The eighth annual DFW South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) is this weekend, May 20 – May 22, at Grandscape Theatres in The Colony. The three-day event will debut 33 films, three of which will be world premieres.
The festival will open with a red carpet cocktail reception, and each evening will close with a party. Question and answer sessions will allow attendees to meet the crew behind the films throughout the festival.
Friday night’s feature, Americanish, explores how cultural and societal norms affect womanhood. The film follows three married women: sisters Maryam and Sam Khan and their fish-out-of-water relative, Amber, as they negotiate the often stormy waters of romance, culture, profession, and family.
The evening concludes with a celebration at The Grotto.
Saturday’s schedule starts at 11:30 a.m. and includes an afternoon feature film and a block of LGBTQ shorts at 4:00 p.m. The 8:00 p.m. feature, The Tenet, is a Bollywood film that follows a young boy battling adolescence and a new neighbor who has a troubled past.
A centerpiece party will be held at Galaxy Theatres to top off the evening.
Sunday’s final exclusive feature is a world premiere that will only debut in Dallas. Last Film Show tells the story of Samay, a 9-year-old boy living in a distant village in India. After secretly spending day after day watching movies by himself, he and his pals decide to investigate the possibility of making their own movie.
The festival will close with a farewell celebration held at the Windmills.
The mission of the South Asian Film Festival is to highlight “a wide range of films exploring issues that affect South Asians living and working in America, as well as [their] brothers and sisters back home.”
According to the DFW SAFF website, there will be surprise performances from special guests. For individual, three-day, and afterparty tickets, click here.