3rd i

Alka Raghuram, a Filmmaker's Workshop
2022-05-29 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
3rd i presents an in-person workshop
FREE admission at the door. Proof of vaccination and masks are required.
In this interactive presentation, Alka Raghuram — filmmaker and artist — will share her works and works-in-progress, her creative process during Covid, and how she creates unique points of view that reflect the characters’ and the filmmaker’s worldview. She’ll offer a sneak peek of her new documentary on mental health, Blueprint of Love.
Supported in part by the California Arts Council
Alka Raghuram is an award-winning filmmaker and a multidisciplinary artist. She has made several fiction, experimental, and documentary films. She was awarded the L’Oreal Woman of Worth Filmmaker Award for her script The Conqueror at Tribeca All Access, and Director of The Year at the IDF Forum, Westlake International Documentary Festival for her feature documentary Burqa Boxers about Muslim women boxers in Kolkata, which won the top prize, Grant Open Doors, at the Locarno Film Festival co-production market. Her script Ayna was a finalist at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Alka frequently collaborates with other artists to create narrative performances and installations. Some of her collaborations include “Yatra” with Kathak and Flamenco dancers Pandit Chitresh Das and Antonio Hidalgo Paz; “Agni” with choreographer Charlotte Moraga and musician Alam Khan, and a photo, video and art installation Inspired by Burqa Boxers at the Locarno Film Festival. She recently received Creative Work Fund for a multimedia project called “Invoking The River” about the river Yamuna’s mythological significance and its environmental degradation in collaboration with Chitresh Das Institute of dance. Alka is currently developing a sci-fi fantasy series, Krishna 0110.

An Encore Special Talk by Robin Sukhadia
2022-06-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom from your own device
3rd i Presents
A special talk by Robin Sukhadia on the healing power of tabla, with a live sound meditation
Free live workshop via Zoom
Limited seats available
Register at: 3rditickets@gmail.com

Supported in part by the California Arts Council
In this special and unique workshop focused on the tabla, Fulbright scholar, musician/composer and 3rd i alum, Robin Sukhadia, will share the history of raga (melody) and tala (rhythm) on the subcontinent of India. He will also present a live tabla sound meditation to give context to the effect tabla can have on bringing peace to the body and mind.
The convergence of Persian/Islamic and Hindu cultures over centuries of time has produced a musical tradition that is full of healing power. While these cultures are in some ways diametrically opposed, they align on the importance of sound and vibration and their connection to the body and to cosmology. Listeners and practitioners today are drawn to this healing power, as Hindustani Classical continues to mesmerize listeners the world over. The primary rhythmic instrument of Hindustani classical music, the tabla, holds a special role in grounding and propelling the energy of ragas (melodic scale explorations), which are designed to provoke introspection and uplift the spirits of the listener.
A Spotify playlist has been curated by Robin to accompany the workshop.
A Master in Fine Arts graduate from the World Music program at the California Institute of the Arts, Robin Sukhadia studies tabla (classical north Indian drums) under Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri at the California Institute of the Arts and the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California. His special focus on the musical traditions and rhythms of south Asia informs his approach to musical arrangement and composition on a wide range of concert, film, and album productions. (tablapusher.com) Robin has traveled internationally on behalf of Project Ahimsa, an organization committed to empowering impoverished youth through music education. He performs and teaches extensively, in both classical and contemporary contexts, and has developed innovative music education programs at the Mahatma Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, the Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the Machine Project in Los Angeles and the Sangati Center in San Francisco.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

COAST TO COAST: MUMBAI TO THE MISSION
2022-09-25 17:30 | 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.

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.

Grounding, a Film Showcase co-presented with APAture 2022
2022-10-23 12:30 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Featured artist Pallavi Somusetty will screen Coach Emily, a 9 minute sneak peek into the feature documentary to come, followed by her short doc Escaping Agra, about a transgender Indian teen.

Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art
2023-03-31 - 2023-07-10 | Asian Art Museum, Samsung Hall, 200 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA, United States
Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art
MAR 31, 2023 – JUL 10, 2023
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
A journey for the mind, body, and senses through two millennia of art inspired by dance from South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas.
Dance is everywhere in the arts of the Indian cultural sphere: from the sacred dance of a god bringing the world into being to the elaborate choreography of modern Bollywood, every move has meaning. Through July 10, 2023, the Asian Art Museum presents Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art, inviting all to discover the power of dance in the visual arts of India, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas, where dancing plays a significant role in religion, mythology, and ceremony.
Featuring more than 120 artworks borrowed from 20 of the finest museums and private collections, Beyond Bollywood immerses museumgoers in a multimedia showcase of dance, bringing a wide array of historic and contemporary sculpture, painting, textiles, jewelry, photographs, and more to vivid, passionate life. Through encounters with artworks from countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, Beyond Bollywood reveals the enduring capacity of dance to inspire a diverse range of artists and audiences alike. “We hope visitors will come away with a transformed notion of the importance and power of dance,” says co-curator Forrest McGill, “what it has meant in the past, and what it can mean in their own lives today.”
The exhibition’s design takes full advantage of the theatrical and technical capabilities of the museum’s new Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion, incorporating experiential elements from subtle musical backdrops to gallery-spanning video installations. Through live dance performances (taking place within the main pavilion itself) and other associated dance events and programs, viewers can experience the magic of dance in person.
Beyond Bollywood is organized by the Asian Art Museum and the Cincinatti Art Museum and co-curated by Wattis Senior Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art Forrest McGill and Ainsley M. Cameron, curator of South Asian Art, Islamic Art and Antiquities at the Cincinnati Art Museum. An exhibition catalog published by the Asian Art Museum includes essays by McGill, Cameron, Laura Weinstein, Padma Kaimal, and Esha Niyogi De.

Bhangra and Beats Night Market
2023-05-12 17:00 - 22:00 | Downtown SF, Battery St @ Clay, San Francisco, CA, 94126, United States
3rd i Co-Presents with Non Stop Bhangra & Into the Streets:
Bhangra and Beats Night Market
Kicking Off Friday, May 12th
Time: 5-10pm | Free | All Ages
Free RSVP/Registration:
https://bhangraandbeats-may12th.eventbrite.com
Move to the beats of the Bay, taste delicious street food cuisines, sip cocktails, shop from unique local artisans, and celebrate San Francisco’s cultural renaissance — all while gazing at the moon rising above the stunning Downtown San Francisco skyline at Bhangra & Beats Night Market.
Taking place over three Fridays in 2023 from 5pm-10pm, this FREE event will transform 3 City blocks into a vibrant cultural destination for the delight of locals and visitors alike.

3rd i Co-presents Lagaan in SF
2023-05-19 18:30 - 22:30 | 4 Star Theater, 2200 Clement St, San Francisco, CA, 94121, United States
3rd i Co-Presents
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time In India
A 2001 Bollywood blockbuster classic directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, Lagaan stars Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh as his leading lady. A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) composed the highly acclaimed musical score, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.
Farmers facing a delayed start to the Monsoons in a Champaner village in the 1890s are worried they will not be able to pay the land tax imposed by its colonizer, Great Britain. Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) accepts the challenge by the antagonist, British officer Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne), to beat his team in a game of cricket and repeal the tax.
The Bollywood epic drew a “crossover” audience as India’s entry to the 2002 Oscars, earning a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and 8 National Film awards in India.
TICKETS
Discounted tickets for Seniors 60+ are available on the ticket site.
DATE
Friday, May 19, 2023
6:30 PM – 10:29 PM
VENUE
4 Star Theater
2200 Clement Street San Francisco, CA, 94121 United States
event website: https://www.4-star-movies.com/calendar-of-events/lagaan-once-upon-a-time-in-india-630pm

Bhangra and Beats Night Market
2023-07-14 17:00 - 22:00, 2023-09-08 17:00 - 22:00 | Downtown SF, Battery St @ Clay, San Francisco, CA, 94126, United States
3rd i Co-Presents with Non Stop Bhangra & Into the Streets:
Bhangra and Beats Night Market
Time: 5-10pm | Free | All Ages
Free RSVP/Registration:
https://bhangraandbeats-may12th.eventbrite.com
Move to the beats of the Bay, taste delicious street food cuisines, sip cocktails, shop from unique local artisans, and celebrate San Francisco’s cultural renaissance — all while gazing at the moon rising above the stunning Downtown San Francisco skyline at Bhangra & Beats Night Market.
Taking place over three Fridays in 2023 from 5pm-10pm, this FREE event will transform 3 City blocks into a vibrant cultural destination for the delight of locals and visitors alike.

