If you’re ever in Vancouver you might want to drop in on Salam Kahil’s La Charcuterie, which boasts the “Best sandwiches in North America!!’’

Or maybe you should give it a pass. In the opening scene of Lewis Bennett’s documentary “The Sandwich Nazi,’’ Kahil holds court at the deli counter, slicing meat, slapping together sandwiches, and telling an obscene story from his male escort days involving a candle. Later, he verbally abuses customers, asks outrageous questions, and offers to show his penis.

He makes “The Soup Nazi’’ in “Seinfeld’’ seem like Miss Manners by comparison.

But give the film, and Kahil, a little time. Turns out he’s a nice guy. His customers love him. He feeds the homeless. His story runs the gamut from black comic to tragic. And, as Bennett testifies over the phone from his family home outside Vancouver, Kahil’s sandwiches may indeed be the best in North America.

“The Sandwich Nazi’’ Screens Friday at the Salem Film Festival, which runs March 3-10. For more information go to www.salemfilmfest.com /2016/films/sandwich-nazi.

Q. How did you meet this guy?

A. I was making short films about Vancouver and I read about him on Reddit. I thought he sounded like quite he character. So I went out there as a regular customer. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make a film about it or not. I’m a bit of a nervous dude, so he probably caught onto that, or maybe that’s how he treats all his customers but he started grilling me right away if I was gay or an undercover cop. He was making me laugh, so I asked him if I could come back later in the week and he was cool with it.

Q. It started as a short and you made it into your first feature. How did that go?

A. When we were working on this, we thought there was so much more than what we captured in a short film. We shot off and on for three years. Maybe 80 hours’ worth. The challenge for me was just working with the same material for so long. It’s tough. Shorts are fun because sometimes you whip one off in just a couple of days. This was a long haul because I also had to edit the film, which took 10 months.

Q. Sounds like a long-term relationship with Kahil. I heard that in October he was angry about the film being screened. What is the situation now?

A. It seemed to go pretty well while we were shooting and into the editing, but since our premiere it’s been a difficult relationship. He came to the premiere at South by Southwest and did Q&As. He seemed to be having a pretty good time. One audience member asked if they could see his penis, so he showed his penis. So we thought everything was good but that changed. We haven’t resolved it. We go into the deli to talk to him but he hasn’t wanted to talk.

Q. Is there going to be a sequel about this rift?

A. Not really. I’m little burnt out on this filmmaking, to be honest.

Peter Keough can be reached at petervkeough@gmail.com.