Thursday, May 24, 2012, 9.30 pm, Theatre 2, Tribeca Cinemas.
Kumare Directed by Vikram Gandhi
USA 2011. 84 mins. English
Cast: Purva Bedi, Kristen Calgaro and Vikram Gandhi
Winner Audience Award for Best Documentary 2011 SXSW Film Festival
American filmmaker (and self-proclaimed religious skeptic) Vikram Gandhi transforms himself, Method-style, into a wise Indian guru named Kumaré, hoping to prove the absurdity of blind faith. Instead, he finds himself forging profound connections with his disciples — and wondering if and when to reveal his true self.
Vikram Gandhi is a New York-based filmmaker and a graduate of Columbia University. He has directed and produced commercial campaigns for American Express, Yahoo!, Puma, and Energizer, as well as music videos and promos for recording artists like Katy Perry, Lil'Wayne, LCD Soundsystem, and Au Revoir Simone. He also works as a freelance video journalist, reporting on international economic, political, and human rights issues for the Economist, Time, ABC, and CNN. Kumaré is his first feature film.
With
Indian Summer by Mridu Chandra Directed By: Mridu Chandra
USA. 2012. 18 min. English.
"Indian Summer" follows kids at the Hindu Heritage Summer Camp in Rochester, NY as they learn meditation, yoga, and how to practice Hinduism in a largely Christian country. This short documentary brings together first generation Indian American youth with similar feelings of alienation to document their religious and cultural point of view. They demystify the basic tenets of Hinduism for themselves and for us, they express a deep need for community, and they show us what it takes to be a Hindu in America.
Mridu Chandra is a filmmaker and writer based in New York. She has been producing award-winning documentaries and narrative films that have premiered at the Sundance, SXSW and Hot Docs Film Festivals, aired on national PBS, screened for members of US Congress and the United Nations, and been showcased at Museums and film festivals worldwide. She has taught graduate level film classes at The New School Department of Media Studies and at New York University in their School of Continuing and Professional Studies. As a writer, her first screenplay "The Tennis Partner" was awarded the 2011 Tribeca Film Institute's All Access development grant. Most recently, she premiered the critically acclaimed multimedia performance "Himalaya Song" at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival; it was chosen as one of the "Ten Best Music Films" by Rolling Stone.
Vikram Gandhi is a New York-based filmmaker and a graduate of Columbia University. He has directed and produced commercial campaigns for American Express, Yahoo!, Puma, and Energizer, as well as music videos and promos for recording artists like Katy Perry, Lil'Wayne, LCD Soundsystem, and Au Revoir Simone. He also works as a freelance video journalist, reporting on international economic, political, and human rights issues for the Economist, Time, ABC, and CNN. Kumaré is his first feature film.