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| SPECIAL EVENTS: OPENING, CLOSING AND CENTERPIECE | |||||
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MIAAC09 Opening Night Film TODAY’S SPECIAL Directed by David Kaplan. US, 2009, 97 min. NY Premiere. Cast: Aasif Mandvi, Madhur Jaffrey, Naseeruddin Shah, Jess Weixler, Ajay Naidu, Harish Patel, Ranjit Chowdhry, Ostaro, Kumar Pallana. Synopsis: Inspired by Sakina’s Restaurant, Aasif Mandvi’s Obie Award winning play, Today’s Special is a heartwarming – and very New York - food comedy. After being passed over for a promotion, Samir (Aasif Mandvi), a sous chef, abruptly quits to go to France. But when his estranged father has a heart attack, Samir’s life tracks back to Jackson Heights, Queens, and he takes over the faltering family restaurant. As luck would have it, his paths cross with Akbar, a taxi driver and former chef (Naseeruddin Shah in yet another delicious star-turn) from Mumbai, who approaches his art with the subtlety and creativity of a raga. With Aasif Mandvi, Madhur Jaffrey, Jess Weixler, Ajay Naidu, Harish Patel, Ranjit Chowdhry, Ostaro, Kumar Pallana, producers Nimitt Mankad and Lillian LaSalle, and composer Siddartha Khosla in person. Screening Time & Venue: The Paris Theatre: Wednesday, November 11 at 6:00 PM Tickets: Screening only - $150; Screening and Gala - $500 To purchase tickets: click here. |
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MIAAC09 Festival Centerpiece and Concert Presented by MTV Iggy TAHAAN Written and Directed by Santosh Sivan India, 2008, 105 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. . Cast: Purav Bhandara, Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose, Rahul Khanna, Victor Banerjee. Rahul Bose in person. Synopsis: Tahaan lives with his family in the Kashmir valley. The eight-year-old's father has been missing and the moneylender takes away the family's assets, including Tahaan's pet donkey, Birbal. The boy is determined to bring his donkey back home, but finds he has to do a favor for a teenager that he encounters during his search. Director Sivan, who had previously shot Mani Rathnam’s Roja (1992) in Kashmir, developed his fable-like screenplay after reading a story in an Indian newspaper. With Purav Bhandara, Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose, Rahul Khanna, Victor Banerjee. Rahul Bose in person. Preceded by: CHANGE: KASHMIR “Candid Conversations” shorts from MTV Iggy. Introduced by Nusrat Durrani. Screening Time & Venue: Museum of Arts and Design, November 13 at 6:00 PM Tickets: $25 and $20 (IAAC members and students) To purchase tickets: Click here After-party presented by Vermilion: 9:00 PM -11: 00 PM Vermillion, 480 Lexington Ave @ 46th Street Live Rock Band Tickets: $25 door fee To purchase tickets: Click here |
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MIAAC09 Closing Night Film ANTAHEEN (The Endless Wait) Story and Direction by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. India, 2009, 120 min. In Bengali, with English subtitles. US Premiere. Cast: Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen, Rahul Bose, Kalyan Roy Synopsis: A new Kolkata glitters to life, all intelligence and smooth surfaces, as loves, passions, and relationships crisscross in a shifting web brought to the screen. Abhik, a police officer, loses faith in the real relationships and seeks solace in the virtual world where he develops an online relationship with Brinda, a journalist. And an older estranged couple becomes the bridge between the two younger lovers, even as they nurse their own separation and tenderness. The Endless Wait brings to the screen some sterling performances, including Satyajit Ray’s legendary discoveries, Sharmila Tagore and Aparna Sen, in their first film together. Also with Rahul Bose, Kalyan Roy. Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Aparna Sen, Kalyan Roy, Rahul Bose and Sharmila Tagore in person.. November 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM Closing Night Film and Awards Ceremony Walter Reade Theater: The Film Society of Lincoln Center, 165 West 65th Street By invitation only. November 15, 2009 at 9:00 PM The Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street (212) 255-8800, http://www.quadcinema.com/ Ticket Info: $15 and $12 (IAAC members and students). Purchase from the cinema box office. For Advance sales, please call 777-FILM, #636 or Movietickets.com |
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THE PROGRAM |
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| All Screenings in the Program, except where noted, are at The Quad Cinema 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. (212) 255-8800 http://www.quadcinema.com/ Ticket Info: $15 and $12 (IAAC members and students). Purchase from the cinema box office. For Advance sales, please call 777-FILM, #636 or Movietickets.com |
