ISAFF Interview with Mannu Sandhu

September 15, 2025·54 min·4 clips

Mannu Sandhu shares how she played the sister to Deepa Mehta's character in a CBC film about a Punjabi widow's legal battle.

1. Gup Shup host Shushma interviews Mannu Sandhu, an actor and programming director for ISAFF, in the lead-up to the festival's 15th annual edition. 2. Mannu Sandhu is a working actor who spent three years in Bombay doing Bollywood projects before returning to Canada; she is now deeply involved in ISAFF as a long-running passion project alongside her acting career. 3. The episode's purpose is to preview the 15th ISAFF program, explain how the festival is organized, and give the South Asian community in the Lower Mainland a reason to attend. 4. ISAFF receives roughly 400 film submissions annually; an internal team watches all of them before passing candidates to a jury of 12 to 15 people from across North America who select the final program. 5. Films are organized into named thematic blocks — Mother Knows Best (films about mothers), Something for Everybody (body image and confidence), and Well Seasoned (legacy-themed films) — in addition to an overarching annual legacy theme. 6. The 2025 legacy honoree is filmmaker Deepa Mehta, who is receiving the inaugural Deepa Mehta Legacy Award; the award will be given to a different outstanding Canadian filmmaker each subsequent year. 7. Deepa Mehta is presenting her film Funny Boys on November 24th and hosting a fireside chat with festival co-founder Agam Darshi; she is also conducting a filmmakers welcome retreat on the same day to help attendees network. 8. Shushma shares that she appeared alongside Deepa Mehta in the CBC film A Reasonable Force, based on the true story of a Punjabi farmwoman in Abbotsford who fired a shotgun at skinheads harassing her land and was ultimately acquitted. 9. The opening film is Pinch — a story about a young South Asian woman who chooses videography entrepreneurship over traditional careers, experiences a life-changing incident, and navigates the aftermath; the film was written, directed, and starred in by the same young woman. 10. TIFF-selected Pakistani film Ghost School, directed by Simab Gul, is being co-presented with the Pakistani Canadian Women's Association and follows a 10-year-old girl in circumstances involving corruption affecting children and women. 11. ISAFF is celebrating Schitt's Creek's 10th anniversary by staging a live all-South-Asian table read of episode three on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., with 11 South Asian artists playing all characters; legal approval came from the Levy family through their company Not a Real Management Company. 12. The Saturday parallel program runs an all-day industry event called ISAFF In Focus at the Civic Hotel from 9:30 a.m., featuring the Canada Media Fund, Creative BC, a Make It in Canada panel, a distribution workshop, and a new Soundtrack for the People session for film composers. 13. Mannu describes the filmmakers welcome retreat as an icebreaker modeled on a wedding where two families meet, noting that by the end of the festival filmmakers who just met are already discussing future projects; last year Archie Panjabi became executive producer of a short film she saw at the festival. 14. Mannu explains her three years in Mumbai: projects went well but COVID made her want to return home, and she recommends the Bollywood path only to those who can commit 10 or more years with a solid financial plan. 15. The five-day festival pass covering all films, the gala, the Schitt's Creek reading, and the industry day is $2.99 plus tax; individual film tickets run $15 to $20 and special event tickets are $40. 16. The gala is priced around $150 but is being sold privately at this stage to give film industry professionals first access, as it typically sells out quickly. 17. The festival runs November 24-28 with screenings at Landmark Theatre and the industry day at the Civic Hotel; the gala is on Friday evening. 18. The episode is warm and conversational with music interspersed — Mannu chose Senorita from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Jind Mahi by Malkit Singh, a Surinder Kaur folk song, and Ki Banu Duniya Da by Gurdas Mann and Diljit Dosanjh. 19. South Asian diaspora audiences in Metro Vancouver with interest in independent film, South Asian cinema, or the ISAFF festival will find it directly useful. 20. Listeners outside the Lower Mainland or with no interest in festival programming and South Asian Canadian cinema will find limited practical value.

As heard by us

A festival chat that stays practical, then loosens up through song and memory.

The whole piece feels more like a guided festival rundown than a hard probe, which is not a bad thing if the main goal is clarity. The dates and lineup come through cleanly: the 24th retreat and Funny Boys screening, the 25th opening film Pinch, Friday's Landmark Theater slate…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

For a clear, friendly tour of ISAFF, with songs, screenings, and festival details.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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