PAKISTAN ZINDABAD France & Pakistan / World Premiere / 2007
Director: Pascale Lamche
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PAKISTAN ZINDABAD
Venue:
RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART (150 West 17th St. at 7th Ave)
Show Time:
3:15pm - 5:00pm
Duration:
108 mins
General Admission: $15.00 (Higher at the door) / All film tickets include admission to The Rubin Museum of Art galleries ($10 value)
$15.00
Synopsis: A country of 165 million people - whose founding fathers sought a secular and democratic vision for a new Muslim nation carved out of the former British Empire - Pakistan today, faces an uneasy balancing act between an all-powerful military establishment, a militant Islamist minority with disproportionate influence and the largely discredited leaders of the country’s two major political parties.
Pakistan Zindabad traces the major faultlines that have brought us here.
It is a fascinating story of military dictators and powerful political dynasties, with a great deal of fall-out – colonial, Cold War and nuclear. The losers? Democracy and a people buffeted between wars and secessions that have left precious few resources for climbing out of poverty and underdevelopment.
About the Director: Pascale graduated from the University of Sussex with a First Class Honours degree in Modern History. She is an award winning filmmaker who has made feature documentaries and series both as a producer, and since 2002, for key broadcasters internationally, including HBO, WNET, BRAVO, BBC, Channel 4 and Channel Plus.Her films have been premiered at many international festivals including the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival, Mill Valley International Film Festival (California), Dublin International Film Festival and Toronto Documentary Festival.
Presented by: YOUR DIL
ATHEETHAM (Beyond the Mind) India / North American Premiere / 2007 Malayalam (English subtitles)
Director: Devan Nair
Cast: Rahul Ishwar Datta Threya Sreeraman Manikandan Mala Ravi Ramya Nambeesan Urmila Unni
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ATHEETHAM (Beyond the Mind)
Venue:
Clearview Cinema (1871 Broadway at 62nd St)
Show Time:
5:30pm - 7:00pm
Duration:
90mins
General Admission: $15.00 (Higher at the door)
$15.00
Synopsis: Atheetham, is the story of the spiritual journey by a young man who seeks liberation – emotional and spiritual. Anandan, an idealist youth, is about to be ordained for monk hood after years of vedic studies and meditation. But like Siddhartha, who turned to Buddha, he comes across an act of injustice in the form of the murder of his friend’s brother by the police, for waging a strike. This incident makes him realize that he was cut off from the real world outside. He decides to realize himself in this outer world by joining a revolutionary movement. He plunges himself into it wholeheartedly, but he eventually finds that the movement too is after power and not for ideals or human liberation. Disillusioned with the movement, he begins his solitary journey of intoxicated abandon. His restless journey takes him to Varanasi, the holy city and the great graveyard.
About the Director: Devan Nair was born in Kerala south part of India in 1960. He has a postgraduate in History from Kerla University. He started his career as an Advertising film maker. In 1996 he has worked as a co-producer of a Television series directed by famous writer and director Mr. M.T. Vasudevan Nair which won 8 state government awards. Atheetham ( Beyond the mind) is his first film.
DOCUMENTARY SERIES 6
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DOCUMENTARY SERIES 6
Venue:
RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART (150 West 17th St. at 7th Ave)
Show Time:
5:30pm - 7:00pm
General Admission: $15 (higher at door) / All film tickets include admission to The Rubin Museum of Art galleries ($10 value)
$15.00
THE AYUBOWAN WOMEN'S PROJECT Sri Lanka & U.S.A. / World Premiere / 2007
Director: Michelle Paymar
Duration: 7 mins
Synopsis: The Ayubowan Women's Project film portrays the beginnings of a small non-profit organization based in a Sri Lankan fishing village that was devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004.
In the aftermath of a tragedy that claimed 35,000 lives and left over half a million homeless in Sri Lanka alone, the Ayubowan Women's Project is helping women restore their lives and livelihoods by creating jobs and educational opportunities.
The film tells the story of the project from the perspective of its founder, Solène Delahousse, a French volunteer who recognized the urgent need for women to achieve financial stability for themselves and their families.
Today, nearly twenty women in the Welicade tsunami camp earn money sewing monk-style bags. Profits from the sale of the bags return to the women in the community to fund small businesses and pay for courses that will lead to employment.
'Ayubowan' is a traditional Sri Lankan greeting meaning both 'welcome' and 'long life.'
CREATING UTSAVA U.S.A. / New York Premiere / 2007
Director: Teju Prasad
Duration: 38 mins
Synopsis: In late 2005, The Taranga artist group performed a variety show drawing on ancient Indian sacred stories and history. The show covered four festivals, and explored their underlying mythology and significance. Taranga, has presented such shows for nearly 25 years, however mostly to a “culturally informed” or predominantly Indian audience.
