlie has appeared in over 25 film and television shows including Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal (2013), Crook (2014), and Tell the World (2015), as well as his television appearances in Hard Rock Medical (TVO),192 (BRAVO), Real Detective (CTV), and Best Laid Plans (CBC), amongst others. With his professional partner, Rachelle Casseus, he wrote and co-produced two successful short films, The Hold Up (2012) which premiered in Los Angeles at the Hollyshorts Film Festival, and The Buckley Brothers (2014), which won Best Comedy at the 2014 Lady Filmmakers Fest in Los Angeles, California. Charlie also has numerous stage credits and is a member of the NW9 Theatre Collective an Ottawa-based professional ensemble. Self-employed as a photographer and writer for over 25 years, and more recently as an actor, Charlie has spent his life defying the idea of ‘don’t quit your day job’
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0 WE’RE LATE
WE’RE LATE
Written & Directed by: Huse Madhavji
Starring: Rizwan Manji & Aly Mawji
All he wants is some time.
MadHuse Productions 2015
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0 My Moment of Victory and Are you Ready?
My Moment of Victory and
Are you Ready?
Director: Vikram Dasgupta
Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Commercial nominated for Cannes Lions
Toronto production house Pixel Palette, run by Vikram Dasgupta spotlights Canadian para-athletes, showing their training regimen as they prepare to vie for a spot to compete in the 2015 Parapan Am Games in Toronto.
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0 Onto Us
Onto Us
Onto Us
Director: Natty Zavitz
Synopsis: A young woman struggles with her relationship to another couple’s relationship.Maria has to understand her own expectations as she’s invited into the already warm bed of Adrian and Alana.
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0 A Disappearance
A Disappearance
Director: Ash Varma
A Disappearance, in a small town draws suspicion on close family and friends.
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0 Slumgods
Film: “Slumgods” (2015)
Runtime: 22:35
Synopsis
Hip Hop has evolved from a fringe musical movement that gave voice to the voiceless in Brooklyn, NY to become among the World’s most dominant musical and cultural forces. Hip Hop’s ability to connect with people of all walks of life has lead it to grow in even the most unexpected places.
The Slumgods are known to be among India’s first Hip Hop crews, who live and breathe its culture in the heart of Dharavi, Mumbai. In the middle of what is sadly too often referred to as one of the World’s largest slums, “Slumgods” reveals the story of an incredibly articulate and wise founder, Akash Dhangar, and the emergence of Hip Hop in Dharavi.
“Slumgods” tells the story of how Hip Hop came into the lives of these inspiring young artists, and how it has become a way of life, and a way of inspiration and mobilization for so many. the Slumgods crew has adopted all disciplines of Hip Hop, from Rap to breakdancing, beatboxing graffiti and DJ culture, and uses Hip Hop as a tool to inspire, engage, and elevate its youth.
Against all odds, Akash and the Slumgods have grabbed the attention of major media outlets and influencers, including AR Rahman, Shekhar Kapur, Universal Music, and Qyuki. “Slumgods” shows us how Akash and his crew set out to educate the world not only about their ‘hood, Dharavi, but also about the real voice of Hip Hop that has been so poorly misrepresented in India and across the world.
Director’s Biography:
Anuj Rastogi is a Toronto based multi-disciplinary artist. As a film composer, music producer, spoken word artist and writer, he has composed and produced for film, studio, and has performed with a number of diverse artists across Canada, the US, the UK and India. As a Spoken Word artist, Anuj uses elements of word play and storyline that thread together broad narratives about social, political, personal and human insights. Anuj is currently working on a number of projects including a new studio album, a new Spoken Word EP, and two new feature scores in pre-production for 2015 / 2016. Anuj brings a forward a sensitivity that is a unique product of his intuition and environment, and is now adding “filmmaker” to his bucket-list.
While Anuj has produced, directed and edited independent and concept music videos in the past, “Slumgods” is his first film release. “Slumgods” began as a chance-idea and grew into a documentary intended to tell the story of one incredible hip hop crew, and its founder, in a most unlikely place; Dharavi, Mumbai. The documentary is largely a labor of love, and required an incredible “run & gun” approach, improvisation, and and spontaneity under uncertain circumstances to capture and create.
Links:
- Website: www.omnesia.com
- YouTube: www.youtube.com/omnesia
- Twitter: @omnesia
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/omnesia
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0 Two Dosas
0 The Girl without a Song
The Girl without a song
The Girl without a song
World Premiere
Director: Aveek Mansur
A scientist invents a device that reads and plays the song within our souls. Every person has a unique song. When she goes to have her song read, Emma discovers that she has no song, and the machine is unable to read her soul.
23rd Filmi: Toronto's South Asian Film Festival Dec 6-7 2025 
