Spotlight on new Quebecois and Canadian cinema
CANADA | 72 minutes | 2015
For nearly 26 years, Lebanese-born Salam Kahil has run his deli in Vancouver’s seedy Downtown Eastside. He takes an incredibly unique and personalized approach to customer service: while filling sandwich orders, he regales patrons with a constant stream of jaw-dropping stories. His establishment even features a sign warning that “This deli contains coarse language and nudity.” An uninhibited braggart, he reminisces about his experiences as a male escort and boasts about the imposing size of his junk. His penchant for recounting his many sexual exploits in graphic detail and with eager hilarity has attracted a faithful and colourful clientele. But the film also looks beyond this ruffian surface to a deeply caring individual, who each week mobilizes an army of volunteers to prepare and distribute free sandwiches to the large homeless population living in the neighbourhood. Filmmaker Lewis Bennett sees through to a sensitive man with a complex personality and a tumultuous past.
No biography
The Sandwich Nazi (Feature film, 2015)Asian Gangs (Short film, 2012)Parrot Island (Short film, 2012)Hey Vancouver, This Is You On Craigslist (Short film, 2012)What Vancouver Means to Me (Short film, 2008)
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