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Eleventh Annual New York Film Festival (NYIFF 2011) – Tickets on sale today! Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 6.00 pm, Paris Theater Opening Night Gala Reception: red carpet screening, post-screening discussion w/Director & cast, and Gala Benefit dinner   Opening Night Gala Screening: screening and post-screening discussion w/Director & cast. Do Dooni Chaar Directed by Habib Faisal India, 2010, 120 Minutes , Hindi (with English subtitles), US Premiere Cast -Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Archit Krishna, Aditi Vasudev Life is tough for Mr. Duggal who works at school as a Math teacher, lives in a government allocated two room apartment in Delhi and is coping with double digit inflation rates and single digit increments in his salary. Add to that, a teenage daughter with high living ambitions, a fast-track son and a wife who loves the good life. The life in the Duggals household passes by in care of the basics and surviving from month to month. Until one day, they decide to dream to own a car and move up in life from a two –wheeler to a four-wheeler. A dream that’s not easy by any stretch of imagination for the single income family. Mr. Duggal however, has made up his mind - and his male ego will not let him change his promise to his family. What follows is a comic journey of chaos, realizations, calculations, confrontations and bonding. Join the journey that will drive them, and you, pretty much nuts. Habib Faisal is a successful Indian director and screenwriter. He has co-written Siddharth Anand's ‘Salaam Namaste.’ He has also written director Shaad Ali's ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’ starring Abhishek Bachchan and Preity Zinta, and Siddharth Anand's ‘Ta Ra Rum Pum’ starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee. He also wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the acclaimed December 2010 film ‘Band Baaja Baaraat.’ He has directed several television serials for ZeeTv and worked with New Delhi Television as a camera person. Habib was brought up in Delhi, and is an alumnus of the Kirori Mal College and MCRC Jamia Millia. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Shahla and daughter Sheena.           Thurday, May 5, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 3.00 pm, Shorts From Whistling Woods International Film School, Incerto Writer Director - Rahul Prakash India 2010, 18mins, English Cast – Akshay Mittal Diego, a 23 year old lad living in the old colonial suburb of Bandra has found a new vocation. He has placed cameras all over the city, in an attempt to capture fatal accidents which he then uploads onto the internet. Incerto chronicles Diego's hunt for that one great video, his 'Masterpiece' as he attempts to decode the very fibers of probability, uncertainty and chance while doing so.        Flip Director - Sonika Mody India 2010, 10mins, English Cast - Salman Khan, Sara Bade, Sunny Tiku, Kaushik Sharma, Devendra Gandhi At 26 years, Aanya has been through a lot in life. A bad childhood, mediocre student life, failed relationships, a poor job, you name it. She has been through thick & thin without complaints until one day she snaps. She is in a cab when she sees flashes of her life & is utterly disappointed with how things have gone so far. She gets off the cab & meets with a freak accident. And then her entire life and all that it has stood for does a complete about turn. It’s FLIP – time!       Punha Director/Writer: Rohit Tiwari India 2010, 13min 13sec., Hindi (with English Subtitles) Cast – Lead: Arhan Wilson Gaurav is a nine year old, small town kid who lives in a joint family. He has this wish to celebrate the birthday of puppies in his neighborhood. But he and his neighborhood friends don’t have money. Gaurav takes the responsibility to arrange money. When he fails in every attempt to obtain money, he decides to cross the moral barriers and takes a step, which leads him into a big problem. The story tries to explore the social conditions of a patriarchal society through a small incidence.        Daily Soap Director / Writer: Monalisa Banerji India 2010, 22mins, Hindi (with Subtitles in English) Cast - Lead: Karan Sharma Struggling scriptwriter Rajat tells his friend Kamal three stories – about truth - from his childhood. One is of his mother disrobing; the other, of his father’s flirtations with the maid and the third, about his girlfriend’s complex about her ass. In all the three cases, he had told the truth – he liked his mother’s nudity, he loved his father’s looseness, and he admired the maid’s ass more than his girlfriend’s. All he got in return were slaps. Kamal laughs at his tales and leaves. Rajat makes an unusual discovery – he sees people in real life who resemble his fictional characters!        Kalapaani Director & Writer: Preeti Aneja India 2010, 20min 24sec., Haryanvi / Hindi (with English subtitles) Cast - Anil Mange, Princee Sudhakar In a small northern Indian village in Haryana, a woman must stand up against a barbaric patriarchal tradition where transgressors are humiliated by being doused with ‘Kala Pane’ or black water as a mark of public shaming.     Uss Paar Arati Kadav India, 13Minutes, Hindi (with English subtitles) Crew - Jackie Shroff, Ovi Dixit Its Ganesh Festival time and Mukta wants her sculptor father to make another Ganesh idol for her. She has picked river side mud and she wants to fulfill her part of the custom by providing the sacred mud to her father. However the father has migrated to Mumbai as a taxi driver. She meets an old railway TT (Kishen) who embarks on train journey to Mumbai every day. Kishen has his own demons and has stopped believing in happy endings. Between hope and despair, where would the balance tilt? What is the significance of that mud for Mukta, for her father and for Kishen? This the girl doesn't know. All she can do is hope and wait for her father - who lives on the other end of the tracks.           Thursday, May 5, 2011,Tribeca Theater 1, 6.00 pm Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony) Directed by Arjun Gourisaria & Monaik Biswas India, 2009, 105 Minutes, Bengali (with English Subtitles), US Premier Cast- Anirban Dutta, Suman Mukhopadhyay Situated on the southern fringes of Calcutta, the bustling, sunny Deshbandhu colony, a settlement of refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), has a lot going on. In the evening market, two thieves swoop on Ananya's long plait and chop it away. Atin, the dreamy poet and Ananya’s secret admirer, is worried as he does not find her the next day. He seems oblivious of the fact that his home is facing demolition. The two poachers of Ananya's plait want to sell it to raise money for a computer course. They are desperate to pursue higher education – by any means. Five boys on a roadside perch make desultory observations on the goings on. Two old men, original immigrants, sit at the local grocery philosophizing on commodities, life and desire. As Atin, along with his only friend Dipankar, sets out in search of Ananya, the story travels from the colony of the day to the neon districts of the night, and then to the ghostly New Town under construction, tracing out the map of a city through realism and delirium. Somewhere along the path, Dipankar tells Atin about Ananya's family buying an apartment in the new building that is about to raze their colony tenements to the ground. Arjun Gourisaria studied Economics at Jadavpur University and went to the Film and Television Institute in Pune to receive training in film editing. He has been working as a director, producer and editor since then, mostly through his agency, the Black Magic