Musly × TIFF | In Conversation with Zarrar Kahn, Director of In Flames, Next Film Starring Iman Vellani | 16th September | Toronto
Musly × Toronto Film Festival | In Conversation with Zarrar Kahn, Director of In Flames, Next Film Starring Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) | 16th September | Toronto
Members will gather during festival week for an intimate evening marking one of the city's most defining moments on the film calendar.
Bringing together members with a shared curiosity for film and storytelling, the evening will create space for conversation, connection, and a shared love of great cinema.
The evening will include a private conversation with notable voices from the film industry.
As the festival brings the city's creative energy to its peak, the evening offers a rare pause: a room built for real conversation rather than networking, away from the noise of premieres and press.
The night will feature a curated programme of conversation, introductions, and experiences designed exclusively for Musly members and guests.
Attendance is by invitation. Reservations are confirmed upon approval.
About Zarrar Kahn
Zarrar Kahn is a Canadian-Pakistani writer, director, and producer based in Toronto. His debut feature, In Flames, premiered at Cannes' Director's Fortnight (nominated for the Caméra d'Or), went on to represent Pakistan at the 96th Academy Awards, and won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Debut Feature. His work centres on characters navigating life as outsiders within Pakistan's social landscape.
This evening's conversation moves from the personal to the process. Before Cannes, before the Academy Awards submission, In Flames was a horror story rooted in Karachi that most gatekeepers would have called too specific to travel. What does it take to make something that particular reach that far without losing what made it particular in the first place?
Topics on the table include:
Making a genre film out of a story the international festival circuit wasn't built for
What gets lost — and what has to be protected — when a deeply local story goes global
Directing actors through material about characters resisting their own communities
The years of shorts, labs, and festival rejections before a debut feature breaks through
What Pakistani and diaspora filmmakers owe each other once one of them gets the door open
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Event Policy
Placement on the interest list does not guarantee attendance. Reservations are only confirmed upon approval. Payment is processed only once approval is extended.
Due to the curated nature of Musly gatherings, bookings are final. Cancellations or non-attendance within 15 days of the event cannot be refunded, credited, or transferred.
Guest access is extended selectively. Unless otherwise noted, events are reserved for members only. Attendance is verified at the door.
Musly reserves the right to confirm attendance in alignment with the intended composition of the evening.