Film Index

Alphabetical Film Index/Screen Date/Page

36 Chowrenghee Lane, Sunday, Sept. 9, 5:00pm
Aamkarr: The Turtle People, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2:00pm
Arranging Love, Saturday, Sept. 8, 4:00pm
Blind Camel (Heda Hoda), Sunday, September 9, 3:00pm
Building Bridges, Monday, Sept. 9, 7:00pm
Gandhi at the Bat, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 4:30 (free)
Haseena, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 8:00pm
Herbert, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 8:00pm
Holly-Bolly, Saturday, Sept. 8, 6:00pm
Impression: Dischord Records, An`, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2:00pm
India Untouched, Saturday 9, 4:00pm, Tuesday, Sept. 11, TBA
In Quest of the Spectacular, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2:00pm
L’Intouchable, Friday, Sept. 14, 7:00pm
Little Box of Sweets, Sunday, Sept. 9, 6:30pm
Kaash (if only), Saturday, Sept. 8, 6:00pm
Kandukandain Kandukandain, Sunday, Sept. 9, 8:00pm
Making of the Mahatma, The, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 5:30pm
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Monday, Sept. 9, 7:30pm
Monsoon, Saturday, Sept. 8, 6:00pm
Naming Ceremony, The, Saturday, Sept. 8, 6:00pm
Off Duty, Saturday, Sept. 8, 6:00pm
Punching at the Sun, Friday, Sept. 7, 8:00pm
Rang de Basanti, Saturday, Sept. 8, 8:15pm
Rebel, The, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2:00pm
Running Dry, Monday Sept. 10, 2:30pm (free)
Sankofa , Friday, Sept 7, 8:00pm
Sati, Saturday, Sept. 8, 8:30pm
Scrum in the Mud, Saturday, Sept. 8, 4:00pm
She She She She’s A Bombshell, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2:00pm
SheWrite, Monday, Sept. 10, 7:00pm
Tales from the Margins, Saturday, Sept. 8, 4:00pm
Teen Kanya (Three Daughters), Sunday, Sept. 9, 1:00pm
Titli, Sunday, Sept. 9, 8:00pm
Way I See It, The, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2:00pm
Where is there room?, Saturday, Sept. 8, 6:00pm
Video Game, Saturday, Sept. 8, 4:00pm

FILMS CHOSEN FOR THE DC MEETS DELHI FESTIVAL:

Sankofa

USA/1993/125 mins./feature
Written and Directed by: Haile Gerima
Producer: Shirikiana Gerima
Music: David J. White
Cast: Oyafunmike Ogunlano, Mutabaruka, Alexandra Duah, Kofi Ghanaba,
Nick Medley, Afemo Omilami, Reginald Carter.
Lanuguage: English

A powerful film, now a classic, about Maafa-the African holocaust from an African/African-American perspective, this film connects enslaved black people with their African past and culture. It shows how African peoples desire for freedom made them resist, fight back, and conspire against their enslavers, overseers and collective past through the haunting and transforming vision of Mona, an African-American model.
Producer and cast members attending.

In association with The Ethiopian Millenium Organization, Washington DC 2007 and The DC Independent Film Festival.

Punching at the Sun

USA/2006/83 mins./feature
Directed and Produced by Tanuj Chopra
Screenwriter: Tanuj Chopra, Hart Eddy
Music: Devinder Sahota, Nishant Verma
Cast:  Misu Khan, Nina Edmonds, Hassan El-Gendi
Language:  English

A crackling, emotionally-charged dream ride through the streets of Elmhurst, Queens.  It is a tale of rage and redemption as seen through the fiery eyes of Mameet Nayak: a headstrong Indian teen lost in the shadow of his brother's death. This Award-winning film was selected for both Sundance and Tribeca Festivals. Tanuj Chopra has been making films since he cut his first student project Hate Crime in 1998. 

She She She She’s A Bombshell

USA/2005/8 mins./animation
Written, Directed and Produced by Ben Levin
Cast: Ben Levin, Alexis Krauss, Matt Burnett, Tyler Parkinson, Jason Deppen, Michael Mandell

A funny look at a long ride home from a punk show, a young boy fails to learn that sometimes when you talk, it annoys your friends.

The Rebel

USA/2006/20 mins./short
Director: Josef Wladyka
Producer: Milan Costich
Cast: Tyler Parkinson, Jason Deppen, Michael Mandell

Two aspiring filmmakers are on their 29th film, when things start to go bad, their camera breaks and they forget an extra in their trunk.