Motion Pictures, a leading firm in advertisement film production. Arjun has made a number of independent documentaries and won national awards (Patalghar and Tanvir ka Safarnama) for his productions and editing. ‘Sthaniya Sambaad’ is the first feature film he has directed, produced and edited. Monaik Biswas studied English at Jadavpur University and did his PhD in Melbourne. He teaches Film Studies at Jadavpur and writes on Indian film and culture. One of his recent books is Apu and After, Revisiting Ray’s Cinema (2006). Moinak co-edits Bio-Scope, Screen South Asia and the Journal of the Moving Image. He is also the initiator of the Media Lab at Jadavpur, a centre for experiments with digital art and knowledge. Moinak shot, edited and directed a Super 8 mm, 25 min. film called ‘Graffiti’ in 1983. ‘Sthaniya Sambaad’ is the first feature he wrote and directed. With: Somewhere Directed by Vishesh Pires USA, 2010, English, US Premiere   A 13 year old boy wakes up in a dark room only to find out he is kidnapped and being transported in a shipping container for terrorism purpose         Thursday, May 5, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 6.30 pm, 10ml love Directed by Sharat Katariya India, 2010, 89 Minutes, Hindi & English, World Premiere Cast- Rajat Kapoor, Tisca Chopra, Purab Kohli, Tara Sharma, Koel Purie, Neel Bhoopalam, Manu Rishi One wedding, three couples, a whole lot of love, lust and desire make for a heady mix, but add to that a dash of magic potion and an enthralling rendition of the Ramlila and you have a revelation on your hands! Mini loves Neel who loves Shweta who loves Peter. Enter the quintessential druid-Ghalib with a concoction that promises to solve all their problems. But what happens when Ghalib’s secret potion falls in to the wrong hands… Set against the backdrop of your everyday world, ‘10ml love’ - a contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream,’ is a light hearted romantic comedy concerning the tribulations of a love quadrangle during a night of madness. Their various emotional, intellectual and sexual entanglements are brought to the surface by Ghalib's misguided meddling! ’10ml love’ attempts to put forth some honest and sincere expressions of love, dreams, and the stuff of both. Sharat Katariya is an Indian film director and screenwriter. Katariya started out as an assistant director to Rajat Kapoor during the making of ‘Raghu Romeo’. Sharat also worked in the capacity of a lyricist on the film. He went on to write dialogues for one of the biggest box office hits of 2007, ‘Bheja Fry’. He has also penned the dialogues for director Rituparno Ghosh's ‘Sunglass’. Sharat Katariya worked as the first assistant on ‘Rok Sako To Rok Lo’ and as an assistant and writer for Raghu Romeo. Sharat’s film ‘That’s What My Dad Used to Say’ was shown at the Ethnofilm and Berlin Film festivals. He holds an MA in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia University. With: Words Directed by: Anup Bhandari USA, 2010, 14 minutes, New York Premiere A woman and a deaf man meet at the iconic Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, New York City.         Thursday, May 5, 2011,Tribeca Theater 1, 9.00 pm, Bhopali (Documentary) Directed by Max Carlson USA, 2011, 89 minutes, English, New York Premiere Cast- Noam Chomsky, Satinath Sarangi, Sanjay Verma, Rajan Sharma, Hazra Bee In 1984 a Union Carbide factory gas leak contaminated and killed thousands in Bhopal, India. Their suffering continues today: a father battles to save his dying daughter; a school rehabilitates children with birth abnormalities; a 25-year-old whose 9 family members perished, copes with pain and death. Fueled by their suffering, the community fights against the American corporation responsible for the continued tragedy. BHOPALI is a feature documentary about the survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster. Today, the suffering continues, prompting victims to fight for justice against Union Carbide, the American corporation responsible. Van Maximilian Carlson, born November 1984, is a Los Angeles-based director, editor, and cinematographer who has worked on numerous projects including documentaries, commercials, trailers, and several original dramatic films. His directorial works have received numerous awards, such as a “Special Jury Award” at the 40th Annual USA Film Festival, the “Most Promising Director Award” at the Bu?alo Niagara Film Festival, and the “Best Director Award” at the Toronto International Teen Movie Festival for a short film he completed while in high school. He directed and shot ‘Dissociative’ (2008), which went on to win a “Best thriller Award.” His film, ‘Ninth November Night’ (2004), was considered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Documentary Screening Committee to be “one of the outstanding documentaries of 2004.” His editorial work has also been recognized and awarded three Promax/ BDA awards and one Key Art nomination. With: 136 Directed by Ajay Naidu USA, 2004, 6 minutes, English, New York Premiere A music video set to the music of the Midival Punditz.         Thursday, May 5, 2011,Tribeca Theater 2, 9.30 pm, Raakh Redux Directed by Aditya Bhattacharya, India, 2011, 114 Minutes, Hindi (with English subtitles), New York Premiere Cast- Aamir Khan, Supriya Pathak, Pankaj Kapur, Jagdeep, Master Ahmed Khan, Naina Balsaver One night in an unnamed Indian city, young Aamir Hussein is forced to watch in impotent frustration as his girlfriend Neeta is brutally gang-raped in an assault led by the scion of the Karmali mafia family. Aamir’s inability to do anything about the crime sees him leave home and sink into the city’s underbelly where he encounters the flotsam and jetsam of the decaying metropolis, chief amongst who is taciturn ex-cop P.K., who, having his own axe to grind against the Karmali clan, helps the boy Aamir become a man and exact revenge. Writer/Director Aditya Bhattacharya’s dystopian vision of modern India made Raakh an instant cult classic when released in 1989 and immediately became a benchmark film for gangster noir from which celebrated directors like Sudhir Mishra, Ram Gopal Varma and Vinod Chopra drew inspiration. The film was one of Bollywood multi-hyphenate Aamir Khan’s first starring roles and won for him a Filmfare award Best Actor nomination and a jury mention at the Indian National Awards. Pankaj Kapur won the National Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film also marked the debut of Sreekar Prasad, who won the National Award for Best Editing and ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan. The New York Indian Film Festival will be the first to see Raakh in a spanking digital copy, specially re-mastered at Reliance Media Works and struck to coincide with this 22th anniversary. This version of Raakh was re-edited by filmmaker Chandan Arora, editor Ram Gopal Varma's Company. Aditya Bhattacharya is an independent writer/director/producer based in Mumbai and Rome. Bhattacharya’s award winning films have played internationally including at: The Rotterdam Film Festival, SXSW, The Cairo Int’l Film Festival, Seattle and Goa Film Festivals. He has been an actor, renowned chef of Indian cuisine in Rome, Italy and a prolific photojournalist. His directorial debut 'Raakh' was Indian superstar, Aamir Khan's first starring role and the first Hindi feature for acclaimed cinematographer Santosh Sivan and for India’s leading editor, Sreekar Prasad. 