Skip to main content
Mareya Shot, Keetah Goal: Make the Shot film image

Mareya Shot, Keetha Goal: Make the Shot

This event has passed

World Premiere

From local co-directors Baljit Sangra (Because We Are Girls) and Nilesh Patel, this spirited documentary follows four junior hockey players of South Asian descent throughout the 2021-2022 season as they strive to be drafted into the NHL. Arjun Bawa and Kayden Sadhra-Kang skate in the footsteps of their father Robin Bawa, who made history in 1989 as the first South Asian to play in the NHL. Meanwhile, seasoned defenseman Arvin Atwal seeks to shed the fighter reputation he acquired in the American Hockey League by transferring to Slovakia. And, in an uplifting turn of events, the film traces the journey of Surrey’s own Arshdeep Bains to signing with the Vancouver Canucks. The passion for Canada’s national sport is contagious as Coach Harbs Bains— owner of the Lake Cowichan Kraken and past president of the Surrey Minor Hockey Association— and Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition commentator Harnarayan Singh unpack the revolutionary, life-changing power of diverse representation on screen and on ice: “Mareya shot, keetah goal!”

 

October 2 & 7: Q&A with directors Baljit Sangra & Nilesh Patel & crew

 

Series Media Partner

Directors
Cast

Harbz Bains, Arshdeep Bains, Arvin Athwal, Robin Bawa, Harnarayan Singh

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2023

Series

Insights

Language

English

Content Warning

Coarse Language, Violence

PG
72 min
Documentary Women Directors

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits

Executive Producer

Selwyn Jacob

Producer

Baljit Sangra, Nilesh Patel

Screenwriter

Baljit Sangra

Cinematography

Eva Brownstein

Editor

John Adams, Kirk Moses, Jessica Dymond

Original Music

Ruby Singh

Directors

Baljit Sangra headshot

Baljit Sangra

Baljit Sangra is an award-winning documentary filmmaker known for her commitment to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. Her latest feature reunites her with Coach Harbs Bains and ice hockey player Arvin Atwal, seven years after she directed them in Hockey United, about South Asian hockey dreams in Canada. She directed the NFB-produced Because We Are Girls, which explored the impact of sexual abuse on a Punjabi family living in BC. With over 18 million minutes viewed on Amazon, the film continues its social impact worldwide. Baljit helms Viva Mantra Films.

Filmography: Because We Are Girls (2019)

Nilesh Patel headshot

Nilesh Patel

For over two decades, Nilesh Patel has dedicated himself to telling the stories of us coming together. As the driving force behind Roaming Pictures, he champions marginalized talents in the film and television realm. His debut, 7 to 11 Indian, was broadcast nationally in 2004. His acclaimed award winning documentary Brocket99 – Rockin’ the Country, preserved in Canada’s National Archive, boldly delved into Canadian racism. Presently, Nilesh, a Concordia MFA alumni, is producing a slate of films through his company Roaming Pictures while continuing to advocate for racial equity in our media landscape.

Filmography: Brocket99: Rockin’ the Country (2006)

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Emilia Pérez

Dir. Jacques Audiard
132 min

When a defence attorney (Zoe Saldana) is enlisted to tend to the affairs of a notorious drug lord (Karla Sofía Gascón) completing gender affirmation surgery, there will be blood, ballads, and dance numbers. A maximalist musical from Jacques Audiard.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Bribe, Inc.

Dir. Peter W Klein
93 min

Exposing one of the most audacious and lucrative bribery schemes in modern history, Bribe, Inc is a disturbing chronicle of corruption, bureaucratic bungling and impunity. Q&A with filmmakers.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Memories of Murder

Dir. Bong Joon-ho
132 min

Parasite director Bong Joon-ho's police procedural is the centrepiece of our retrospective and arguably his masterpiece. Certainly, among serial killer movies this one is on a par with Zodiac and The Silence of the Lambs, but more politically astute.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Flow

Dir. Gints Zilbalodis
84 min

In this wordless and gorgeously atmospheric animated feature, a solitary black cat survives a tsunami and must confront his fear of water whilst sailing through a flooded world with a group of misfit animals. An enchanting adventure film for all ages. Rated: G

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Host

Dir. Bong Joon-Ho
119 min

Bong's monster movie (inspired by a real-life pollution scandal and carrying a prophetic viral load of its own) is his most purely fun entertainment. It's the most successful Korean movie ever made.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Every Little Thing

Dir. Sally Aitken
93 min

If you thought Flow was an emotional rollercoaster, wait til you meet Cactus and Wasabi, baby hummingbirds fighting for their lives under the loving care of hummingbird-whisperer Terry Masear, an Angelino who makes it her mission to nurse injured birds.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre