Tigress

synopsis

When a young Tamil-Canadian woman comes face to face with another version of herself as a paramilitary fighter for the Tamil Tigers — her sense of western privilege collides with the reality of her ancestors.

about the director

Maya Bastian is an award winning Tamil-Canadian filmmaker with roots in conflict journalism. Her work has been supported by HBO, Netflix, UN IOM, CBC and the Canadian Film Centre. Her short drama Air Show received national press for its look at refugee reactions to militarized air shows. Her film Tigress was produced by Blackout Media and India’s Jar Pictures and participated at Cannes Court Metrage 2021. She is in development on her arthouse horror feature The Devils’s Tears with FAE Pictures and is currently co-writing and directing a paranormal mystery series set in 1970’s Southeast Asia with Reflector Entertainment. She is an alumni of TIFF Series Accelerator and the 1497 Features Lab as well as a finalist in the Breaking Through the Lens/Chopard Development Grant, DOC Breakthroughs Lab, RIFF Talent Lab and many more. Her work frequently explores the trauma related to displacement and migration.