Festival Schedule
Wednesday October 3rd, 2007 7:00 PM: Opening Night!
Salman Ahmed Opens ISAFF!
Salman Ahmed, the founder of Junoon, South Asia's best known rock band, will kick off the 4th annual ISAFF with a performance. He will also share with us his thoughts on film and activism in... more
Voices of Kutch
Chaitanya Modak, 2006, India, Kutchi with English subtitles, 34 minutes, DVD
Our opening night short film, "Voices of Kutch" is an insightful film into community radio movement in India using the context of an experiment in radio programing done with community... more
Reception
Join us for a reception after the event. It will also be an opportunity to get CDs and T-shirts signed by Salman Ahmed. We will have finger food and drinks available as well.
Ramadaan... more
Thursday October 4th, 2007 7:00 PM: Anuranan
Manoj
Zia Mohajerjasbi, 2006, USA/India, English, 14 minutes
Written by comedian Hari Kondabolu, Manoj is a hilarious "mock-umentary" about an Indian stand up comedian Manoj who is so desperate to please that he exploits every stereotype he can. The... more
Anuranan
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, 2006, India, Bengali with English subtitles, 113 minutes, 35mm
The story of two couples - each with their own struggles to survive as a couple and as individuals. After living in London for a few years, Rahul and Nandita have recently moved back to... more
Thursday October 4th, 2007 9:00 PM: Doll House
Doll House
Morshedul Islam, 2006, Bangladesh, Bengali with English subtitles, 124 minutes, 35mm
1971. A far-flung village of Bangladesh. It is Monsoon. The Dhaka-educated Yakub teaches in a college in the village. The village-bred Mukul too teaches in the same college. Yakub is by nature... more
Friday October 5th, 2007 7:00 PM: Kamli, My Daughter
Bare
Santana Issar, 2006, India, Hindi/English, 11 minutes, DVD
In the piecing together of home videos shot by her parents nearly 2 decades earlier, and through a string of conversations with her father, mother, and sister, a daughter looks to understand... more
Kamli, My Daughter
K. N. T. Sastry, 2006, India, Telugu with English subtitles, 72 minutes, 35mm
The Lambada community has been part of the landscape of Hyderabad and parts of Andhra Pradesh. Dressed in their colourful attire and chunky jewelery, the Lambada women are often seen toiling... more
* Post film discussion
Friday October 5th, 2007 9:00 PM: Riding Solo To The Top of The World
Bioscopewallah
Prashant Kadam, 2006, Canada/India, Marathi with English subtitles, 13 minutes, MiniDV
The Bioscopewallah is a brief encounter with an entertainer, Rau Waghmare, who is also a rare occasion for pure and simple joy for children.
A dalit folk artist, hit by an unfortunate drought... more
Riding Solo To The Top of The World
Gaurav Jani, 2006, India / Laddakh, Hindi with English subtitles, 94 minutes, DVD
Riding Solo To The Top Of The World is the unique experience of a lonesome traveler, who rides his motorcycle all the way from Mumbai to one of the most remote places in the World, the... more
* Post film discussion with filmmakers Gaurav Jani and Prashant Kadam
Saturday October 6th, 2007 2:00 PM: View from a Grain of Sand
View From A Grain Of Sand
Meena Nanji, 2006, Afghanistan, Dari & Pashto with English subtitles, 82 minutes, DVD
Shot in the sprawling refugee camps of the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan and Kabul, Afghanistan, View From A Grain of Sand foregrounds the individual voices of three Afghan women... more
* Post film discussion with filmmaker Meena Nanji
Saturday October 6th, 2007 4:00 PM: The Widow Colony
Talking Faith
Naveen Qayyum, 2006, Pakistan, Urdu/English, 30 minutes, DVD
Talking Faith opens a window into the lives of Sarah and Azam. Two friends living the post 9/11 realities where Islam gets associated with militarism and Christian minorities face a backlash... more
The Widow Colony
Harpreet Kaur, 2005, India, Punjabi/English, 73 minutes, DVD
This film looks into the lives of the widows of the Sikh men who were killed in the anti-Sikh massacre of November, 1984, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It... more
* Post film discussion with filmmaker Harpreet Kaur
Saturday October 6th, 2007 7:00 PM: Yours Emotionally
Call It Slut
Nishtha Jain, 2006, India, Hindi with English subtitles, 14 minutes, DVD
