Opening Night Film
Monday, May 4, 2015, 6:00 pm, at the Paris Theatre, 4 West 58th Street, New York City.
Screening Tickets: Red carpet, cocktail party, film screening, post-screening discussion.

 
There will be a post-screening discussion with Director Shonali Bose, Co-Director Nilesh Maniyar, Lead Actor Kalki Koechlin and actor Sayani Gupta.

Gala Benefit Dinner Tickets: Red carpet, cocktail party, film screening, post-screening discussion, Gala Benefit Dinner.


Margarita With A Straw
Directed by Shonali Bose;
India 2014, 100 Minutes, Hindi/English (w/ English subtitles)
PRINCIPAL CAST- Kalki Koechlin, Revathy, Sayani Gupta, William Moseley.
SECONDARY CAST- Hussain Dalal, Tenzin Dalha, Kuljeet Singh, Malhar Khushu.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jacunUzJPj8

Synopsis: In this inspirational love story, a middle class Indian teenager born with cerebral palsy (Dev.D, That Girl in Yellow Boots) is determined to have a relationship. Unusual only because it's so rarely seen on screen, Margarita, with a Straw is an exceptional portrait of a woman discovering what she wants, and how to get it.

Laila (Kalki Koechlin) is a student, crafting lyrics and electronic sounds for an indie band at her Delhi University. Her cerebral palsy doesn't much get in the way of her life, although it sometimes does for others. When Laila's band wins a local contest, the condescending host says to her, "It must have been so hard for you. Can you share something with us?" Laila shares her middle finger.

Always seeking more freedom and new experience, Laila wins a place at New York University and leaves India with her mother (Revathy) for Manhattan. There she meets a fiery activist, Khanum (Sayani Gupta), who challenges her beliefs and sparks her creativity. For these two women, it's the beginning of a remarkable love story.

About the Director: Shonali Bose (Director / Writer / Producer) Shonali Bose did an MA in Political Science at Columbia University followed by an MFA in Directing from the UCLA Film School. As a student at UCLA she received a number of top awards. After graduating she taught at NYFA, Universal Studios for a year. Then she was accepted in Film Independent's Project Involve as she started raising funds for her debut feature - Amu.

Based on the 1984 genocide against Sikhs, Amu, written, produced and directed by Bose won two National Awards (Best Film, Best Director) – India's highest award given by the President of the country and the FIPRESCI Critics Award amongst ten international awards. The film was an official selection at the Berlin Film Festival, followed by Toronto (TIFF) and many others. She was asked by Penguin Publishers to convert the screenplay into a novel. The book, authored by her, released on the same day as the film – a first for an Indian writer.

Shonali is also the first Indian to receive the prestigious Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award for the screenplay of her new film Margarita, with a Straw. The award was presented at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The film had it's world premier at the Toronto Film Festival where it won the NETPAC Jury Award for Best Asian Film. It has gone on to many other important festivals (such as London BFI, Busan, Brisbane) where it's received standing ovations. It won the Best Actress Award for Kalki at the Talinn Black Nights Film Festival and was selected as Best of the Fest out of 192 films at the Palm Springs film Festival. It has already sold to several countries for theatrical release including US, Canada, Spain, Japan, South Korea. It will have a big theatrical release all over India by a major studio, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, in early 2015.

Special Event
Tuesday, May 5, 6:00 pm. Theater 4, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Post-screening discussion with director Vishal Bhardwaj

Maqbool
Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj
India 2003, 127 minutes, Hindi (w/English subtitles)
Cast- Irfan Khan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapoor, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HRu5duDXI04

Synopsis: Maqbool is an orphan who is adopted by a powerful underworld don and the aging leader of a criminal gang. When he strikes up forbidden romance with his foster father's mistress, he does not dare defy the don publicly. However, dangerous thoughts begin to percolate in Maqbool's mind.

About the Director: Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, writer, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer, known for his works in modern Hindi cinema. He produces films under his banner VB Pictures. He has received four National Film Awards. His directorial debut Makdee was screened in the Spotlight on India section at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. He is well known for his Shakespearean-based trilogy set in contemporary India: Maqbool, Omkara, and Haider. His films have premiered at both the Cannes Film Festival as well as the Busan International Film Festival.