'Senso Unico,' his sophomore feature is the only Italian film ever made by an Indian. Following that Aditya made 'Dubai Return', starring Irrfan Khan, which is presently awaiting release. Aditya has recently joined the newly formed Los Angeles and Mumbai based,Tulsea Pictures as its Chief Creative Officer. TULSEA Pictures is a global independent studio blending practices of the East and West. Aditya is a founding member of the Indian Independent Filmakers.. He has served on the Entertainment Committee of the 115 year old, Confederation of Indian Industries and twice on the script committee of the National Film Development Corporation. Recently called “one of Bollywood’s brightest directorial stars” by Screen International Magazine, Aditya is currently in development and pre-production on a slate of films including 'The Singh Enterprise,' a NY based feature about a Sikh gang-lord in Brooklyn to be written by William Finkerstein ( 'Bad Lieutenant- Port of Call New Orleans,) with producer Leslie Holleran ('Chocolat,' 'Cider House Rules'); the Bombay-based, BMW (Bombay’s Most Wanted) with Irrfan Khan & lensed by Lisa Rinzler ('Menace II Society,' 'Pollock'); and 'Rewinder,' a pop-reincarnation story starring and featuring music by Indian American pop sensation, Sid Khosla. Aditya is the grandson of Bimal Roy, one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, and the son of Basu Bhattacharya, a noted independent filmmaker.         Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 3.00 pm, Made In India- (Documentary) Directed by Rebecca Haimowitz & Vaishali Sinha USA/India, 2010, 97 Minutes, English and Hindi, New York Premiere ‘Made in India’ shows the physical, moral, and emotional risks that middle-class Westerners and poor Indian women take when they sign a surrogacy contract. Lisa and Brian Switzer of San Antonio are an infertile American couple who have exhausted all other expensive and painful options of getting pregnant. Still, Lisa is determined not to give up on her dream of having children. After considerable soul-searching, the Switzers contact a California-based reproductive outsourcing business. Meanwhile in Mumbai we meet Aalia, the cheerful young mother of three who is contracted to carry the Switzers’ baby for a price. The film’s two directors, American Rebecca Haimowitz and Indian Vaishali Sinha, go beyond sensationalist headlines to explore global issues of reproductive rights and social justice. Weaving together the Switzers’ and Aalia’s stories with interviews involving fertility experts and hospital administrators, they depict decisions made by families in crisis who look toward reproductive technology as a panacea. As might be expected when such divergent cultures converge, there are unforeseen complications. Rebecca Haimowitz received her Master's degree in Filmmaking from Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts, where she also worked as a screenwriting instructor. Vaishali Sinha worked for non-profit organizations in India that promote women’s voices and studied film at the New School University in New York. Originally from Mumbai, she now lives in Brooklyn.         Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 3.30 pm, T. D. Dasan Std. VI B Directed by Mohan Raghavan India, 2010, 98 Minutes, Malayalam (with English subtitles) US Premiere Cast- Biju Menon, Jagadish, Swetha Menon, Jagathy Sreekumar, Suresh Krishna T D Dasan (Master Alexander) is a young boy who lives with his mother. His father had left them a few years back. Dasan gets his dad's address from his mother's old trunk box and writes him a letter. Dasan's father had moved out of that address and the letter reaches the current resident Nandakumar Poduval (Biju Menon), an ad film maker who lives with his thirteen year old daughter Ammu (Tina Rose) in Bangalore. Nandan requests Ammu's caretaker Madhavan (Jagadish) to find out the whereabouts of the person and deliver the letter to him. But Madhavan is not that enthusiastic and the letter ends up in the waste bin. Ammu sees this and feels bad about it. She starts writing replies to Dasan, as if they were written to him by his dad. The young boy is excited at the thought of having found his dad, and shares all his feelings and needs with his dad. Ammu prompty replies with pens and other gifts Dasan asked his father. Mohan Raghavan is a Malayalam film director. He studied at the School of Drama, Thrissur, and in Theatre Arts at Madurai Kamaraj University. Mohan made his mark in the local television industry as an award-winning script writer for serials. Hailing from Thrissur district, the cultural capital of Kerala, Mohan Raghavan is one among those in the domain of visual arts, for whom quality matters than anything else. Ever since his post-graduate studies, Mohan was drawn to the world of cinema. He soon realized it as a medium that suited well for his creative pursuits. With: Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story Directed by Rehana Mirza USA, 2009, 7 minutes, World Premiere In New Jersey, a Hindu bride about to wed her Muslim groom seems to get a case of cold feet. Will the wedding become just another case of religious conflict?         Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 6.00 pm, Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 6.30 pm, Iti Mrinalini Directed by Aparna Sen India, 2010, 125 Minutes , Bengali (with English subtitles), New York Premiere Cast - Konkona Sen Sharma, Aparna Sen, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Rajat Kapoor, Koushik Sen Mrinalini, an ageing actress, writes a suicide note. As a performer, the first lesson she had learnt was timing – the perfect moment for making an entrance or an exit from stage. On the stage of life, her entrance had been outside her control; but at least she wants to choose the moment of her exit. However, before taking the pills, she decides to destroy all her memorabilia – letters, photographs, newspaper cuttings, knick-knacks pertaining to the past – lest they fall into the hands of the press. She has been a victim of media attention all her life and wishes to be spared that at her death. As she looks through the old box that contains relics from her past, memories flood the night. Incidents that she had forgotten or had relinquished to the furthest corners of her mind now return to haunt her and, through these memories, an entire life is revealed – a life of loves lost and gained, friendships and betrayals, successes and failures, accidents and awards, agonies and ecstasies. Aparna Sen is a renowned name in Bengali as well as Indian cinema. She has excelled both as an actor in film and theatre and as a director of parallel cinema. Aparna was born in 1945 in Kolkata. Her father is film critic and film maker Chidananda Dasgupta. Her first film appearance was at the age of 16 in Satyajit Ray's ‘Teen Kanya.’ Since then, Aparna has acted in many films playing lead roles. In 1981, Aparna made her debut as a film director with '36 Chowringhee Lane' which won numerous national and international awards. Since then, Aparna has directed series of films on a wide variety of subjects, including ‘Mr. and Mrs Iyer,’ ‘The Japanese Wife,’ ’15 Park Avenue’ and ‘Paroma.’         Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 9.00 pm, You Don’t Belong (Documentary) Directed by Spandan Banerjee India, 2011, 75 minutes, Bengali (with English subtitles), US Premiere Cast- Arun Chakraborty Paban Das is a baul singer living in France singing songs of wandering minstrels. Arun Chakraborty is a poet living a quietly content life in a hamlet of West Bengal. Bhoomi is a band from Kolkata, popular for their renditions of folk tunes. Prabuddha Banerjee is a musician with a history of protest music. Paraspathor is an erstwhile band left with memories of their popular songs and lost fame. Disparate characters who are bound together by a filmmaker’s search for the elusive author of a song, popular in collective memory as a traditional folk song. What follows is a long self-reflexive journey into the world of folk, a journey, which nudges established ideas of home, nostalgia, belonging, and authorship as the film explores deeper into the song that serves for a metaphor of the contemporary fragmented times. Travelling across remembered lands and forgotten histories following the unseen path of migration that music takes, You Don’t Belong asks some important questions about the encounter between art and mass production, creation and ownership in a country rich with myriad folk and oral traditions. Spandan Banerjee is an independent filmmaker based in Delhi, India. Under his alternative outfit Overdose Films he directs documentaries, narrative films as well as directs and produces commissioned film projects. His earlier films ‘Beware Dogs’ (Doc/45mins/2007) and ‘The Fiction’ (Fiction/45mins/2008) have premiered and screened at various film festivals across the world. His other interests include designing, photography, cartooning and food. He is currently developing his new music documentary ‘Night Songs’ and scripting two feature film projects. With: Poshak Directed by Iram Parveen Bilal Pakistan, 2010, 12 minutes, New York Premiere Uninspired writer, Dua Tariq, realizes that the search for uninhibited creativity and her true self requires freedom from society's harsh judgments and facades. Her inner soul must be lured out to fulfill her manifestation.         Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 9.30 pm, Harud (Autum) Directed by aamir Bashir India, 2010, 99 minutes, Hindi (with English subtitles), New York Premiere Cast-Reza Naji , Shanawaz Bhat, Shamim Basharat, Salma Ashai Rafiq and his family are struggling to come to terms with the loss of his older brother Tauqir, a tourist photographer, who is one of the thousands of young men who have disappeared, since the onset of the militant insurgency in Kashmir. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border into Pakistan, to become a militant, Rafiq returns home to an aimless existence. Until one day when he accidentally finds his brother's old camera. Born in Srinagar, Kashmir, Aamir Bashir is a professional actor based in Mumbai, India. After his schooling in Kashmir, Aamir graduated in History from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi and went on to study Law at the University of Delhi. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2009 Screen Awards for his role in the film ‘A Wednesday’. Harud is a story and screenplay that he has developed over the last 4 years. It is his first venture as a writer, director and producer With: Raju Directed by Shiva Shankar Bajpai USA/ India, 2010, 13 minutes, New York Premiere In this timely and profound film, an undocumented immigrant who works for a debt relief agency must choose between the girl he’s falling for and his work visa.         Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, Midnight, Geeta in Paradise Directed by Benny Mathews, USA, 2009, 88 Minutes, (with English subtitles) New York Premiere Cast- Parul Bhatia, Purab Kohli, Ishaan Akhtar and Zeenat Aman Geeta in Paradise is a comic meditation about Bollywood and the effect Indian cinema has on one particularly lonely and bored Waxahachie housewife name Geeta. When her muse (and fantasy lover), Karan Mohair – the hottest and most successful Indian Director in creation – comes to town, Geeta feels it is their destiny to be together. But, because of Karan’s rather snobby attitude towards his admirers, Geeta is forced to kidnap the unsuspecting and super-cute visionary just to get his attention. She decides to hold him prisoner in her garage until he realizes how much he loves and needs her. Karan, obviously, is not thrilled with the sudden (slightly Bollywood) turn of events. Strapped to a lawnmower and forced to pee into a bottle, Karan is determined to prevent Geeta from getting into his head –in spite of how passionate she feels about his movies. Geeta is a feverish celebration of 80’s camp-nostalgia, the elegant film oeuvre of the beautiful Salma Agaha, bad taste, demented song and dance numbers, and the desire within regular people to have their own faces on movie posters. Geeta’s cast of bizarre dreamers, caught up in their own delirious desire for self-fulfillment, despite the hefty cost, will make audiences laugh uncontrollably, cry buckets, and afraid to go to their homes without a police escort. In the end, the viewers are left shocked and wondering; are some wishes are better left un-granted? The whacked out film is from the imaginative mind of director Benny Mathews, the creator of Where’s the Party Yaar? Santeria, and a host of award winning music videos for internationally infamous hip hop artists. Benny Mathews was born in Bombay, India and moved to the US as a child. He grew up in a racially mixed suburb of Houston, Texas. As one of only a handful of South East Asians in Willowridge High, Benny tried his best to assimilate with the Anglos, Black and Hispanics who looked upon him and his culture as a National Geographic special that somehow escaped from the TV set. And, as if that wasn’t enough alienation for a sensitive sixteen year old, Benny was also coming to terms with a severe case of Cinemania – a practice described as “the love that dare not speak its name.” Hooked on movies and finding his way in Ronald Reagan’s America, Benny became the  quintessential filmmaker. Given the ridgid dictates of sitting through three movies at once, one would assume Benny to be a maudlin and tragic literary figure, prone to excruciating bouts of self-pity and remorse. To the contrary, Benny is a hopeless romantic with a sharp eye for the absurd.  His engaging voice and his unique experiences will resonate with anybody who has ever felt alone in a crowd, or overwhelmed by the mischievous forces of Fate. He has directed two movies produced in the Houston area – Dude, Where’s the Party and Santeria, distributed by Lionsgate Films. He has also written, produced, and directed numerous music videos for rap artists such as Scarface, The Getto Boys, Trey Sonz,  Bun B, Li’l Flip and many others. Geeta in Paradise is his fourth film. With: The Way It’s Played Directed by Shripriya Mahesh USA, 2011, 7 minutes, World Premiere The card game is the highlight of the week for Georgia, Marilyn, Norma and Ruth. More than a social gathering, it's an exclusive refuge where they are on top of their game. The Way It's Played explores what happens when a highly-functional member of the group starts to falter         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 12 noon, The Legend of Rama Directed by Chetan Desai India, 2010, 100 minutes, (with English subtitles), US Premiere Cast (voice): Randeep Hooda, Nandana Sen, Gulshan Grover & Kabir Bedi Rama, the handsome prince of Ayodhays, is in exhile with the beautiful Sita and his valiant brother Laxman. One day Sita is kidnapped by the mighty Ravana, the demon king. Rama and Laxman begin their search for Sita with the help of the monkey-god Hanuman. The Ramayana, the most beloved of all Indian stories, gets its first 3D computer animation retelling in this production from producer Ketan Mehta." ‘The Legend of Rama’ is the first 3D Computer animated retelling of the story of Rama in all its glory. Directed by Chetan Desai and created by a team of over 400 artists and technicians working over 2 years, the film is a land mark in Indian animation and designed for a global audience. It’s a grand vision of the glorious Indian past and an adventure story of the original Indian superhero. Using cutting edge computer animation and visual effects techniques, modern story telling methods and futuristic designs ‘The