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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T150000
DTSTAMP:20250910T074303Z
CREATED:20250905T210109Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T074303Z
UID:10010170-1760194800-1760194800@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Cactus Pears
DESCRIPTION:CACTUS PEARS (Sabar Bonda)\, written and directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade\, is gorgeously shot in picturesque vignettes in open landscapes and small villages\, with a poetic and open-hearted narrative that skews predictable tropes. \nKanawade’s debut feature follows two men navigating societal pressures in a rural community in Western India (Maharashtra). The story centers on Anand\, a 30-something gay city dweller forced to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in his ancestral home in India’s countryside\, where he bonds with Balya\, a local farmer struggling to remain unmarried. As the mourning period ends and Anand must return to the city\, he faces a crucial decision about their relationship. \nA sensitive study of bereavement\, along with a powerful exploration of a mother-son bond\, CACTUS PEARS is a tender\, intimate\, and sensual portrait of being queer in a rural\, lower-class Indian community. The emotionally resonant drama has connected with audiences across borders. It premiered and triumphed at the Sundance Film Festival as the first Indian and Marathi language film to win in the world cinema competition. \n“…exhilarating moments\, sudden and inevitable.” – Siddhant Adlakha\, Variety \n“…shot decisively with unapologetic realism or transportive reverie.” – Ritesh Mehta\, IndieWire \nWINNER – Sundance Film Festival\, 2025: World Cinema Grand Jury Prize\, Dramatic\nWINNER – SXSW London\, 2025: Best Feature Film Award\nWINNER – Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival 2025:  Best Narrative Feature\n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/cactus-pears/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2025,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T171500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T171500
DTSTAMP:20260813T190248Z
CREATED:20250905T210102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260813T190248Z
UID:10010168-1760202900-1760202900@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Farming The Revolution
DESCRIPTION:Q&A with director Nistha Jain and Priya Satia!\nNishtha Jain’s (3rd i Fest alumna GULABI GANG\, THE GOLDEN THREAD) immersive and stirring documentary captures the unwavering resolve of ordinary people with extraordinary courage\, chronicling the revolutionary standoff between Indian Sikh and Punjabi farmers and the Modi government. \nIn November 2020\, Gurbaz Sangha\, a young farmer from Punjab\, embarked on a remarkable journey. Riding his tractor 400 kilometers to Delhi\, he joined forces with thousands\, and later more than half a million\, men and women from many parts of the country. Their united mission: to stand against the newly enacted farm laws. These farmers believed that if implemented\, these laws would negatively impact the government-protected farmers’ markets\, leaving the farmers to the vagaries of the free market. \nAmid a COVID lockdown\, the farmers—representing over half of India’s workforce—vowed to remain at the borders until the laws were repealed. The protest cities that mushroomed outside Delhi created a parallel world where they redefined coexistence\, with women emerging as equal political partners. Day after day\, the protesters showcased India’s pluralistic\, defiant\, and resilient spirit. As the movement gained momentum\, farmers from across the country\, along with trade unions of industrial workers\, rallied in solidarity. The scale of these protests echoed the spirit of India’s independence movement\, culminating in an unexpected\, triumphant outcome. \nWINNER – Hot Docs Festival\, 2024: Best International Feature Documentary\nWINNER – International Documentary Short Film Festival of Kerala\, 2024: Special Jury Award\nWINNER – Toulouse Indian Film Festival\, 2025: Mention Spéciale\nPREMIERED – Hot Docs Festival\, 2024\n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/farming-the-revolution/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2025,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/FarmingTheRevolution_websize.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T194500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T194500
DTSTAMP:20250910T074159Z
CREATED:20250905T210056Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T074159Z
UID:10010169-1760211900-1760211900@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Pinch
