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Sep 21 - Sep 24, 2023

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5 Rupees

Ameena is a poor old lady who lives in a tiny village in the foothills of the Himalayas, with her 7 year old grandson Hamid. It’s the last day of Ramadan and Hamid is excited by the prospect of breaking his final fast and celebrating Eid. But when the five-rupee coin his grandmother has been saving for his Eid gift goes missing, a chain of events start that end up with grandmother and grandson discovering hidden sides to each other.

Eventbrite - CSAFF: 5 Rupees (Includes Pre-Feature Short - Bee the Future)

Director

Director - Piyush Chandrakant PanjuaniAn avid filmmaker for over 18 years, Piyush has produced and directed almost 250 advertising films. The creative genesis began with a passionate experience as a theater actor. After graduating in Marketing Management, he worked his way into the advertising world, from an assistant director to building his own ad film production company, EQUUS.

The theater experience became his training ground that brought out his sensitivities to a wide range of human emotions and expressions. His memorable role in theater was acting the protagonist in the adaptation of Peter Sheaffers classic, EQUUS, which also won Piyush a lot of accolades. The experience and the impact remained so strong that he named his company after it.

His roots are deeply embedded in India and in its culture. He has successfully shot/post produced and made TV commercials in countries like Australia, UK, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, and Africa. The global experience has allowed him to not only integrate into the global work culture but also successfully communicate a cinematic language of storytelling that is truly global and has a universal appeal. This experience has enabled him to create emotions collaborating with style and content.

Over the vast span of his career he has worked with all the prestigious Indian companies and multinationals. His films have won almost a dozen awards. He has been on the panel of Jury (Film Craft) for some of the most prestigious Advertising Awards of the country for some years now. He was the chairperson of the Jury (Film craft) for the Abby 2013. ‘5 Rupya’ is his debut feature film which is based on the famous India writer Shri Munshi Premchand’s story ‘IDGAH’.

Festivals/Awards

Dubai International Film Festival, International Children’s Film Festival India, Seattle International Children’s Film Festival (Best Cinematography award), RINCON Puerto Rico International Film Festival (Best Feature Film award), Stockholm international Film Festival Jr.

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Ketki Parikh

Ketki Parikh is the co-founder and President of Chicago South Asian Film Festival. While growing up in India she was intimately engaged in both the performance and theories of artistic expression through dance and drama at the prestigious Darpana Academy in Ahmedabad. After moving to the United States, In 1995, Ketki founded Vachikam with the goal of sharing these experiences with the greater Indian community in USA by nationally promoting theatrical performances and artists of the highest quality from India. Ketki is also a strong and active supporter of the Indian community. After serving on the board of India Development Service she also serves as a board member of Apna Ghar, a domestic violence shelter in Chicago serving primarily Asian women and children.

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Jigar Shah

Jigar Shah is the Festival Director of Chicago South Asian Film Festival. He is passionate about the connection between stories, films and community. He aims to share perspectives through film and art by providing a platform for talents who are overlooked as he empowers each of us to see our inner artists. Jigar holds several leadership titles and is advisory board member to various nonprofits. He serves as a jury member in other international film festivals. Working in a leadership role in a Global healthcare financial firm, Jigar is a technology strategy leader who holds advanced degrees in Engineering, MBA (Chicago), and Law (Pritzker School of Law, Northwestern, Chicago). “I believe in bringing each of us together through art and culture; this is possible and I make this an everyday action in my life.”

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Amit Rana

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Aparna Sen

Aparna Sen is a critically acclaimed Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three prestigious National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards. Her first film appearance happened in Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya when she was sixteen. In 1981, Aparna, made her debut as a film director with 36 Chowringhee Lane which won national and international accolade. Since then she has gone on to direct films on a wide variety of subjects that have brought her worldwide fame and recognition.

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Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi is regarded as one of the finest actresses in India. She has appeared in over 120 Hindi films in both mainstream and independent cinema, and has to her credit as an actor several international projects. Azmi’s performances in films across genres have earned her praise and awards, which include a record of five wins of the National Film Award for Best Actress and four Filmfare Awards. In addition to acting, Azmi is a social and women’s rights activist, a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), and a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament.

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Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, writer, composer and producer. He has directed ten feature films, produced five and composed music for more than forty. His directorial work includes Makdee, The Blue Umbrella, Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf, Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola, Rangoon, Pataakha as well as the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Trilogy – Maqbool, Omkara and Haider (adapted from Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet, respectively). He has received 3 international awards and 7 national film awards for his work and recently began his stage career by directing A Flowering Tree in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, and composing music for the Monsoon Wedding musical in Berkeley, California.

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Bhawana Somaaya

Bhawana Somaaya commenced her career in the late 70s as Chief Reporter with Free Press Journal’s film weekly titled Cinema Journal. In 81 she joined Movie as Assistant Editor and went on to become the Joint Editor. In 2000, she joined as Editor Chief, Screen, a film weekly of The Indian Express Group. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards and has contributed columns to prominent publications like The Observer and The Hindustan Times. She has to her credit nine books in a span of 10 years which include Amitabh Bachchan – The Legend and Cinema – Images & Issues. Somaaya does a weekly film review and a Sunday show on 92.7 Big Fm. She is a multifaceted individual who juggles multiple responsibilities including being creative consultant to Enlighten Films and their website Dear Cinema, a guest lecturer at MET college, and serving her second term on the Advisory Panel of Central Board of Film Certification.

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Lillete Dubey

Lillete Dubey has appeared in numerous Indian movies, most notably in the Mira Nair directed: Monsoon Wedding, Baghban alongside the legend, Amitabh Bachchan, Bow Barracks Forever alongside her daughter Neha Dubey, and Housefull alongside Bollywood A – listers Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. Lillete Dubey, in addition to acting, is an acclaimed theatre director, television and film artist, and founder of the Theatre Action Group in Delhi. She has directed a number of plays including Mahesh Dattani’s Dance like a Man, which is the longest running play in English that completed 425 shows across the world and a two week run on Broadway.

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Deepti D'Cunha

Deepti D’Cunha is a Film Programmer, based in Mumbai, India, specializing in Contemporary Indian Cinema. Deepti sources and curates films for the Viewing Room section, Work-in-progress lab and Film Bazaar Recommends section, for NFDC Film Bazaar. Her deep commitment towards independent Indian cinema always keeps her on the lookout for new films and fresh talent from all over India as well as new platforms for exhibition and distribution of Indian cinema across the world. She has been a programmer for the 17th and 18th International Children’s Film Festival of India by the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) and well as for Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival. Deepti sources Indian films for International Film Festivals and is currently the India Consultant to Marco Mueller, Artistic director, of Rome Film Festival.

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