New York Indian Film Festival 2017


18th Annual NEW YORK INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
May 7-12, 2018


SCREENING SCHEDULE
Tuesday May 8

 
 
CRD
CRD
CRD
CRD
Tuesday May 8, 2018 @ 6.00 pm, Auditorium 2
Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.
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CRD
New York Premiere
2017 | India | 108 mins | Hindi, English & French (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Kranti Kanade
Cast - Mrinmayee Godbole, Vinay Sharma, Saurabh Saraswat, Abhay Mahajan, Isha Keskar.


Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi5mdz6xofo

Synopsis: A young dramatist rebels against his fascist tutor to form a troop of misfits - aiming to win a prestigious theatre competition. Inspired by real life event 'Purushottam' in Pune, India.

Kranti Kanade Director: Kranti Kanade is a National Award Winning Director. His new film ‘CRD’ has received rave reviews by Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter, LA Weekly, Screen Anarchy, NDTV, Times Of India, Indian Express, Film Companion, Scroll, Firstpost and others. Namrata Joshi in The Hindu says, “It boldly goes where no Indian film has gone before.” Many major film critics in India have called it a path-breaking film, unlike any seen before.

Kranti’s other film ‘GANDHI OF THE MONTH’ stars the legendary Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs, Taxi Driver, Youth). His children’s film MAHEK won awards around the world in festivals and CHAITRA won five National Film Awards being India’s official entry to the Student Academy Awards. He studied at UCLA and FTII. Kranti is also an Entrepreneur, a Tree planter who has planted more than 7000 trees and has helped rehabilitate more than 300 destitute children.

Reviews: "Indian film 'CRD' enchanting, audacious, indefinable & infectious." - Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
"Entrancing, vibrant, irreverent, category-defying! Kanadé an assured visual stylist!" - Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
"Allusive, elusive and by turns funny, romantic and tragic, CRD is a film tuned to the pitch of the artist's heart." - LA Weekly
"CRD, An Ethereal Exercise In Art" - ScreenAnarchy
“Subversive & fearless, Kanadé breaks all rules of filmmaking in creating CRD, which boldly goes where no Indian film has gone before.” - Namrata Joshi, The Hindu
“CRD is path-breaking! Classy & magnificently inventive! Unlike any seen in years.” - Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV
“Outstanding, Superb!” - Nandini Ramnath, Scroll
“Masterful, Sharp & Infectious!” - Trisha Gupta, Firstpost
“Hypnotic! Inner-body experience.” - Rahul Desai, Film Companion

Social Media Handles: https://www.facebook.com/CRDfilm
www.krantikanade.com

Take Off
Take Off
Take Off
Take Off
Tuesday May 8, 2018 @ 6.15 pm. Auditorium 3
Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.

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Take Off
2017 | India | 132 mins | Malayalam (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Mahesh Narayan
Cast - Parvathy, Fahad Fazil, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Prakash Belawadi, Alencier Ley Lopez, Eric Zachariah


Winner: National Film Awards 2018 - Best Production Design, Special Mention Parvathy and the film.

Post-screening discussion with director Mahesh Narayan.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzYSKjxtKNg

Synopsis: Nurse Sameera, divorced mother of an 8 year old boy makes the difficult decision to take up a job in war-torn Iraq owing to financial liabilities even when her conservative family opposes her decision as she is single. She hastily gets married to her colleague Shahid, who had been romantically inclined to her and had also taken up the Iraq assignment. Ibru, her son, is unaware of parents’ divorce. When she unexpectedly discovers herself pregnant, she is concerned about her job in Iraq and Ibru’s reaction. However she sets off with Shahid and other colleagues to an unsafe country. Faisal, her ex-husband sends Ibru to Iraq to live with her and Sameera needs to explain to her son about the divorce, her remarriage and pregnancy.

Shahid gets himself transferred to Mosul so that Sameera can explain things to Ibru. However, he is taken hostage by the rebel army. She finds an unlikely ally in the Indian Ambassador to Iraq, Manoj Abraham. Soon Sameera, Ibru and her colleagues are also taken hostage in their hospital in Tikrit. Amid the bullets and bombs, Sameera leads the efforts for existence along with her embittered colleagues while the embassy wages diplomatic battles to get them safely back to Indian soil. Under the reassuring flutter of the Indian flag, the nurses are rescued and Sameera, Shahid and Ibru find themselves reunited as a family.

