What Is “The Lion Does Not Concern Himself” About?

Written and directed by Zarrar Kahn (In Flames, Pakistan’s official Oscar entry), the 15-minute short follows a likeable gym coach who has convinced himself that his identity as a toxic online podcaster is his only path to relevance, until a new client walks in and becomes something more. The film is set inside a Toronto gym and uses comedy to unpack a very real phenomenon: the pull of red-pill content on young men searching for belonging.

The film stars Mohammad Ali Hashmi, who also originated the concept after encountering a wave of incel-adjacent content at his own gym, alongside Naomi Eidinger, Richesse Kabongo, and Steve Cartechine. It was produced by Lauren Saarimaki of POV Film, with Dr. Mina Husain of Suno Studios serving as Executive Producer, and CityLights Media handling world sales.

You can get a sneak peak here.

About Dr. Mina Husain, Executive Producer

Dr. Mina Husain is a Clinician Teacher at a top research institute in Toronto and Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, with a strong interest in global mental health and research published in peer reviewed journals. Beyond the clinic, she’s a Founder and Advisor at Sukoon, bringing her psychiatric background to the platform’s mission of culturally grounded mental health care, and a film producer through her own company, Dia Productions.

Dr. Husain isn’t new to using film as a tool for mental health advocacy. This isn’t even her first time at TIFF, her 2021 short Bhai also premiered there, following earlier films Dia and Stray Dogs Come Out at Night, the first Pakistani film selected at Clermont-Ferrand. She’s also the founder of Suno Studios, a production company behind socially impactful storytelling, and the Suno Residency, a fellowship connecting filmmakers, clinicians, and people with lived experience.

Speaking on this latest project, Dr. Husain explained her motivation:

“As a psychiatrist, I believe understanding men’s mental health means understanding the cultural landscape young men are navigating and the forces that shape their search for identity, connection, and belonging.”

That philosophy runs through the film’s premise. Rather than moralizing about online radicalization, The Lion Does Not Concern Himself tries to humanize the men caught up in it, showing how loneliness, not ideology, is often the real starting point. This latest TIFF premiere continues Dr. Husain’s track record, placing the film in the festival’s Short Cuts program alongside films from directors like Yung Chang and Shaunak Sen.

Why This Matters for Men’s Mental Health Conversations

Men’s mental health is chronically under-discussed, and the online spaces many young men turn to for connection can end up reinforcing isolation rather than relieving it. Films like this one offer a different kind of entry point, one that doesn’t require a clinical setting or a diagnosis to start a conversation.

By pairing a psychiatrist’s understanding of identity and belonging with a filmmaker’s eye for character, the project reaches audiences who might never pick up a pamphlet on mental health but will sit through a 15-minute comedy. It’s a reminder that awareness doesn’t only live in research papers. It can live in a gym scene, a punchline, or a love story, the same way Sukoon Cares approaches men’s mental health by meeting South Asian men where they already are rather than waiting for them to walk through a clinic door.

Watch and Learn More

The Lion Does Not Concern Himself premieres in TIFF’s Short Cuts program. You can read the

full first-look feature and see behind-the-scenes details or check the official TIFF 2026 program for showtimes.

To read more about Dr. Husain’s background, her earlier films, and her academic work, visit her University of Toronto faculty profile.

If this raised questions about men’s mental health in your own life or your family’s, this blog covers more on culturally grounded therapy, identity, and the barriers that keep South Asian men from seeking support.