Tuesday, May 5, 6:30 pm. Theatre 3, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Bey Yaar
Directed by Abhishek Jain
India 2015, 150 Minutes, Hindi/Gujrati (w/English subtitles)
Cast- Aarti Patel, Abhishek Jain, Amit Mistry, Darshan Jariwala, Divyang Thakkar, Kavin Dave, Manoj Joshi, Pratik Gandhi, and Samvedhna Suwaika

Trailer: http://youtu.be/aRyNGHbNsaY

Synopsis: In the desperation to earn quick money, two best friends put their moral values at stake and end up losing their pride and dignity. They then choose a wrong path to set things right and snatch back what was rightfully theirs.

About the Director: Abhishek Jain is a film maker and the founder of CineMan Productions Ltd. Abhishek has the unique distinction of working with some of the top-notch filmmakers of Bollywood. He was assistant director to Subhash Ghai for the films Yuvraaj and Black & White. Later, he was associate director with Sanjay Leela Bhansali Films for the movies Guzaarish and Chenab Gandhi. He has also assisted Ram Madhvani for advertising campaigns. He is awarded as the 'Best Director' at Big Entertainment Awards, Transmedia Annual Awards and Red Carpet Awards for the year 2012.

Tuesday, May 5, 9:00 pm. Theatre 4, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


M Cream
Directed by Agneya Singh
India 2014, 113 minutes, Hindi/English
Cast- Auritra Ghosh, Barry John, Beatrice Ordeix, Imaad Shah, Ira Dubey
Post-screening discussion with Director Agneya Singh

Trailer: https://youtu.be/jzQBoni94xY

Synopsis: Entangled in a web of drugged out delirium, Figs is the quintessential rebel. When a sudden scarcity of hash deprives Figs of his favorite pastime, Figs joins forces with his best friend Maggie on a quest to attain M Cream, a mythical form of hash only found in the far reaches of the Himalayas. While suffering numerous setbacks and disappointments, they discover that the journey is of greater consequence than the destination.

About the Director: Agneya Singh is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is often identified with the revolutionary new wave of Indian cinema. Starting out as a documentary filmmaker in New Delhi, he subsequently began to explore narrative structures in story telling. Focusing as a director and cinematographer, Agneya has worked on a multitude of subjects in both documentary and narrative film, providing commentary on various aspects of Indian society. His short films and videos have been screened at several film festivals and media showcases. Agneya is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Tuesday, May 5, 9.15 pm. Theatre 2, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Being Bhaijaan
Directed by Shabani Hassanwalia, Samreen Farooqui,
India 2015, 80 minutes, Hindi (w/English subtitles)
Cast - Shan Ghosh, Balram Gehani, Bhaskar Hedaoo

Trailer: http://youtu.be/oA-CVJ920Bg

Synopsis: Being Bhaijaan explores Indian masculinity by mapping the emotional, spiritual and philosophical contribution Salman Khan makes to the lives of three men in small-town India, who find themselves increasingly disassociated with a changing country, its competitiveness and its new woman.

About the Director: Samreen Farooqui and Shabani Hassanwalia founded Hit and Run Films in 2005, an independent video production unit, which engages with changing socio-political-personal realities through documentaries, video art and intervention films.

Their first documentary, Out of Thin Air, on Ladakhi local cinema was an official selection at International Film festival of Rotterdam and was the opening film at Film South Asia, 2009, besides playing at numerous other festivals. Online and Available, released in 2012, told a story of an India-in-transition through its online identity formation and was an official selection at MIFF, 2012. Recently, they worked as associate directors and editors of Star, by Dibakar Banerjee, as part of the Bombay Talkies omnibus, to celebrate the 100 years of Indian Cinema.

They've worked with and been supported by The Films Division, India, Channel 4, UK, DFG Docs, UK, World Bank, Public Service Broadcasting Trust, India Foundation for the Arts, National Mission for Manuscripts, Nirantar, Centre for Gender and Education and UNESCO, UNDP, Natural Justice, World Bank, FAO, Ford Foundation. Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan. CHIRAG, Uttaranchal, WWF. Religious and Glocal Health Care, among others.

Their work with gender and sexuality involves Bioscope: Non-binary Conversations on Gender and Education and Bhaijaan, an under-production documentary that tries to understand Indian masculinity through Salman Khan.

Wednesday, May 6, 6.15 pm. Theatre 2, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.