Mahesh NarayananDirector: Mahesh Narayan's editorial debut Rathrimazha bagged National award for the best director and Five Kerala State Awards. Having rapidly climbed the ladder as a renowned editor in the Indian film industry, Mahesh proved his expertise in writing as well through the film Mili, that has opened to rave reviews in Kerala. Take Off is Mahesh Narayanan’s directorial debut.

Award: International Film Festival of India 2017. 
Social Media Handles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Off_(2017_film)

My Pure Land
My Pure Land
My Pure Land
My Pure Land
My Pure Land
Tuesday May 8, 2018 @ 6.30 pm. Auditorium 4
Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.

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My Pure Land
North America Premiere
2017 | Pakistan & UK | 98 mins | Urdu (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Sarmad Masud
Cast - Suhaee Abro, Eman Malik, Syed Tanveer-Hussain, Razia Malik, Atif Akhtar Bhatti, Tayyab Azfal, Ahsen Murad, Haider Zafar.


Britain's Official Entry Best Foreign Language Film Category, 90th Academy Awards

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdY8bKCVIC0

Synopsis: MY PURE LAND is a film based on a true story. A young woman called Nazo and her mother and sister are called to defend their home after a bitter family feud leads to her father’s incarceration. In their isolated farmhouse in Pakistan, the women find themselves surrounded by armed men hired by their Uncle Mehrban to take back the land. When Nazo’s resistance leaves two of the men dead, an enraged Mehrban calls in a local ragtag militia - two hundred armed bandits. But even with only a handful of bullets left, Nazo refuses to give in...

Sarmad MasudDirector: My Pure Land is Sarmad Masud's first feature. Previously his short film; Two Dosas, funded by Film London was voted best film in their London Calling Plus category by David Yates and then went on to be long listed for both a BAFTA and an Oscar after picking up numerous awards on the festival circuit; winning at London Short Film Festival, Aspen shortsfest, River to River in Florence and Shufflefest voted by Danny Boyle. Sam also wrote and directed Adha Cup which was the first Urdu language drama commissioned by Channel Four, going on to develop it as a six part TV series with the BBC.

Reviews:
https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/my-pure-land-edinburgh-review/5119386.article
http://msenscene.com/2018/02/27/pure-land-honours-pakistani-resistance-heritage/
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1596622/4-pure-land-high-point-feminism/
https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/65074/my-pure-land-one-of-the-finest-independent-films-of-pakistan-yet-forbidden-in-its-own-country/
https://www.ft.com/content/135e0e48-993d-11e7-a652-cde3f882dd7b

Social Media Handles: Twitter: @SamMasud37, https://en-gb.facebook.com/My-Pure-Land-441996296174816/

Shakespeare Wallah
Shakespeare Wallah
Shakespeare Wallah
Shakespeare Wallah
Shakespeare Wallah
Shakespeare Wallah
Tuesday May 8, 2018 @ 7 pm. Auditorium 5
Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.

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Shakespeare Wallah
1965 | India | 122 min | English
Directed by James Ivory
Producer - Ismail Merchant
Screenplay - Original Script by Ruth Pawar Jhabvala
Cast - Felicity Kendal, Madhur Jaffrey, Shashi Kapoor
Genres - Drama


Winner: Silver Bear Award for Best Actress (Madhur Jaffrey), 15th Berlin International Film Festival
 
Post-Screening discussion with director James Ivory and actress Madhur Jaffrey

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33CCBkosSBw

Synopsis: In 1960s post-colonial India, Tony Buckingham (Geoffrey Kendal) and his wife, Carla (Laura Liddell), are the British actor-managers of a troupe of English, Irish and Indian actors who travel the country mounting performances of Shakespeare’s works. The Buckinghams find themselves grappling with a diminishing demand for their craft as the English theatre on the subcontinent is supplanted by the emerging Bollywood film movement. Meanwhile, Lizzie Buckingham (Felicity Kendal), the couple's daughter, falls in love with Sanju (Shashi Kapoor), a wealthy young Indian playboy who is also romantically involved with the glamorous but vain Bollywood movie star Manjula (Madhur Jaffrey). The Buckinghams must weigh their devotion to their craft against their concern over their daughter's future in a country which, it seems, no longer has a place for them.