For the first time, Taranga has brought their blend of music and dance to a mainstream western audience, and the documentary covers the entire process from start to finish. This film will show the steps needed to tailor the show for a non-Indian audience, making it simplistic enough, yet informative enough to capture India’s magnificent history and mythologies. In addition, the film delves into the dynamic of American born children of Indian heritage working with stories and history they themselves are learning and integrating into their own dual cultured experience.
About the Director: Teju Prasad has been writing and directing short films for nearly 3 years, after taking workshops in both digital filmmaking and editing. He’s shot and produced many sketch comedy videos, under his production company, PersonaPix. He has worked for various entertainment companies, including Engel Entertainment, and Radical Media. In addition, his background includes degrees in Engineering. Creating Utsava… Creating a Tradition… is his first documentary film.
DANCING KATHMANDU Nepal / New York Premiere / 2006
Director: Sangita Shresthova
Duration: 40 mins
Synopsis: Sangita, a dancer of Czech-Nepali origin, journeys to Kathmandu to explore how practitioners in the Himalayan Kingdom negotiate Nepal's dance traditions in a period of rapid cultural change. In her attempts to map the current situation of dance in Kathmandu valley, she encounters her own teachers as well as younger dancers currently finding their way. Dancing Kathmandu tells stories of nostalgia, passion and survival through dance and dancers in the age of globalization.
RIVAAZ India / SAIFF Premiere / 2007 / Q&A with Director Hindi (subtitles)
'Rivaaz' is the first Indian film on prostitution as a family profession, which is rampant in more than 300 village districts in India. Many women are sold to men by their family members, but unfortunately the law and order system does not consider this as a major issue within the country. The prostitution "business" which started as a community tradition (“RIVAAZ”) now operates as a money making trade within the knowledge of the lawmakers and protectors.
"Rivaaz" is a film against expolitation. And a film about dignity and hope of the women who are traded in the name of tradition.
About the Director: Ashok Kumar Nanda worked for a decade as a software engineer in Hyderabad and Chennai. In 2004 he moved to New York and attended the New York Film Academy . Rivaaz is his second feature film which recently won the Best Feature Film award at The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in 2007.
DOCUMENTARY SERIES 7
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DOCUMENTARY SERIES 7
Venue:
RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART (150 West 17th St. at 7th Ave)
Show Time:
7:30pm - 9:45pm
General Admission: $15 (higher at door) / All film tickets include admission to The Rubin Museum of Art galleries ($10 value)
$15.00
A DREAM IN DOUBT U.S.A. / SAIFF Premiere / 2007 English
Synopsis: A Dream in Doubt is an immigrant story in a world in which patriotism has morphed into murder. When Rana Singh Sodhi's brother is killed in America's first post-9/11 revenge murder, he begins a journey to reclaim his American dream and fight the hate that continues to threatenhis community. The film travels to Rana's hometown of Phoenix, Arizona to explore post-9/11 America from his perspective, while providing a harrowing glimpse into the psyche of the perpetrator and the motivation for a hate crime. This intimate account illustrates one man's odyssey from persecution in India to embracing America as his homeland. Rana's story, told in Punjabi and English reveals the essence of the American dream.
About the Director: Tami Yeager is making her independent feature documentary debut with "A Dream in Doub." She previously produced award-winning programs for national television networks, public broadcasting, and non=profits. Prior to beginning production on "A Dream in Doubt," she co-produced an hour-long documentary about infertility for MSNBC, two half-hour documentaries about education for ABC News and PBS, and a comprehensive film-based school curriculum package about Sikh children. Previously based in San Francisco, she currently resides in New York and is a graduate of American University in Washington, DC.
OFFICE TIGERS India / New York Premiere / 2007
Director: Liz Mermin
Duration: 86 mins
Synopsis: OFFICE TIGERS is a feature-length documentary about an office full of young Indian workers and the American and Indian executives teaching them what it means to be professionals. Set in an American-owned company in India, which does highly confidential support work for the world’s top law firms, consultancies, and investment banks, the documentary offers a rare and comic look at the strange new world of cross-cultural corporate training and at the lifestyles of young urban professionals in a conservative South Indian city. This is a company on a mission, spreading American corporate culture one manager at a time.
About the Director: Liz Mermin is a New York /London based director specializing in offbeat social-issue documentaries. OFFICE TIGERS is her third feature doc. THE BEAUTY ACADEMY OF KABUL offers a rare window onto Afghan women’s lives and American efforts abroad through the story of a bizarre development initiative; it played the international festival circuit, was released theatrically by Shadow Distribution in 2006, and was broadcast on BBC2 and across Europe. ON HOSTILE GROUND, directed with Jenny Raskin, tells the stories of three US abortion providers at the end of a decade of extreme anti-abortion violence.
Presented by: A3, Time Inc.
Monday Night After-Party: ASPEN Complimentary entrance for all Monday screening ticketholders & VIP's, a door cover may apply for all other non-festival guests. All Guests will enjoy a 2-Hour complimentary HEINEKEN Open-Bar!
