Zarrar Kahn, whose debut feature “In Flames” premiered at Cannes and later played Toronto, is returning to the festival’s Short Cuts strand with romantic comedy “The Lion Does Not Concern Himself.”
A trailer has been unveiled.
The film follows a likeable gym coach who has convinced himself that his identity as a toxic podcaster is his only route to cultural relevance – until someone walks in as a new client and stays as a love interest. The concept originated with Mohammad Ali Hashmi, the film’s Toronto-based writer and lead actor and a frequent Kahn collaborator, who was struck by the volume of incel propaganda he encountered upon joining a new gym, and by how readily a gym regular could become an Andrew Tate champion.
Kahn found the subject compelling but chose to reframe the familiar terrain of male anger and online isolation as a classic rom-com. The title, drawn from a “Game of Thrones” line that has since gone viral on TikTok, is a tongue-in-cheek reference to manosphere culture – and to that culture’s own capacity to poke fun at itself.
“The film is sort of about the manosphere, sort of about the gender divide, and sort of about the inherent goofiness of falling in love,” Kahn said in a director’s statement.
Kahn directed, co-wrote, and co-edited the film, shot at a gym on Queen West in Toronto.
Lauren Saarimaki of POV Film produces, with Mina Husain of Suno Studios executive producing. CityLights Media handles world sales and festivals – the same company behind Kahn’s forthcoming climate thriller “Suffering Is Optional,” starring “Ms. Marvel” breakout Iman Vellani, which is set to begin production in early 2027.
Watch the trailer for “The Lion Does Not Concern Himself” here:
