The Muslim House®
September 13th & 15th
in Toronto, Canada
The Muslim House® is a cultural hub — founded and presented by the MPAC® Hollywood Bureau — where American Muslim storytellers and allies come together at major film festivals to learn, collaborate, and create.
The Muslim House® continues to expand at Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca Festival & TIFF— building cultural power, visibility, and momentum that’s only getting stronger.
September 13th
at Luma Restaurant inside TIFF Lightbox
Arrival & Breakfast at 9:00 AM ET
9:15 AM ET, September 13
Opening Remarks
9:50 AM ET, September 13
Animation Without Borders
Animation can make culturally specific stories vivid, accessible and emotionally resonant, introducing young audiences to histories rarely reflected onscreen while carrying lived experiences across borders and generations. This panel explores that potential through two distinct Canadian animated productions: Shokolata, a feature inspired by the real journey of the Hadhad family, Syrian refugees who rebuilt their lives in Canada and founded Peace by Chocolate, and Time Hoppers: The Silk Road, an adventure that brings children into the history of Muslim scientific discovery through four young time travelers journeying along the historic Silk Road.
Moderated by Barbara Lee, a longtime advocate for Asian and racialized artists in the Canadian screen industry, the panel brings together Tareq Hadhad, founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate and the inspiration behind Shokolata; Sadia Ashraf, founder of Rising Tides Films and the film’s writer & director; and producers from Time Hoppers. Together, they will examine how animation can transform lived experience and cultural history into compelling storytelling, how creators balance education with imagination, and what it takes for culturally specific Canadian productions to connect with audiences across markets, cultures and generations.
10:20 AM ET, September 13
Fireside Chat with Bassam Tariq & Mahershala Ali
Film has the power to humanize what headlines flatten, turning a single family's story into a window onto identity, faith, and belonging. For Muslim filmmakers, that power carries added weight: the responsibility of telling stories still too rarely seen on screen, ones that resist stereotypes and insist on nuance and specificity.
MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati sits down with writer-director Bassam Tariq to discuss Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, his acclaimed exploration of family and identity. Together, they will explore what draws Tariq to underrepresented stories, how he balances authenticity with universal appeal, and why film remains one of the most powerful tools for shaping how Muslim lives are seen and understood.
September 15th
at Canada Pavilion
Market Passes Required
9:30 AM ET, September 15
Beyond Representation:
Building Muslim Cinema for Global Audiences
Muslim cinema is not a genre, and Muslim audiences are not a single market. This conversation moves beyond the call for better representation to examine the practical work of bringing culturally specific stories from idea to international audience.
Moderated by filmmaker and impact strategist Yazmeen Kanji, the panel brings together creative producer Shehrezade Mian, filmmaker and Open Screenplay co-founder Sami Sabawi, and documentary filmmaker and Hot Docs programmer Aisha Jamal. Drawing on their experience across auteur cinema, documentary, screenwriting platforms, cross-border production, festival programming and audience development, they will explore how filmmakers can protect the specificity of their work while navigating financing, production, technology, festivals and distribution - and how Canada can become a stronger global launch point for Muslim stories.
10:30 AM ET, September 15
Who Gets to Shape the Story?
Public narratives are shaped long before, and far beyond, what appears onscreen. They are shaped by who produces and distributes stories, who sits behind the anchor desk, who reports on sports, who holds the microphone in an arena, and who builds trust with audiences and communities.
Moderated by Canadian feature film producer Abubakar Khan, this panel brings together broadcaster Ginella Massa, sports journalist Shireen Ahmed, and Toronto Raptors in-arena host Mark Strong. Drawing on their experiences across journalism, sports, broadcasting, live entertainment and community engagement, they will examine what it means to move from visibility to influence: setting the agenda, defining the frame, reaching audiences and creating pathways for those who follow. How can media professionals bring their identities into their work without being reduced to them, and how can breakthrough moments become lasting institutional change?
11:15 AM ET, September 15
Fireside Chat with Fawzia Mirza and Amber Fares
Moderated by filmmaker and Toronto Arab Film co-founder Rolla Tahir, this fireside chat brings together award-winning filmmakers Amber Fares and Fawzia Mirza, whose work is grounded in specific characters, families and communities while engaging larger questions of identity, migration, gender, power and belonging.
Moving between documentary and narrative filmmaking, independent features and television, and personal histories and international events, they will discuss how filmmakers transform lived experience into cinematic storytelling. The conversation will explore building trust with subjects and collaborators, portraying communities without reducing individuals to symbols, navigating the expectations attached to culturally specific work, and protecting a distinctive creative voice while reaching international audiences. It will also examine the practical pathways through which ambitious stories move from development to production, festivals, distribution and long-term audience engagement.
THIS EVENT WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF
PAST EVENTS
