Canada199487 minEnglish, Hindi, Bhilali, Marathi, GujaratiAvailable Online
Director's Note
Narmada: A Valley Rises launched my career as a documentary filmmaker — but more importantly, it was the film that transformed the way I see the world. Made against all odds, the film stands as a testament of endurance and persistence.
Researching, shooting, and completing this film fundamentally changed my point of view as a socially committed filmmaker. It took me into the heart of a people’s struggle and forced me to reckon with the realities and brutalities of large-scale development projects in India. It taught me that filmmaking can be an act of solidarity, not just observation. And yet it is also a film that could only have been made in Canada, and one that was also informed by my engagement with Indigenous issues as a diasporic filmmaker.
– Ali Kazimi
AWARDS
Best Director, Best Political Documentary, Special Mention Best Film, Hot Docs, 1995
Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, 1995
Golden Plaque Award, Chicago International Film Festival, 1995
Ali Kazimi
Ali Kazimi is an Indian-born and -raised Governor General’s Award–winning filmmaker whose work deals with issues of race, history, and memory. He is a cinema professor at York University, where he has also served as department chair. Kazimi was also Reel Asian’s 2021 Canadian Spotlight Artist.
8 Nov, 2025 10:15 am
TIFF Lightbox C4GA
IN PERSON & ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY
IN PERSON: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue (no sound cues indicated).
ONLINE: This film is being presented with English subtitles for all spoken dialogue in closed captions (no sound cues indicated).
Wheelchair spaces and step-free seating is available for this screening – click below to book accessible seats.
Join us for a Q&A immediately after the screening with director Ali Kazimi moderated by Reel Asian Programmer Mariam Zaidi.
In THERE ARE NO WORDS, award-winning filmmaker Min Sook Lee searches for stories of her mother, Song Ji Lee, who died by suicide when Lee was just 12 years old. Through an intimate archive, Lee confronts public, private, and imagined histories in the wake of trauma while negotiating her relationship with her aging father, who met her mother while serving in the Korean Counterintelligence Corps under dictator Park Chung Hee in 1960s Korea.
In collaboration with the Independent Media Arts Alliance, Reel Ideas will co-host a three-day mini-conference focused on artist advocacy, fair pay, and building an equitable arts ecosystem.
From sharing meals to counting planes and planting beans, these films lead us through stories of unexpected vulnerability, resilience, and companionship. Come for the screening and stick around for delightful creative activities for all ages to enjoy together!
Founded in Toronto in 1997, Reel Asian is Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival and a year-round cultural organization dedicated to championing Asian and Asian diasporic artists and storytellers. What began as a grassroots film festival has grown into a national platform supporting filmmakers and audiences through screenings, education, industry initiatives, artist development, and community programming presented across Toronto, the GTA, and online across Canada.
401 Richmond Street West, The Commons (Suite 448)
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8 Canada
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info@reelasian.com
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