July 26, 2020

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Watch this hilarious and yet serious film, it is lively and absorbing., Venus, is the witty tale of Sid (featuring New York-based actor Debargo Sanyal in a brilliant performance), a transitioning woman whose life takes a surprising turn when a 14-year-old boy named Ralph arrives at her door with the surprising announcement that he is her son.

 Montreal writer/director Eisha Majara’s charming dramedy is refreshing and brings to focus the the world around the trans woman. You will love this film.

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July 19, 2020

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Directed by the award-winning writer, director and film maker Madhumita Sundararaman, KD is set in a fictionalized Indian village in TamilNadu.  Having chanced upon a newspaper report a few years ago, on the age-old practice of “thalaikoothal” (senicide) that is still in practice in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu, Director Madhumitha has brought to light the dark celebratory ritual in a funny, zest for life film KD.  In this film,  the protagonist, wakes up from a coma and over hears his children wanting him dead for his inheritance. This sets him to take off on his own, when he meets the young cheeky orphan Kutty. Together, they begin to enjoy life to the fullest, checking off a bucket list of items that the octogenarian always wanted to do. KD is light-hearted with a strong sense of humor as the story is told through the eyes of an eight-year-old. For a more detailed synopsis, please check the link below.
https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/tamil-film-kd-screened-at-asian-american-international-film-festival-packs-in-humour-and-emotional-punches-7081151.html

July 12, 2020

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 Leena Yadav's film - Parched. This film  is set in the beautiful desert landscape of Gujarat, India. The colors and glory of the place is beautifully captured in the subtle glow of ochre and orange hues by Oscar winning cinematography Russel Carpenter (Titanic). This film explores the ideas of tradition, culture, misogyny in the heart of rural India through the experiences, adventures and escapades of four compelling women and their friendships that tug at our humanity. Director Leena Yadav excels at story telling and compassionately frames the lives of her characters instantly transporting us to that place and time.


 

July 05, 2020

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 Directed by the award-winning film maker Konkana Sen Sharma, this family drama revolves around a young man Shutu on holiday with his cousins. Young Shutu finds himself having a hard time fitting in as he becomes the butt of their jokes and bullying. Shutu reads and draws, is quiet and emotional, and shows fear instead of anger,  “You’re so pretty,” he is told, “you could be a girl.   Shutu’s cousins and their friends find increasingly cruel ways to torture him; they begin with a prank involving a séance and eventually leave him in a wolf-infested forest.The film is a masterly depiction of deep-rooted patriarchy where Shutu is tormented for his crimes of not being masculine enough.
The film is set in 1979 at an an old Anglo - Indian Town called McCluskieganj and portrays beautifully the life of  economically privileged, English-speaking Anglo-Indian families. Liberated in many ways but shadowed closely by misogyny.          

June 28, 2020

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 Tashi is available on our link from 23 - 28 June 2020, as part of a collaboration with the Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati, where the film Tashi  was an official selection in 2019 and won Best Screenplay award. 

Directed written and produced by the award-winning film maker Shilpa Krishnan Shukla, this family drama is  heartfelt simple story about delicate human relationships .
Notable screen writer TanyLKo said in his review of the film on IMDb, "Usually cinema is considered to be a suspension of disbelief, yet "Tashi" is all about believing. An ailing artist and mother read those ominous-sounding philosophical books bringing forth a simplistic thought of "beyond the misery lies peace". Her two middle-aged children beg to differ. A work-from-home spinster holding a heartache, and a stay-abroad son with a family and secret of his own - struggle together to bury their regrets. Soon enough, they're joined by a visitor who has his story to bear. Then amidst them, we find a domestic help who remains smiling and unexpressed throughout the day, only to write letters at night to her mother whom she never posts. Heavy sounding, yet this festival-favorite indie appears to carry a fragrant-sense of 'auspiciousness'. Faith and its leap, with the uncertainty of existence connecting beautifully to the divinity in one and all - acknowledged often through a simple palm-folding gesture of "Namaste"."  The name of the film, Tashi, is inspired by the Tibetan word, meaning 'auspiciousness'

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June 21, 2020

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Directed and written  by Priyanka Tanwar, My Pot Of Gold ,tells us a warm, loving and heartfelt story; of a day in the lives of three people, a grandmother played by the talented Bharathi Jaffrey, grand daughter played by the delightful Sudeepta Singh and maid Shristi Ganguly.  Bharathi Jaffrey's portrayal of the grandmother was spot on awesome., Bharathi is the daughter of the veteran Actor  Ashok Kumar.’ Watching this film will remind you of your own parents or grandparents in the last trimester of their lives,.
Priyanka Tanwar, has dedicated this film to her grandmother Alexandra Pereira "meant the world to me. She has made me what i am today".said Priyanka. My Pot of Gold is a day in the life of my grandmother Alexandra (Alec), our maid and me. It is  a roller-coaster ride we experienced every day for the last three years of my grandmother's life. Right from our fights to our good night kisses.I was her rainbow and she was MY POT OF GOLD!"
 