The Way I See It

USA 2005/20 mins./documentary
Directed and Produced by Cindy Konits
Music: Andrew Cole

My mother's first cousin, Dr. Henry Abrams, was Albert Einstein's ophthalmologist and friend. The morning after Einstein's death on April 18, 1955, Dr. Abrams removed the eyes from the corpse. A documentary exploration of the legacy of this decision after the haunting experience of hearing the story as a young child.

An Impression: Dischord Records

USA/2004/15 mins./documentary
Written and Directed by Leena Jayaswal Kylos Brannon

An expose on a local punk rock record label in Washington DC.  In the past twenty plus years, this label has formed a world renowned reputation selling all compact discs for under $10.00, the bands own all the music, and they never use contracts.  A look into a world not usually known for respectful business practices towards their artists.

In Quest of the Spectacular


USA/2005/ 32 mins.
Directed and Produced by: Aunshuman Apte

We follow the painful struggle of an actor in Mumbai, India who wants to make it big in Bollywood and get an insight into the modus operandi of Bollywood in general.

The Naming Ceremony  (DC Premiere)

India/2006/18 mins./short
Director: Konkona Sen Sharma
Cast: Sudipta Chakraborty, Bidipta Chakraborty
Language:  Bengali (English Subtitles)

Debutante director and well-known actress  Konkona Sen Sharma’s charming narrative about a family of pickpockets in Kolkata and a naming ceremony full of novelty.

Kaash (if only) (US Premiere)

India/2007/18 mins./short
Director: Monty Gupta, http://www.montygupta.com
Producer: Lata Bhasin 
Story: Lata Bhasin; Screenwriter: Danish Iqubal
Music: Sandeep Chatterjee
Cast: danish iqubal, haresh kumar, oroon das, rati mehra, sunil chitkara
Language: Hindi (with English subtitles)

Set around the theme of a bus ride, symbolic of life's journey, this upbeat film explores the hopes and desires that lurk secretly within our hearts.  It reveals the commonality of our dreams and a core of optimism and heroism that persists despite all disappointment, cynicism and adversity. Screened at Cannes Short Film Corner, 2007. 

Monsoon (DC Premiere)

USA/2006/21 mins./short
Written and Directed by: Shyam Balsé
Producers: Joseph Itava, Dileep Singh Rathore, Shyam Balsé
Music: Eric Lindsay, Robert Hawes
Cast: Bhanu Uday, Ravi Baswani, Sulabha Deshpande
Language: English

Govinda, a cardiologist, returns to India to treat his ailing father. Tradition and superstition clash with rationality and science as Govinda struggles to reason with his father, while simultaneously reliving haunting memories of his wife’s death. Recipient of many festival awards.

Where is there room?

USA/2004/7 mins./short

Amakaar: The Turtle People

India/2003/75 mins./documentary
Directed by: Surabhi Sharma
Produced by: Sunil Shanbag
Music: Rajivan S.A.

A people of a village in North Kerala fight to preserve their village, and their livelihoods, threatened by sand mining on their estuary. For the last ten years they have been conserving Olive Ridley Turtles that come to their beach to nest. They see the preservation of a species on the verge of extinction as an extension of their fight against the destruction of their estuary, their village, and their lives. This masterful film follows the rhythm of work in the village to unfold this struggle for existence of a species, of a people.

Presented by The Asia Society, Washington DC.

Arranging Love ( DC Premiere)

Australia/2006/28 mins/documentary
Director: Sheila Jayadev
Producer: Janelle Landers, Switch Films,  www.arranginglove.com
Music: Braedy Neal
Language: English

A rich, touching and sometimes hilarious exploration of the realities of arranged marriage and the rules of love and relationships for second generation Indians living in Australia. The film looks beyond the stereotypes of children struggling against their controlling Indian parents.

 Video Game (US Premiere)

India/2005/30mins./documentary
Director: Vipin Vijay
Producer: PSBT Production, www.psbt.org
Music: Debkamal Ganguly, Vipin Vijay
Language:   Hindi (English Subtitles)

An experimental video journey that explores the road, memories, change and continuity and gives us a charged sense of the automobile, the quintessential cultural interchange of modern times.

Tales from the Margins (East Coast Premiere)

India/2006/24 mins/DVD
Director: Kavita Joshi Producer: Kavita Joshi
Music:  Asheesh Pandya
Language:  Hindi (English Subtitles)

Twelve women strip themselves naked on the streets of Manipur in protest…For six years a young woman has been on a fast-to-death, demanding justice.  Manipur is a conflict-torn corner of India, racked with insurgency, violence and military repression by the state.  The film chronicles the extraordinary fight for justice by the women of Manipur.

