Seattle's Tasveer Festival Unveils 136-Film Lineup Led by 'Lali'
Seattle's Tasveer Film Festival & Market will open its 21st edition with Sarmad Sultan Khoosat's Lali and screen 136 films from 16 countries on Oct. 13-18, according to Variety.
The six-day festival returns for a second year to the Tasveer Film Center in Seattle's Columbia City neighbourhood. The 2026 theme is 'Bring Your Story Home'.
Lali gets its West Coast premiere as the opening night film. That means its first screening on the western seaboard of the United States. The film previously played in Panorama, the Berlin Film Festival section devoted to new independent and art-house work.
The centrepiece slot goes to Mayilaa, directed by Semmalar Annam, in its North American premiere. The closing night film is Elephants in the Fog, directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, also in its North America premiere. Nepal has selected it as its contender for the Academy Awards international feature category.
Animation is part of the slate too. The Chair, directed by Triparna Maiti, will screen in its Washington State premiere.
The programme spans more than 25 languages. Stories come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tibet and their diasporas, according to Variety. The lineup includes 20 world premieres, four North American premieres and four U.S. premieres. Twelve LGBTQ+ films from six countries are selected.
Aparna Purohit, chief executive of Aamir Khan Productions, will serve as chief guest and jury head for the festival and market. The Tasveer Film Market runs Oct. 13-15 in its third year. It is billed as North America's first global market dedicated to South Asian film, a place where makers pitch projects and meet buyers and distributors.
Four film-makers selected for the Tasveer Film Fund will each receive a $35,000 grant to develop their next project, according to Variety.
For audiences, this means a compact week with premieres at every level. From Berlin titles to first-time world premieres to local debuts, the films arrive in Seattle before most viewers elsewhere get a chance to see them.