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey Dubbed the “Queen of Screen and Cuisine,” Indian-born Madhur Jaffrey is an actor, food and travel writer and television presenter. In 1955, Miss Jaffrey studied at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art alongside contemporaries Diana Rigg having won a scholarship there after an audition. After two years in London, she answered an invitation to teach pantomime at St. Michael’s Playhouse in Winooski, Vermont, and then ventured to New York City, where she performed in Off-Broadway productions and short films and toured the United States as a lecturer on poetry. Madhur’s acting breakthrough came in the Merchant Ivory film Shakespeare Wallah, for which she won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival in 1965 and critical notice at the New York and London Film Festivals. She went on to act in three more Merchant Ivory productions—The Guru (1969), Heat and Dust (1983) and Cotton Mary (1999)—and holds the distinction of having introduced James Ivory and Ismail Merchant to one another in 1959 when she lived in New York. Other films Madhur has appeared in include Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Wolf (1994), Flawless (1999), A Late Quartet (2012) and, most recently, Prime(2005), Today’s Special(2009), Hiding Divya(2010). Frequently recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the Americas with her debut cookbook, An Invitation to Indian Cooking (1973), Madhur has written more than a dozen cookbooks and appeared on several related television programs. In 2004, she was named an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her services to cultural relations between the United Kingdom and India.

James Ivory Director: James Ivory was born in Berkeley, California and educated at the University of Oregon, where he majored in Architecture and Fine Arts. His first film, which he wrote, photographed and produced, was Venice: Theme and Variations (1957), a half-hour documentary made as a thesis film for a degree in cinema from the University of Southern California. James Ivory received the 2018 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Call Me By Your Name.

In 1961, Ivory teamed up with Ismail Merchant to form Merchant Ivory Productions, with their films for the most part directed by Ivory and produced by Merchant. Ivory’s first theatrical feature for the newly formed company was The Householder (1963), based on an early novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Jhabvala also wrote the script, her first in what was to become an ongoing collaboration with Merchant Ivory. The Householder holds the distinction of being the first Indian film to be distributed worldwide by a major American Company, Columbia Pictures.

Reviews:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mini-shakespeare-wallah-review-20171214-story.html
http://variety.com/1964/film/reviews/shakespeare-wallah-1200420792/
http://www.indiewire.com/2017/10/shakespeare-wallah-restoration-merchant-ivory-poster-1201893023/
http://www.rediff.com/movies/special/a-shashi-kapoor-movie-you-must-see/20171115.html
https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/11/08/merchant-ivorys-comic-elegy-shakespeare-wallah-offers-an-inimitable-midsummer-in-india/

Ajji
Ajji
Ajji
Tuesday May 8, 2018 @ 9.00 pm. Auditorium 2
Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.

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Ajji (Granny)
New York Premiere
2017 | India | 104 mins | Hindi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Devashish Makhija
Cast - Sushma Deshpande, Sharvani Suryavanshi, Abhishek Banerjee, Smita Tambe, Sadiya Siddiqui, Vikas Kumar, Sudhir Pandey, Jishnu Bhattacharjee.

 
Post-screening discussion with producer Siddharth Anand Kumar
 
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw1qGt6aKlI

Synopsis: Little Manda is found raped and dumped in a trash heap in her slum. Her parents are more concerned with survival than dignity and want to forget and move on. The cops are powerless to help as the rapist is a local politician's son. But Manda's grandmother, Ajji, cannot accept the injustice of it all. Can a frail, arthritic and powerless old woman grapple with the big bad wolf? Is there still hope for justice in a cruel world? Can anything act as a deterrent to rape? Ajji is a parable of our times. There are no easy answers.

Devashish Makhija Director: Devashish Makhija is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, graphic artist, and poet - best known for writing and directing the feature film Oonga which had its world premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival in 2013. He has assiste Anurag Kashyap in Black Friday and written numerous screenplays, notably Avik Mukherjee's Bhoomi (2009), and has authored a series of 49 short stories as the anthology Forgetting published by Harper Collins and directed the multiple-award winning short films Taandav, Agli Baar, El'ayichi, Absent and Rahim Murge Pe Mat Ro.