 
Chotoder Chobi
Directed by Kaushik Ganguly
India 2014, 107 minutes, Bengali (w/English subtitles)
Cast- Dulal Sarkar, Debalina Roy

Winner of 2014 National Award for Best Film on Social Issues (narrative)
 
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8xRKKtL2Oo 

Synopsis: Focusing on the predicaments of those born with genetic defect causing dwarfism, the film is the love story of Khoka and Soma. When Soma's father, Shibu, a circus trapeze is bed-ridden post a fatal accident and doesn't receive the deserved compensation, his junior Khoka lends a helping hand. Though this brings him closer to Soma but they are unable to deal with the relationship like another normal couple. Why is it so? Why do they need to rethink about a relationship when they know that they are the best companions? Kaushik Ganguly brings to you an unusual love story of two such 'little' lovers.

About the Director: Kaushik Ganguly spent eight years as a teacher and freelance scriptwriter before turning director in 1995 with the teleserial "Rahaat". Making his feature film debut with "Waarish"(2004),Kaushik went on to garner much acclaim for his second film "Shunyo e bukey"(2005).He is known for his works like Ushnotar jonnye(2003) and Arekti Premer Golpo (2010). He became significant in Indian Cinema for his consecutive four film nominations in Indian Panoroma and his national award for "Shobdo". He was awarded with the Best Director award for his film"Apur Panchali" at IIFI 2013 and his last film-Chotoder Chobi won the silver peacock award for Dulal Sarkar,Best Actor in IFFI,Goa,India 2014 . Chotoder Chobi also won the National Award for Best Film on Social Issues recently.

Special Presentation
Wednesday, May 6, 6.30 pm. Theatre 3, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Benegal's New Cinema
Directed by Iram Ghufran
India 2014, 58 minutes, English
Cast- SHYAM BENEGAL, SHABANA AZMI, ANANT NAG, GOVIND NIHALANI, GIRISH KARNAD, VANRAJ BHATIA, RAJIT KAPUR

Post-screening discussion with Shyam Benegal

Trailer: http://youtu.be/2VhP9fcP_JQ

Synopsis: 'Benegal's New Cinema' is a documentary on the films of Shyam Benegal and explores the time, ethos and concerns of the New Cinema Movement in India through his oeuvre. A pioneer in the New Cinema Movement, within the Hindi film industry, Benegal's career spans four decades of consistent work. The film is a foray into the mind of this great filmmaker, and an attempt to understand his motivations and impulses for making cinema. This film brings into conversation Benegal's work from his first feature film, Ankur [1973] to the formally experimental Suraj Ka Saatvan Ghoda [1993]. Lying at the interstices of history and memory, 'Benegal's New Cinema' is an exercise in remembering the world of New Cinema of the 1970s and 80s and its relevance in the contemporary. Based on extensive interviews with Benegal, the documentary also features some of his closest colleagues including scriptwriter and filmmaker Girish Karnad, actors Shabana Azmi and Anant Nag, music composer Vanraj Bhatia, and cinematographer Govind Nihalani.

About the Director: Iram Ghufran is a Delhi based filmmaker and artist working on moving image, sound and text. Her work has been shown in several international art and cinematic contexts including the Berlin Film Festival, Experimenta India, World Social Forum and ISEA among others. As a member of the Media Lab at Sarai CSDS between 2004 and 2011, Iram was part of several experimental and multi-disciplinary processes and collaborations. Her first documentary essay film There is Something in the Air is the winner of several awards including the National Award for Best Direction and Best Editing.

Wednesday, May 6, 9.15 pm. Theatre 2, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Haraamkhor
Directed by Shlok Sharma
India 2014, 92 minutes, Hindi (w/English subtitles)
Cast- Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shweta Tripathi
Post-screening discussion with Director Shlok Sharma

Trailer: https://youtu.be/sNBO1JM7WAA

Synopsis: The Wretched is an innocent, illicit and emotionally driven story, set in the virginal desert territory juxtaposed against the lifeline of India's dream development. 15 yr old Sandhya is infatuated with her 35 yr old school teacher, Shyam. Kamal and Mintu, her classmates, emerge as the sole spectators of their secret love affair. While Kamal's love for Sandhya precedes all, Shyam's marital status takes over Sandhya's life. A criss-cross of stirring emotions across gender and age, The Wretched is an anecdote to the journey of three wretched souls in pursuit of love.