Scrum in the Mud (DC Premiere)

USA/2005/4 mins./documentary short
Directed and Produced by: Simone Ahuja
Language: English

Indian cinema star Rahul Bose takes months out of his film career every year to play for the Indian National Rugby Team. “Everyone feels fear. The difference is how you harness your feat versus the other person,” Rahul Bose.

Holly-Bolly (DC Premiere)

(UK/2004/12 mins/short)
Director: Dishad Husain
Screenwriter: Dishad Husain
Producer: Dishad Husain
Composer - Graham Slack, Title Music - 'Snidey'
Cast: Robert Atiko, Honey Kalaria, Riz Meedin, Anthony Oseyemi, Jeff Rudom, Simon Wright
Language: English

Two young filmmakers try to get a film funded and escape the stereotypes of Indian films and Indian filmmakers to hilarious effect.

Off Duty  (World Premiere)

USA/2007/70 mins./feature
Director: Vijay Mathew
Producer: Josh Iacovelli
Screenwriter: Vijay Mathew
Music: Sameer Ramchandran
Cast: Rock Kohli, Luca Pierucci, Sayra Player
Language: English

A remarkable film driven by intense acting, Off Duty brings us an Indian cab driver in New York who severs his ties to his family abroad after his life savings get stolen by a customer. Director and star attending.

India Untouched (US premiere)

India/2007/110 mins./documentary
Director: Stalin K
Producer: Drishti, a media and human rights organization

Four years in the making, Indian Untouched challenges the claim that India has put untouchability in the past.  This important uncompromising film takes us to eight states and exposes caste discrimination across all sections of Indian society and in all religions.

In association with The Dalit Freedom Network

Sati

India/1989/140 mins./feature
Written and Directed by: Aparna Sen
Music: Chidananda Dasgupta
Cast: Shabana Azmi, Kali Banerjee, Pradip Mukherjee, Arindam Ganguly, Ketki Dutta, Shakuntala Barua Language:   Bengali with English Subtitles

Aparna Sen's third movie, set in the 19th century before the abolition of sati (the burning of widows on their husband’s funeral pyres) explores the treatment of women during this period. The dramatic, tragic story of a mute, orphaned “cursed” girl married to a tree so that her younger sister can get married without any social stigma.

Rang de Basanti

India/2006/157 mins./feature
Director: Rakeysh Omprakesh Mehra
Producer:  Rakesh Mehra, Ronnie Screwvala
Screenwriter: Kamlesh Pandey
Music: A.R.Rahman
Cast: Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Waheeda Rehman, Om Puri, Kirron Kher
Language: Hindi (English Subtitles)

A movie about four college students in Delhi University who get caught up in making a documentary based on Indian revolutionaries during colonial rule, this cinematic spectacle revisits Indian history to draw parallels with the contemporary Indian political milieu. This award-winning Bollywood sensation maintains the Indian musical tradition while affirming the voices of a new generation and taking on serious political issues.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Teen Kanya (Three Daughters)


India/1961/178 mins
Director: Satyajit Ray
Producer: Satyajit Ray
Story: Rabindanath Tagore
Music: Satyajit Ray
Cast:  Anil Chatterjee Chandana Bannerjee Nripati Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee Aparna Dasgupta; Sita Mukherjee; Santosh Dutta; Kali Bannerjee; Kanika Mazumdar; Kumar Roy
Language:  Bengali (English Subtitles)

India’s most celebrated filmmaker adapted three short stories by Rabindranath Tagore as a tribute to the author in 1961.  The anthology is composed of three episodes of which two are presented here: The Postmaster (56 min.) “ a small gem” and Samapti (56 min..) starring Aparna Sen in her acting role. Two wonderfully ironic stories about the emancipation of women.

 
36 Chowrenghee Lane

India/1981/122 mins.
Written and Directed by: Aparna Sen
Producer: Shashi Kapoor
Music: Vanraj Bhatia
Cast: Jennifer Kendal, Debrashree Roy, Soni Razdhan
Language:  English/Bengali/Hindi (with English Subtitles)

A subtle, emotional film, 36 Chowringhee Lane takes us into the life of an Anglo-Indian school-teacher who allows love to flourish as she invites a young couple to use her apartment.  The tale turns into a meditation on loneliness. Winner of the Indian National Film Award.

