Tasveer South Asian Film Festival (TSAFF) is excited to announce its largest slate of films for its 2022 edition taking place over 18 days. This year’s TSAFF will present 24 features and 79 short films spanning 17 countries and 15 languages, including 12 World Premieres and 24 US Premieres. The lineup showcases work that challenges patriarchy and amplifies gender justice, embodying the festival’s theme “Unapologetically South Asian.”

The festival launches with the Opening Night Gala on Nov 3, followed by 10 days of in-person programming. Virtual programming runs from Nov 7 to 20. This is the 17th anniversary of TSAFF, celebrating positive South Asian representation through film, art, and storytelling. Themes explored include diaspora stories, intergenerational relationships, health & wellness, and political oppression & censorship.

In addition to the cast and filmmaker of the Opening Night Film FOUR SAMOSAS, also walking the red carpet this year are celebrity guests Kalki Koechlin and Deepti Naval from TSAFF’s Centerpiece film GOLDFISH. This North American Premiere of the powerful drama by Director Pushan Kripalani, follows a daughter’s return home to reconnect with her mother, and navigate her onset of dementia.

Programming Director Lucy Mukerjee states, “It was a joy to work with the passionate programming team to review a record number of festival submissions. It’s my hope that this 17th edition of TSAFF becomes a magnet that connects our communities with a celebration of excellence in South Asian storytelling.”

Other TSAFF highlights include Shaunak Sen’s ALL THAT BREATHES, the first film to win both Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Cannes’ Documentary Prize, in which two brothers in New Delhi devote their lives to protecting the bird known as the black kite, and Abinash Bikram Shah’s LORI: MELANCHOLY OF MY MOTHER’S LULLABIES, a narrative short from Nepal that received Special Mention at Cannes. World Premieres include Pravesh Kumar’s arranged marriage comedy, LITTLE ENGLISH, and Amrit Kaur’s ZINDAGI DOBARA, made with the support of Tasveer Film Fund and Netflix, whereby a South Asian teen is forced to live with her queer grandmother, who she's never met or heard of.