About the Director: This child prodigy as often referred to by the many who know him, Shlok Sharma made his entry into feature films at the early age of 14. Having written his first feature film script at the same age and with the zeal to learn, he began as a production assistant and soon found himself assisting Vishal Bharadwaj on 'Blue Umbrlla' and subsequently 'Omkara'. Since then, there has been no looking back for this young director. He subsequently went on to work with Anurag Kashyap.

Among the films he has worked on, include, Blood Brothers, Dev D, No Smoking and turning 2nd unit director with Gangs of Wasseypur among numerous others. Shlok has also demonstrated his storytelling abilities with his short films like Tubelight ka Chand, Hidden Cricket and Bombay Mirror going viral digitally. Since then, Sharma has directed various ad films and several award winning short films including "Sujata" which earned him various accolades in the film festival circuit such as IFFLA and Abu Dhabi Film Festival amongst others.

Wednesday, May 6, 9.30 pm. Theatre 3, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Bench Talkies
Directed by Anil Krishnan, Charukesh Sekar, Gopakumar, Monesh, Rathnakumar RM and Karthik Subbaraj;
India 2014, , Tamil (w/English subtitles)
Cast - Vijay Sethupathi, Sananth Reddy, Rishinanth Rajendran, Guru Somasundharam, Vijaymuthu, Aravind
Harish, Sharathkumar

Trailer: http://youtu.be/dBzXzjScAwQ
  
Synopsis: Stone Bench Creations’ first collection of short films ‘Bench Talkies – the First Bench’ is the first-of-its-kind movie in Tamil directed by 6 independent short film makers with 6 different genres, an emotions are combined into an one feature.

The First film, “The Lost Paradise “by Anil Krishnan, is a silent film about a convict who is released from prison and makes his journey home. It is cloyingly sentimental and the background score is filled with wailing violins that keep nudging us to empathize with the character. Gopakumar's Agavizhi is a genuine involving a triangular romance that as the filmmaker puts it in the end is about the collision of subconscious minds. It if filled with inner monologues The evocatively titled Nalladhor Veenai, directed by Monesh, is about the dangers of paedophiles who lurk in the most unexpected places. In other words, it’s a message movie, and the message is inscribed on the head of a sledgehammer.

Puzhu is the story of two men who lie bleeding on a rocky hillside. Even as life ebbs out of them, they aim to kill each other. The director, Charukesh Sekar, is after something existential Madhu is totally mainstream. It is about a loser (someone who "has arrear in committing suicide") who tries to end his life one more time after the girl he is love with gets engaged, and his two friends try to stop it with the help of the girl. The director, Rathnakumar RM. The final film, Neer, is by Karthik Subbaraj and takes place on a fishing boat in mid-sea, and is about three fishermen (one of whom is played by Vijay Sethupathi) and their encounter with the Sri Lankan navy.

About the Directors: Anil Krishnan, aged 26, working as an editor by profession and owns a Post production studio in Chennai, India and also a Director at the film industry, doing short films, Feature films, etc., I have edited almost 130 plus projects in Different Fields and have directed a short film and a Feature film.

Gopakumar, is a Creative head for an MNC, by profession. His passion is to make his mark in the world of cinemas with the aid of his varied skill sets including, Media Ideation, Visualization, Photography, and Music. He began his stint with short film making way back in 2009 and has Four Short Films to his credit till date. He has conceptualized the stories, written the screen play, adorned the cap of the director, directed the music, and edited his first 3 short films and in his fourth short film, he wrote the story, screen play and directed it along with a capable technical team. He continues in his dream journey to fulfill his passion both in the world of short films and feature films. He also has released a Tamil Music Album “Saaral”, a Saregamapa’s release along with Benny Dayal!

Charukesh Sekar, 29, an independent filmmaker based out of Chennai has been actively involved in making short films since 2009. His first, “Mr. & Mr. Iyer”, a satirical film made in support of the LGBT community was screened in multiple LGBT film festivals around the country. He then branched out to do corporate films and commercials for organizations such as Ford, Bajaj, Royal Enfield etc… A comeback into the world of short films happened in 2011 with “Life & Death Of A Rebel”, an art house film shot in Ladakh featuring Ashok Selvan in the lead. With this film, Charukesh Sekar found his voice and expression in making films. His latest short film, Puzhu, further strengthens his narrative style and cinematic language. Charukesh has also written lyrics for a few Tamil feature films including Santosh Sivan’s Inam and several jingles.