Legend of Rama’ presents a bold new vision of India’s past glory. Chetan Desai, the creative studio head at Maya Digital Media has worked on over 300 commercials including Reebok, Pepsi, Coke and produced over 2000 minutes of 3D animation for the entertainment industry. His talent as Animation and Visual Effects Supervisor and Director has been appreciated across both international and domestic industry and his work has been awarded in various forums including BAFTA, GDC, Seagate and Screen Awards. His milestone 3D international animation projects include Jack Frost, Golden Eye Rogue Agent, Neopets (Sony Play station – game cinematics), Disney Princesses (Disney Interactive - game cinematics), Soldier of Fortune (Activision- game cinematics), Cosmic Quantum Ray, Tronji, Da Jammies and many more. Aside from the numerous international projects Chetan took time out to devote 3 years of his life to create ‘Ramayana – The Epic’. Ketan Mehta is one of the most internationally renowned and acknowledged filmmakers from India. He has received numerous National and International awards and critical acclaim. Amongst his well-known films are ‘Bhavni Bhavai’, ‘Holi’, ‘Mirch Masala’, ‘Sardar’, ‘Maya Memsaab’ and ‘The Rising- Ballad of Mangal Pandey’. Ketan Mehta is also the Promoter-Chairman of Maya Digital Media one of India’s largest Computer Animation and Digital Visual Effects studios. Ketan Mehta has served as a consultant on many Government of India Bodies including Doordarshan, Directorate of film festivals, Film and Television Institute of India and is currently a Member of the Board of Directors of NFDC (National Film Development Corporation Of India). He is also the President of IIFW – (Independent Indian Filmmaker’s Worldwide).         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 12.30 pm, Holy Kitchen (Documentary) Directed by Vikas Khanna USA, 2011, 43 Minutes, English, World Premiere The Holy Kitchens film series is an attempt to tie together the meaning of food in religion with the real world experience of sharing food in a spiritual context. At any given time somewhere on Earth, people are gathering to share food in the name of God. This is spiritual sustenance, meant to bring us closer together and closer to the Creator. It brings the community together into a sense of shared identity and purpose. This is the story of the Holy Kitchens. Karma to Nirvana is the second Film in the Holy Kitchen Series - it explores the food sharing traditions of Hinduism. The life and stories of Lord Krishna, - who is recognized as the eighth avatar of Vishnu or as the Supreme Being, is the starting point for the exploration of the ties between sharing food and spiritual bonds. However one sees or defines Lord Krishna, the sharing of food and the concept of service to one’s fellow man is tightly woven into the principles of karma as he set them forth in the Bhagavad-Gita. This is also where he set forth his belief in nonviolence and the importance of restraining the destructive passions which would be adopted so famously by the world’s greatest civil rights leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the film Chef Vikas Khanna takes us on a journey to Kerela – to the ashram of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, as well as ISKCON – Food relief foundation in India and the UK headquarters to learn more about the present day food sharing practices and rituals. Everyday devotees distribute hundreds of thousands of meals free of charge in the name of God as an offering, - as a way of sharing God’s Love with others. ISKCON’s Mid-day meal program provides free meals to children in schools in India thereby helping them get an education and ensuring a brighter future for them as well as for India. According to the Bhagavad-Gita – “Sharing food is the highest form of Karma”. It is this selfless service to others that eventually leads us to the path to higher spirituality and thus to Nirvana. Vikas Khanna was raised in Amritsar, India where he grew up surrounded by large family feasts, the seasonal produce fresh from the fields of Punjab, and of course, his Grandmother’s traditional home cooking. It was at his grandmother’s side that he began to learn the intricacies of Indian cuisine. He started his own banquet and catering business, Lawrence Gardens, at the age of 17 and the business is still thriving. His current restaurant work includes Junoon Restaurant, the Café at the Rubin Museum of Art, Flavors and Feasts Catering. Upon his graduation from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Vikas went on to train under renowned chefs of Taj Group of Hotels, Oberoi, Leela Group and many more. He had the pleasure of working with some of the most honored chefs in America while he was the Executive Chef of Salaam Bombay Restaurant in New York. He has authored several books including The Spice Story of India and Modern Indian Cooking. His next book, Flavors First, will be published in 2010 by Lake Isle Press. Vikas has also been a guest judge and chef on Gordon Ramsay’s television shows for Fox, Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. Food Network, the Martha Stewart Show among others. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards and is also an honorary member of many foundations including the World Peace Society. With: Kosu Directed by Saro Varjabedia USA/ India, 2009, 22 minutes, New York Premiere An American, who volunteers with an Indian orphanage, disrupts the status quo, provoking the couple running it to work through their emotional scars. and Autumn Meanderings Directed by: Archana Vallabhaneni USA, 2011, 22 minutes, New York Premiere ‘Autumn Meanderings’ is a story about three teenage siblings, who take off on a camping trip, and discover life's complexities and in a way, each other too, in the process. Floyd, Mason and Emory are the siblings who have a history of getting along well with each other, go on an annual camping trip. As this is a turning point in each of their lives, each one of them has an urgent need to be camping or be far away from the trip altogether. The youngest one, Emory, gets lost in the woods - causing even more unrest.         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 3.00 pm, The Way Home - (Veettilekulla Vazhi) Directed by Dr Biju Kumar India, 2010, 95 minutes, Malayalam (with English subtitles) US Premiere Cast- Prithviraj, Indrajith, Govardhan The plot for ‘The Way Home’ revolves around a doctor with a haunting past. He witnessed his wife and five year old son die in an explosion at a market in Delhi. Now working at a Prison Hospital, the Doctor is assigned the case of a woman in critical condition, a surviving member from a suicide squad of the Indian Jihadi the notorious terrorist group. Despite the doctor’s best efforts, the woman dies. But before dying she entrusts him to find her five-year-old son and unite him with his father. The father is revealed to be Abdul Zuban Tariq, head of the terrorist group. Finding the boy in Kerala, the Doctor and child set out on a journey to find his father. The journey is happening through the contemporary and mysterious path of the terrorist network in the vast country through various Indian states and with many unexpected incidents. ‘The Way Home’ is a film about survival, innocence and humanity, exploring a bloodstained facet of contemporary terrorism in India. The film is a travelogue through the most beautiful landscapes of India. Dr. Biju Kumar is a homoeopathic medical graduate and a a self-taught filmmaker. Dr. Biju debuted as writer and director with ‘Saira’ (2005) an award winning and internationally recognized film. It was the opening film in the section Tous Les Cinemas Du Monde (Cinema of the World) at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2007 and also participated in 21 other international film festivals across the world. Dr.Biju followed suit writing and directing ‘Raman – Travelogue of Invasion’ (2008) his second feature, a controversial and much debated over socio-political film. ‘Raman’ was officially selected at for the Cairo International Film Festival 2009 in the Incredible India section and also participated in seven international film festivals across the world. ‘The Way Home’ (Veettilekulla Vazhi) is Dr.Biju’s third film. With: Just That Sort Of A Day Directed by Abhay Kumar India, 2011, 14 minutes, English   Disconnected characters each have one of those days that you really can't put a finger on.         