A Message from the Festival Co-Founder and Artistic Director Hannah Fisher
Greetings One and All,
The areas of the world that have pulled and tugged and enticed me throughout my life have always been those countries that make up the South Asian Family of Nations – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
We have opened a treasure trove of passionate colours, styles, music, and ancient cultures. SAFF Canada South Asian Film Festival has been established, in partnership with Simon Fraser University and SFU Praxis. SAFF explores the vibrant and diverse cinematic worlds within these countries. We are reaching out to filmmakers, writers, directors, producers and actors in our search for indigenous stories and passionate, committed voices.
The largest film industry within South Asia – and indeed the largest industry in the world is that of India. It is difficult to imagine that India produces more feature films per year than the opposing behemoth of Hollywood. The fact remains that year after year the film industry of India astonishes with the size, scope, genres, and varying production formats served up with ever-greater exuberance and unbridled passion. It has been said that “Cinema is the life blood of Indian people” and the life blood of this country is poured without hesitation into very different types of films throughout the multilingual sub-continent that is India.
Young people in India who are interested in film have many opportunities for study and training; those living in the other South Asian countries are not so fortunate. And yet, feature films, documentaries, and shorts from most countries emerge – perhaps shot on cell phones or small digital cameras, edited on home computers, eventually to appear on YouTube.
The Arab Spring exemplifies the power of social media. To those countries without the presence of strong indigenous film industries, social media has presented the opportunity to learn important skills – story telling, focused writing, and brevity.
In creating the South Asian Film Festival, we are searching for story tellers, film artists, and talented young people from all of the countries in the Region. Our program is made up of the latest feature films, short dramas, documentaries, animation, and films used within a retrospective context. Our intent is to present the best cinema available throughout and about South Asia.
SAFF has created Master Classes, Educational and Industry Panels and Round Tables, Public Forums, Webinars, podcasts and other events to complement our Festival screenings. These will be made available to film students in BC, Washington State and South Asia.
ENTERTAIN, ENGAGE, EMBRACE, EDUCATE and INSPIRE. SAFF Canada is committed to developing unique learning opportunities for young film makers that will help them in perfecting their craft and growing and maturing as artists of the world.
Filmmakers are the “Way-Showers” of our time. They are the “Messengers”.
One of the sustaining dreams for the South Asian Film Festival is the creation of powerful networks and bridges of communication amongst the artists of South Asia, while at the same time, extending those bonds to the film artists and audiences of Canada, the US and the rest of the world.
SAFF Canada acts as a Cultural Gateway.
Through SAFF Canada, friendships and creative trust will be developed, cultures explored and shared – all within the circle of generous inclusiveness. As citizens of the Global Village, we will all be enriched by the results!
Sincerely,
Hannah Fisher, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, SAFF Canada
