Having celebrated fifteen years of South Asian cinema, community, and conversation, the 15th edition of the South Asian Film Festival of Montréal (SAFFM) came to a close on May 24, 2026. Marking an important milestone in the festival’s history, SAFFM 2026 brought together filmmakers, artists, scholars, and audiences through a dynamic hybrid format, with in-person screenings held at the J.A. DeSève Cinema at Concordia University from May 1–10, followed by a free online edition accessible across the globe until May 24.

This year’s festival showcased an outstanding selection of feature and short fiction and documentaries from South Asia and its diasporas, exploring themes of identity, migration, gender, belonging, social justice, and resilience. The festival concluded with the Jury Awards Ceremony, where Permanent Guest (Pakistan) won Best Short Fiction, The Mother, the Sons and the Holy River (Pakistan) won Best Short Documentary, Love Chaos Kin (USA) received Best Feature Documentary, and Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) (India) was awarded Best Feature Fiction.

Beyond the screenings, SAFFM continued its tradition of fostering dialogue through filmmaker discussions, panel conversations, and audience engagement. These exchanges transformed the festival into a vibrant space for reflection, learning, and cultural exchange, bringing together filmmakers and audiences from diverse backgrounds.

As Quebec’s only South Asian film festival, SAFFM remains committed to showcasing powerful and underrepresented stories while building bridges across communities through cinema. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our filmmakers, jury members, volunteers, partners, sponsors, and audiences whose support made this milestone edition possible, and we look forward to welcoming you to SAFFM 2027.