3rd i

Online Program: "Retro Short Films"
2022-10-06 | Online, CA, United States
3rd i’s Festival online program this year is “Retro Short Films.”
Oct 6, 12am – 11:59pm.
3rd i’s Retro Short Films 2002-2019
An inspiring array from the UK, Canada, India, Pakistan and the USA.
Cross My Heart, Avie Luthra (UK, 2002, 22 min)
A young man leads a double life when he tries to convince his family that he is “Indian”’ enough to inherit his uncle’s video store. A hilarious critique of racism within the South Asian British community.
Waxed Poetic, Keshni Kashyap (USA, 2004, 2 min)
A little ode to the ancient Indian beauty practice of hair waxing.
6FT IN 7MIN, Rafael Del Toro (USA, 2005, 15 min)
A wonderfully dark and entertaining comedy about Rafeev Reddi, a South Asian British adolescent who has been surrounded by death all his life. On his 18th birthday he finally comes to understand why.
Post Nup, Sandeep Kumar Sood (2011, 2 min & 4 min)
A comedic animated series about a young couple. The two episodes here are: Episode 11: “Traveling Man” and Episode 12: “Being Salman Rushdie”
Shameless, Geeta Malik (USA, 2013, 4 min)
A woman on trial for prostitution whimsically turns the tables on her accusers
The First Session, Ryan Logan & Fawzia Mirza (USA, 2015, 6 min)
In this therapy-couch comedy, two women attempt to repair their relationship with the help of an unconventional therapist.
What’s Your Brown Number? Vinnie Ann Bose (India, 2016, 5 min)
WIYBN is an animated short exploring the absurdity of colorism.
I Know Her, Fawzia Mirza, (Canada/Pakistan, 2019, 3 min)
A playful reflection on intimate relationships.

COAST TO COAST: MUMBAI TO THE MISSION
2022-09-25 17:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
See only at the Roxie Theater, not available online.
Filmmakers Hena Ashraf, Naman Gupta and Faroukh Virani in person!
3rd i’s signature shorts program brings filmmakers into conversation together from South Asia to California and throughout the Diaspora. With short-form documentaries to dramatic narratives and genres ranging from comedy to animation, this year’s edition tackles stories of relationships, identity, LGBTQ+ and social justice. Be warned, there’s a fair amount of humor!

Tomorrow My Love, Gitanjali Rao (India, 2021, 4 min)
With artful simplicity, exquisite hand drawn animation and her signature warmth, 3rd i Festival alum Gitanjali Rao (Bombay Rose), pays homage to love in this exquisite ballad about touching the heart without being able to touch.
Dimanche Matin, Vinnie Bose (India, 2019, 4 min)
Every Sunday morning, Ann, a 7- year-old Indian girl, is forced to wake up early to go to church with her family. But this Sunday, mass ends up being a lot more eventful than expected.
The Return, Hena Ashraf (USA, 2021, 18 min)
A writer-director struggles with her profound sense of loss after the sudden death of her father, who dies while visiting his homeland of India. Hena wrestles with coming to terms with their strained relationship, by the only way she knows how: making a film.
Brown Elephant, Fawzia Mirza (Pakistan/ Canada, 2022, 3 min)
Hilarity ensues when a young Muslim woman and her family discuss a peacekeeping solution for their overly aggressive “White Elephant” gift exchange.
Subscribe/Follow, Faroukh Virani (USA, 2022, 15 min)
A social media influencer code-switches his platform, but gets challenged by his peers when they find faults in his messaging.
Coffee Shop Names, Deepak Sethi (USA, 2020, 8 min)
In this smart and funny short feature about identity and cultural awareness, three Indian friends on their regular coffee break discuss what their “coffee shop names” are and their made-up personas behind them.
Auntie, Fawzia Mirza (Pakistan/Canada, 2022, 7 min)
A day after meeting a crew of 20-somethings at a South Asian happy hour, 39-year-old Hena is thrown into their group text.
Coming Out With The Help Of A Time Machine, Naman Gupta (USA, 2021, 15 min)
When coming out to his traditional Indian parents, Sid uses his time machine to reset the day in an attempt to make sure everything goes perfectly.

