TORONTO: The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has selected the Pakistani short film Permanent Guest (Mustaqil Mehmaan) for its world premiere at the festival’s 2025 edition, marking a significant milestone for Pakistani cinema.
Directed and written by Sana Jafri, the film is set in Lahore and centres on Fatin, a 26-year-old woman preparing for a neighbourhood wedding with her mother, Yasmeen. Their routine preparations are unsettled by the unexpected arrival of Fatin’s uncle, Shabeer, whose presence resurfaces painful memories and drives the film’s central conflict.
The cast includes Rasti Farooq, Nadia Afgan, Salman Shahid, Ali Tahir and Hiba-i-Zahra. According to its official synopsis, Permanent Guest explores the long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse within South Asian households and the culture of silence that often surrounds such experiences.
Jafri, who previously worked as a co-producer and casting director on Saim Sadiq’s Joyland, said the film examines intergenerational silence within families, where older members may overlook or normalise trauma that younger generations continue to carry. She described the project as an attempt to portray both the persistence of this silence and the ways in which it can be confronted.
The film was developed through crowdfunding, with contributions from supporters in Pakistan as well as members of the Pakistani diaspora abroad. With no backing from state institutions or large-scale investors, the project relied entirely on this funding model to reach completion.
Permanent Guest is a rare entry for Pakistan at TIFF, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Only two Pakistani short films, Darling by Saim Sadiq and Bhai by Zarrar Khan, have previously been screened at the festival. Jafri also becomes the first Pakistani woman to debut a short film at TIFF.
TIFF is considered one of the world’s leading film festivals and is widely seen as an important platform for international filmmakers. The selection of Permanent Guest adds to a growing list of Pakistani projects receiving recognition at major global festivals in recent years.
The film is scheduled to premiere tomorrow during the festival.