Social Media Handles: https://twitter.com/YoodleeFilms, https://www.facebook.com/yoodleefilms, https://www.instagram.com/yoodleefilms/, http://www.saregama.com/yoodleefilms

Venus
Venus
Venus
Venus
Venus
Tuesday May 8, 2018 @ 9.15 pm. Auditorium 3
Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.

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Venus
2017 | Canada | 95 mins | English
Directed by - Eisha Marjara
Cast - Debargo Sanyal, Jamie Mayers, Pierre Yves Cardinal, Amber Goldfarb, Gordon Warnecke, Peter Miller, Zena Daruwalla, Mark Ofearghail.


Post-Screening discussion with director Eisha Marjara

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4keGKCASsrw

LOGLINE: Genders, generations and cultures collide in this comedy about the modern family unit. Venus is a beautifully and heartfelt story of a South Asian transgender woman, who sees her life flipped on its head when she meets a “white” teenaged son she didn’t know she had.

SYNOPSIS: SID is under pressure to marry a nice Indian girl and raise a family. Sid’s Indian mother yearns to have grandchildren. Her dreams are about to come true, but not in the way she could’ve ever imagined. When Sid comes out as a woman, a 14 year old boy named RALPH literally shows up at her door announcing that Sid is his parent.

Ralph is surprised to discover that his biological father is now a woman, but thinks having a transgender parent is pretty cool. But Ralph hasn’t told his mother and step dad that he’s tracked down Sid. And then there is Sid’s boyfriend DANIEL, who has yet to tell his family of his relationship with her. Daniel is nowhere near ready to accept Ralph as a step son and complicate his life further.

Sid’s coming out has a snowball effect that forces everyone out of the closet and become real. What happens when gender, generations and cultures collide to create a truly modern family?

Eisha MarjaraDirector: With a background in photography, Montreal-based Eisha Marjara first drew attention with the witty and satirical The Incredible Shrinking Woman. But it was her feature NFB docudrama Desperately Seeking Helen that established her as a groundbreaking filmmaker. The film received the Critic’s Choice Award at the Locarno Film Festival and the Jury Prize at the München Dokumentarfilm Festival. It has been described as “one of the most auspicious film debuts on the Canadian scene.” Her German-Canadian The Tourist (2006) was nominated as best short at the Female Eye Film Festival and her transgender drama House for Sale (2012) received multiple awards at various festivals. Her photo series and essay on the Air India tragedy of flight 182 Remember me Nought was featured in Descant magazine. Marjara has also authored her debut novel Faerie, (Arsenal Pulp Press) about a teenager struggling with anorexia. Faerie has received rave reviews in Canadian and American press. Marjara was recently selected for the 2017 TIFF Studio. She is developing her second feature Calorie with Compass Productions. Calorie was also selected for the 2016 Goa Film Bazaar co production market and for the Praxis Screenwriters Lab.

Festival Awards:
Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) EDA award for Best Female Directed Feature - Whistler Film Festival 2017
Audience Award for Best Feature - Reelout Queer Film + Video Festival 2018
Best Narrative Feature - Cinequest 2018

Social Media Handles: https://www.facebook.com/Venusfeaturefilm/
http://compassproductions.ca/en/portfolio/venus/

Reviews:
http://montrealrampage.com/venus-deftly-humorous-humanely-affecting/
https://www.straight.com/movies/1001601/whistler-film-festival-2017-venus
http://queerguru.com/2018/04/venus
https://www.ebosscanada.com/wff17-interview-with-eisha-marjara-director-of-venus/
http://desibuzzbc.com/2017/12/06/eisha-marjara-wins-awfj-eda-best-female-directed-narrative-feature-for-venus-as-whistler-film-festival-announced-its-2017-winners/

Co-presented by New Fest

Perspective
Perspective
Perspective
Perspective
Perspective
Tuesday May 8, 2018 @ 9.30 pm. Auditorium 4
Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.

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Shorts B - Dramatic Stories 1

Perspective
2017 | India | 8 mins | Marathi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Adinath Kothare
Cast - Dinesh Koyande, Prashant Choudappa, Sohan Nandurdikar, Swanandi Tikekar, Amar Khamkar, Arun Hornekar, Umesh Bagade, Arjun Sorte.


Synopsis: The consequences of what happens when a Hindu Idol Deity Procession and a Muslim Death Procession cross paths on a busy junction of a City in India... is a matter of 'Perspective'.

Adinath Kothare Director: Adinath Kothare is an actor and a producer in the Indian Film Industry. He has acted in over 15 Feature Films and has produced 2 Feature Films and 4 Television Shows.

He has always sought to tackle challenging subjects for films or television as an actor or a producer. The Short Film Perspective is Adinath's Directorial debut. In the currently ongoing national scenario of religious intolerance, Adinath witnessed an incidence on the busy streets of his hometown, 'Mumbai', which he felt was the need of the hour to be expressed in the form of a Short Film. This Film is a genuine effort by Adinath to reach out to the people influenced by the politically propagated religious intolerance in India and to give them a Perspective.

Social Media Handles: https://m.facebook.com/addinathmkothare/?ref=bookmarks, https://mobile.twitter.com/adinathkothare, https://www.instagram.com/adinathkothare/?hl=en
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Mandi (The Market)
Mandi (The Market)
Mandi (The Market)
2017 | India | 11 mins | Marathi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Yashowardhan Mishra
Cast - Kailash Waghmare, Shrikant Yadav, Kunj Gutka, Mayank Khurana.


Synopsis: Danaji, a farmer from the state of Maharashtra in rural India, is accompanied by his eight-year old son Ganya to the city to sell his onions at the Mandi (market). While the child is enamoured by the sights and sounds of the place, the farmer has to fight a Kafkaesque battle to find the right price for his produce.

Yashowardhan Mishra Director: Yashowardhan Mishra is an independent filmmaker working in Mumbai. A filmmaking graduate from Xavier’s Institute of Communication. His short films ‘Mahanagari’ and ‘Toot-ta Judta Aadmi’ have been screened as a part of the official competition at the MAMI Mumbai film festival in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Awards: Mumbai International Film Festival 2018, Mumbai Film Festival 2017.
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Humming Bird
Humming Bird
Humming Bird
2018 | India | 14 mins | Hindi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Ajitpal Singh
Cast - Vinamrta Rai, Yogi Singha


Synopsis: Humming Bird Shot in Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Humming Bird is about a rural couple who is living a life of quiet desperation in a Himalayan village, when the man takes a decision which will tip them both over the edge.

Ajitpal SinghDirector: Ajitpal Singh was 8 years when his father ran a cinema hall. After studying chemistry, learning theatre and photography, he chose filmmaking. He was selected for Sundance's India Screenwriter's lab 2012. He also was the youngest member of Indian delegation at Munich Film Festival 2009, selected by Goethe Institute. He was also selected for 2007 Berlinale Talent Campu's New Delhi edition. Ajitpal Singh has worked as an associate director for Gurgaon, dialogue writer for Once Again. He has also worked as researcher for 16 German documentary films in India.
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Majaal Hai
Majaal Hai
Majaal Hai
Majaal Hai
Majaal Hai
Majaal Hai
2017 | India | 16 mins | Hindi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Umang Vyas
Cast - Dayashankar Pandey, Rahul Handa, Shreya Gupta.


Synopsis: The night begins just as every other for Pandey, the earnest security guard of a colony of bungalows. He waits for his regular tea vendor Birju to re-energise him with his daily cup of tea. Birju arrives late that night to Pandey’s annoyance. Across the road, Faisal & Aslam hiding as Faisal convinces Aslam to commit a robbery. Aslam breaks inside the bungalow, as he begins to steal things from different rooms and encounters the old lady who is fast asleep, he hears a sound. A drunk man has walked into the house. Aslam hides as the drunk man who is the old lady’s grandson Rahul takes up from where Aslam left rummaging through things. The old lady wakes and tries to stop him but their argument becomes serious as Rahul tries to kill her. Aslam’s conscience strikes as he pushes Rahul away but is unable to save the lady. A shocked Rahul screams out as Aslam makes a run for it. Outside he is blocked by Pandey and Aslam is shot down by Pandey. As Aslam’s body lies lifeless we also see the old lady’s lifeless body but out of nowhere, she wakes up with a cough.