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 3.30 pm, Meherjaan Directed by Rubaiyat Hossain Bangladesh, 2011, 120 minutes, Bengali, Urdu, English, US Premiere Cast- Jaya Bhaduri, Victor Banerjee, Omar Rahim, Humayun Faridi During the war in 1971, Meher falls in love with a soldier from the enemy side. When her love is discovered, she is shamed and silenced by her family and society. Today 38 years after the war, Meher has a visitor she cannot turn down. Sarah—a ‘war-child,’ Meher’s cousin Neela’s daughter, who was given away for adoption has come back to piece together her past. Together, these two women must re-tell history through their stories in order to cut through the stigmas and walk into light. Meherjaan is a film about loving the Other. Meherjaan gives away with the unitary masculine narrative in order to usher in emotional multiplicity of feminine emotion and sensibility. This film critiques certain pitfalls of nationalism that create conditions to justify war, killing and violence. Finally, Meherjaan attempts to offer an aesthetic solution to war and violence by taking refuge in love and spiritual submission Rubaiyat Hossain is an interdisciplinary researcher. She has completed her B. A. in Women Studies from Smith College, USA, and M.A. in South Asian Studies from University of Pennsylvania, USA. Her primary fields of interest are Sufism, Bengali nationalism, formation of Bengali modernity and its correlation with female sexuality. Rubaiyat has worked for prominent women’s rights NGOs in Bangladesh such as Ain O Shalish Kendra and Naripokkho. She was the co-coordinator for the first international workshop on Sexuality and Rights organized by BRAC School of Public Health in 2007. She has worked as a part time lecturer in the department of Economics and Social Sciences at BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh since 2006. Rubaiyat has been interested in film as a young girl from watching the films of Satyajit Ray and Rittwik Ghatak. Later she pursued her interest and completed a Diploma in Film Direction at New York Film Academy in 2002. Since then, she has made few short films that have screened at national and international film festivals. Rubaiyat intends to utilize the research skills she has acquired in the academia to continue making films about Bengali identity, culture, politics and history.         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 6 pm, Shala Directed by Sujay Dahake India, 2011, Marathi (with English Subtitles) World Premier Cast- Anshuman Joshi, Ketaki Mategaonkar, Ashwini Giri, Nandu Madhav, Snehal Ghayal In turbulent India of the Emergency in the 1970’s, four friends on the threshold of their teenage years in a little Indian school, gather in their beloved adda to deliberate the everyday's of school and life. Little do they know that by the end of this academic year, their lives will take a turn as they never expected it to. . . ‘Shala’ (School) is every person's story. It is for every person who has been to school, and loved and lost his love. It is a story of love, of circumstance, of passion, friendship and freedom.   Sujay Sunil Dahake was born in Pune, on the 26th Jan 1985 and passed out from a Pune based private mass communication institute. His diploma film “On the razor’s edge” a documentary on homeless people in Pune was screened at ‘International Digital Film festival, Delhi’. Sujay also worked with Fashion TV (FTV) Asia as a fashion photographer. During his months contract with FTV he shot 6 super models and was also featured in the program called ‘Photographers’ on FTV. Sujay also served as an ‘Associate Producer’ in a Hollywood production studio called ‘Bigfoot Entertainment’ under a 6 months contract. He also got a chance to be the Associate Producer on 2 Hollywood films ‘Deep Gold’ & ‘Victim of circumstance’. He also conducts special workshops on cinema analysis and Editing in a Pune based private film Institute. Sujay at the age of 25 directed his first film “SHALA” Based on the novel by Milind Bokil. With: Fatakra Directed by Soham Mehta USA, 2010, 19 minutes, English Naveen left India to chase his dreams in America. Three years and a recession later, his wife and son finally join him. ‘Fatakra’ (‘Firecracker’) tells the story of the sparks that fly on their first day together as dreams collide with reality.         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 6.30 pm, Yeh Saali Zindagi Directed by Sudhir Mishra India, 2011, 134 Minutes, Hindi(with English Subtitles), US Premiere Cast- Irrfan Khan, Arunoday Singh, Chitrangda Singh, Aditi Rao, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh, Yashpal Sharma, Prashant Narayanan Arun (Irrfan Khan) has to save Priti (Chitrangda Singh) the woman he loves, but for that he first has to save the man Priti loves- Shyam, the future son in law of a powerful Minister. Meanwhile, time is running out for Kuldeep (Arunoday Singh), the young gangster who is on his last job as his wife is threatening to walk out on him completely, and he begins to suspect she is leaving him to go into the arms of another man. The job has gone haywire for it is still unknown to Kuldeep that the Ministers daughter’s engagement with Shyam is off and now she doesn’t care whether Shyam lives or dies and more importantly neither does the Minister who Kuldeep hoped would pay the ransom! Priti finds herself inextricably caught in this mess and Arun has to save her life. But for that he has to risk everything, and put his own life at stake, he wonders why he should do it at all, if she still loves another man. He’s torn, but love knows no reason. Meanwhile Shyam is trying to make deals in captivity, and his goodness only seems superficial and as Kuldeep tries desperately to save his situation, there are dons coming from Bangkok, who have their own plans.   Sudhir Mishra began his career in films as an Assistant Director and one of the Screenplay Writers of ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ (1983), and then of Mohan Joshi ‘Haazir Ho’ (1984). It was in 1987, that he directed his first film ‘Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin’ which went on to win the National Award for Best First Film of a Director. Since then he has directed ten more feature films, all of which, independent in thought and form, have been acclaimed both nationally as well as internationally. ‘Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi’ (2005 Filmfare Best Story Award), ‘Chameli’ (2003), ‘Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin’ (1996), ‘Dharavi’ (1992, National Award), and ‘Mai Zinda Hoon’ (1988, National Award) have all been milestones in the cinema movement in the country.         