''Khaled'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by

Asghar Massombagi Asghar Massombagi is an Iranian-Canadian film director, most noted for his 2001 film '' Khaled''.Alexandra Gill, "Reflections in an exile's eye". ''The Globe and Mail'', April 20, 2002. Born and raised in Tehran, he moved to Canada at age 18, and s ...

and released in 2001. It is the story of a ten-year-old boy who tries to conceal the death of his mother. The film premiered at the

2001 Toronto International Film Festival The 26th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 6 to September 15, 2001. There were 326 films (249 feature films, 77 short films) from 54 countries scheduled to be screened during the ten-day festival. During a hastily arranged pres ...

Plot

Khaled (Michael D'Ascenzo) lives in a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

housing project with his mother, who is

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

and chronically ill. His father is Moroccan and abandoned the family when Khaled was young. One day his mother dies, but Khaled attempts to carry on life as normal. His life deteriorates as his landlord harasses him for overdue rent, and neighbors begin to notice the smell of decay from his apartment.

Awards

At TIFF the film received an honorable mention for the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

International Critics Award, and it was later named to TIFF's annual year-end

Canada's Top Ten Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival and announced in December each year to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films."Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema" ...

list for 2001. At the

23rd Genie Awards The 23rd Genie Awards were held in 2003 to honour films released in 2002. The ceremony was hosted by Arsinée Khanjian and Peter Keleghan. Nominees and winners The Genie Award winner in each category is shown in bold text. References {{Cana ...

in 2003, Mel M'Rabet received a nomination for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, for "Ab (Father)". Massombagi won the Best Director Award for the film at the

37th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The 37th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival took place from 4 to 13 July 2002. The Crystal Globe was won by '' Year of the Devil'', a Czech mockumentary film directed by Petr Zelenka. The second prize, the Special Jury Prize was won by '' ...

,Daniela Lazarová
"Karlovy Vary Film Festival ends"
Radio Prague, July 14, 2002. and the First Time Filmmaker Award at the ReelWorld Film Festival.Alexandra Gill, "Reflections in an exile's eye". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', April 20, 2002.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0296707 2001 drama films 2001 films Films directed by Asghar Massombagi Films set in Toronto Canadian drama films Canadian Film Centre films 2000s Canadian films