DESCRIPTION:Q&A with director Uttera Singh!\nA vibrant dark comedy with nuanced and deeply engaging social commentary\, PINCH\, directed and written by Uttera Singh\, is a confident debut feature that shouldn’t be missed. \nWith saturated color\, swinging rhythm\, and sharp emotional edges\, the film dives into the generational fault lines of truth\, trauma\, and tradition—all through the eyes of a young travel vlogger named Maitri\, played by Uttera Singh. \nThinking it will make good content for her travel-centric YouTube channel\, Maitri tags along with her mother\, neighbors\, trusted landlord Rajesh\, and his wife to a temple during the Navratri festival. When Matri is groped by Rajesh on the way to the festival\, she feels shocked and furious\, and impulsively decides to take retributive steps\, setting off a chain of events that rocks her tight-knit community. \nThe film’s lens alternates between wry observation and emotional intensity\, all carried by Singh’s clear narrative trajectory and her performance. PINCH is a beautifully plotted exploration of voice\, guilt\, trauma\, collective action and the strength it takes to stand up to power. \nPREMIERED – Tribeca Film Festival\, 2025: International Narrative Competition\n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/pinch/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2025,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Pinch_websize.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251012T121500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251012T121500
DTSTAMP:20250910T013726Z
CREATED:20250905T210048Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T013726Z
UID:10010165-1760271300-1760271300@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Humans in the Loop
DESCRIPTION:Aranya Sahay’s engaging and poignant debut feature\, HUMANS IN THE LOOP\, offers a nuanced exploration of Artificial Intelligence technology in India through the perspective of a tribal woman’s experience and her beliefs in the natural order. \nThe film portrays Nehma\, an Adivasi woman who returns to her Jharkhand village with her children\, post-divorce. To sustain her family\, she becomes a data annotator\, a role reflecting the real-life involvement of many indigenous tribal women in India’s burgeoning AI industry. \nThis uniquely whimsical film weaves a story about the significant yet often unrecognized contributions of women from rural backgrounds in India who undertake meticulous data-labeling tasks foundational to the development of AI. \nSahay explores identity\, technology\, and empowerment through Nehma and her children’s journey by empathetically exploring how the lived experiences of data annotators can influence AI biases. \nThe film is a tale that is both cautionary and endearing\, prompting viewers to reconsider AI’s ethical dimensions and its impact on social conditioning and on formalizing societal biases\, as well as its effects on marginalized communities. \nPREMIERED – Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI)\, 2024\nWINNER – 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival: FIPRESCI Award and “Best Film”\n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/humans-in-the-loop/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2025,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251012T134500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251012T134500
DTSTAMP:20250912T095110Z
CREATED:20250905T210041Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250912T095110Z
UID:10010167-1760276700-1760276700@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:3rd i Shorts 2025
DESCRIPTION:Q&A with filmmakers!\nFrom comic relief to social insights\, the 2025 edition of 3rd i’s signature short films spans vast differences—both literally and metaphorically—with films and filmmakers from South Asia to California and throughout the Diaspora. This year’s selection of narratives and docs lifts up stories of immigration\, relationships\, identity\, gender and sexuality\, and social justice. \nHARIJ WEDS SAJILI\, Prataya Saha (USA\, 2025\, 19 min)\nA whimsical tale about a young bride in India who fakes her suicide to reclaim her freedom\, with the help of a sex worker. \nZARI\, Shruti Parekh (USA\, 2025\, 19 min)\nAmerican teen Neelu feels like a fish out of water amidst preparations for her sister’s wedding in Delhi—until she forges a brief and unexpected connection with Zeyb\, a quiet sari-store clerk who moonlights as an internet drag queen. \nTHE TEST\,  Benjamin Sutton (UK 2025\, 4 min)\nA hilarious short film about a man who gets more than he bargained for from a routine eye test.  \nESPERANZA\, Shruti Parekh (USA\, 2023\, 18 min)\nWhen an immigrant taxi driver in upstate New York takes a hopeful young couple to an unmarked Canadian border crossing\, he must confront how far he will go for his American Dream. \nTHE PATEL MOTEL STORY\,  Amar Shah and Rahul Rohatgi (USA\, 2025\, 13 min)\nThe Patel Motel Story reveals how South Asian immigrants\, led by one undocumented man’s journey from Gujarat\, built a hotel empire—transforming American hospitality through resilience\, identity\, and belonging. \nPORELESS\, Harris Doran (Co-produced by Fawzia Mirza)\, (USA 2025\, 13 min)\nFun and farcical—a fabulous queer Muslim beauty entrepreneur must figure out how to compete in a Shark Tank-like product pitch contest after suffering an untimely allergic reaction. \n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/3rd-i-shorts-2025/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2025,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/3rd_i_Shorts_Poreless_websize.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251012T154500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251012T154500
DTSTAMP:20250910T013600Z
CREATED:20250905T210030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T013600Z
UID:10010164-1760283900-1760283900@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Your Touch Makes Others Invisible