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AFTERWORD (Shob Choritro Kalponik) Directed by Rituparno Ghosh. India, 2009, 120 min. In Bengali, with English subtitles. US Premiere. Cast: Bipasha Basu, Prosenjit Chatterjee. Synopsis: Bipasha Basu shines in her debut Bengali film in Rituparno Ghosh’s film, whose original title translates as “All Characters are Imaginary”. With deft touches that bring to life the quotidian rhythms and patterns of everyday life, Ghosh whose previous films include The First Monsoon Day (2002) and Passion Play (2003) portrays a woman who journeys into the life of her late husband, Indraneel, and discovers the shocking ambiguities in his life as a poet and a husband. Also with Prosenjit Chatterjee. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 3:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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AIR-INDIA 182 Directed by Sturla Gunnarsson. Canada, 2008; 97 min. NY Premiere. Synopsis: On June 22, 1985 a bomb ripped through Air India 182 bound for Delhi from Montreal. It goes down 200 miles off the Irish coast, killing all 329 people on board. The bombing was the result of a Vancouver-based conspiracy whose members were under investigation in the months leading up to the explosion. With intimate, direct-to-camera testimony of investigators, wire-taps of conspirators, and encounters with families who lost their loved ones, Air India 182 reconstructs a docudrama of the most deadly act of air terrorism in history before 9/11. Sturla Gunnarsson in person. Preceded by: CHASM IN TIME. When three friends accidentally meet a super-market employee, he is not what he seems. Directed by Raghu Jeganathan. USA, 2008; 6 min. World Premiere Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Thursday, November 12 at 12 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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APRON STRINGS Directed by Sima Urale. New Zealand, 2008, 90 min. In English and Punjabi, with English subtitles. NY Premiere. Cast: Laila Rouass, Scott Wills, Jennifer Ludlam, Nathan Whitaker, Leela Patel. Synopsis: Samoan-born, Kiwi director Sima Urale, working with a screenplay by Shuchi Kothari (Firaaq) and Dianne Taylor, cooks up an appealing multicultural Kiwi dish set in Auckland. Anita hosts a popular TV cooking show verging on exploiting her East Indian ethnicity and culture that she has distanced herself from. Her estranged sister, Tara, runs their parents’ no-frills neighborhood Indian take-out. Lorna supports her family through her old fashioned cake-shop. Then one day, Anita’s grown up son arrives from London, and Tara unknowingly hires him to work in her curry shop. With Laila Rouass, Scott Wills, Jennifer Ludlam, Nathan Whitaker, Leela Patel. Preceded by: KISSING MISS JONES. A kiss is just a kiss? Just ask Baal Pathak, our hapless hero. Directed by Chandra Pemmaraju. USA, 2009; 24 min. NY Premiere. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Thursday, November 12 at 12 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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| Video Installation: BARBED WIRES AND BEAUTIFUL SKIES: Looking at Kashmir in Frames Directed by Parthiv Shah, India 2009, 6 min. US Premiere.. Synopsis: 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. Screening Venue: Aicon Gallery. Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Sunday closed. Free |
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THE BLUE TOWER Written and Directed by Smita Bhide. UK, 2008, 85 min. US Premiere. Synopsis: The winner of Best UK Feature at the 2008 Raindance Film Festival, Smita Bhide’s hothouse brew of urban dreams unveils a rarely seen snapshot of the busy streets and cramped suburban homes in Southall. Abhin Galeya stars as a conflicted British-Asian everyman, beset by venal in laws and overbearing friends, who finds himself heading towards a potentially disastrous romance with the English nurse who tends to his cantankerous - but temptingly wealthy - bedridden Auntie Kamla. Also with Inder Manocha, Indira Joshi, Nicholas Khan, Paul Chowdhry, Sonnell Dadral. Smita Bhide and producer Jamie Nuttgens in person. Preceded by: FROM WITHIN. This story about choices unfolds through the perspective of two windows in separate apartments. A man watches his neighbor, a young woman, commit suicide. Does he help or will he sit there and watch her die? USA. Directed by Eliyas Qureshi. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 6:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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BOLLYWOOD BEATS Written and Directed by Mehul Shah USA, 2008, 117 min. NY Premiere Synopsis: Mehul Shah’s feature is a sunny charmer. It tells the story of Raj, a down-on-his-luck dancer caught in a quagmire of failure and misery. But a chance encounter with Jyoti turns his life around. Jyoti brings together a motley group of dancers to join Raj’s dance class and they discover themselves, finding love and acceptance where they never thought to look. Shah inflects the film with a knowing nod to the film history of the dance and music sequences in Bollywood cinema that aficionados will mist and giggle over. With Mansi Patel, Sachin Bhatt, Pooja Kumar, Sarita Joshi, Mehul Shah, Lilette Dubey. Mehul Shah and Pooja Kumar in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 6:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com With thanks to our screening partner, Sholay |
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BOMBAY SUMMER Directed by Joseph Mathew-Varghese. US, 2009; 103 min. In Hindi with English subtitles. NY Premiere. Synopsis:Tannishtha Chatterjee embodies a delicately nuanced Geeta, the central character in Joseph Mathew-Varghese’s impressive feature film debut. She has a full life and a busy career and is seeing Jaidev, a struggling writer who is trying to come to grips with his own life. Their lives take a dramatic turn when they befriend Madan, a young migrant eking out a living as a commercial artist. Mathew-Varghese’s original screenplay interweaves the stories of their personal lives to create a perceptive and beguiling look at the conflicting needs of family and life in modern India. Also with Jatin Goswami, Samrat Chakrabarti, Gaurav Dwivedi. Joseph Mathew-Varghese, Samrat Chakrabarti and Tannishtha Chatterjee in person. Preceded by: ERASED. A street child obsessed with a heroine on a film poster, grapples with his burgeoning sexuality. Directed by Neha Raheja Thakker. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 9:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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COUNTERBALANCE (Naya Santulan) Directed by Chintan/WITNESS. US/India, 2009, 15 min. US Premiere. Synopsis: Every day, tens of thousands in Delhi earn their income from collecting, selling and recycling trash. The work of waste-pickers is often unsafe, unstable and undervalued and the workforce faces constant harassment. Chintan, an NGO in Delhi, is being trained by WITNESS to use video in its advocacy work. Producer Ryan Schlief, Asia Coordinator, WITNESS, in person. With
FAITH IN CHANGE Directed by Dave Thoudam. India, 2009, 15 min. US Premiere. Synopsis: A glimpse into the intimate lives of three people and their families in Manipur who kicked their drug addictions under the Drug Substitution Therapy Project of the Emmanuel Hospital Association. And
I WANT TO LIVE Directed by Sunil Gupta India, 2009, 39 min. Festival Premiere. Synopsis: In visual artist and photographer Sunil Gupta’s documentary film, conversations with people living with HIV across India, and from a wide range of professions and social classes, are woven into a composite portrait, making a powerful plea for HIV Patient’s Rights. The film was commissioned by the Human Rights Law Network, New Delhi. “Video for Change in India” Panel After the screenings please join us for a panel discussion presented by WITNESS on how video and media can be used to promote social change in India. Professor Lauhona Ganguly from the Media Studies Department at the New School will moderate the panel. Producer Ryan Shlief and Director Sunil Gupta in attendance. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 12:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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DRAWING WITH CHALK Directed by Todd Giglio. US, 2009, 87 min. US Premiere. Synopsis: Jay and Matt are lifelong friends. They once played in a rock band but after years chasing "the big prize" in New York, they find themselves back in their hometown working at the union factory and dreaming of what might have been. As they hit 40, they decide to give it one more shot but the pressures build as Jay begins struggling between his childhood dreams of success and his adult responsibilities to his wife Jasmin and five-year-old son Bryan.Also with Pooja Kumar, Brennan Giglio, Kapil Bawa, Susham Bedi. Todd Giglio, Christopher Springer and Pooja Kumar in person. Preceded by: FREE PARKING. The search for the ultimate parking spot takes a surreal turn. Directed by Vikas Bandhu. US, 2009, 18 min. World Premiere. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 9:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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THE FAKIR OF VENICE Directed by Anand Surapur. India, 2008, 114min. NY Premiere. Synopsis: Adi sets out to find a fakir - a holy man - known for performing feats of endurance but instead finds Sattar, a poor man who buries himself in sand on the beach to collect money from passersby and tourists. Together, the two con men venture to Venice where the fakir is to be featured in an art exhibit. Once in the ancient city, their paths diverge. Adi seizes upon the opportunity to advance in the world while Sattar, under the constant gaze of mystified spectators and the foreignness of Italy grows homesick and increasingly isolated. With Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor, Kamal Sidhu. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Thursday, November 12 at 9:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com With thanks to our screening partner, NetIP |
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FOR REAL Written and Directed by Sona Jain. India/US, 2009, 86 min. Sneak Preview. Synopsis: A child’s determination to keep her family together, when the all-powerful adults are intent on destroying it. Six-year old Shruti knows something no one else does. An alien has come in place of her mother and her real mother has been sent to the Orion Galaxy. While the alien looks just like her mother on the outside, Shruti knows she is completely different from her beloved mother on the inside. Shruti turns to her brother for help but he doesn't believe her. Her father, like always, remains wrapped in work and unavailable to her. Unable to accept the Alien in her home and desperate to be with her mother, the lonely child runs away. What follows is a child’s passage to finding her real mother, a man’s struggle to save his family and a woman’s journey to finding herself. Also with Zoya Hassan, Adil Hussain, Sameer Dharmadhikari Sriharsh Sharma Churai. Sarita Choudhury and Sona Jain in person. Preceded by: MY MIAAC. Cell Phone Cinema shorts from NYU. With Karl Bardosh and Prabuddha Dasgupta. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Sunday, November 15 at 12:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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FOUR CHAPTERS (Chaturanga) Directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay. India 2008, 125 min. In Bengali, with English subtitles. NY Premiere.. Synopsis: Sachish, the young protagonist of Rabindranath Tagore’s 1916 novella, brings to life the yearnings and contradictions of the bhadralok elite of the late 19th century Bengal Renaissance. His journey, from conservative Hinduism to scientific rationalism and mysticism, is fueled by his unfulfilled desires and dysfunctional relationships with his best friend and a young widow. As in his first film, Herbert (2005), Mukhopadhyay proves himself an idiosyncratic filmmaker concerned with the interiors of both places and people. With Rituparna Sengupta, Dhritiman Chatterji, Joy Sengupta, Subrata Dutta, Kabir Suman. Suman Mukhopadhyay and Rituparna Sengupta in person, in conversation with Tilottama Tharoor. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 6:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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MIAAC @ NYU: Directors Series
GULAAL Directed by Anurag Kashyap. India, 2009, 140 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. US Premiere. Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of student and regional political intrigue in Rajasthan, Anurag Kashyap, the director of Dev D. (2009) and Black Friday (2004), brings us Dileep, an innocent young man come to Jaipur to study, in his richly dark Gulaal. Dileep gets involved in politics and meets Dukey Bana a powerful local leader who leads an army of radical Rajputs struggling to create a separatist Rajputana that challenges the very idea of Indian democracy. Gulaal is a film shot through by the macho world of power, corruption and greed, bringing a provocative and shocking poetry to Indian cinema. With Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastav, Piyush Mishra, Mahi Gill, Jesse Randhawa. Anurag Kashyap in person at the Directors Series screening. Screening Venue: Cantor Film Center - Friday, November 13 at 6:00 PM: Directors Series -- MIAAC guests and NYU students only. The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Sunday, November 15 at 9:00 PM: Public Screening. Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com With thanks to our screening partner AIF YP |
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MIAAC09 presents An Alwan for the Arts & 3rd i Monthly Collaborative Screening
of Arab & South Asian Cinema.
