South Asian Arts Council

Arshad always knew he was different. Soon after emigrating from Pakistan to Canada with his family, Arshad realized he was gay. Merging clips from Bollywood films, animation, and home movies that capture awkward teen phases as well as significant life revelations, Arshad narrates his own cathartic journey, alongside his entire family’s. With charming lyricism and a dash of good humor, director Arshad Khan shares a deeply personal story of self-discovery and familial reconciliation, as he explores the challenges that can threaten the bonds between children and their parents. ABU is an intimately open and dazzling visual memoir about the complex dynamic the filmmaker has with his father, who was at once extremely modern and also rigidly traditional and unaccepting of his son’s true self.

Thirty-something Immigration attorney Zaynab (played with wry humor by out Pakistani Muslim actor Fawzia Mirza) is balancing her work, love life, and taking care of her conservative TV-obsessed mother. A drunken night with the bold and assertive Alma (EMPIRE's charismatic Sari Sanchez) leads Zayneb to question just how to come to terms with her mom, her love life, and her new-found obsession with Lucha-style wresting. Jennifer Reeder’s feature is a funny and honest take on the complications of contemporary dating and the joys of wrestling.