LOUF (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Aziz Zoromba’s LOUF follows chef Fadi Kattan and Canadian co-venturer Nicole Mankinen as they work to open a Palestinian restaurant in Toronto. Set against escalating attacks in Gaza and the West Bank, the documentary connects food, diaspora, resistance and the preservation of cultural identity.

LOUF is a 2026 documentary directed and written by Aziz Zoromba. The film follows acclaimed chef Fadi Kattan and Canadian co-venturer Nicole Mankinen as they race to establish a Palestinian restaurant in Toronto.

Their project unfolds alongside escalating attacks in Gaza and the West Bank, placing the restaurant’s creation within a wider story about diaspora, resistance and the politics of preservation.

LOUF movie details

Story without spoilers

The documentary centers on Fadi Kattan and Nicole Mankinen as they work to bring a Palestinian restaurant to life in Toronto. Their plans develop under the pressure of events affecting Gaza and the West Bank, giving the film two connected threads: the practical effort to create a new dining space and the urgent question of how food and cultural memory can be preserved across borders.

With its focus on people, place and cuisine, LOUF approaches its subject as both a food documentary and a record of a moment shaped by conflict and displacement.

What to expect

LOUF is presented as an immersive food documentary with a strong current of contemporary political and cultural concern. Viewers can expect the restaurant project to serve as the film’s central setting while the wider circumstances in Gaza and the West Bank inform its examination of Palestinian identity, diaspora, resistance and preservation.

The film’s 1-hour-49-minute runtime allows room for both the restaurant’s development and the broader issues surrounding it. Its subject matter suggests a documentary grounded in real people and an unfolding process rather than a fictional narrative.

Cast and creative team

Aziz Zoromba directs and writes LOUF. Fadi Kattan and Nicole Mankinen appear as themselves, alongside Faraj Abdallah, who is also credited as Self.

• Fadi Kattan as Self
• Nicole Mankinen as Self
• Faraj Abdallah as Self

Release and production context

LOUF is a 2026 documentary with a listed release date of October 3, 2026. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 49 minutes and is produced by ONF | NFB. The spoken languages are English, Arabic and French. The film is marked as Released in the supplied information.

Production companies: ONF | NFB

Movies Dock view

By linking the work of opening a restaurant in Toronto with the preservation of Palestinian food and identity during a period of escalating violence, LOUF takes a focused documentary subject and places it in a wider cultural context. Its appeal rests in that connection between cuisine, community and lived political reality.

Film data:
TMDB