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. 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. Sanjay Kak in person, in conversation with Mira Kamdar. . Screening Venue: Tribeca - Saturday, November 14 at 4:00 PM. 54 Varick Street, 212-941-2001 http://www.tribecacinemas.com/ Ticket Info: $15 and $12 (IAAC members and students). Purchase from the cinema box office. |
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KANCHIVARAM Directed by Priyadarshan. India; 2008; 117min. In Tamil, with English subtitles. NY Premiere. Synopsis: Director Priyadarshan sets his film in the famed silk-weaving town of Kanchivaram in the 1940s. A gifted weaver, Vengadam is inspired by the Russian Revolution and sets out to organize his fellow weavers against their oppressive bosses. For like his fellow weavers, Vengadam toils all day weaving these expensive fabulous garments but cannot even dream of affording one himself. But when his daughter is born, Vengadam boldly proclaims that he will provide one for her eventual wedding day. With Prakash Raj, Shriya Reddy, Shammu. Preceded by: OUT OF OUR HANDS. Four blind youths play chess in Chennai. Directed by Ian McDonald. India, 2009, 9 min. In Tamil with English subtitles. NY Premiere. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 12:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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KARMA: CRIME PASSION INCARNATION Directed by M. R. Shahjahan. India, 2008, 97 min. US Premiere. Synopsis: Vikram, estranged and separated from his father, Ranvir, for the past thirty years, visits him in Ooty at the insistence of his New York bride Anna, but only for a day or two. The moment Anna reaches the small town; she becomes the medium of mysterious events, including visions of a murder. The hauntings become more frequent and intense. And even though Anna had never been to India, she seems very familiar with the surroundings and some people in Ooty. With Carlucci Weyant, Alma Saraci. Producer Vivek Singhania, Carlucci Weyant in person. Preceded by: MEDICINE MAN. A Brooklyn teenager journeys into the Adirondacks in search of a fabled, medicinal plant. Directed by Himkar Tak. USA, 2009; 19 min. World Premiere. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Sunday, November 15 at 12:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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LIFE GOES ON Written and Directed by Sangeeta Datta. UK, 2009, approx. 120 min. In English and Bengali, with English subtitles. US Premiere. Synopsis: When a woman suddenly dies in London, the void she leaves behind bring into focus the role she has played - as a wife and a mother - in the lives around her. Haunted by memories, and missing the mediating influence of his wife, the grief stricken father (Girish Karnad) is thrown into close proximity with and his three daughters, assessing and carving out relations with them anew. And shadowy memories of the Subcontinent left behind begin to come alive and cast a surprisingly powerful pall on the lives of these Londoners. Also with Sharmila Tagore, Om Puri and Soha Ali Khan. Sangeeta Datta and Sharmila Tagore in person. Screening Venue: The National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, Friday, November 13 at 6:00 PM. Tickets are $25 and $20 for students and IAAC members. An evening with Sharmila Tagore -- post-screening party upstairs in the Rotunda. Includes cocktails and light supper. $25 Purchase from Sulekha.com The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Sunday, November 15 at 3:00 PM For more information contact Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |
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LUCKY DUCKS Written and Directed by Tracey Jackson. US, 2009, 94 min. NY Premiere. Synopsis: Over the course of two years writer-filmmaker Tracey Jackson turned the camera on her own life and family, taking an unadorned, unflinching look at the high voltage topic of privileged children in New York and the problems they face. A documentary about what it means to raise a child today, the filmmaker travels from Montana to Mumbai, talking to experts, gurus and just plain folk grappling with these problems, before wading into the uncharted waters of her relationship with her own daughter. Tracey Jackson, Taylor Templeton, Jeffrey Rudolph, and Gabriel Judet Weinshel in person. Discussion moderated by therapist Rachel Sussman. Preceded by: GOOD NIGHT. As the night unfolds, the mundane details of Hindi film and music- lover’s life begins to acquire a nostalgic significance. Directed by Geetika Narang. India, 2008. 30 min. NY Premiere. