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Mahershala Ali Stars in 'Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother' at TIFF
· Confirmed
In Short: At the Toronto International Film Festival, Mahershala Ali starred in 'Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother,' a film that blends faith, family, and humor into a mesmerizing story.
The film, directed by Bassam Tariq, explores the complicated relationship between fatherhood and faith while examining both restraint and capacity for violence.
Ali plays Latif, a holy man trapped in a murderously unholy profession, in a satire on 'faith' in America wrapped in an all-too-conventional hit man thriller.
The title 'Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother' comes from a Hadith by the Prophet Muhammad, emphasizing the central role of mothers in Muslim tradition.
The film's narrative is unique, with Latif not presented as a traditional action hero, and the action sequences never dominating the story.
Tariq’s film sometimes falls into standard action-movie tropes, such as killing a supporting character at the end of the second act or making it too easy for Latif to infiltrate the villain’s space.
The movie, which premiered at TIFF, is a gripping film that feels vastly different from your typical action thriller.
Ali expressed deep personal connection to the film, stating, “I think [the movie] spoke to me so deeply,” at The Hollywood Reporter’s Studio at 1 Hotel during TIFF.
The film’s title is explained in voiceover as an Islamic hadith, emphasizing the importance of mothers in one’s life.
The movie explores religious and cultural concerns in a working-class neighborhood in Houston, Texas, where Muslims, Mormons, and evangelical Christians are struggling to coexist.
Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother is a unique and ambitious action drama that delivers much more than its premise initially suggests.
The film, which premiered on September 25, 2026, is a fable about a father with combat training and faith overwhelmed by the huge shoes his children’s mother left behind.
Background
At the Toronto International Film Festival, Mahershala Ali starred in 'Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother,' a film that blends faith, family, and humor into a mesmerizing story.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is a 2026 American action thriller film written and directed by Bassam Tariq which stars Mahershala Ali, John Cho, Giancarlo Esposito, Abubakr Ali, Tramell Tillman, Tiffany Boone, and Laith Nakli.
What's confirmed
- Unfortunately, Khadijah falls into the tiresome “Dead Wife” trope—a woman who tragically dies at the start of the movie to kick off a man’s narrative arc.
- "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother" is a movie of contradictions.
- Editor’s note: This review was originally published on September 13, 2026 out of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.
What's still developing
- Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Yaga Season 1, Episodes 1-2.
- The film’s title, “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” comes from a Hadith by the Prophet Muhammed, whose answer to a question about “Who is most deserving” of someone’s best wishes and efforts.
- (REVIEW) There aren’t a lot of American-made faith-based films focusing on Muslims.
- Only on the fourth asking does it become your father.
- Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
- Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2026 TIFF coverage.
- Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother does not arrive quietly.
- The two men walked the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of the world premiere of “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” an action thriller that explores faith, family and motherhood.
- Boogie Brown • Sep 30, 2026 @ 12:27 PM Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother is the newest film from director Bassam Tariq and stars two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali in the lead role, alongside Giancarlo Esposito, John Cho, Adia, Tramell Tillman and more.
- The result — born of Tariq’s own experience trying to feed his newborn son while his wife was in the ICU — beats with a lived emotional authenticity, while unfolding against a borderline satirical modern United States whose religious and cultural concerns inform the movie’s sprawling drama.
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- However, this loss becomes Ali’s gain as he takes on the role of Latif in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, where the actor shows them exactly what they’re missing.
Sources
- Allhiphoplink
- IGNlink
- IndieWirelink
- Mediaversity Reviewslink
- Movie Nationlink
- Original Cinlink
- Religion Unpluggedlink
- Rollingoutlink
- Slashfilmlink
- Stanisland Magazinelink
- That Shelflink
- The Hollywood Reporterlink
- The Vergelink
- Thefilmstagelink
- Varietylink
- discussingfilm.netlink
- Amazon MGM Studios / YouTube — video link