WHILE WE WATCHED
2023-10-20 19:15, 2023-10-20 21:30 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Filmmaker Vinay Shukla in person!
San Francisco Premiere
A riveting and essential film, WHILE WE WATCHED, directed by 3rd i alum Vinay Shukla (AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN), is an award-winning gem of a doc and not to be missed. It is an urgent reminder that we have much to lose if we can no longer tell fact from fiction. The film smartly captures the state of contemporary news media with a powerful character study of Ravish Kumar, prime-time Indian TV news anchor and journalist, and his unshakable quest to speak the truth and to hold power to account.
Shukla’s documentary poignantly chronicles the challenges Kumar faces as he strives to uphold standards of independence and accountability in the press. The emphasis of the film is on Kumar, and his perseverance against the normalization of authoritarianism, which forms the heartbeat of the story.
WHILE WE WATCHED is fast-paced, with sharp and unflinching commentary, and is essential viewing for anyone interested in how journalism and democracy are under threat. Although the film is rooted in India, its depiction of how misinformation is eroding fact-based news could apply to many countries.
WINNER – Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Amplify Voices Award 2022
WINNER – Busan International Film Festival, Busan Cinephile Award 2022

San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival 2023
2023-10-20 19:15 - 2023-10-22 20:00 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Join us for 3rd i’s 21st Annual San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival, October 20-22 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, with special guests celebrating 21 years of community and diversity!
View the schedule of films here.

A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING
2023-10-21 13:00 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Payal Kapadia’s documentary film, A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING, is a brilliant, dreamlike, poetic exploration of the political and social changes occurring in India.
Through a series of letters read aloud to an absent lover, we learn about the fears, desires, and philosophical identity of a young woman named L, a student at the Film and Television Institute of India. Through these reflective words, along with a variety of documentary images and an evocative music score, writer-director Payal Kapadia has constructed an astonishing fragmentary work that witnesses India’s resurgent extreme nationalism.
A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING is a poetic testament to the inseparability of life, film, politics, and dreams, while functioning as an essential portrait of the ongoing struggle of resistance.
The film quotes Milan Kundera’s observation, “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” Kapadia added, “We wanted the film to have a feeling of timelessness. Almost like the viewer is in the future, and looking back at this time. Maybe it is easier to gain perspective when one looks back at the past.
Winner – Cannes Film Festival, Golden Eye, Best Documentary Award
Winner – Toronto International Film Festival Amplify Voices Award
Winner – Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Best Documentary Award

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BANGLA SURF GIRLS
2023-10-21 15:00 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
BANGLA SURF GIRLS, directed by Elizabeth D. Costa, is an inspiring and immersive documentary that takes us into the heart of Cox’s Bazar, a beach town in Bangladesh, where we witness the transformation of young girls who join a local surf club and dream of freedom from traditional expectations.
The memorable, educational and heartfelt storyline of the film intimately captures the raw emotions of the family, and the complex pressures on poor, working-class girls. Balancing the freedom of the waves with the restrictive realities of their circumstances, the film allows us to experience the thrill and struggle of coming of age. SURF GIRLS will have you rooting for the young women each time they overcome a wave or hurdle.
Director Elizabeth D. Costa is a first-time Bangladeshi filmmaker who honed her career as a script supervisor for Tareque and Catherine Masud (THE CLAY BIRD, 2002 Cannes Film Festival). The film is written and produced by Lalita Krishna.
WINNER – Portuguese Film Festival, Women in Surf Award
WINNER – Paris Surf & Skateboard Film Festival, Best Surf Documentary Award

WINNER – Bushwick Film Festival New York, Best Feature Documentary Award

THE GOLDEN THREAD
2023-10-21 17:15 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Filmmaker Nishtha Jain in person!
Bay Area Premiere
A visually spectacular and symphonic ode to manual labor and the jute factories of West Bengal, India. THE GOLDEN THREAD documentary, directed by 3rd i alum and multi-award-winning filmmaker Nishtha Jain (GULABI GANG, LAKSHMI AND ME), with its magical long takes and beautifully composed shots, fully immerses the audience into the world of the golden fiber or jute.
The film shifts from the jute fields of West Bengal to weaving in gigantic mills where the fiber is processed, and where not much has changed since the industrial revolution. As Jain mentions, “powered by steam and sweat, work is a dance to the rhythms of the century-old machines”. And in between scenes, we meet the workers on their lunch breaks, smoking ganja to keep going, and singing at night while dreaming of becoming movie stars.
“My stories are complex,” Jain says of her films, “They lie in the gray. (THE GOLDEN THREAD) is not just a one-line story. It’s about jute. It’s about this factory. It’s about the ecosystem. It’s about factories being made obsolete. It’s about how these factories work, and the people (who work in them).”
Special Mention – DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Feature Documentary Award
Nominated – Munich International Documentary Film Festival, Viktor Award