Since childhood has been driven by films and the techniques of film making. I have made 2 short films and one of my tele film is under post production right now. My short film NALLADHOR VEENAI has got me appreciation in different screenings in and around India. Which on the other hand was appreciated by the team bench talkies and is been screened in USA. Monesh’s Filmography: Seidhadhariyel,Nalladhor veenai, Magudi (Tele Film).

Rathna Kumar Worked as Associate Director in a Tamil Feature Film. Worked in a A.R.Rahman’s Music Video under direction department. Directed a Pilot Movie. Nearly 1 year Experience in film distribution in India. Short Film Direction and Editing Experience, Case studies. How to do something. How not to. Film Making, Film Market Research. Directed a pilot movie “MADHU” that runs for about 30 minutes. This pilot movie is the actual first 25 mins of a feature film “MADHU” scripted by myself. Worked as associate director to director Prabhu raja cholan (Shankar’s AD) in his tamil debut movie “KARUPPAMPATTI”. Ajmal did a dual role in it which got released on march 2013. Worked as Associate director in A.R.Rahman’s music video “Aabhi jaa” a song from the album “Ranuaq” directed by Amith Krishnan. Yami Gautam acted in it and Rahman scored music for it. Dubbing. Film Promotion. Film Distribution. Another way of doing something. Worked for nearly 1year as Technical assistant in a reputed film-importing agency Indo Overseas Films that has distributed hundreds of Korean, Thailand and Chinese films, which include almost all Jackie Chan, Jet li, and Bruce lee films in India. Movies: Haeundae, Chaw, Raging Phoenix, Power Kids, Lilly the Witch, Killer Bean Forever. In all the above movies I contributed in Most of the post production departments that includes Dubbing, Poster and Brochure Designs, Title registration, Censoring, Distribution and Promotion.

Karthik Subbaraj – started his career working as a software engineer in Bangalore working for Infosys. During this period he got interested in film making. He learnt the basics of film making, during a one-day workshop run by Sanjay Nambiar. In the course of his work as a software engineer, he was deputed to U.S. A where he further enhanced his film making skills by making a number of short films and assisting other Indie film makers. Once he was back in India, he made a short film "Kaatchipizhai" in Madurai, which was selected for "Naalaya Iyakunar". He went on to make his directorial debut with the 2012 thriller film Pizza which was a low budget film, but earned huge profits. His latest venture Jigarthanda which deals with the Madurai underworld was released in August 2014 and received critical acclaims. The film stars Siddharth, Lakshmi Menon, Bobby Simha and Karuna.

Special Event
Thursday, May 7, 6:00 pm. Theatre 4, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Haider
Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj;
India 2014, 162 minutes, Hindi (w/English subtitles)
Cast- Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon, Irfan Khan
Post-screening discussion with Director Vishal Bhardwaj

Winner of 2014 National Awards for Best Choreography, Music Direction (Songs), Costume Design, Screenplay (Dialogues), Male Playback Singer.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xakmvJ0WPa4

Synopsis: Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', Haider - a young man returns home to Kashmir on receiving news of his father's disappearance. Not only does he learn that security forces have detained his father for harboring militants, but that his mother is in a relationship with his very own uncle. Intense drama follows between mother and son as both struggle to come to terms with news of his father's death. Soon Haider learns that his uncle is responsible for the gruesome murder, what follows is his journey to avenge his father's death.

About the Director: Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, writer, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer, known for his works in modern Hindi cinema. He produces films under his banner VB Pictures. He has received four National Film Awards. His directorial debut Makdee was screened in the Spotlight on India section at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. He is well known for his Shakespearean-based trilogy set in contemporary India: Maqbool, Omkara, and Haider. His films have premiered at both the Cannes Film Festival as well as the Busan International Film Festival.

Friday, May 8, 6:00 pm. Theatre 4, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Coffee Bloom
Directed by Manu Warrier
India 2014, 90 minutes, Hindi/English
Cast- Arjun Mathur, Sugandha Garg
Post-screening discussion with Director Manu Warrier

Trailer: https://youtu.be/zt64Maw5WSU

Synopsis: Dev sells his family coffee estate as a statement underlining his renunciation of the world. When his mother dies heartbroken, he vows to prove worthy of her before scattering her ashes, little realizing that that involves confronting the world he shunned and his turbulent past.