ANIMAL
2022-09-25 15:15 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
See only at the Roxie Theater; not available online.
Cyril Dion’s insightful and transformative documentary takes a fresh look at the world’s ecological crises of climate change and the sixth mass extinction of wildlife, through the eyes of two 16-year-old environmental activists, Vipulan Puvaneswaran and Bella Lack.
Through the extraordinary investigative journey of teenagers Vipulan, of Sri Lankan descent from France, and of Bella, from England, we learn from scientists and activists what is being done around the world to attempt to reverse mass extinction, revealing a quest for another way of living alongside other species, as co-habitants rather than predators.
The young activists take us to the source of the problem, which is hopefully the solution, too: our relationship to the living world. Through their confrontation of this reality, we become more deeply aware of how we are linked to all other species, and that by saving them, we also save ourselves, providing the possibility of a brighter future. As Dion explains, “The human being believed that he could separate himself from nature, but he is nature. He too is an Animal.”
Golden Eye nominee, Cannes Film Festival 2021
Youth Jury Prize winner, International French Film Festival of Namur 2021

IN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM
2022-09-25 13:00 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
See only at the Roxie Theater, not available online.
Filmmakers Vivek Bald and Alaudin Ullah in person for Q&A!
In Search of Bengali Harlem is a transformative journey for Alaudin Ullah, and for our understanding of the complex histories of South Asian Americans.
As a teenager in 1980s Harlem, Alaudin Ullah was swept up in the revolutionary energy of early hip-hop. He rejected his working-class Bangladeshi parents and turned his back on everything South Asian and Muslim until he became an adult. In Search of Bengali Harlem follows Ullah, from the streets of New York City to the villages of Bangladesh to uncover the pasts of his father, Habib, and mother, Mohima. He discovers that Habib was part of an extraordinary history of mid-20th century Harlem, in which Bengali men, dodging racist Asian Exclusion laws, married into New York’s African American and Puerto Rican communities – and in which the likes of Malcolm X and Miles Davis shared space and broke bread with immigrants from the subcontinent.

DIL BOLE HADIPPA
2022-09-24 19:30 | Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA, 94114, United States
See only at the Castro Theatre, not available online.
Get your Bollywood groove on with 3rd i’s Bollywood at the Castro! Enjoy a blockbuster classic with exuberance and camp on the BIG SCREEN – one of the most fun and popular events at the festival!
Fans know Rani Mukherjee as one of the most beautiful, dynamic women ever to grace a movie screen, and a celebrated actor in Indian cinema. Featuring sparkling comic performances from both Mukherjee and her co-star Shahid Kapoor, as well as dazzling song sequences, this is a rousing, fun-filled musical romance – with cricket, too.
Mukherjee plays a feisty Punjabi woman who just happens to be a brilliant batsman. When the cocky Rohan (Kapoor) returns from overseas to take up coaching a national men’s cricket team, she seeks a position in the lineup. There’s no place on his team for a girl. So, in a conceit right out of Shakespeare, she dons a beard and a turban to fulfill her dream of playing.
Filled with the booty-shaking, percussive joy of Punjabi music, this is a full-on Bollywood masala movie, never shy about deploying Mukherjee’s smoky hotness and the hunky cuteness of Kapoor. Right up to its fantastic closing number, this movie bursts with vibrant, firecracker charm.

MUTINY: Asians Storm British Music
2022-09-24 17:00 | Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA, 94114, United States
See only at the Castro Theatre, not available online.
Filmmaker Vivek Bald in person for Q&A!
In a thrilling mix of live music performances, candid interviews and rare archival footage, director Vivek Bald charts the meteoric rise of South Asian music in 1990’s Britain and the decades of cultural cross-pollination and political struggle that led up to that historic moment. The documentary features some of the greatest innovators and legendary artists in the South Asian British music scene of the 90s: Asian Dub Foundation, Talvin Singh, State of Bengal, Fun-Da-Mental, Anjali, DJ Ritu, Joi, Black Star Liner and many others.
Mutiny presents the story of a generation that grew up defining itself in an environment of racial violence, while drawing strength from both British street culture and South Asian roots. Nearly every musician interviewed talks about experiencing anti-Asian racism while growing up. Bald shows how identification with England’s black population led them to embrace reggae and hip-hop in addition to Indian sounds like Bollywood soundtrack music, bhangra, and Indian classical music. This led to the Asian Underground movement of English rock in the 90s, with artists mixing the influences of their parents’ cultures with electronica, hip-hop, reggae, and punk that produced unique and powerful new sounds that have become some of the greatest contributions to British music.

