Houston filmmaker Bassam Tariq to receive Toronto International Film Fest Award

Director Bassam Tariq promotes the upcoming film "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother" during the Amazon MGM Studios presentation at CinemaCon at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 15, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Houston-raised film director Bassam Tariq, whose new, Houston-set "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother" starring Mahershala Ali opens locally Oct. 9, is being honored at this month's Toronto International Film Festival with the Rising Talent Award.

He is being celebrated alongside Helen Mirren (the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award), Seth Rogen (the TIFF Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award), cinematographer Adam Pietkiewicz (the Artisan Award) and actors Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing and Isabelle Huppert who are receiving Tribute Awards.

Cameron Bailey, CEO of the festival said of Tariq in Variety: “Bassam Tariq’s ‘Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother’ will confirm his reputation as a dazzling storyteller."

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WHAT'S COMING TO HOUSTON: The Houston Cinema Arts Festival announces its line-up.

The 51st annual Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 10-20 and is considered a launchpad for films that will be Oscar nominees.

"Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother" is the opening night film at this year's Houston Cinema Arts Festival which runs Oct. 1-11.

Tariq is known for the 2020 film "Mogul Mowgli" and the Amazon Prime series he co-directed, "Bait," both starring Riz Ahmed, and the Netflix short documentary "Ghosts of Sugar Land," about a high-school friend in the Houston area who became radicalized and joined ISIS.