DESCRIPTION:Q&A with director Rajee Samarasinghe!\nYOUR TOUCH MAKES OTHERS INVISIBLE\, directed by Rajee Samarasinghe\, is a surreal and lyrical exploration of disappearances in a small post-war community in northern Sri Lanka\, where memories of interactions between the Tamils and the Sinhalese linger. \nFusing allegorical magic realism and investigative documentary\, and made collaboratively with impacted locals\, the film is an examination of thousands of missing persons through 26 years of civil war in Sri Lanka. The nonfiction elements in this film are structured by a fictional narrative thread\, which tells the tale of a mother who loses her son to a supernatural entity plaguing her community—a nod to the actual disappearances in the region. \nSinhalese filmmaker Samarasinghe’s feature debut is both a documentary about forced disappearances during the government’s war against the Tamil Tiger separatists\, and a hushed\, often nonverbal tone poem on the themes of mourning\, trauma\, and absence. The hybrid near-impressionistic film creates a shifting monument to memories\, and is a stirring\, staunch defiance of the inevitability of disavowed justice. \n“25 New Faces of Independent Film\, 2020” – Filmmaker Magazine \nPREMIERE – International Film Festival Rotterdam\, 2025\nWINNER – Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival\, 2025: collective New Cinema Award\nSPECIAL JURY MENTION – Austin Asian American Film Festival\, 2025: “Creative Vision”\n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/your-touch-makes-others-invisible/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2025,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/YTMOI_websize.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260329T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260329T140000
DTSTAMP:20260302T064411Z
CREATED:20260226T072030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260302T064411Z
UID:10010171-1774792800-1774792800@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:INTRO TO NONFICTION STORYTELLING WITH ALKA RAGHURAM
DESCRIPTION:FREE – seating is limited.\nRegister here \nHave a Story You Can’t Wait to Tell?\nThe “Intro to Nonfiction Storytelling” class is a free\, 2-hour introduction to shaping real life into a cinematic narrative. This workshop will help storytellers develop tools to transform personal experience or a topic they are passionate about into a story with structure. Participants will gain a sharpened story concept. \nReady for the next steps beyond “Intro To Nonfiction Storytelling”?\nCheck out Alka’s 4-Week Documentary Writing Intensive\, an in-person development lab designed to help you transform raw material into narrative clarity. Over four focused weeks\, you will move from idea to articulation — shaping a documentary concept with structure\, voice\, stakes\, and ethical intention. \nSundays\, April 12 – May 3\, 2026\n2-4pm\nArtists’ Television Access\, San Francisco\nMore info and class registration: https://www.junoon.pictures/junoonlabs \nAlka 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. 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. \nWINNER – Locarno Film Festival\, co-production market top prize: Grant Open Doors\nWINNER – Westlake International Documentary Festival\, IDF Forum: Director of the Year
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/intro-to-nonfiction-storytelling-with-alka-raghuram/
LOCATION:Artists’ Television Access\, 992 Valencia Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94110\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings and Events,Year-Round Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/3rdi_2026_AlkaStorytelling_NoLttrg_d1.jpg
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261009T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261009T193000
DTSTAMP:20260909T232738Z
CREATED:20260909T222329Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232738Z
UID:10010179-1791574200-1791574200@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:A Celebration of the Extraordinary Work of Avie Luthra
DESCRIPTION:Q&A with director Avie Luthra!\nFor Opening Night\, 3rd i Festival is thrilled to honor the creative genius of award-winning British-Indian director and screenwriter Avie Luthra with a showcase of his comedic\, nuanced\, complex\, and socially insightful short films. Join us for an inspiring retrospective of his brilliant narratives that lift up stories of immigration\, relationships\, identity\, gender\, sexuality\, and social justice\, followed by a Q&A with the director! \nThe program features such works as FAMILY BUSINESS\, an entertaining spoof on a South Asian Scottish marriage entrepreneur (winner of Best British Short Film); SHOPKEEPING\, a sharp comedy on an Indian shopkeeper who also runs a local protection racket; and CROSS MY HEART\, a hilarious critique of racism within the South Asian British community (winner and special commendation award at the British Film Institute). \nThe evening also includes poignant\, socially nuanced films like BABY\, about a young girl whose sex education class at school changes her views on life (winner of the Royal TV Society Award). And finally\, LUCKY\, a groundbreaking film about a 10-year-old South African orphan who leaves his Zulu village to make his own life in the city of Durban. He is full of hope only to find no one will help him\, except an elderly Indian neighbor struggling with her own racial prejudices (nominated for 43 international awards and shortlisted for an Oscar).
