From fictional narratives to documentary, from feature films for the big screen to multi-media and short films on the web, the complexities of Kashmir as investigated and interpreted by filmmakers in India and in the US. MIAAC09 presents a special focus on Kashmir. See programs details for:

MIAAC @ NYU Panel Discussion

KASHMIR ON FILM
Friday, November 13 at 12:00 PM
Suggested viewing at MIAAC09: How We Celebrate Freedom, Tahaan, Sikandar, Omar, Barbed Wire and Beautiful Skies.

From fictional narratives to documentary, from feature films for the big screen to multi-media and short films on the web, the complexities of Kashmir as investigated and interpreted by filmmakers in India and in the US is the subject of this panel. With JOHN HALPERN producer of two segments for MTV Iggy and his own Kashmir Once Paradise, (in progress); SANJAY KAK, director of the documentary How We Celebrate Freedom; and SANJAY SURI, actor, Sikandar: producer, I AM. GYAN PRAKASH, Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Princeton University, will chair the panel.
Visit the Tisch website for more information.

Museum of Arts and Design: Friday, November 13 at 6:00 PM
MTV Iggy presents CHANGE: KASHMIR “Candid Conversations” shorts, followed by TAHAAN and a post-screening discussion.

Vermilion Restaurant: Friday, November 13 at 9:00 PM
After-party by Vermilion. With MTV IGGY and live band ZEROBRIDGE.
Includes cocktails and light supper..

Tickets, $25/$20 for screening and $50 for after-party, available NOW at Sulekha.com.

MIAAC09 presents An Alwan for the Arts & 3rd i Monthly Collaborative Screening of Arab & South Asian Cinema.

The following two films will be screened at Tribeca Cinemas on Saturday, November 14.

HOW WE CELEBRATE FREEDOM (Jashn-e-Azadi)
Written and Directed by Sanjay Kak.
India, 2007, 138 min. In English, Kashmiri and Urdu, with English subtitles. NY Premiere. Sanjay Kak in person, in conversation with Mira Kamdar.

Synopsis: It is India’s Independence Day and the Indian flag is raised every year in an eerily empty Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar, Kashmir. This sullen act of protest is the point from which Sanjay Kak, a Kashmiri Pundit by birth, begins to explore in his documentary film, the many meanings of Freedom–of Azadi–in Kashmir. An ageing father in the Martyrs’ Graveyard; the Out Patients Ward of the Psychiatric Hospital; the satirical farce of Bhand folk performers; the words of Kashmiri poets – fill out the contours of the 18 year old conflict where there are no easy answers to burning questions.

Tribeca - Saturday, November 14 at 4:00 PM.

SIKANDAR
Written and Directed by Piyush Jha.
India, 2009, 107 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. Festival Premiere. Sanjay Suri in person.

Synopsis: Sikandar leads a simple life, living with his aunt and uncle, playing soccer, getting to know Nasreen, the new girl in town, and dealing with a trio of bullies.  But, when he finds a gun, the small dramas of his life become entangled with the larger conflicts of the country. Sikandar’s innocent life soon spirals downward as he becomes embroiled in a power struggle between militant groups. With Parzan Dastur, Ayesha Kapoor, Madhavan, Sanjay Suri, Arunoday Singh. Sanjay Suri in person.

Preceded by: WITNESS. Children and the Kashmir conflict. Directed by Maya Mirchandani. India, 2001, 20 min. US Premiere.

Tribeca - Saturday, November 14 at 7:00 PM.

Video Installation

BARBED WIRES AND BEAUTIFUL SKIES: Looking at Kashmir in Frames
Parthiv Shah, India 2009, 6 min. US Premiere.
The body and a landscape - moments, people, events, places and processes that define lives of people in Kashmir, in a photographic exploration where everyday violence fuses with Kashmir’s fabled beauty.

With: CHANGE: KASHMIR. “Candid Conversations” shorts from MTV Iggy.

Aicon Gallery. Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Sunday closed. Free.