The South Asian Screen Office of Canada and IFFSA Toronto, in collaboration with Storiculture, have selected eight South Asian feature film projects for a new pathway to financiers and industry partners at the Toronto Film Festival‘s inugural market, under an initiative called South Asian Screen Futures.
The slate includes talent tied to recent Sundance, Cannes and Toronto honors, among them “All We Imagine as Light” director Payal Kapadia, “Cactus Pears” producer Neeraj Churi and “Second Chance” writer-director Subhadra Mahajan.
The lineup includes six single-country projects from Canada and India, plus one additional entry co-produced across Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and Canada.
“A Varnam in Silence” (Canada, India) is written and directed by Kalainithan Kalaichelvan, produced by Shaista Roshan and Alison Almeida. The film follows a woman who loses her voice after her mother’s funeral and her family’s belief that it was stolen. Kalaichelvan’s short “Karupy,” about a Tamil matriarch who announces plans to end her life at her own birthday party, premiered at Toronto in 2025 and was nominated for best live action short drama at the 14th Canadian Screen Awards. Roshan produced that short as well as “Unbraided,” below, while Almeida is currently producing “The Temple,” directed by Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis, and has associate-produced titles including Reza Dahya’s “Boxcutter” and Durga Chew-Bose’s “Bonjour Tristesse.”