Umang Vyas Director: Umang Vyas is known for his work on movies like Mohenjo Daro (2016), Joker (2012) and Hasmukh Pighal Gaya.




Sakshi Shail Producer: Sakshi Shail
is an Indian producer and filmmaker based in Mumbai. Her Production Company Proof Mountain Media Private Limited specializes in films for global audiences on Indian society, Social Awareness whether in economic, social or cultural spheres. Her Production Company Proof Mountain Media is producing premium engaging Content for campaign, web-series, short-films, documentary, feature films, post-production and animation.

Social Media Handles: https://www.facebook.com/Majaal-Hai-128731731085609/, https://www.facebook.com/Proofmountainmedia/, http://www.proofmountain.com
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ReFraction
ReFraction
ReFraction
ReFraction
ReFraction
ReFraction
ReFraction
ReFraction
ReFraction
2017 | Australia | 18 mins | English
Directed by - Mirko Grillini
Cast - Kaushik Das, Heath Bergersen, Kaleenah Edwards, Nilanjana X, Paul Seipel.


Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIYpWCNoRK8

Synopsis: ReFraction follows Jay Cooper, a successful lawyer, raised by foster parents from the young age of eleven. As a child, the authorities separated him from his indigenous mother, after she killed his brother in a freak accident. Jay returns to his native homeland to bury his estranged mother whom he had not seen for the last thirty years, when an unexpected turn of events finds him hostage to a mad knife-wielding stranger. The unlikely duo embark on a dangerous journey of redemption that could lead them both to their eventual demise.

Director's Statement: As an immigrant from Italy to the wonderful country of Australia, I have lived through all of the many challenges of integrating into a new lifestyle, new culture and new language. This transitional period was only marginal compared to the ordeal that countless souls face when looking for a new and more peaceful life in other lands. When I was asked to direct ReFraction, I felt I had much to contribute, not only because of my personal experiences but because of my interest in the world’s current socio-economic shift.

This ideal of a global community we continue to strive to achieve, is still far from being realized as human beings are still overly attached to superficial differences such as skin color, language, theories and religions, etc. Until the time comes when we will all be able to look at someone in the eyes and value them as human beings just like ourselves, until we have the courage to show love and respect and embrace all our differences, the world will never come together. ReFraction shows the power of what can be achieved when 2 strangers leave aside their different perceptions of the world and work together to aid those who are in desperate need of our help.

This is a story that captured my heart from day one and I absolutely loved the whole process and the powerful collaboration with co-producer and co-lead actor Kaushik Das, our very talented Production Designer Amanda and the rest of the amazing cast and crew. I will never forget my time working on this project and I hope it will have people thinking about what good can be done within our own ever expanding sphere of influence. Our past does not determine our future.

Mirko Grillini Director: Mirko Grillini is an Italian/Australian actor and director with almost 20 years experience in the film industry. Mirko has had a prolific career in front of the camera featuring in countless television shows and films. Some of his credits include The Leftovers, The Chronicles of Narnia, Neighbours, Home & Away, Wanted and Underbelly.

Mirko soon discovered his love of film extended to behind the camera as well and so began his passion for directing. ReFraction marks his first solo directorial venture.

As an immigrant himself, Mirko understands fully the struggle of having to start life all over again in a new country and has grown a strong connection to this incredibly heartwarming story.

Reviews: Goldfields actor stars in indie film festival favourite, Film honouring Quanadamooka wins seven awards, REFRACTION MAKING WAVES, "ReFraction has social impact" Interview with Mirko Grillini on SBS Italian Radio, "ReFraction" Interview with Mirko Grillini on SBS Italian Radio, REFRACTION : CHANGING THE DIRECTION OF AUSTRALIAN CINEMA.

Awards: Dhaka International Film Festival 2018, All Lights India International Film Festival 2017, Australian Screen Industry Network Awards 2017, Delhi International Film Festival 2017, Actors Awards in L.A. 2017, The IndieFest Film Awards in USA 2017,Top Shorts Film Festival in USA 2017.

