I spoke to directors of these EIFF films and here’s what I learned

The Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) is only a week away, and the anticipation is only growing.

EIFF is Edmonton’s best film festival, showcasing films curated by submissions and solicited from distributors. Each film is selected for story, quality, and originality, and all are premiering in Edmonton.

I got the chance to speak with two of the directors whose films are premiering at the prestigious event, Alex Eskandarkhah and Omar Mouallem. These incredibly talented directors shared with me the journey of film creation within Canada. They highlighted Edmonton as a growing film hub, with a rich film ecosystem and community.

Alex Eskandarkhah’s Cycles

Following Eskandarkhah’s Edmonton-based documentary, Coaching While Black, his latest short film, Cycles, will be premiering at the festival this month. Eskandarkhah’s journey began in Edmonton, and it continues to flourish in the city as he moves through his career.

“We made Cycles last year, and this is the world premiere,” Eskandarkhah says. “We’ll be starting in Edmonton, and then in Chilliwack, and we’ll see where else it travels.”

Cycles is a short narrative film, exploring themes of redemption and renewal through an intimate character-driven lens.

“It’s a story about two strangers who come clean about the things they can’t wash away,” he explains. “It’s very slice-of-life, arthouse style. It was fun.”

He noted that he’d run into Mouallem during the creation of his previous film, Coaching While Black. The Edmonton filmmaking community is tight-knit, and, according to Eskandarkhah, the unified group of creatives helps each other out.

“Everyone’s always willing to point you in the right direction,” Eskandarkhah exclaims. “Even if they can’t tangibly help with the film, they have no problem connecting you with someone who can. Toronto has that to a certain extent, too, but it feels a lot more communal when it happens in Edmonton.”

“It’s really beautiful, and has everything to do with how I was able to make my first film.”

Omar Mouallem’s Nader’s Girl

Nader’s Girl follows a lonely international student who creates an imaginary girlfriend to impress his roommates. The film marks Mouallem’s first entry into scripted film, and he’s proud to premiere his film in Edmonton before screening it in Beirut, Barcelona, and Houston.

It’s an adaptation of a short story from the collection Her First Palestinian. The collection is about Canadian Palestinian experiences, and Nader’s Girl stood out to Mouallem as a covertly political story in a world where all art is political.

He feels that this story is extremely timely, given the ongoing protest movement and the current war in Palestine.

“Interestingly enough, this story predates the war,” he adds. “I wrote this script in the first month of the war in 2023, but I updated it to sort of respond to it. I hope this movie will get people thinking about not just what Palestinians are going through, but what the diaspora has to go through as well, and how they navigate performative allyship and these expectations right now.”

He’s very proud of the fact that he was able to make a uniquely Arab story with Arab filmmakers, producers, writers, and actors. This film showcases excellent Middle-Eastern talent from Alberta, and he couldn’t take more pride.

“For my films’ first audience to be in Edmonton, at the EIFF, that’s just the greatest honour,” says Mouallem. “It’s a real Edmonton production, it’s some of the best crew and film professionals in the city who got together to work with a rookie director like me, taking a chance on a story they believed in.”

“Edmonton has a reputation as a place where people don’t just talk about supporting the arts, they actually show up, pitch in, and share their skills,” explains Mouallem. “I had the chance to collaborate with some remarkably experienced talent here who wanted to see it succeed. In that way, it feels like the perfect Edmonton movie — one that reflects the culture of the city’s artists, who are known for collaboration, generosity, and rolling up their sleeves to help each other realize ambitious projects.”

Edmonton International Film Festival

When: Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, to Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025
Where: Landmark Cinemas 9 City Centre — 10200 102nd Ave. NW, Edmonton, Alta.; Metro Cinema — 8712 109th St. NW, Edmonton, Alta.
Cost: Varies

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