This film is a mini-portrait of a transgender person who is more than a woman. Lakshmi Tripathi, a hijra, has a hilarious and yet acute insight into womanhood as she says: "The joy of being a... more
Yours Emotionally
Sridhar Rangayan, 2006, India / UK, English, 83 minutes, DVD
Ravi & Paul, two friends from Leicester, end up attending a gay party in the small Indian town of Shimoga, upon an invitation of Ravi's Parsee email-pal Jeh from Mumbai. A genteel dreamer Ravi... more
Reception
After the films and Q&A, please join us at Mirch Masala Cuisine of India for a reception sponsored by Trikone-Northwest. Mix and mingle with other filmgoers, meet filmmakers, chat with members... more
* Post film discussion
Saturday October 6th, 2007 5:00 PM in the Mini Theater
6 Yards to Democracy
Nishtha Jain and Smriti Nevatia, 2006, India, Hindi with English subtitles, 55 minutes, HDV
During election time in one of the poorest areas of the North Indian city of Lucknow, a politician distributed free saris, hoping to secure some votes. Tragedy ensued when a gruesome stampede... more
Saturday October 6th, 2007 6:00 PM in the Mini Theater
There was a Queen
Kavita Pai and Hansa Thapliyal, 2007, India, Kashmiri / Urdu with English subtitles, 124 minutes, MiniDV
This two-hour documentary highlights the women's initiatives in Kashmir's 17-year conflict in which women have been the worst sufferers. From looking into the brave fight many women have put... more
Sunday October 7th, 2007 2:00 PM: Global Shorts: Love, Dreams and Despair
Arranging Love
Sheila Jayadev, 2006, Australia/India, English, 26 minutes
Arranging Love explores the realities of the arranged marriage and the rules of love and relationships for second generation Indian-Australians. Following three second-generation Australians... more
The Miseducation of Pakistan
Syed Ali Nasir, 2007, Pakistan, Urdu/Punjabi/English, 30 minutes, DVD
A nation’s future hangs in the balance when it cannot educate its youth. Using a journalistic approach, this film explores the country’s appalling public education system. Schools with no... more
The Morning Fog
Aminta Goyel, 2006, India/USA, Hindi/English, 21 minutes, DVD
For young Koko, it would be a sacred blessing to see the elusive tiger in the wild. As she nears adulthood in the glitzy and gluttonous metropolis of Bombay, Koko feels the call of the jungle... more
Himalayan Dreams
Ali Rasheed, 2006, Maldives, Maldivian / English, 29 minutes, MiniDV
Young photographer Muha lives and works in Male, the island capital of the Maldives, and the most crowded city in the world. He dreams of adventuring in faraway places and, in 2005, backpacked... more
Sunday October 7th, 2007 4:00 PM: The Shape of Water
Kali Ma
Soman Chainani, 2006, USA, English, 14 minutes, DVD
When an Indian mother finds out her son is the victim of a vicious bully, she delivers her own brand of vigilante justice. More information is available at www.kalima-movie.com
The Shape of Water
Kum-Kum Bhavnani, 2006, Brazil/India/Israel/Palestine/Senegal/USA, Various Languages, 70 minutes, DVD
The Shape of Water is a feature documentary that tells the stories of powerful, imaginative and visionary women confronting the destructive development of the Third World with new cultures and... more
* Post film discussion with Tasveer Youth Initiative
Sunday October 7th, 2007 7:00 PM: Closing Night!
Monsoon
Shyam Balse, 2006, USA/India, English, 21 minutes, DVD
Govinda, a Californian doctor, is forced to return to his motherland in India when his estranged father falls ill. The father refuses his son's treatment and prefers instead to undertake a... more
10 Questions for the Dalai Lama
Rick Ray, 2006, Tibet, English/Tibetan/Hindi, 85 minutes, Digital Video
Against the backdrop of an exotic land, the filmmaker is granted ten questions of the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Containing rare historical footage taken inside Tibet, the film intersects personal... more
Reception
The 2007 ISAFF festival closes with one of the most engaging films ever made on Tibet: '10 Questions for the Dalai Lama'. Stay on after the screening and mingle with the filmmaker Rick Ray... more
* Post film discussion with filmmaker Rick Ray
Sunday October 7th, 2007 11:00 AM in the Mini Theater
The South Asian Documentary Workshop 101
Instructor: Nadeem Uddin
11am-3pm, Class limit: 30, Age: 14 and up, Room 101 (downstairs)
This half-day introductory class on documentary filmmaking will be conducted by local filmmaker, Nadeem Uddin, founder and... more