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/a-celebration-of-the-extraordinary-work-of-avie-luthra/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/OpeningNightShorts_1920x1080.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T130000
DTSTAMP:20260909T232727Z
CREATED:20260909T232727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232727Z
UID:10010178-1791637200-1791637200@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Sand City
DESCRIPTION:SAND CITY is a lyrical and atmospheric exploration of isolation\, the human need for connection\, and the small acts of survival that bind us to the world. In this arthouse experimental film\, director Mahde Hasan explores Dhaka\, Bangladesh\, where the landscape and its inhabitants share a profound connection: sand. \nThe main characters\, Emma and Hasan\, have parallel lives that intersect through their solitude\, urban alienation\, dysfunction\, and the strange things they need to survive in this metropolitan wilderness. Emma is searching for sand for her cat’s litter\, while Hasan needs it to support his glass business. The sand and the city\, for their part\, are shifting\, uncertain entities hiding a multitude of secrets. \nWe’re introduced to the metropolis\, captured in all its raw\, unvarnished beauty through the vibrant yet subdued grainy\, textured composition of French cinematographer Mathieu Giombini. He paints a moody\, gritty\, and beautiful picture of Dhaka—not just of a place\, but of a living\, breathing entity in permanent construction. The city feels as much a part of the story as the characters themselves\, reflecting the loneliness\, frustration\, and struggles of its people. \n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/sand-city/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SandCity_websize.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T150000
DTSTAMP:20260909T232712Z
CREATED:20260909T232712Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232712Z
UID:10010176-1791644400-1791644400@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:TechnoCats
DESCRIPTION:At India’s elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT)\, a “Cat” is someone who aces everything. These engineering schools have produced the CEOs of Google\, Microsoft\, IBM\, and other tech giants. In the documentary TECHNOCATS\, director Gautam Sonti\, an IIT alumnus himself\, explores the cost and meaning of excellence\, the reality behind the rankings\, and the quiet resilience of young minds navigating one of India’s most intense institutions. \nOver seven years\, Sonti follows seven students from seven parts of India\, beginning with their first semester and continuing into the third year of their careers. What emerges is a portrait of Indian society and its educational institutions that push young people to the brink. Interwoven with their journeys are four of the filmmaker’s classmates from 35 years ago\, creating an intergenerational dialogue about the relentless pursuit of material success. \nCompeting against one million applicants\, the seven students gain admission to IIT\, but are soon disillusioned. Insightful and compassionate\, TECHNOCATS depicts young adults forced to grapple with themselves and family expectations\, and to confront a fiercely competitive world.
