2012 Schedule Is Here!

2012 Schedule Is Here!

The 2012 CSAFF selections have arrived! The full schedule can be found here. Tickets are available now. Hurry, only a very limited amount of festival passes are available. BUY PASSES Commencing September 20, this 4-day festival will present: 24 films 5 world premieres 8 US premieres 11 Chicago premieres The Festival...
Guest Blog: A Wrinkle in Time, Part 2

Guest Blog: A Wrinkle in Time, Part 2

A continuation of last week’s look at South Asians in western media – Contributed by Parag Parikh A.      “My Sweet Lord…” South Asian social, cultural, and political influences in the US are widely documented in the decades between “Awaara” and the “Temple of Doom.”  From Gandhiji’s influence on Dr. King’s...
Double the Freida

Double the Freida

Freida Pinto has been trying on some new roles lately. She stars as the titular Trishna in Michael Winterbottom’s interpretation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. And more recently, she was featured in Flaunt magazine’s July issue channeling Pam Grier at the height of her blaxploitation genre fabulousness. Trishna opened...
Putting the IT in Film Festival

Putting the IT in Film Festival

The technologies around event, and more specifically film festival, planning has come a long way over the years. However, many planners still do not incorporate the technology into their events.  At the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, we’ve found several great internet tools that help streamline and manage the Festival...
Composing Music for Sita Sings the Blues - Q&A with Todd Michaelsen

Composing Music for Sita Sings the Blues – Q&A with Todd Michaelsen

1. Is it difficult composing South Asian music? I like music that blends into something new. When I came to New York City from my small town years ago the first music I was exposed to was Karsh Kale and Talvin Singh. And what they do I would not strictly...
Bollywood and Independent Cinema: A Comparison

Bollywood and Independent Cinema: A Comparison

Contributed by Rochona Majumdar The expression “Bollywood” writes the film scholar Tejaswini Ganti was a “tongue-in-cheek term created by the English language press in India.” Today it has become a global term that designates the large number of Hindi language films made by the film industry based in Mumbai. The...
Q&A with the Promiseland cast and director

Q&A with the Promiseland cast and director

A Candid Q&A with the cast of the upcoming film Promiseland by Chicago filmmaker Kevin Dalvi How is filmmaking in Chicago different from the “coasts”? Kevin Dalvi: Chicago offers amazing scenic views that are a filmmaker’s dream. It has a spectacular downtown and a beautiful lakefront with parks and beaches....
Latest entries

The Passing of a Film Legend: Yash Chopra

To paraphrase arguably the most famous song of Yash Chopra’s illustrious film history, Yash Chopra banaya gaya filmon ke liye (Yash Chopra was made for films).  Unfortunately for the film industry and cinemaphiles alike, this King of Bollywood romance films has passed away at age 80. His career spanned over 50 years. The films, from Deewar...
CSAFF Buzz

CSAFF Buzz

CSAFF has been in the news! Numerous media outlets covered the festival. Here’s a sampling of what they’re saying: Consul General Mukta Dutta Tomar and actors Lillete Dubey and Farouque Shaikh were interviewed by Hi India: “ The Chicago South Asian Film Festival has grown. As you can see here today, it looks very different from...
Recap: CSAFF 2012 Showcases New Era of Films and Filmmakers

Recap: CSAFF 2012 Showcases New Era of Films and Filmmakers

Chicago film aficionados were treated to an array of stellar films, acclaimed artists, and energetic parties at the 3rd annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival. The four-day festival held its Opening Night on September 20th with a star-studded red carpet reception followed by the North American premiere of the much anticipated Bollywood film “Heroine”. Artists...

Family Style: Family-Friendly Films as CSAFF

“Family Style”is a reference to how we dine.  It’s an environment where each person can try everything, and get an idea of all the possibilities.  They can use that experience to refine their palette and develop their own tastes. From there, they can share their tastes with others in the future. CSAFF thinks movies should...
CSAFF in the news!

CSAFF in the news!

The buzz has officially begun! CSAFF garnered a mention in a Times of India blog post reporting Aamir Khan’s wish to see Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid, director Nila Madhab Panda’s newest film! “Nila Madhab Panda is back in Mumbai and is excited with the response to his recent release. Guess what? Even Aamir Khan has mailed the director to say...
Beyond Mainstream

Beyond Mainstream

It’s the year of Indie films which have done exceptionally well at the Box Office. Here’s the top 4 movies you should have caught on the big screens. These are not art films or parallel cinema. They are mainstream films, but independent in nature, and have appealed to both critics and masses. “Shanghai” is a...
Festival Overview 2012

Festival Overview 2012

Starting on September 20, CSAFF will be hosted at Showplace Icon Theaters and Film Row Cinema at Columbia College Chicago. A limited number of festival passes are now on sale. Buy them here before they are sold out! BUY PASSES The Festival opens with the North American premiere of Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine starring Kareena Kapoor. The lineup also...
2012 Schedule Is Here!

2012 Schedule Is Here!

The 2012 CSAFF selections have arrived! The full schedule can be found here. Tickets are available now. Hurry, only a very limited amount of festival passes are available. BUY PASSES Commencing September 20, this 4-day festival will present: 24 films 5 world premieres 8 US premieres 11 Chicago premieres The Festival opens with the North American...
Guest Blog: A Wrinkle in Time, Part 2

Guest Blog: A Wrinkle in Time, Part 2

A continuation of last week’s look at South Asians in western media – Contributed by Parag Parikh A.      “My Sweet Lord…” South Asian social, cultural, and political influences in the US are widely documented in the decades between “Awaara” and the “Temple of Doom.”  From Gandhiji’s influence on Dr. King’s non-violent civil rights revolution to...

Guest Blog: A Wrinkle in Time, Part 1

A look at South Asians in western media – Contributed by Parag D. Parikh: A.      “We’re not here to start no trouble…” January 26, 1986…the mighty Super Bowl Shuffling Monsters of the Midway Chicago Bears had just finished demolishing the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX…minutes later Vijay Amritraj took to the screen...
“I’m going to be an actor!”

“I’m going to be an actor!”

Contributed by Puja Mohindra. Last month, I moved from Los Angeles to Chicago for the summer. Chicago is not only my hometown, it’s where I started acting. It’s where I took my first class, got my first headshots, had my first audition, and did my first play. When I first started acting, I was in...
Love, Healing, and a dash of Self-Harm

Love, Healing, and a dash of Self-Harm

In his play Gruesome Playground Injuries, writer Rajiv Joseph explores the relationship between two friends through the lens of a lifetime of injuries, both accidental and self-inflicted. Chicago’s Rasaka Theatre Company brings this story to life at the Chopin Theatre now through August 5th. The play follows evolution of a friendship between Kayleen and Doug...