Toronto: The film follows Latif, played by Ali, a Muslim contract killer whose life changes after the death of his wife leaves him responsible for three children. His attempt to care for his family draws him into a conflict that forces him to confront questions about his work, faith and responsibilities as a father.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, the new film from writer director Bassam Tariq, places an Islamic teaching about mothers at the centre of an action story led by Mahershala Ali.
The title draws on a well known hadith in which a man asks Prophet Muhammad who is most deserving of his good companionship. The answer is his mother three times before his father is mentioned. The film introduces this teaching at its opening, establishing the connection between motherhood, family and faith that runs through the story.
The Muslim, an Instagram media platform, has also highlighted this connection in its coverage of the film, presenting the title as a reference to the hadith and its emphasis on the status of mothers in Islam.
The trailer offers limited plot information, focusing instead on Latif, his children, and the threats surrounding them. Its brown toned and low light visual palette accompanies scenes of family life, religious practice and confrontation without explaining how the central conflict develops.
Ali, who won Academy Awards for Moonlight and Green Book, leads the cast alongside John Cho, Abubakr Ali, Adia, Jahleel Kamara and Giancarlo Esposito. Tariq wrote and directed the film after he and Ali had previously been attached to Marvel's Blade project.
The film premiered at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, where Tariq appeared with members of the cast. Pakistani actor Mahira Khan also attended TIFF in connection with the film and was scheduled to moderate a conversation with Tariq about storytelling, representation and South Asian diaspora experiences. Reports said Khan and Tariq were also to receive the Muslim Excellence in Cinema and Arts Award during the festival.
At the centre of the film is the tension between Latif's religious beliefs, his work and his obligations to his children. Following his wife's death, caring for his infant daughter becomes part of the story's examination of what motherhood means when a father is required to assume responsibilities previously shared with his wife.
Rather than treating its Islamic references as background, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother uses the hadith behind its title to frame its questions about parenthood, responsibility and the demands of faith.