Social Media Handles: http://www.facebook.com/refractionthemovie, http://www.twitter.com/refractionmovie, http://www.instagram.com/refractionthemovie, http://www.vimeo.com/refractionthemovie, http://www.refractionthemovie.com
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Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later
Fifteen Years Later
2017 | USA | 18 mins | English
Directed by - Manish Dayal
Cast - Manish Dayal, Tracy Mulholland, Matt McGorry and Rachel Brosnahan.


Synopsis: FIFTEEN YEARS LATER works to deepen discussion and education on the issues of race and police brutality in our current political climate. Starring Manish Dayal (The Hundred-Foot Journey, Halt And Catch Fire, Viceroy’s House), Matt McGorry (How To Get Away With Murder, Orange Is The New Black), Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, House Of Cards, Manhattan, Beautiful Creatures), and Tracy Mulholland (Crazy, Stupid, Love., Grace Note). Music from the Swet Shop Boys.

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER Sam and Jason, two young men who have absorbed the psychological effects of post-9/11 America in ways they may not fully understand, find their buried issues and resentments bubbling to the surface when their lives intersect during a police traffic stop. Starring Manish Dayal (THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY, VICEROY’S HOUSE), Matt McGorry (TV’s How To Get Away With Murder, Orange Is The New Black), Tracy Mulholland (CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE, GRACE NOTE), and Rachel Brosnahan (TV’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, House Of Cards).


Manish Dayal Director: Manish Dayal starred as Hassan Kadam in THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY opposite Helen Mirren for DreamWorks Studios. The film is based on the best-selling Richard Morais novel of the same name, directed by Lasse Hallstram and produced by Stephen Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. He most recently played Vijay Nadeer in Marvel’s AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D on ABC, and Ryan Ray in the 3rd season of the AMC series HALT AND CATCH FIRE.

Now Playing, Manish currently stars in the feature film, VICEROY’S HOUSE, for IFC Films, Path and BBC Films alongside Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson. Manish has also optioned the book STRINGER: A Reporter’s Year in the Congo adapted by Matthew Billingsly. He is set to produce and star. Manish makes his directorial debut with the short film, FIFTEEN YEARS LATER. Currently, he stars as Dr. Devon Pravesh in the new FOX drama series, THE RESIDENT.

Social media Handle: 
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/fifteenyearslater
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/fifteenyearslaterMOVIE
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Al-war
Al-war
Al-war
Al-war
Al-war
2017 | India | 19 mins | Hindi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Jaideep Yadav
Cast - Arun Kumar, Ravinder Kumar.

Synopsis: In a small town in northern India, a man named Ikhlaq is going to open his dairy shop to fulfill his dream. He has worked hard and saved money from years for this, and finally the day has come when he has to buy some livestock and just live his life with his wife and daughter happily. But what awaits for him is against the language of humanity.

Jaideep Yadav Director: Jaideep Yadav is born in Uttar Pradesh, and grew up with his parents between Amethi and Chandigarh, where his father is still working as a Government employee. He completed his post graduation in English literature; only to come to the conclusion that filmmaking was his real calling. Jaideep’s fondness for reading and writing led him to Mumbai with sole dream of becoming a filmmaker. Jaideep is working as an assistant director since last 5 Years. He has assisted various filmmakers including Oscar nominated Norwegian director Iram Haq.

Currently he is assisting one of the most renowned director of Hindi film industry Mr. Raj Kumar Gupta. Al-war is his directorial debut.
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Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
Moongfali Wala (The Peanut Seller)
2017 | Germany & India | 19 mins | Hindi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Etienne Sievers
Cast - Shoaib Lokhandwala, Faisal Mohammed, Amit Vashisht, Moon Moon Singh, Shubham Srivastan.


Synopsis: Orphaned young ragpicker SHAKEEL, survives in the busy streets of New Delhi by selling scrap newspapers. When a chance encounter leads him to briefly recognize MOHAN, a man from the train on which he once lost his mother, Shakeel engages the services of a local detective to determine Mohan’s whereabouts. But Shakeel’s limited financial resources and his isolated position in society reduce his chances of success. Growing increasingly frustrated, Shakeel’s rowdy behavior and subjugating attitude towards women take a toll on his friendship with the cheerful maid NEELA. When Shakeel eventually manages to locate, confront and question Mohan, the ensuing confrontation with his past ultimately shatters his world view and leads him to make amends with the girl he likes.