About the Director: A post-graduate in marketing by qualification, Manu forayed into film-making with two short films while still working in USA. Having shifted base to India in 2005, Manu has since worked with new age directors including Owais Hussain and Anurag Kashyap to develop projects from story to screenplay. His most recent writing few episodes for Kashyap's recently concluded YUDH-TV series with Amitabh Bachchan. A writer pursuing the 10,000 hours of practice principal, Coffee Bloom is his full-length feature debut. He his currently scripting with director Leena Yadav for her next project and working on his next directorial venture, a political thriller unfolding through Indian bureaucracy. 

Friday, May 8, 6.15 pm. Theatre 2, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.


Meet the Patels
Directed by Ravi V. Patel
USA, 2014, 87 minutes, English/Gujarati (w/ English subtitles)
Cast – Ravi Patel, Geeta Patel, Champa V. Patel, Vasant V. Patel, Audrey Alison Wauchope
Post-screening discussion with Directors Ravi and Geeta Patel
 
Synopsis: MEET THE PATELS is a laugh out loud real life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost 30 year old Indian American who enters a love triangle between the Woman of his dreams and his parents. Filmed by Ravi's sister in what started as a family vacation video, this hilarious and heartbreaking film reveals how love is a family affair.

About the Director: Ravi V. Patel directorial debut is the real-life romantic comedy MEET THE PATELS, Executive Produced by Academy Award Winner GeralyDreyfous. The Film features Ravi's family and his comedic take on a sequence of events that involve his mother and his love-life. An as actor, Ravi is most recognized for his work on SCRUBS, IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, TRANSFORMERS, POWDER BLUE, and THE NEW NORMAL. In 2013, he co-founded THIS BAR SAVES LIVES – with actors Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell, and Kristen Bell – which gives a meal to a starving child for every granola bar they sell. Ravi also co-manages an investment group which focuses primarily on health, wellness, and social enterprise startups. Prior to joining the entertainment industry, Ravi was an investment banker and later founded the popular poker magazine ALL IN. He graduated from the University of North Carolina with double majors in Economics and International Studies. A die-hard Bears fan, he wants his own talk show, with Mike Ditka as his sidekick.

Geeta Patel - Geeta is known for her emotional, form-pushing, and nontraditional style that merges documentary and dramatic forms. She is writer/director of the upcoming feature film MOUSE, produced by Grant Hill (THE MATRIX, TREE OF LIFE), choreography by Jeff Imada (FIGHT CLUB, BOURNE IDENTITY). Geeta also directed the real-life comedy MEET THE PATELS, Executive Produced by Academy Award Winner Geralyn Dreyfous. Prior to this, Geeta made her directorial debut with the documentary war thriller, PROJECT KASHMIR, which led to directing fellowships at Sundance and Tribeca. Geeta started as writer’s assistant in TV, and then served as Associate Screenwriter for Universal Pictures, ABC, NBC, and Twentieth Century Fox on titles that include THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS and BLUE CRUSH.  A graduate in Comparative Area Studies from Duke, Geeta was inspired to enter storytelling by Anthony Minghella, who she met while studying in Berlin. Geeta was recently Visiting Artist in Belarus and Turkey as one of 29 filmmakers chosen for President Obama’s film delegation.

Friday, May 8, 9:00 pm. Theatre 4, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


I Am Steve Lopez
Directed by Rajeev Ravi
India 2014, 116 minutes, Malayalam (w/English subtitles)
Cast- Ahaana Krishna, Farhaan Faasil

Synopsis: The film is set in capital city of the south Indian state of Kerala. Steve Lopez, a typical teenager is the son of an influential police officer. He leads an unruffled life, dominated by a relationship with Anjali, daughter of another police officer. Steve happens to witness a fight between two rival gangs. He is involved in taking a fatally injured man to the hospital. This events leads him gradually into the lives of the gangsters who have nothing extraordinary in their lives except their acts of crime. Hari, the gang leader is captured by his father with his help, but he disappears from the police custody with no news. Steve is obsessed with the fate of Hari. In his quest to find what happened to Hari, he gradually comes to realise that the gangsters and the police including his father, are two faces of the same coin. There is an intricate web of interrelationships, bargains, trust and breach of trust between them. Steve's quick glimpse of this network is enough to unsettle him. His fate too is sealed once he touches this web.

