FILM SELECTIONS

Rang Rasiya

(Opening night film)

Director: Ketan Mehta

Synopsis: A fascinating tale of the famous artist Raja Ravi Varma's passions, obsessions and his fierce struggle for creative freedom. He hurt the religious sentiments of the people by painting nudes of Indian mythological characters. Later on, his muse Sugandha inspires him to create exquisite paintings based on mythological themes and classic literature.

Category: Feature

Run Time: 101 mins

Year: 2008

Chicago Premiere

I Am Kalam

(Centerpiece)

Director: Nila Madhab Panda

Synopsis: Chhotu, an inventive child with a cheerful disposition labors in a roadside food stall. One day, upon hearing a speech from Dr. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, he vows to change his future. He is aided in his mammoth quest by the local prince, with whom an effervescent Chhotu strikes an unlikely friendship, which defies the stringent class barriers of the village.

Category: Feature

Run Time: 90 mins

Year: 2010

Chicago Premiere

I AM

(Closing Film)

Director: Sonali Gulati

Synopsis: I Am chronicles the journey of an Indian lesbian filmmaker who returns to Delhi, eleven years later, to re-open what was once home, and finally confronts the loss of her mother whom she never came out to. As she meets and speaks to parents of other gay and lesbian Indians, she pieces together the fabric of what family truly means, in a landscape where being gay was until recently a criminal and punishable offense.

Category: Documentary

Run Time: 71 mins

Bambara Wallala

Director: Athula Liyanage

Synopsis: An Ordinary meaningless existence can suddenly change by life and death. Bambara Walalla takes viewers on a brilliant yet unconventional route through one man’s journey to find passion and courage in a seemingly meaningless life.

Category: Feature

Run Time: 110 mins

Year: 2009

Chicago Premiere

Troublemaker

Director: Geeta Malik

Synopsis: Rekha is broke, jobless and often drunk. When she overhears surprising news about her absentee father, she embarks on a road trip with her best friend to find him.

Category: Feature

Run Time: 92 mins

Year: 2010

Chicago Premiere

Stanley Ka Dabba

Director: Amole Gupte

Synopsis: Stanley Ka Dabba throws light on the everyday life of school child Stanley, who tugs at your heartstrings with his indomitable spirit, while warding off the hostile world he is surrounded by at all times. The film reveals how this child-soldier rises above his choking real life situation, on the way setting a template for all whiners to learn from.

Category: Feature

Run Time: 90 mins

Year: 2011

US Premiere

Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony)

Director:Arjun Gourisaria & Moinak Biswas

Synopsis: Atin, the young and dreamy poet from a refugee colony, searches for the girl he loves while his home faces the threat of demolition from a housing giant. His search ends up finding much more than his lady love.

Category: Feature

Run Time: 105 mins

Year: 2009

Chicago Premiere

Shuttlecock Boys

Director: Hemant Gaba

Synopsis: Shuttlecock Boys revolves around the lives, success and failures of four friends who hail from lower middleclass backgrounds in Delhi. Should we accept what life offers to us on a platter or should we try to chase our dreams, choosing the path less taken?

Category: Feature

Run Time: 90 mins

Year: 2011

US Premiere

XXWhy

Director: Dr. Bharathy Manjula

Synopsis: The film poses many uncomfortable issues that question the notions of social positionalities and fixed gender identities. Twenty five year old Sree Nandu is the first in Kerala to come out in public with transgender identity. Suffering and redemption, destruction and self destruction, love and hatred, pain and joy all go entwined and entangled in Sree Nandu, while the under current is accumulating trauma and the determination to survive in a society where transgenders are still invisible and inaudible. This film is presented in collaboration with KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.

Category: Feature

Run Time: 49 mins

Ring Laila

Director: Anu Rana

Synopsis: Ring Laila is a short documentary about women, empowerment and the fighting spirit that inspires one to dream for something beter amidst seemingly insurmountable odds. Razia Shabnam, India's first Muslim woman choosing boxing, lives this struggle. Alam Ara aspires to follow in her footsteps.

Category: Documentary

Run Time: 24 mins

Year: 2010

Chicago Premiere

Roots of Love

Director: Harjant Gill

Synopsis: Told through the stories of six different men ranging in age from fourteen to eighty-six, Roots of Love documents the changing significance of hair and the turban among Sikhs in India. We see younger Sikh men abandoning their hair and turban to follow the current fashion trends, while the older generation struggles to retain the visible symbols of their religious identity. The choice of cutting one’s hair is one that not only concerns the individual and his family, but an entire community.

Category: Documentary

Run Time: 26 mins

Year: 2011

US Premiere

Made in Pakistan

Director: Nasir Khan

Synopsis: Made in Pakistan follows the lives of four young, middle-class Pakistanis during Musharraf’s state of emergency in 2007 – Waleed Khalid, a lawyer, Rabia Aamir, a journalist and a working mother, Mohsin Waraich, an aspiring politician, and Tara Mehmood, an event & PR manager. The film is an attempt to break the oft-negative depictions of Pakistan in the news media by re-examining the country through the eyes of these four citizens.