Director's Statement: With approximately 20 million children or about 4% of the country’s population, India is home to more orphans than any other country in the world. Only a fraction of these cases relate to the death of a parent – the majority of children have fallen victim to accidental or deliberate abandonment. I came into close contact with the faces behind these statistics when shooting my short film “Dilli Dreams” in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in 2011. While casting actors for my film at Mira Nair’s orphanage programme, the Salaam Baalak Trust, I got to know many of the individual fates of the children there. I began to sense a need and responsibility to tell their stories but I wanted to do so without sentimentalizing the issue. Roughly during the same time a string of assaults on women in India garnered worldwide media attention.

The Peanut Seller addresses both these topics and explores what effects the hard life of an orphan can have on his “socio-political” compass and his conduct in life. At the heart of The Peanut Seller, therefore, lies not only the search of a boy for his mother but also his journey of finding his true vocation, casting off the shackles of his past and re-calibrating his attitude towards the female gender.

Etienne Sievers Director: Etienne Sievers was born in Berlin but grew up predominantly in India. After deliberations about becoming a jazz drummer, he studied filmmaking in Germany and England with a DAAD scholarship. Etienne’s short film “Dilli Dreams” (2012) was award nominated at numerous international festivals and favorably reviewed by the press. It was broadcast on TV, VOD and was released in theatres across France. Etienne’s recent feature film screenplay “Tin Can Buffaloes” advanced to the top five percent of the 2015 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition and is currently in pre-production.

Social Media Handles: https://twitter.com/etiennesievers, http://www.etiennesievers.com.
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Mehram
Mehram
Mehram
Mehram
 
Mehram
2017 | India | 33 mins | Hindi (with English subtitles)
Directed by - Zain Anwar
Cast - Farida Jalal, Rajit Kapoor, Akash Arora, Sushma Seth.


Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB6clBTU95E

Synopsis: Under the Saudi Arabian laws, women without a ‘Mehram’ (a male blood relative) are forbidden to perform the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. This film is the extraordinary story of Aamna (played by Farida Jalal) who decides to struggle against the patriarchal system to claim her right to perform the Hajj. Will she be able to succeed in her struggle? Packed with powerful performances by veteran actors like Rajit Kapoor and Sushma Seth, the film is a portrayal of Aamna’s journey.

Zain Anwar Director: An alumnus of AJK MCRC, Zain extensively worked in various capabilities with organizations like NDTV, The Hindu, Dainik Bhaskar, Times Internet and RED FM before starting his own independent venture. His experience as a theater artist is more than 8 years and he has done various shows all over India, including the prestigious Kala Ghoda International Festival. Zain has also worked with street artists in close association with organizations like Navjyoti Foundation, Save The Children and Hope Worldwide Foundation. Deeply inspired by the works of Allama Iqbal, Rabindranath Tagore, Amir Khusrow, Bertolt Brecht and Vishal Bhardwaj, he wants to tell stories deeply woven in the socio-political milieu of changing India through a cinematic appeal that resonates across all sections of the society.

Reviews: http://www.indulgexpress.com/entertainment/cinema/2017/dec/08/short-film-mehram-explores-gender-bias-in-religion-5222.html,https://www.pressreader.com/india/ht-city/20171209/282248075900315 http://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-edition/sunday-pioneer/backpack/im-used-to-being-call ed-byomkesh-bakshi.htm https://www.socialnews.xyz/2017/12/21/faridas-mehram-to-be-screened-in-us-egypt/, https://dailyworld.in/faridas-mehram-to-be-screened-in-us-egypt/, https://www.canindia.com/faridas-mehram-to-be-screened-in-us-egypt/

Social Media Handles: https://www.facebook.com/MehramTheFilm/?ref=br_rs, https://twitter.com/MehramTheFilm, http://www.sgdreammedia.com, https://www.facebook.com/shweta.bhuchar, https://www.facebook.com/Grv42, https://m.facebook.com/addinathmkothare/?ref=bookmarks, https://mobile.twitter.com/adinathkothare, https://www.instagram.com/adinathkothare/?hl=en
   
 

New York Indian Film Festival
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