About the Director: National Award winning cinematographer and director Rajeev Ravi's second directorial venture NJAN STEVE LOPEZ – I AM STEVE LOPEZ had its all India release on Aug 15th with English subtitles. Rajeev won the National award for Liar's dice directed by his wife Geetu Mohandas. He is an acclaimed Bollywood cinematographer who has bagged the Bafta award, Filmfare and other popular mainstream awards for his work in Dev D and Gangs of Wasseypur. His current venture is Bombay velvet directed by Anurag Kashyap, is in post production stage.

Friday, May 8, 9:15 pm. Theatre 2, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.


Chauranga
Directed by Bikas Mishra
India 2014, 113 minutes, Hindi (w/English subtitles)
Post-screening discussion with Director Bikas Mishra

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/113367313 (password: CHAURANGAAFT2015)

Synopsis: Set in the dark hinterland of India where tradition and modernity collide precariously, FOUR COLOURS is inspired by a real incident. Fourteen year old Santu wants to go to school like his older brother Bajarangi. Their mother works as a maid at the mansion of the upper-caste village headman with whom she is having a dangerous, secret liaison. When Bajarangi comes home from boarding school on holiday, he exposes him to the dreams of city life. But his destiny was prewritten in a village that's steeped deep in caste-hierarchy and debauchery. Unaware of the consequences, he is nurturing defiance and courting a few dangerous infatuations that can topple the equations of caste in the village. How far will his defiance take him?

About the Director: Bikas Ranjan Mishra is an Indian screenwriter, director, and film critic. He is the editor and founder of DearCinema.com and has been a member of programming and selection committees of MAMI. His writings regularly appear on Mint Lounge, and DearCinema.com.

Bikas's short film "Dance of Ganesha" had its world premiere at the 16th Busan International Film Festival, and its European premiere at the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam. His new feature film, "Chauranga" was developed at the Screenwriters' Lab organized by National Film Development Corporation of India in collaboration with Locarno Film Festival and the ScriptStation of Berlinale Talent Campus, a part of Berlin Film Festival. The Film won Golden Gateway of India Award for Best Film (India Gold 2014) at the 16th Mumbai Film Festival.

Special Children's Afternoon
Saturday, May 9, 12 noon. Theatre 4, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th street, NYC.

 
Elizabeth Ekadashi
Directed by Paresh Mokashi
India 2015, 90 minutes, Marathi (w/English subtitles)
Cast- Shrirana Mahajan, Saili Bhandarkavthekar, Pushkar Lonarkar, Nandita Dhuri, Vanmala Kinikar, Chaitanya Badve, Durgesh Badye-Mahajan, Chaitanya Kulkarni, Ashwini Bhalekar

Trailer: https://youtu.be/phAj7wdp8NE

Synopsis: Elizabeth Ekadashi is Maharashtra's home-grown World Cinema. With an international sensibility but impregnated with Marathi folklores & 'Saint Culture'Ekadashi is a unique offering.  At the core of the film are basic human emotions of mother & child and a child's struggle to help his struggling single mother financially. Though the theme is universal, the presentation is such that it is very close to the Marathi soil and all the characters feel our very own. This feeling of belongingness to one's own culture, language & tradition is the superior achievement of this film. Set against the backdrop of Pandharpur Elizabeth Ekadashi is a modern poem on the silver screen that explores children's scientific curiosity viz-a-viz the spiritual teachings of the land; such that it becomes a take-away for both parents & children equally.

About the Director: Paresh Mokashi started as an actor in his college days. he worked with the Pune based theatre organization, theatre academy for some time. he shifted to mumbai and tried to pursue acting career but soon found out that writing and directing are his real interests. paresh is known for his plays 'sangeet debuchya muli', 'mukkam post bombilwadi', 'lagnakallol', 'mangalavarache mundake' and 'samudra'. he ventured into film making and made 'harishchandrachi factory', an adventure of dadasabeh phalke, in making of india's first feature film. He is presenting his second marathi film 'elizabeth ekadashi' soon. paresh is more interested in objective research of ancient history. he has currently undertaken a big project of creating a database cum encyclopaedia on the ved, ramayan, mahabharat and other historical writings of antiquity.