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 3:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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An Evening with Mira Nair MIRA NAIR AND THE SHORT FILM Synopsis: On the occasion of the release of the DVD of her Monsoon Wedding (2001), together with her complete shorts films, MIAAC09 presents director Mira Nair on the subject of the short film, with So Far From India (1982), The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993), How Can It Be (2008). The filmmaker, who has made short films, documentary as well as narrative, throughout her career as a feature film director, will address the art of her craft when she approaches the short subject. Mira Nair in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Thursday, November 12 at 3:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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SALAAM BOMBAY! Directed by Mira Nair. US/India, 1988, 113 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. Synopsis: Mira Nair’s Academy Award nominated film and winner of Cannes 1988’s Camera d'Or celebrates its 21st anniversary. The celebrated film was shot entirely on location and tells the story of a group of children surviving on the streets of Bombay. Shafiq Syed, a rag-picker in real life, plays the leading role of Krishna, an abandoned 10-year-old country boy who hopes to earn 500 rupees so he can go back home. This lively, yet unsentimental, look at the resilience of India's street children also features Chanda Sharma, Nana Patekar, Hansa Vithal, and Raghubir Yadav. Mira Nair in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Thursday, November 12 at 6:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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THE SALT STORIES Directed by Lalit Vachani. India, 2008, 84 min. In Hindi, Gujarati, and English. NY Premiere. Synopsis: Re-looking and re-living and re-connecting, Lalit Vachani hearkens back to Mahatma Gandhi's historic ‘Salt March’ in Gujarat, and re-traces the path he walked sixty years ago. In using the march as a metaphor, the filmmaker evaluates the impact and legacy of Gandhi, pointing out how the land of the apostle of non-violence has become the site of some of the most brutal communal pogroms in recent years. The film steps up its enquiry into how the idea of a self-sufficient economy has been over-ridden by the dream of a globalized economy. Director Lalit Vachani in person, in conversation with Mira Kamdar. Preceded by: BOOND. The mundane routine at the village takes a decisive turn when nine-year-old Manka shoots the village headman’s brother-in-law, with his .303 rifle. Directed by Abhishek Pathak. India, 2009, 27 min. Afsar Zaidi in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 12:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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SHORTCHANGED (Barah Anna) Directed by Raja Menon. India, 2008, 97 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. US Premiere. Synopsis: The setting is Mumbai today. A watchman stumbles upon a crime and what seems to him to be an easy, low-risk way to make some money, tries to get his two friends, a chauffeur and a waiter to join him in a series of crimes. Cat-and-mouse games ensue, the three unlikely friends begin to change, and things soon spiral out of control leading them in a direction none of them had wanted to take. With Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Raaz, and Arjun Mathur. Raja Menon in person. Reviews Preceded by: IT RISES FROM THE EAST. A run-of-the-mill store robbery encounters an act of faith. Directed by Sudeep Kanwal. US, 2009, 17 min. NY Premiere. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 9:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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Industry Panel Case Study NEW YORK Directed by Kabir Khan. India, 2009, 157 min. In English and Hindi, with English subtitles, Festival Premiere. Synopsis: For three inseparable college friends in New York, the year 2001 has thus far been a warm, sun-dappled summer. But when the World Trade Center's twin towers that gleam behind them fall, their friendship changes and one of them channels his rage into a terrorist plot. In this first Indian commercial studio film to be shot entirely in the US, Khan uses popular Indian cinema’s conventions and stylistic signatures with panache to illuminate the plight and politics of South Asian and Muslim men caught up in the aftermath of the catastrophe. With John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Katrina Kaif, Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin, Samrat Chakrabarti. Producer Sri Rao in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 3:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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RIDE THE WAVE JOHNNY (Tera Kya Hoga Johnny) Written and Directed by Sudhir Mishra India, 2009, 115min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. US Premiere. Synopsis: In this visually stunning, roller-coaster of a film, Johnny, a young boy from the Mumbai slums, must deal drugs supplied by a local mafia don to make a living. He comes into contact with a range of diverse characters, each living out their own drama in the backstreets of the sleepless city. These include Parvez, a young man who is having an affair with the wife of a corrupt cop, and Preeti, a young model who lives with her druggy advertising boyfriend. As these and other characters' stories converge and slide inexorably into violence and murder, Johnny seizes his chance to make his dreams come true. With Neil Nitin Mukesh, Soha Ali Khan, Kay Kay Menon. Sudhir Misra, Tutu Sharma, and Manu Kumaran in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 9:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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An Alwan for the Arts & 3rd i Monthly Collaborative Screening
&South Asian Cinema. SIKANDAR Written and Directed by Piyush Jha. India, 2009, 107 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. Festival Premiere. 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. copywright NDTV Screening Venue: Tribeca - Saturday, November 14 at 7:00 PM. 54 Varick Street, 212-941-2001 http://www.tribecacinemas.com/ Ticket Info: $15 and $12 (IAAC members and students). Purchase from the cinema box office. |
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SOMA GIRLS Directed by Nandini Sikand and Alexia Prichard. India, 2009, 27 min. In Bengali and English. World premiere. Synopsis: The red-light district near the famed Kali Temple of Kolkata is the setting for this touching and inspiring documentary revolving around the daughters of sex workers. Each girl is painfully aware of their individual circumstances and yet they play, dance, study and speak of wanting to grow-up to become independent, and find a way to get their mothers and sisters out of the trade. With
SIXTEEN BLADES OF GRASS Directed by Sweta Vohra. US, 2009, 44 min. In Gujarati and English. World Premiere. Synopsis: Sixteen 10th-grade girls in rural Gujarat prepare for a crucial board exams that will largely determine their futures. This perceptive documentary offers an eye-opening, if dispiriting, look at how schools are run in villages India, in sharp relief to the bright-eyed young girls eager to overcome roles and futures assigned to them by tradition. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 3:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com With thanks to our screening partner, Sakhi |
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SORRY BHAI Directed by Onir. India 2008, 118 min. In Hindi with English subtitles. US Premiere. Synopsis: In Onir’s breezy romantic comedy, Siddharth, a shy but charming young scientist, travels to Mauritius for the wedding of Harsh, his elder brother (Sanjay Suri). Accompanying him is his overbearing mother (Shabana Azmi) and his jovial father (Boman Irani). But when Siddharth meets his brother’s fiancée, who has been assigned to showing the visitors the sights of the lovely Indian Ocean Island, he discovers that they have a lot of interests in common. Also with Sharman Joshi, Chitrangda Singh. Shabana Azmi, Sanjay Suri and Onir in person. Preceded by: OMAR. From I AM, a series of 5 short films. Directed by Onir, 2009, 20 min. US Premiere. I AM OMAR is a story that exposes the nexus between the police and male sex workers to harass gay men by using article 377. Its a part of the I AM feature ... which is a collection of four stories( www.iamthefilms.com). The film will be screened as a WORK IN PROGRESS Sneak Preview. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Thursday, November 12 at 9:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com With thanks to our screening partner Your Dill |
