Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 20, 2006
Media Contact: Seema Arora, press@thirdi.org, 510.482.4350/415.835.4783
3rd I Brings Art House Bollywood to the Bay Area with its fourth Annual San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival (SFISAFF). It has been a rich year for South Asian film - Mistress of Spices, Water, Provoked, Namesake- and the SFISAFF will be showcasing more cutting edge new films as well as the full breadth of South Asian cinema, including and highlighting works by local South Asian filmmakers.
SAN FRANCISCO, September 20, 2006 - The fourth annual San Francisco
International South Asian Film Festival (SFISAFF) arrives this year on November 10, 11, and 12, giving Bay Area moviegoers a sample of classic Indian cinema, hard hitting social documentaries, innovative features and the latest in Bollywood sizzle. SFISAFF features a number of premiere screenings with appearances by filmmakers at a reception at the Castro theatre.
The SFISAFF program opens at 7:15pm on Friday, November 10 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts with ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION & EMPIRE , Director: Graham Geigenmueller (UK/France/Suisse, 2006). An important film that takes us into the revolutionary world of the Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) -- its music and philosophies which were at the root of the South Asian Underground movement in England. At 9:00 pm 3rdI presents a uniquely diverse compilation of SOUTH ASIAN SHORT FILMS from the Bay Area .
The festival gets into full swing on Saturday, November 11 at the Castro Theatre with an 12:00 am screening of the winner of Cannes' prestigious Camera d'or prize and U.S. premiere of The FORSAKEN LAND (Sulanga enu Pinasa , Sri Lanka/France, 2005).). Vimukthi Jayasundara's Forsaken Land is an exquisitely shot, visually stunning poetic drama, which reveals its secrets gradually with painterly stylized compositions reflecting the desolation of war.
The afternoon program continues at 2:30 pm with I FOR INDIA , directedcted by Sandhya Suri (UK, 2006). The film is an artful, intimate and moving time capsule that looks at the bittersweet expatriate Indian experience in England with the use of archival footage and super 8 film. The screening is followed by an invitation-only reception for filmmakers, sponsors, and special guests.
At 5:00 pm The festival continues with a brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello in a contemporary Indian gangster setting -- OMKARA , directed by Vishal Bhardwaj (India, 2006) is touted as a masterpiece mix of art & commercial genres. It is a brooding and beautifully cinematic film that stays true to Othello's central theme of jealousy and obsession that wreaks havoc on personal and political relationships.
The evening celebrates full-on Bollywood at the Castro at 8:15 pm, with the screening of the latest Kohan Johar (KKHH, K3G) Bollywood feature , KABHI ALVIDA NAA KEHNA ( KANK) (Never Say Goodbye) (India, 2006). Premiered at the Toronto film festival, KANK goes where no bollywood film has gone before in examining commitment, true love, adultery and what is the correct path to take to find that true love. And with its star-studded cast (irresistible Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee), fantasy sets and endearing musical scores, this adult drama and love story will move you to cry, sing, laugh and dance. Perfect for Bollywood devotees and novices alike.
The SFISAFF three-day program, continues at the Roxie Theatre on Sunday November 12, with more inspiring films. The screenings begin at 11:30am with DIVIDED WE FALL: Americans in the Aftermath , Directed by Sharat Raju/Valarie Kaur. (USA, 2006). Driven to action by the brutal murder of a man from her Sikh community post 9/11, Valarie Kaur sets out across the U.S. to discover who counts as American in a world divided into "us" and "them". At 2:30pm we premiere BOMBAY CALLING , by Samir Malla /Ben Addelman (Canada/ India 2006). The film is a critical, sympathetic and eye-opening insider's look at call centers, globalization and the growing American dream - Indian style. At 5:00pm we screen BETWEEN THE LINES: INDIA'S THIRD GENDER . Filmmaker Thomas Wartmann (Germany/India, 2006) stunning film, brilliantly photographed by Thomas Riedelsheiner (Rivers and Tides), and perceptively explores the lives of India's 'Eunuchs' - Hijras living on the edge of society. The festival wraps up at 7:30pm celebrating the 30 th anniversary of Bollywood's biggest and baddest "curry western'-- SHOLAY , with a new print and restored original footage. Directed by Ramesh Sippy (India, 1976) Sholay stars Amitbabh Bachchan, Bollywood living legend in his signature role. This is a unique opportunity to see India's blockbuster cult classic on the big screen
The Festival is presented by 3rdI, a national organization dedicated to sharing diverse images of South Asians through monthly screenings in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Washington DC. 3rd I and SFISAFF represent filmmakers and audiences from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,Sri Lanka, Nepal, as well as from Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the South Asian Diaspora. Festival directors and co-founders Ivan Jaigirdar and Camille Ramani would like to especially thank the key sponsors including California Institute for Integral Studies, Center for South Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, Wells Fargo, PsPrint, ASK, Whole Foods, Hyphen Magazine, and India West. 3rdI is also grateful for the continuous support of the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Wallace Alexander Foundation, the Thendara Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Shows are $8 at the Roxie cinema and $9 at the Castro (not including online processing fees). The SFISAFF passes are $50 for the entire festival (10 programs). Tickets can be purchased online or at the theatre box office on the day of the festival 45 minutes before screening time.
The San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival plays on Friday, November 10 at the Yerba Buena Theatre, 700 Howard Street, and on Saturday, November 11 at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street in San Francisco; and Sunday, November 12 at the Roxie Cinema, 3117 16th Street at Valencia in San Francisco. For more information about the festival and films visit the festival website at www.thirdi.org/festival OR CALL 415.835.4783. If you would like press materials including screener tapes and photos, email press@thirdi.org or call -510.482.4350/ 415.835.4783.