Category: Documentary

Run Time: 57 mins

Year: 2009

Chicago Premiere

Still Standing
 

Director: Pankaj Johar

Synopsis: Still Standing is an awe inspiring story of courage, determination and the unbreakable spirit of a man who defied all odds after doctors pronounced him 100% disabled. Paralysed neck downwards and bedridden for the last 24 years, Rajinder Johar has been helping other disabled people stand on their feet and become self reliant.

Category: Documentary

Run Time: 59 mins

Year: 2010

US Premiere

In the Name of the Family

Director: Shelley Saywell

Synopsis: A 16 year old girl was strangled to death, her father & brother charged with murder. Three weeks later, teenage sisters were shot to death in Dallas, their father wanted for murder. 6 months later, a college student is stabbed by her brother, who is now in jail. Director Shelley Saywell brings her skills and passion for human rights to challenge the traditions that lie behind these tragedies committed against girls caught between two cultures.

Category: Documentary

Run Time: 90 mins

Year: 2010

US Premiere

Jason
 

Director: Pulkit Datta

Synopsis: A drama in which Jason explains his decision to undergo a major life change to his parents, and in the process learns more about himself.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 3 mins

Year: 2010

US Premiere

The Eggie Files

Director: Snehal Patel

Synopsis: It's just another day in the office when Eggie uncovers a sinister plot. Being in charge of both office supplies for Universal Cargo, and the safety and protection of beautiful office girl Susan, can get real tiring. But the rewards are worth it.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 7 mins

Year: 2010

Chicago Premiere

Have I Shared Too Much?

Director: Sameer Acharya

Synopsis: Coworkers that are heavy users of social networking websites discover that information overload brings about a new set of problems.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 12 mins

Year: 2011

Chicago Premiere

Homecoming

Director: Gursimran Sandhu

Synopsis: When Nina Patel is nominated to represent her eighth grade class at Homecoming, she's thrilled. But when trying to convince her traditional Indian parents to let her go to the dance, she discovers her father in a compromising position with his secretary. In an effort to buy her silence, he agrees to let her go to the dance, but no pretty dress or beautiful crown can make a fairytale of her shattered reality.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 25 mins

Year: 2011

World Premiere

The Bridge
 

Director: M. S. Srikanth

Synopsis: A surreal take on evoking emotions with minimal visuals. The short film is set on a bridge that stands as a metaphor for life.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 1 min

Year: 2011

Chicago Premiere

Seeking Single White Male

Director: Vivek Shraya

Synopsis: A study of a brown body in (queer) white spaces.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 3 mins

Year: 2010

US Premiere

Do I?
 

Director: Vikram Ahuja

Synopsis: Do I? is a roller coaster ride into the mind of a man about to face his greatest fear. It is a story that will resonate with every member of the male species and give women a unique insight into how men think.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 6 mins

Year: 2011

Chicago Premiere

The Return Address

Director: Abi Varghese

Synopsis: A boy, who is forced to take care of his aging grandfather, escapes himself through photography, and decides to play cupid in a small northeastern town.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 15 mins

Year: 2011

Chicago Premiere

The Eclipse of Taregna

Director: Rakesh Chaudhary

Synopsis: Mr. Pathak is worn out by life, and indifferent to NASA's announcement that the best place to view the upcoming solar eclipse will be his town Taregna. However, his grandson Roshan's curiosity for the celestial event of a lifetime is boundless. When Pathak finally notices that Roshan needs a father figure, he can no longer remain a bystander to life.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 21 mins

Year: 2011

Chicago Premiere

Second Best

Director: Jason Wong

Synopsis: Every summer, sisters Taila and Deepa ship off to Hindi Camp with their family for a weekend of yoga, matchmaking, and East Indian culture. But this year, the girls are without their mother, and their widowed father Raajesh is left picking up the slack. Overwhelmed by his newfound responsibilities, Raajesh applies extra pressure on the girls to win the camp’s annual Hindi Speaking Competition and its $10,000 college scholarship prize. But when the girls’ sibling rivalry erupts onstage, the family must reconsider what it means to be a “winner” in each other’s eyes and in the community.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 18 mins

Year: 2010

Chicago Premiere

Small Voices

Director: Sofian Khan

Synopsis: A drama based on child camel jockeys and the practice of human trafficking.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 16 mins

Year: 2008

Chicago Premiere

A Portrait in Bombay

Director: Sandeep Sharma

Synopsis: Documentary short that offers a look at a chance encounter with a Bombay rickshaw driver, revealing his view of the world.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 6 mins

Ronnie

Director: Kenneth Lawrence

Synopsis: It is a story about life and filling the missing blanks. Ronnie, whose father makes life hard for him, craves for a father figure until one day, he meets a fisherman who deeply craves for his long lost son. An unusual story of friendship and bonding. This film is presented in collaboration with KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.

Category: Short Film

Run Time: 21 mins