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TWO PAISE FOR SUNSHINE, FOUR ANNAS FOR RAIN (Do Paise Ki Dhoop Char Aane Ki Baarish) Written and Directed by Deepti Naval. India, 2009, 118 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. NY Premiere. Synopsis: Deepti Naval, the acclaimed actress in films such as Mirch Masala (1985) and Firaaq (2008), makes an impressive directorial debut capturing a series of events that can only happen in a teeming metropolis such as Mumbai. The story brings together a struggling gay lyricist, an ageing prostitute (Bollywood star Manisha Koirala in a career-defining role) and her 12-year-old son and an unlikely household is wrought. A film about the mystery of human relationships and the search for happiness, Two Paise for Sunshine is a lovely valentine to Mumbai’s lashing monsoons, changing cityscapes, and the lyrics of songs that have burnished its cinema. Also with Rajit Kapur, Sanaj Naval. Deepti Naval, Rajit Kapur and Manisha Koirala in person Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Saturday, November 14 at 6:00 PM click here for more information The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Sunday, November 15 at 6:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com With thanks to our screening partner, Sholay |
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WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR Directed by Shyam Benegal India, 2008, 133 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. Festival Premiere. Synopsis: The townsfolk of Sajjanpur own mobile phones but many of the residents are illiterate. And Mahadev is one of the few educated young men, making a living by writing letters for his townsmen, while dreaming of being a novelist someday. His ability to write persuasive letters makes him popular with the town’s people but he begins to use his talent to manipulate people. A gentle and perceptive satire, veteran director Shyam Benegal’s film is a rare take on life in a small town in contemporary India. With Shreyas Talpade, Amrita Rao, Ila Arun. Shyam Benegal in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Friday, November 13 at 12:00 PM Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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WELL DONE ABBA (Abba Ka Kuan) Directed by Shyam Benegal India 2009, 135 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. US Premiere. Synopsis: Armaan Ali, a chauffeur for a senior executive in Mumbai, takes leave for a month to find a husband for his teenage daughter who lives near the city of Hyderabad. It is three months before he returns to work. His young employer wants to fire him but Armaan Ali persuades him to hear why he was so late in returning. The stories he tells - the antics of his wayward brother; his equally irresponsible wife; his attempts to dig a well that threaten the very stability of the government - are enchanting, but did any of them really happen? With Boman Irani, Minissha Lamba, Sammir Dattani, Ravi Kishaan, Ila Arun, Rajit Kapur, Ravi Jhankal. Shyam Benegal and Rajit Kapur in person. Screening Venue: Cantor Film Center - Thursday, November 12 at 6:00 PM: Directors Series. -- MIAAC guests and NYU students only. For more information, please contact miaac.rsvp@gmail.com |
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THE WINDOW (Janala) Directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta. India, 2009, 110 min. In Bengali, with English subtitles. NY Premiere. Synopsis: Bimal and Meera are a young Kolkata couple, very much in love and on the verge of getting married. But Bimal has an idealistic streak. On a visit to his old school, he sees how it has fallen into disrepair and decides to donate a new window to replace the now-decrepit one from which he gazed as a boy. Dasgupta directs this story with the assurance and fluidity of a master, weaving in a parallel plot about a pair of circus performers to contrast Bimal and Meera's story to satirize elements of Indian society. With Indranil Sengupta, Swastika Mukherjee, Tapas Paul, Shankar Chakraborty. Preceded by: IRIS. An elderly woman finds a treasure trove. Directed by Maya Anand. US, 2009, 15 min. NY Premiere. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Sunday, November 15 at 3:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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A Tribute to Prakash Mehra (1939-2009) ZANJEER Directed by Prakash Mehra. Written by Salim-Javed. India, 1973, 145 min. In Hindi, with English subtitles. Synopsis: It was with Zanjeer that Amitabh Bachchan brought to the screen his brooding and explosive "angry young man” persona created by the scriptwriting team of Salim-Javed. Bachchan plays Vijay, a police inspector haunted by the memory of the murder of his parents by a man wearing a chain (zanjeer). But his search for Teja leads him to a man who has become a respectable citizen. The film that transformed Bachchan into a superstar, Prakash Mehra’s blockbuster also became a turning point in the history of Hindi cinema. Also with Jaya Bhaduri, Ajit, Om Prakash and Pran. Javed Akhtar in person. Screening Venue: The Quad Cinema - 34 West 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Thursday, November 12 at 6:00 PM Purchase tickets at Quad Cinema or MovieTickets.com |
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