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 9.00 pm, Semshook Directed By Siddhartha Anand Kumar India, 2010, 116 Minutes, Hindi & Tibetan (with English Subtitles), New York Premere Cast- Tenzin Youden, Tenzin Choeden One man’s search for truth on a journey across the Himalayas. Tenzin is a Tibetan born and raised in India. Yearning to explore his true homeland, he impulsively hops on his motorcycle and embarks on a personal quest: to find his identity and discover the indescribable beauty and wonders of his magnificent homeland. But Tibet is a nation under siege from a repressive regime. While Tenzin encounters friendship, camaraderie and even love along the way, he cannot escape the horrors of a political world he wants no part of. Looking only for the way to peace, both within himself and for the land he loves, Tenzin must find the courage to pursue the truth even if it means facing terrible dangers, to find his Semshook. Siddharth Anand Kumar always wanted to direct movies. He studied filmmaking at Hampshire College in the US, completing a thesis film based on T.S. Elliot´s ‘The Wasteland’. Living in India since 1998, he has worked as an editor, cinematographer, writer and director. His first film Let´s Enjoy released in 2004. He has since helmed various TV shows such as ‘Left Right Left’, ‘Champ’, ‘Love Story’ for major Indian broadcasters. With: Notes of Silence Directed by Mrinalini DS India, 2010, 12 minutes, New York Premiere ‘Notes of Silence’ is the story of an 18 year old deaf mute girl whose dream is to play the guitar. Being differently able does not stop one from dreaming dreams that are any less beautiful, because that is the one place which embraces equality in the truest sense of the word. Sophie is determined to learn to play come what may, and ‘Notes of Silence’ is a peek into one of her life chapters. Why she wants to play and how she translates her dream into reality forms the basis for this 12 minute narrative         Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 9.30 pm The Bengali Detective (Documentary) Directed by Phil Cox UK, 2011, 75 minutes, English, Hindi Bengali (with English subtitles) New York Premiere Cast- Rajesh Ji, Minnie, Gaurav, Dibindu, Ramesh, Deepti Co-produced with award-winning filmmaker Annie Sundberg from Break Thru Films (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, The Devil Came on Horseback), this originally styled documentary provides an entertaining yet poignant look at modern India. What happens when people lose trust in the authorities? In India – a new wave of private detective agencies are answering the call. Poisonings, adultery, fraud, bridal purity, and the occasional murder – such are the day-to-day investigations of Kolkata’s Bengali Detective - Rajesh Ji. The Bengali Detective follows the intrepid, dance-obsessed gumshoe and his motley band of helpers on unpredictable raids and corkscrew investigations, exposing the secrets, fears, and covert lives of today's middle-class Indian society with a cheeky mix of fly-on-the-wall surveillance and Bangla-pop wiggle. Philip Cox has been the head of the award winning Native Voice Films since 1998. His last feature doc ‘We Are The Indians’ aired on Channel 4/ MORE4 to critical acclaim, winning three festival awards and a cinema release. He has won and has been for seven international awards for his reportage and documentary work, including the Roy Peck award, and the Royal Television Society award. Phil was born in London on July 31, 1974. With: The Professionals Directed by Oniket Alam Bangladesh, 2010, 13 minutes, New York Premiere What happens when Joshim (Aref Syed), a simple mill worker, comes face to face with the doctor whose negligence crippled him for life? and Topi Directed by Arjun Rihan India, 2009, 6 minutes, New York Premiere Amidst the turbulent partition of India circa 1947, a young Hindu boy has a chance encounter with a stranger         Sunday, May 8, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 12 noon, Metropolis@Kolkata Directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay India, 2010, 95 Minutes, Bengali (with English Subtitles), US Premiere Cast- Arun Mukhopadhyay, Anjan Dutt, Biplab Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Sreelekha Mitra, Kabir Suma Megacity Kolkata hides many worlds inside it. This film explores several facets of life in the city, through three intertwining stories, documenting the loves, fears, joys, sorrows, insecurities, and confidences of people who, despite vast differences, seem to merge in one great long flow of humanity. Manmatha belongs to the upper echelons of the new, burgeoning middle class. He is spending an entire night at the emergency ward of a state hospital. It is in the hospital that Manmatha meets Jagadish, a lower middle class man, whose son, a soccer goalkeeper, is fighting a deadly stomach injury. Manmatha is completely baffled by Jagadish’s unruffled, serene attitude. A violent street gang conflict near the hospital prompts Manmatha and Jagadish to retreat to Manmatha's car, where they see the outside world …… Biren is jobless and lives in the borders of the city. Bombs are exploded and bullets fired near a construction site in the neighborhood when there is gang dispute over extortions. Biren begins to ask all and sundry: “I have nothing to fear. Do I?” He gets the same answer: “What do you have to fear?” And yet Biren cannot get over his fear. An unknown terror grips him. But, unfortunately, Biren’s worst fears come true. In the tumult of the city, it is impossible to discern when and from what source a bullet might arrive and pick a head from the crowd.   Rohit and Rongili are currently separated. Rohit is a US-returned MBA who works for a multinational and makes loads of money. It was a dazzlingly packaged life that was empty at the core. But something strange happened to Rohit on the day of the lunar eclipse..   Suman Mukhopadhyay has directed three feature films ‘Mahanagar@Kolkata’ (2009), ‘Chaturanga’ (2008) and ‘Herbert’ (2005). ‘Herbert’ was given the National Award for Best Regional Film. Suman has done productions ranging from European drama to major adaptations of Bengali masterpieces and productions of Indian plays. To mention a few: ‘King Lear,’ ‘Bisarjan,’ ‘Teesta Paarer Brittanto,’ ‘Mephisto,’ ‘Raktakarabi,’ ‘Little Clay Cart,’ ‘Nagamandala,’ ‘Man of the Heart and Fireface.’ He has been conferred with many awards and participated in various national and international theatre and film festivals. He was a British Academy Fellow and recently invited to Barbican Centre, London with the play Man of the Heart. With: My Lad Directed by Sami Khan UK, 2010, 13 minutes, New York Premiere   Abdul has been hiding out in his launderette for days, unable to deal with the world outside. Despite pleas from his brother to face his demons, Abdul is determined to run from the one thing he has to accept-fate.         