18th Annual NEW YORK INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL May 7-12, 2018
REVIEWS
lassiwithlavina.com NYIFF 2018 – Women Directors & Women’s Stories Shine
LAVINA MELWANI,
April 26, 2018
Lassi with Lavina Guide to Upcoming Events – NYIFF 2018 Women Directors Tell Stories of Love and Loss
The New York Indian Film Festival, organized by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) has always prided itself on being about real people, ordinary people, and at the cinematic table there’s room for stories from every kind of independent film maker, in every format and in every regional language. There are features, documentaries and shorts, stories about marginalized people, be it outcasts, gays, minorities, women or children – and this year is no exception.
In fact, reflecting the times, this year women are front and center, with at least 15 films made by women filmmakers, telling their own stories, and that includes features, documentaries and shorts.
There’s of course a heartfelt tribute to the late Sridevi with the film ‘English Vinglish’in which we got to see a totally different and deglamorized side of the superstar as she played an ordinary housewife who overcomes her insecurity with the all-powerful English language and in the process, finds herself, her voice and transforms her life. Oh, the indignities women have to face as they make their way both at home and the world!
‘English Vinglish’ is directed by Gauri Shinde, who says, “It is inspired by my mother whose discomfort with the English language did not stop her from realizing her full potential as a human being, a mother, a wife and a professional. It is my way of saying ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ to my mother and a tribute to women.”
Sharmila Tagore, Soumitra Chatterjee, Aparna Sen, Nandita Das, Konkona Ken Sharma in ‘Bird of Dusk’
Another film to watch out for at the festival is ‘Bird of Dusk,’ a documentary by Sangeeta Datta whose earlier films include ‘Life Goes On’ with Sharmila Tagore, Om Puri, and Soha Ali Khan. This year at the festival we get to see her documentary on Rituparno Ghosh- ‘Bird of Dusk’ which is on the international film festival circuit and a short film on Sister Nivedita (Margaret Noble) for the Nivedita Museum.
The cast of ‘Bird of Dusk’ includes some very distinguished names from the world of cinema including Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Arjun Rampal, Konkona Sen Sharma, Nandita Das, Kaushik Ganguly, Anindya Chatterjee, Dorothee Wenner, Subhadip Sarkar. After the screening there is a discussion with director Sangeeta Datta which should certainly give film fans lots of food for thought.
The Hungry
A must-watch from a woman filmmaker is ‘The Hungry’ by Bornila Chatterjee, whose earlier film ‘Let’s Be Out, The Sun is Shining’ premiered at the 2012 NYIFF where it won the Audience Award. ‘The Hungry’ has an intriguing story – it follows Tulsi Joshi, a widow and bride-to- be “who comes to her own wedding seeking revenge for the brutal murder of her first-born son. Based on Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, it is about the violence that exists between power and love – a macabre fairytale set in the elite circles of north India.” It stars some notable actors including Naseeruddin Shah and Tisca Chopra.
Another intriguing film is ‘Venus’ directed by Eisha Marjara, dealing with gender issues in a changing world. This story of a transgender woman who meets a teenaged son she didn’t know she had, and how her life changes with the knowledge, is sure to raise troubling questions. The lead is New Yorker Debargo Sanyal in a challenging role.
Venus at NYIFF