AGRA
2023-10-21 20:00 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Fasten your seatbelts and proceed with caution, the new arthouse film AGRA, from 3rd i alum Kanu Behl (TITLI), which opened to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, is an audacious and riveting film that looks into Indian family dynamics, patriarchy, and sexual frustration within limited physical space in metropolitan homes in India.
Guru, a young man in his twenties, works in a call center in Agra and falls in love with Mala, a work colleague. However, he still lives with his parents. And when Guru announces that he wants to marry Mala and have her move into the house, nothing goes as planned.
Kanu Behl skillfully uses AGRA to explore sexual repression through vivid sexual imagery and to examine dysfunction and physical space. And how the lack of space, in a country of over a billion, affects the way people live their lives. The film is captivating and intense, but not for the faint of heart.
PREMIERED – Director’s Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival to a standing ovation
WINNER – Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne, Best Indie Film Award & Best Actor, Mohit Agarwal

TIKTOK, BOOM
2023-10-22 12:30 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
What does it mean to be a digital native? TIKTOK, BOOM dissects one of the most influential platforms of the contemporary social media landscape. Directed by CODED BIAS filmmaker Shalini Kantayya, the film keenly examines the algorithmic, sociopolitical, economic, and cultural influences and impact of the history-making app. This rigorous exploration balances a genuine interest in the TikTok community and its innovative mechanics with a healthy skepticism around the security issues, global political challenges, and racial biases behind the platform. A cast of Gen Z subjects, including influencer Feroza Aziz and beatboxer Spencer X – the son of an Ecuadorian immigrant father and a first-generation Asian-American mother – remains at its center, making this one of the most needed and empathetic films exploring what it means to be a digital native.
With this new director’s cut, Kantayya, an Emmy-nominated Sundance Fellow, continues her engagement in the space where technology meets, amplifies, and opposes our humanity. Her incisive, current look at the power and complexity of tech continues to advance a conversation that is bettered by her careful stewardship.
Nominated – Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize
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KATHAL (JACKFRUIT)
2023-10-22 14:30 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Click above for FREE tickets! Preceded by short film DOS BROS FORCE.
KATHAL (Jackfruit), directed by Amit Ashraf, is a fun, quirky, and enjoyable comedy for the whole family. At its core, KATHAL is a creative and exuberant story about the adventures of two mischievous kids, but on its edges, the film is an enlightening satire around class and gender discrimination.
Two kids from the wrong side of the tracks sneak into a posh gated community to try and steal the world’s largest jackfruit. The kids’ getaway is blocked when they learn the fruit is too big to be pulled through the escape hole, and they are forced instead to try and sell the jackfruit to the eccentric residents. What started as a simple playful heist turns into an adventure that tests their friendship.
Director Amit Ashraf gave the recipe for making KATHAL: Mix “some childish mischief from THE LITTLE RASCALS, add gems of truths revealed by each strange encounter from THE LITTLE PRINCE, and spin it all together in RICK AND MORTY creator Dan Harmon’s famous story circle, and voila! KATHAL takes shape.” Ashraf is a 3rd i Fest alum (UDHAO), and also runs a film company dedicated to making children’s content.
WINNER – Ahmedabad International Children’s Film Festival, Best Story
WINNER – Cannes World Film Festival, Best Comedy

DOS BROS FORCE, Jyothi Kalyan Sura (USA, 2022, 15 min)
An adorable and loving tale set in Los Angeles, 1996, about the Sura family, a financially struggling Indian immigrant household. For her 9th birthday, peppy little Isha has only one wish – to get $12 dollars to play video games. Unable to convince her parents, she devises an ingenious plan with her 11-year-old brother to raise money. The innocent act will change their lives forever.
WINNER – FilmGood, Best Short Film
WINNER – Canadian Cinematography Awards, Best Short Film