Titli  (The First Monsoon Day)

India/2002/146 mins./Feature
Written and Directed by: Rituparno Ghosh
Producer: Tapan Biswas, Sutapa Ghosh
Music: Debajyoti Mishra
Cast:  Mithun Chakraborty, Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma, Dipankar Dey
Language: Bengali (with English subtitles)

A film the relishes the innocence, the romance and the twist in a mother-daughter relationship. Titli is a tale of 17-year-old girl Titli (Konkona Sen Sharma) having a major crush on a Bollywood superstar (Mithun Chakraborty) and the unexpected role of her mother (aparna Sen). A chance incident and a twist in personal relationship, breaks her crush forever and transforms Titli into a girl-woman.

Blind Camel (Heda Hoda) (DC Premiere)

India/2005/81 mins./children’s feature
Written and Directed: Vinod Ganatra
Producer:  CAVEF (Children’s Audio-Visual Educational Foundation
Music:Vinod Ganatra
Cast: Parikshat Sahni, Shivaji Satam, Suhasini Mulay, Swati Dave, Gaurav Chawda, Gouri Vaidya
Language: Hindi/Kutchi (English Subtitles)

This charming but politically astutue film for children places us in Dhrang, a sleepy village in north-western arid area in Kutch - a district of Gujarat. While grazing the camels, two children find themselves having gone astray to Pakistan Border. The story unfolds as the children try to get back their camels.  Vinod Ganatra has been involved in Indian film and TV since 1963 and is a member of the CIFEJ (International Center of Films for Children and Young People) based in Canada.

Little Box of Sweets (US Premiere)

India-UK/2005/90 mins./feature
Written and Directed by: Meneka Das
Producers: Meneka Das, Sheenu Das
Music: Andrew T. Mackay
Cast: Joe Anderson, Meneka Das, Sheenu Das

Set near the city of Allahabad in North India in the early '70s/mid-'80s, this coming-of-age story brings to life a rainbow of characters from different backgrounds and a small fading Anglo Indian Community.  Meneka Das’ first film is a well-acted and well-crafted tale of common thread of love, friendship, celebrations and tears.

Kandukandain Kandukandain ( I Have Found It)

India/2000/150 mins./feature
Written and directed by: Rajiv Menon 
Producer: Kalaipulu Danu
Music: A.R.Rahman
Cast: Mammootty, Aishwarya Rai, Ajith, Tabu. Abbas
Language:  Tamil (English Subtitles)

A blockbuster hit when released in South India, this charming, beautiful Kollywood version of Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility rapidly became a classic. The film stars the ravishing Asihwara Rai amongst others and boasts an exquisite score by A.R. Rahman. “An eye-popping riot of brilliant color, show-stopping musical numbers, spectacular global locations and exuberant performances,” the film also manages to be thoughtful, well-conceived and well-written.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Running Dry

USA/2005/55mins./documentary
Written, directed and produced by Jim Thebault
The Chronicles Group, www.runningdry.org

"Without a clean, reliable water supply human existence on this planet is not possible.” The world water crisis is largely due to policy failures and insufficient awareness among people of the magnitude of the problem. The aim of RUNNING DRY is to build popular sentiment and create the political will to solve the water crisis through public policy.

 SheWrite DC Premiere

India/2005/55mins./documentary
Director: Dr. K.P. Jayasankar and Dr. Anjali Monteiro
Producer:  Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Music: S.L. Vaidyanathan
Language:   Hindi (English subtitles)

SheWrite weaves together the narratives of four Tamil women poets.  The film traverses diverse modes of resistance, through images and sounds that evoke the universal experiences of pain, anger, desire and transcendence.  Directors attending

Building Bridges

USA/2006/14 mins./documentary
Directed and Produced by: Jeanine Isabel Butler

Meet Amira, Snjezana, Ifeta; the women of the Mostar Women's Citizen Initiative in Bosnia. They are an exceptional group of community leaders, political activists and ordinary citizens who launch a joint effort to transcend ethnic and religious strife in a country fractured by war.  Narration by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Mr and Mrs Iyer

India/2002/120 mins./feature
Director: Aparna Sen
Producer: N. Venkatesan
Screenwriter: Aparna Sen, Dulal Dey
Music: Zakir Hussain
Cast: Rahul Bose, Anjan Dutt, Bhisham Ahani, Konkona Sensharma, Esha Chauhan, Surekha Sikri.
Language: English

Aparna Sen’s 2002 Indian National Award-winning film pits tolerance, decency and love against intense violence, enmity and religious intolerance.  A bus rolls down a narrow, winding, hilly road. On board is Hindu Meenakshi Iyer with her 11-month-old son Santhanam. With them is Raja Chowdhury, a Muslim wildlife photographer who was introduced to her by a common friend at the bus terminus.  For a poignant few days they become “Mr. and Mrs. Iyer.”

