SAFL @ NYIFF 2015

The South Asian Film Lab (SAFL) is partnering with NYIFF 2015 to present staged readings of excerpts of three scripts-in-development by Vinny Anand, Uday Jhunjhunwala and Shetal Shah. Fresh on the heels of a successful partnership with IFP and Writers Guild of America-East earlier this year, SAFL is thrilled to introduce the Lab to the global South Asian film community. For more information please visit www.southasianfilmlab.org

BY THE SPOONFUL by Shetal Shah
Cast: Purva Bedi, Nikki Chawla, Gary Hilborn, Soneela Nankani, Rahoul Roy, Shetal Shah

Log Line: Eugenie is a hoarder. The new volunteer at her soup kitchen has a devastating secret that could either save Eugenie from herself or send her over the edge for good.

Bio: Shetal Shah is a filmmaker whose most recent work focuses on climate change in South America and a web skit series highlighting NYC's idiosyncrasies. When she's not behind the camera, Shetal loves acting in films, TV and Theater. She is a proud member of the InViolet Theater Company. Acting credits include: Theater: Truth Be Told (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Parts and Parts of Stitches (MT Works), Caitlin and the Swan (The Management), The Living Room Series (HERE Theater) and select readings with Second Stage Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, and the Indo-American Arts Council. Film: Arya (2005 SAMA Winner for Best Actress) and Loins of Punjab Presents. TV: The Daily Show, VH1 Denmark, ARY's In-Scene host and co-producer. She also performs poetry, most notably at Lincoln Center and with Poetic People Power.

BADGE&CHAIN by Vinny Anand
Cast: Vinny Anand, Richard Dery, Chris Dunlop, Aizzah Fatima, Kamran Khan, Lipica Shah

Log Line: Burned by Corporate America, Srikanth "Shrek" Busireddy stumbles on an invention that will revolutionize recycling. Determined to get his idea off the ground, Shrek must avoid getting sucked back into Corporate America while finding a way to keep his unemployment from getting cut off.

Bio: Vinny Anand is a Writer, Actor and Comedian who has worked with the likes of Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey and Kevin Bacon. He studies Acting/Writing at New York Conservatory and has performed his Stand Up comedy routines at prestigious comedy clubs all over the city. To check out more of his work please visit his website at www.vinnyanand.com.

THE EXECUTION OF LOVE By Uday Jhunjhunwala
Cast: Vandit Bhatt, Samrat Chakrabarti, Meetu Chilana, Kabir Chopra, Andrew Guilarte, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Omar Rahim, Ami Sheth

An orphaned Israeli boy and a Palestinian refugee girl struggle with their identities as they fall in love amidst the uncertainty and tragedy of the Occupation.

Bio: Uday Jhunjhunwala is a screenwriter and playwright living in NYC. In addition to his featured screenplay, "The Execution of Love," and his play, "Our Land," he is currently working on a play and a film, both of which take place in Kashmir. He has had several short films and plays produced including, "Saving Hinduism," "Soul Saving Sundays," and "Waiting for It." He also helped produce a feature documentary, "The Only Real Game," about baseball in Manipur.

ABOUT SAFL
The South Asian Film Lab (SAFL) is a group of writers, filmmakers and actors committed to developing and encouraging stories by and about South Asians in the United States. The lab functions as a collaborative workshop environment, as well as a resource and talent pool to support the emerging independent voices of South Asian and South Asian-American cinema.

By supporting projects in every stage from development through to distribution/marketing, the South Asian Film Lab aims to become a leading organization dedicated to nurturing the diverse and compelling stories of tomorrow.

The brainchild of Vishesh Sharma, SAFL started as a question many moons ago – Where are our South Asian filmmakers? Recognizing an urgency for change, a group of South Asian filmmaker friends and colleagues started meeting every other week in the Spring of 2014. The goal was to bring in scripts they were working on and have them read aloud and developed. Who better to read scripts aloud than a group of talented actors. What followed, was an overwhelming number of writers, directors, actors, producers attending every lab session and forming a core group.

SAFL had its first public showcase event on Feb 12 2015 at IFP’s Made in NY Media Center. The response was overwhelming with NBC News bringing us in the public eye with their coverage of the event:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/new-wave-south-asian-writers-push-different-story-screen-n311831

By partnering with NYIFF this year, SAFL's goal is to introduce ourselves to our South Asian filmgoing and filmmaking community. The Lab’s success is due wholly to its community building effort. SAFL looks forward to fostering change through building and reinforcing relationships and supporting one another.

For more information please visit http://www.southasianfilmlab.org/