isaff held its first major event in september 2004 to showcase new work by south-asian filmmakers. south-asia, covers afghanistan, bangladesh, bhutan, india, maldives, nepal, pakistan, sri lanka, tibet and the various south-asian diaspora across the world. it has been viewed as an opportunity to view alternatives to the commercial offerings of bollywood. the festival is aimed at creating an environment for conversation, education, and exploration of issues that face south asia and its diaspora through film screening, panel discussions, workshops, and cultural programming. the film is hosted by seattle's non-profit organization, tasveer.