3rd i’s SHORTS: FROM MUMBAI TO THE MISSION
2023-10-22 16:00 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Filmmakers Rucha Chitnis and Alka Raghuram in person!
3rd i’s signature shorts program brings filmmakers into conversation together from South Asia to California and throughout the Diaspora. From short-form documentaries to dramatic narratives, and genres ranging from Sci-Fi to comedy to horror, this year’s edition tackles stories of relationships, identity, and social justice.
GANGA, Alka Raghuram, (3rd i Fest alum) (USA, 2023, 2:23 min)
An experimental first-person account of the sacred significance of rivers in Indian mythology, and their environmental degradation.
VAN VERSUS VIKAS (Forest Versus Progress), Rucha Chitnis, (3rd i Fest alum) (USA, 2023, 15 min)
A film chronicling the resistance of an Adivasi (tribal/indigenous) family, along with other activists, to the destruction of forests and surrounding ecosystems from development projects in Mumbai.
FLY, Aditya Verma, (India, 2023, 3 min) (Animation)
Meet Sange, Anicat, and Fakeer, intergalactic animated characters who adventurously travel through space and time on their surfboards and jet packs.
THE LIE GAME, Kalyan Sura (USA, 2018,15 min)
A delicate, profound, and seductive short film about a computer scientist and her lost love, and about the fundamental choices defining us.
I DON’T FEEL LIKE KNOWING YOU (Ancora Non so), Maaria Sayed, (Italy, 2023, 15 min)
Sensual, sun-drenched, and breezy scenes pull us into Fatema’s experience of adolescence as an exploratory and sensual time. Fatema is an Indian Muslim teenager living in an Italian small town. She spends her summer blending in with her friends, but when a burqa-clad teenager moves into her neighborhood, their cultural similarities are brought to the surface.
CRAZY FOR BOLLYWOOD, Imran J. Khan (USA, 2022, 6 min)
Raj introduces his family to his unique girlfriend, Priyanka: a woman who believes life is a Bollywood movie and she is the heroine.
MOSHARI, Nuhash Humayun (Bangladesh, 2022, 21 min)
Rich with allegory and pathos, MOSHARI serves up a terrifying dystopian world where death comes at night. Set in Dhaka, Bangladesh, among the last surviving members of mankind, two sisters must learn to protect themselves from mysterious blood-sucking nocturnal demons. Winner of the 2022 SXSW Midnight Shorts Grand Jury Prize.

JOYLAND
2023-10-22 18:00 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
JOYLAND is a visually gorgeous and subversive family drama set in the bustling megacity of Lahore, Pakistan. Pressured to earn his own salary, soft-spoken house husband Haider is hired to perform in an erotic dance show. He’s attracted to the lead performer, an irrepressible trans woman named Alina Khan, and their relationship takes unpredictable turns.
This striking feature upends traditional gender roles and identities through a story of complex and imperfect expressions of love. JOYLAND is funny and deeply poignant, and written with such sensitivity by director Saim Sadiq that it leaves you thinking about the invisibility of desire long after you’ve left the theater. Celebrate this startling and groundbreaking film at the Festival!
“Funny, forward, and bracingly political…Pakistani director Saim Sadiq’s sensuous film mounts an indictment of misogyny and transphobia without ever lecturing us.”– Anthony Lane, The New Yorker
“Extraordinary… a revolutionary film.”– Hannah Bae, The San Francisco Chronicle
WINNER – Cannes Film Festival, Jury Prize and the Queer Palm Prize
WINNER – Independent Spirit Awards, Best International Film
SHORTLIST – 95th Academy Awards, Best International Feature

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3rd i Co-presents "To Kill a Tiger"
2023-11-04 15:30 | Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Q&A with director Nisha Pahuja, moderated by Sara Dosa (Academy-Award Nominee, FIRE OF LOVE).
Join us Saturday, November 4, at 3:30 PM for a special screening of the powerful award-winning documentary TO KILL A TIGER at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco!
In To Kill a Tiger, Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the survivor of sexual assault. In India, where a rape is reported every 20 minutes and conviction rates are less than 30 percent, Ranjit’s decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Note: Content contains sexual violence that may be a trigger for sensitive viewers.

3rd i co-presents "Love, Simeon"
2024-03-10 15:30 | Root Division, 1131 Mission St, San Francisco, 94103, United States
LOVE, SIMEON
A new motion-picture performance
Written and directed by Anuj Larvaidya
March 10, 3:30pm
Closing weekend of CRIP’D ECOLOGIES exhibition
ROOT DIVISION
1131 Mission St
San Francisco
Love, Simeon is a motion-picture performance that conjures a portal to Simeon – a rhesus macaque in a primate testing facility. As an ecosexual living with HIV, my entry point into this dense knot centers the story of those simians who have been laboring to find a prevention/cure for this deadly virus. In cinematic dreams and séances, Simeon tells the story of SHIV – a chimeric construct created in a laboratory, so that a panacea might be found.
Event information and registration
More about Love, Simeon