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June 21, 2020

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Chhichhore follows a group of friends from university as they progress into middle-age life and go their own separate ways, the film highlights the journey as more important than the destination and that losing is as critical a life lesson as winning.
Raghav, son of high achieving parents succumbs to the pressure that comes with cut-throat entrance exams. As he battles for life in a hospital, his parents regroup with their friends after decades. Together, this older generation, goes on a nostalgia trip reminiscing their college days, hoping their bittersweet memories will help save a teenager, who has lost all will to live.
The film scores high on many accounts and is certainly worth watching.

June 14, 2020

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Directed and filmed  by Lynsey Miller, The Boy with the Topknot, is a touching, humorous and emotional rites-of-passage story. The film follows Sathnam as he returns home to unravel his family's problems and reconcile his traditional Asian roots with his flashy London lifestyle. In the process he discovers the truth about his father's schizophrenia and the reasons behind  his mother's lack of acceptance.

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June 14, 2020

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Never Have I Ever is an American coming of age comedy-drama television series created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher. The comedy is partially based on Kaling's real childhood story, growing up in the Boston area. It premiered on Netflix on April 27, 2020, and is about an Indian American high school student dealing with the death of her father and relationships with family and friends. Starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.

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June 07, 2020

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Directed and filmed  by Anubhav Sinha, it is a  story that deserves attention.  Thappad is a story of Amrita whose perfect life is shattered when her husband slaps her once at a party. But is one slap enough to question what a relationship stands for? "A powerful and impactful film, Thappad makes you angry and uncomfortable, and at the same time, it makes you question the everyday misogyny that you willingly adjust to in real life. Director Anubhav Sinha refuses to normalize issues that are taken for granted in a regular set up, instead he asserts and reasserts that even if it is "just one slap" why and how a man can get away with it so easily". (Hindustan Times).

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June 06, 2020

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Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema, film maker, director and professor Danny Ben-Moshe provides a look into the colorful and vibrant world of Indian cinema and the unique circumstance that led Jews of India to play a key role in he development of the Bollywood film industry. Who knew that Jewish actresses dominated Indian movies for the first decades of its 100-year history? In Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema, Danny Ben-Moshe tells the story of four extraordinary female superstars — Sulochana, Pramila, Miss Rose and Nadira — as well as popular character actor David Abraham, in a lively, audience-friendly documentary that can be over-obvious and coy at times, but is full of surprises. This film was featured at the Indian Film festival of Cincinnati 2019

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IMDB Synopsis: A 11-year-old Indian boy who has just lost his father is forced to adapt to a new school in a small village. The story is about how he copes up and how life has to move on transforming a young mind into an adult day by day.

Director: Avinash Arun Writers:Tushar Paranjape (screenplay), Tushar Paranjape (story) | 1 more credit »Stars:

Amruta Subhash, Archit Deodhar, Parth Bhalerao |

You will love this film.

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IMDB Synopsis:

Five factions run the underground life of the prestigious Haldwell boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction - THE SPADES, sits Selah Summers. Both charming and callous, Selah walks the fine line between being feared and loved, often cutting loose whomever she deems a threat to her power.

DirectorTayarisha Poe. Starring Lovie Simone, Celeste O’Connor, Jharrel Jerome

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IMDB Summary

In a world rapidly being torn asunder by violence, racism and suspicion, there is a growing despondence and a feeling that almost all of humanity is at cross purposes, and most of it at war. There is a dire need for reassurance that not all is lost, that the fundamental goodness of humanity is still intact. There need to be more love stories than revenge dramas, more stories of real life heroes than superhero sagas. There need to be more stories that reinforce our faith in each other rather than a mythical messiah who might never arrive to save us. A Billion Colour Story is one such story.

Director: Director:PadmakumarNarasimhamurthy Writer:Padmakumar NarasimhamurthyStars:Dhruva Padmakumar, Gaurav Sharma, Vasuki

Zoom Session: Q & A with the film makers.Sunday May 17, 11AM US  Eastern Time. Meeting ID81689034398  Password: Movie

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IMDB Synopsis: When smart but cash-strapped teen Ellie Chu agrees to write a love letter for a jock, she doesn't expect to become his friend - or fall for his crush.Director:Alice Wu, Writer: Alice Wu,  Stars: Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer,  Alexxis Lemire

You will love this film.

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IMDB Synopsis:

The Lift Boy is a coming of age story of a 24-year-old vagabond who is forced to work at a posh building in Mumbai as a Lift Boy when his bread-winning father falls ill.

Director:Jonathan Augustin. Writers:Jonathan Augustin, Ashish P. Verma

Stars:Moin Khan, Nyla Masood, Saagar Kale

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Zoom Session: Q & A with the film makers.Sunday May 17, 11AM US  Eastern Time. Meeting ID81689034398  Password: Movie

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IMDB Synopsis:

The 47-year old Al Capone, after 10 years in prison, starts suffering from dementia and comes to be haunted by his violent past. Tom Hardy stars as the notorious gangster Al Capone.

Director:Josh Trank  Writer:Josh Trank. Stars:Tom Hardy, Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon

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IMDB Synopsis:

Eight year-old Hamid learns that 786 is God's number and decides to try and reach out to God, by dialing this number. He wants to talk to his father, who his mother tells him has gone to Allah. One fine day the phone call is answered

Director: Aijaz Khan Writers: Ravinder Randhawa (Screenplay), Sumit Saxena (dialogue)Stars:

Talha Arshad Reshi, Vikas Kumar, Rasika Dugal

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