Tuesday September 11, 2007

The Making of the Mahatma

South Africa, India/1996/144 mins/DVD
Director: Shyam Benegal
Screenwriter: Fatima Meer
Music: Vanraj Bhatia
Cast: Rajit Kapoor, Pallavi Joshi, Keith Stevenson, Paul Slabolepszy
Language:  English
Presented courtesy of Vision Sound Inc.

This South African/Indian co-production chronicles Gandhi’s early experiments with truth while he was living and working in South Africa. With a fast-past story and script, the film shows us the transformation from Gandhi the man to Gandhi, the Mahatma. Directed by one of India’s most acclaimed and prolific film directors, the film is epic yet focused and uncompromising.

Herbert  (DC Premiere)

India/2005/mins/feature
Written and Directed by: Suman Mukhopadhyay
Producer: Kajal Bhattacharya
Story: Nabarun Bhattacharya'
Music: Mayukh Bhowmick
Cast: Subhashish Mukherjee in the title role. The others in the cast include Sabyasachi Chakraborty, DebShankar Halder, Anindita Mullick, Neel Mukherjee, Lily Chakraborty, Biswanath Basu, Kanchan Mullick, Shankar Debnath and Kabeer Suman
Language:  Bengali (English Subtitles)

Suman Mukhopadhyay’s debut feature, based on Nabarun Bhattacharya’s novel of the same name, is about Herbert who grew up in Kolkata, feeding on the charity of relatives - and being the butt of local jokes. The film depicts the constant struggles of a ‘gifted’ man to adapt to changing surroundings and his efforts to gain love, friendship and community. Acclaimed as a theater director, Mukhopadhyay has worked in film and television since 1996 and has directed a number of short films, television movies, and documentaries.
Producer and Director attending.

Wednesday September 12, 2007

Gandhi at the Bat: A Baseball Fable

USA/2006/11mins./short
Written and Directed by: Stephanie Argy and Alec Boehm
Based on a story by Chet Williamson
Cast: Delfin Labao, Britt Prentice, Stephen Kirkpatrick, David Ross Paterson, Lee Perkins

Fashioned as an old newsreel, Gandhi at the Bat is a tongue-in-cheek fictional account of Mohandis Ghandi’s secret trip to Yankee Stadium in 1933.  With the home team in dire straits, Gandhi steps up to the plate to pinch-hit for the Yankees.

Shown as part of the Gandhi 2007 panel and discussion, FREE

Hasina

India/2004/118 mins./feature
Director; Girish Kasaravalli
Producer: Chiguru Chitra
Screenwriter:  Girish Kasaravalli from a story by Bhanu Mustaq
Music: Thomas Issac
Cast: Tara, Chandrahasa Ullal, R.Nagesh, Chitra Shenoy, Purushotham, Ruthu, Bhargavi
Language:  Kannada (English Subtitles)
This award-winning film by renowned director Girish Kasaravelli presents the fierce story of a Muslim Indian woman deserted by her husband. Haseena's plight is accentuated by the fact that she has three daughters, one of them visually impaired. A strong narrative and rich emotional content propels this beautifully crafted film.

Friday September 14th.

L’Intouchable (DC Premiere)

France/2006/82 mins/35mm feature
Written ad Directed by: Benoît Jacquot
Producer: Christophe Bruncher
Music:Vijay Jaiswal, Monu Rao
Cast: Isild Le Besco, Bérangère Bonvoisin, Parikshit Luthra, Susheel Kumar Batra
Language:  French (English Subtitles)

Jeanne, a young actress, is told by her mother her father is an Indian she once met on the banks on the river Ganges.  Jeanne acts with single-mindedness: she leaves rehearsals of a new play, accepts a role in a poor movie for the money to buy an air ticket and flies to India, where she both hopes and fears to meet her biological father. “What reads as a standard stranger-in-a-strange-land travelogue plays out as something different and far more engaging: a compassionate and assured study of a woman whose search for self-esteem yields better-than-expected results.”

In partnership with La Maison Française at the French Embassy, Washington DC