AFTER PARTY
9:30pm – 11:30pm
Come to a special “After Party” of Asian Underground beats reminiscent of Mutiny & Dhamaal (Azaad) club events, Global Hip Hop, plus the latest flavors of the diaspora.
Performances by:
Navdeep Music (Mutiny, Anamika)
SETI X
Maneesh the Twister (Surya Dub, Dhamaal) soundcloud.com/surya-dub
Bissap Baobab Village
243 Mission St, SF (btwn 18th & 19th)
9:30pm-11:30pm
Call (415) 826-9287 for more details

SHANKAR’S FAIRIES
2022-09-24 15:00 | Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA, 94114, United States
See only at the Castro Theatre, not available online.
Filled with wonder and imagination, Irfana Majumdar’s nostalgic and insightful period piece portrays a privileged family in Lucknow, India in the 1960s.
Majumdar’s feature debut delicately weaves together the personal and social lives of a wealthy family, while simultaneously delving into the postcolonial era in which India is newly independent but still remains exploitative and bound by caste and class.
Shankar, a village man with many skills, is an indispensable servant in the house of a senior police officer. His master’s young daughter loves his magical stories about fairy tales, and they share a close bond. Meanwhile, Shankar’s own daughter falls seriously ill in his village while he is away.
These complexities in the narrative explore the structures of class, caste, inequality, and social obligations. Loosely based on a story written by Majumdar’s mother, Nita Kumar, the narrative was filmed in the maternal family home.
Director Irfana has commented:
“The countless moments of daily life shape our future. In our childhood, we both witness injustice and experience wonder. The film asks: how do we reconcile with this? Who do we become? What do we remember?’’
Golden Leopard nominee, Locarno International Film Festival
Gold Hugo nominee, Chicago International Film Festival

Adieu Godard
2022-09-24 13:00 | Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA, 94114, United States
See only at the Castro Theatre, not available online.
In this wry, arthouse dark comedy, director Amartya Bhattacharyya pays homage to and draws inspiration from his favorite filmmaker, the legendary auteur Jean-Luc Godard and his early 1960s French New wave films.
The elderly Ananda lives in a small village in the rural backdrop of Odisha in northeastern India. He has the reputation of being the village pervert for his obsession with porn, buying DVDs from a local seller and organizing frequent viewing parties with his friends, while ignoring the visible disdain of his wife and daughter. Things go awry for Ananda when his supplier, in a comical mistake, gives him a DVD of Godard’s Breathless, branding it as a “French pornographic film.”
Ignoring his friends’ derision for the lack of nudity and sex, with Breathless, Ananda grows enamored with Godard films, so much so that he decides to hold a film festival of Godard’s films in the village.
Adieu Godard provides a critical commentary on the conventions of commercial cinema.
Bhattacharyya’s narrative technique of Godard vs. porn sets up the debate of cinema as an artistic medium vs. cinema as a distraction from daily menial drudgery. It also ponders the idea of where appreciation of art originates, and how it may not be constrained by the boundaries of socioeconomic class.
Winner – Best Director, Actor and Screenplay – Sipontum Arthouse Intl Film Festival 2022
Winner – Best Film Bengaluru International Film Festival 2022
Winner – Best Film Golden Royal Bengal Tiger, Kolkata INternational Film Festival 2022
Winner – The “Dare to Dream” award at the UK Film Festival (UKAFF) 2022

FOUR SAMOSAS
2022-09-23 19:15 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
See only at the Roxie Theater, not available online.
Filmmaker/actor Ravi Kapoor and actor Venk Potula in person for Q&A!!
California Premiere
Written and directed by Ravi Kapoor (Miss India America), this fun romantic comedy affectionately incorporates Indian cultural ideals into an American heist movie genre, creating a mixture or “masala” reviewed as the most unique film to come out of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Shot in vibrant, saturated color reminiscent of Wes Anderson, the narrative brims with scrappy, indie-spirit in which underachieving wanna-be rapper Vinny and his neighborhood pals plan to disrupt his ex-girlfriend’s wedding by stealing her family’s jewels from a supermarket safe.
Centered in “Little India” in Artesia, California, the comedy taps into the various aspects of the customs and the food in the area. Through the film’s nuanced and whimsical plot, the characters celebrate various aspects of South Asian American culture with their infectious spirit.
