Sunday, August 15, 2004
FREE with Museum admission
Queens Museum of Art
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Directions: 7 Train to Willets Point/Shea Stadium or 111th St Station. Full subway, bus and car directions here....

Program starts at 3:00 pm. Full schedule:

3:15	Screening of Heda Hoda
4:45	Screening of Baagon Na Jaa (music video on communal violence)
5:00	DJ Siraiki spins
5:30-7:00	Readings and performances by Suketu Mehta, Women for Afghan Women, Sarah Husain, Sham e Ali Al Jamil, Raman Mundair, Sonali Shroff, Bijli, Rasa Theatre
7:10	Screening of Sangam

For more info: thirdi_ny@yahoo.com

About the Films

HEDA HODA (The Blind Camel)

Director: Vinod Ganatra
India. 2003.
Hindi/Kutchi with English subtitles.
84 mins.

Sonu and Lakhmi, the camel shepherd's children, live in a hamlet in northwest India. One day their camels stray over the Pakistan border. Sonu follows them and unwittingly crosses the border, landing in a Pakistani herdsman's house. Scared and shocked, the man helps Sonu cross back over the border and promises to return his herd, not anticipating that bureaucracy can stand between two people and their camels. Sonu succeeds in getting his camels back, a triumph of the innocence of children over the rigidity of law and the ignorance of human values

SANGAM

Director: Prashant Bhargava
USA. 2004.
28 mins. Video

Sangam is a site of pilgrimage in Allahabad, India where three rivers meet – the Ganges, the Jamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. The rivers converge but their colors do not mix. It is believed by bathing at this confluence, one receives strength and freedom. In January of 2001 at the Kumbh Mela, over thirty million made a pilgrimage to Sangam.

Raj has arrived to New York from Bihar, India. Determined, he has left his family, culture, and a troubled past in hope of finding the American Dream.

Vivek, a disillusioned Indian American, grapples with the dreams laid out by his parents and the void of making those material dreams a reality. He seeks meaning by reliving fleeting childhood memories of visiting Sangam.

Raj and Vivek cross paths on a New York subway train. As each longs for what the other takes for granted, they must confront the currents that bind, divide, and drive them.

Sangam, as a film, is a constant confluence of disparate cultures, sustained by each character’s memories of Sangam. It is a meditation upon the struggle to maintain faith as first and second generation immigrants.

Sangam is a poem textured in aesthetic and meaning, weaving a traditional narrative with experimental techniques - still photography, super 16, super 8, and motion design/animation.

About the Directors

Vinod Ganatra can be reached at movieman@bom5.vsnl.net.in.

Prashant Bhargava is an award-winning filmmaker and designer, whose work has appeared in numerous festivals and has been recognized by the New York Foundation of the Arts and the Broadcast Designers Association. Prashant is currently developing a feature film. He resides in Brooklyn.

About 3rd I. 3rd I New York's monthly film and music salon designed by local filmmakers and experimental DJs showcases the works of independent filmmakers of South Asian descent and local djs, musicians and electronica artists. Providing alternative forums for South Asian filmmakers who often have few venues to showcase their work not only increases their visibility, but also provides a social forum for peers and audiences to participate in an ongoing discussion. More info...