Sunday, May 8, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 12.30 pm, Sound Of Heaven: The Story of Bal Gandharva Directed by Ravi Jadhav India, 2011, 130 Minutes, Marathi (with English Subtitles), World Premiere Cast- Subodh Bhave, Vibhavari Deshpande, Kishor Kadam, Avinash Narkar, Abhijit Kelkar Bal Gandharva (Sound of Heaven: The Story of Bal Gandharva) is a richly mounted, Indian musical, period film on the incredible actor-singer-female impersonator Bal Gandharva (1888-1967), set in the early years of Indian theatre. The film has historic resonances and gives remarkable insights into how today’s Indian cinema and Bollywood musicals derived their song routines, lavish spectacles and melodrama from Indian musical theatre and epics—entirely independent of Hollywood. It is an inspiring portrait of Bal Gandharva, a cross-dressing, singing icon of the sangeet natak (musical theatre) tradition. Women were not allowed to perform onstage then, and Bal Gandharva’s singing and female impersonations in beautiful saris, jewellery and mannerisms were all the rage, and his songs are sung in India even today. Born Narayan Shripad Rajhans, he was given the title ‘Bal Gandharva’ (‘Little Singer from Heaven’). Bal Gandharva led a tumultuous life that saw India’s struggle for independence from the British, his affair with a Muslim singer (he was Hindu) and fluctuating patronage from the maharajahs. Inevitably, as cinema became popular, women who played women’s roles edged him out of the business: onstage, he was little use as a man! He grew increasingly spiritual and believed, like Shakespeare, that all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players—that life itself was one more role to play with verve. Ravi Jadhav was Creative Director of FCB Ulka Advertising for many years. Trained in visual communication and graphic design, he is a skilled graphic designer and copy writer, and his clutter-breaking advertising has won many awards. ‘Natarang’ (2010), the debut feature film he directed, was selected at the New York Film Festival, Munich International Film Festival (Opening Film, India Focus), Gothenburg Film Festival, Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival, Stuttgart, Germany; Pune Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival and Third Eye Asian Film Festival, Mumbai (Opening Film). It won several awards, including the Asia Pacific Screen Award Nomination (Australia) for Best Actor Atul Kulkarni from 70 Asian countries; New York Film Festival; Special Jury Mention, Munich International Film Festival; National Award of India for Best Marathi Film; Sant Tukaram Award for the Best International Marathi Film, Best Director and Best Actor at the Pune International Film Festival, and V. Shantaram Awards for Best Music, Best Lyrics and Best Choreography.         Sunday, May 8, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 3.00 pm, A Decent Arrangement Directed by Sarovar Banka India/USA, 2011, 97 minutes, English, World Premiere Cast-Shabana Azmi, Adam Laupus, Lethia Nall, Diksha Basu, ‘A Decent Arrangement’ is the story of Ashok Khosla, an Indian-American copywriter, who journeys to India seeking an arranged marriage. After he encounters an American woman traveling through India and is set up with an Indian woman who unexpectedly captivates him, Ashok must navigate the complexity of cultural traditions and the leanings of his own heart. With subtle comedy and true-to-life drama, ‘A Decent Arrangement’ shows us a side of India not commonly seen by western audiences and delivers an affecting story that resonates with those of us in search of our place in a changing world.   ‘A Decent Arrangement’ is the first feature film by writer, producer and director Sarovar Banka. He is a graduate of Brown University, where he began his artistic career, performing sketch comedy, writing plays and making short films. His first full length plays were produced in Providence, RI and ‘The Moral Implications of Time Travel’ won the Weston Award for best undergraduate play at Brown. That play was also developed with the Indo-American Arts Council as part of their annual playwrights’ festival. Other plays that followed were subsequently performed in New York. In 2007, he was invited to the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab to participate as a playwright. Concurrently, Sarovar has been making films in various capacities for the past ten years, serving as writer, director, producer and cinematographer on short subjects. He also completed several feature screenplays. He studied in New York University’s Summer Intensive filmmaking workshops and went on to make ‘Edgar’ in 2005, which played at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Rome International Film Festival (GA). Sarovar is originally from Philadelphia, PA where he still resides. With: Wedding Night Directed by Sabina England USA, 2010, 21 minutes, New York Premiere A bride arrives in the United States from Pakistan to meet her new husband on their wedding night for the first time. They both have high expectations, only to end up with major disappointment.         Sunday, May 8, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 3.30 pm, Daayen Ya Baayen Directed by Bela Negi India, 2010, 115 Minutes, Hindi (with English Subtitles) US Premiere Cast- Deepak Dobriyal, Aditi Beri, Bharti Bhatt, Jeetendra Bisht After an unsuccessful stint as an actor in Mumbai, Ramesh Majila returns to his small Himalayan village fresh with hope and the desire to make a new start. Seeing himself as the artistic voice of the village, he boasts of a proposal to start an Arts' Academy in the village. However to his dismay his ostentatious city manner and quirky traits compounded with a penchant for catalyzing disaster reduce him to a joke amongst the villagers. Adding to his discomposure is a wife pestering him to go back to the city, a young son who is looking desperately for a role model in him and a nagging financial situation. In a dramatic turn of events, Ramesh shoots to heroic status overnight when a chance entry into a television contest wins him a luxury car. Now desired by women, envied and grudgingly admired by men, Ramesh becomes the focal point of the village, giving career advice, gracing functions, playing host to new found friends and relatives. But soon Ramesh finds that this new spot in the sun is treacherously tenuous. The car is completely incongruous in its surroundings and for Ramesh, who is trying to match his aspirations to it, the slide downhill begins again. When the car is stolen, he sets out on a bizarre journey to recover more than his prized possession, his lost dignity. Bela Negi was born in in the Himalayan Indian state of Uttarakhand. She finished her schooling in Nainital before she moved to Delhi University for a B.A. Hons in English Literature. This was followed by a degree in cinema with a specialization in film editing at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune in 1997. Nitric Films a production house run by Bela and her husband Subho produces ads, corporate films and has line produced ‘Daayen ya Baayen’.   ‘Daayen ya Baayen’ is Bela’s debut feature film and has been written, directed and edited by her. In the past few years she has written a handful of scripts of which DYB has been the first to get made.         Sunday, May 8, 2011, Tribeca Theater 2, 6.30 pm, Noukadubi Directed by Rituparno Ghosh India, 2011, Bengali (with English subtitles), US Premiere Cast - Raima Sen, Riya Sen, Jishu Sengupta, Priyanshu Chatterjee ‘Noukadubi ’ is based on the novel ‘The Wreck’ written by Rabindranath Tagore. Ramesh is in love with Hemnalini, but he agrees to marry another woman on the suggestion of his parents. But he have never met or seen his bride to be. During the marriage ceremony, the village gets flooded with water from the nearby river and it is believed that the bride and Ramesh’s father are drowned. Later Ramesh meets a girl Kamala, a widow who lost her husband immediately after her marriage. Ramesh eventually marries Hemnalini, but then realizes that Kamala’s husband is not dead. Rituparno Ghosh is a renowned Bengali film director. He has won eight National Film Awards in India and several others at international film festivals. His father Sunil Ghosh was a painter and documentary film maker. Ghosh started his career in advertising films and later shifted to features. His first feature was a children’s film 'Hirer Aangti.’ This was followed by 'Unishe’ winner of a National Award.  Ghosh’s works include films in Bengali, Hindi and even English, including ‘Dahan,’ ‘Utsab,’ ‘Chokher Bali,’ ‘Asukh,’ ‘Bariwali,’ ‘Antarmahal,’ ‘Dosar,’ ‘The Last Lear’ and ‘Raincoat.’

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