Surviving Sabu

Ian Rashid, Canada, 1998, 16 mins

Sabu, the iconic Indian film star of 1930s and 1940s British cinema (including films The Jungle Book and The Thief of Baghdad), is the flashpoint in the troubled relationship between a father and son in a Muslim family. Amin, the son, is making a film about Sabu, whose acting roles dried up once he reached adulthood. While Amin and his father Sandru once bonded over Sabu’s movies, they have now become the battleground for settling other, more personal arguments about sexuality and family obligations.

The Dreams of the Night Cleaners

Leila Sujir, Canada, 1995, 47 mins

Drama, archival footage, and animation are woven together in a fable format that explores the mythologies influencing our cultures at both societal and individual levels. Using intricate storytelling as well as humour, magic, and history, the misconceptions haunting the subjects’ lives are swept away. -KO