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/technocats/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/TechnoCats_websize2.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T171500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T171500
DTSTAMP:20260909T232825Z
CREATED:20260909T232825Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232825Z
UID:10010177-1791652500-1791652500@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:THE GREAT SHAMSUDDIN FAMILY
DESCRIPTION:A witty\, razor-sharp\, heartwarming social satire\, acclaimed filmmaker Anusha Rizvi directs her latest tour de force (her first film\, PEEPLI LIVE\, was India’s offering to the Academy Awards and the first Indian film to screen at Sundance). Set within a Delhi apartment and unfolding during one day\, the comedy cleverly turns domestic chaos into a microcosm of modern India. \nWriter and academic Bani is 12 hours away from her application deadline and is constantly interrupted by her family (sisters\, cousins\, and even aunts) barging in with requests for help. As can be expected from a codependent Desi family\, chaos ensues. The film sensitively allows its characters to be flawed\, nuanced\, and well-rounded human beings. The comedy might start off as quirky but almost immediately feels relatable\, modern\, cosmopolitan\, and politically aware. \nRizvi balances humor and heartbreak with masterly precision\, crafting a tapestry of generational tension\, urban neurosis\, and female resilience. Exuberant and lively\, THE GREAT SHAMSUDDIN FAMILY delivers a politically astute portrait of family\, faith\, sisterhood\, and survival in contemporary India. \n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/the-great-shamsuddin-family/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/ShamsuddinFamily_websize2.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T194500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261010T194500
DTSTAMP:20260909T232707Z
CREATED:20260909T232707Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232707Z
UID:10010173-1791661500-1791661500@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Lali
DESCRIPTION:Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s LALI is a darkly comic\, colorful\, and layered thriller in which ghosts walk among the living and prophecies weigh heavily on a young Punjabi married couple and their families. \nThe bride\, Zeba\, is a “cursed” woman\, her three previous fiancés all dying mysteriously before marriage. She marries Sajawal in a vibrant wedding full of quirky family drama and humor. Beginning as an exuberant social satire\, centered on the pressures and complications of marriage\, sexuality\, and family expectations\, the tone and genre gradually shift\, moving into a darker exploration of gender roles\, jealousy\, psychological horror\, and the supernatural. \nKhoosat also produced JOYLAND (Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize; 3rd i Festival 2023)\, and LALI is cut from the same creative cloth. There is notable crossover in the director-producer team\, cast\, and visual language\, including the use of saturated colors and heightened atmosphere. Yet while the two films echo one another in theme and texture\, LALI resists easy categorization\, opening up a cinematic landscape rarely seen onscreen: vivid\, emotionally heightened\, and alive with ghosts both literal and social. \nPREMIERED – 76th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale Panorama)\, 2026\n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/lali/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.thirdi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Lali_websize.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261011T121500
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261011T121500
DTSTAMP:20260909T232702Z
CREATED:20260909T232702Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232702Z
UID:10010175-1791720900-1791720900@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Eternal Trees\, Eternal Mountains
DESCRIPTION:Q&A with directors Harsha Reddy and Chris Chekuri!\nIn 1998\, young American student Harsha ventures into the forests of South India to study tigers. What he finds instead changes the course of his life. Over the next two decades\, he returns to the villages of the Chenchu people\, a tribal community whose roots run as deep as the ancient forests they call home. \nShot across breathtaking forest landscapes\, with aerial imagery\, original artwork\, and rare archival material\, ETERNAL TREES\, ETERNAL MOUNTAINS is as visually arresting as it is emotionally urgent. Joined by his historian friend Chris\, the two men embark on something more than a documentary. It is an act of witnessing. In kitchens and on porches\, beside cooking fires and in the shadow of the sacred temple of Srisailam\, they listen. They dig through folklore\, historical records\, and popular culture to unearth stories that have long been buried beneath a single\, reductive label: primitive tribal group. What emerges is a portrait of a community that is complex\, resilient\, and alive. \nView trailer.
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/eternal-trees-eternal-mountains/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261011T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261011T140000
DTSTAMP:20260909T232657Z
CREATED:20260909T232657Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232657Z
UID:10010172-1791727200-1791727200@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:Ghost School
DESCRIPTION:Magical\, sweet\, visually evocative\, and gently paced\, GHOST SCHOOL\, directed by British-Pakistani filmmaker Seemab Gul\, captures a child’s pursuit of answers in a community weighed down by fear of ghosts and misinformation. \nThis delightful and poignant fable explores corruption from a child’s perspective. Journeying through an expansive\, sun-drenched landscape\, ten-year-old Rabia encounters people from all classes and backgrounds in her quest to uncover the reasons why the only school in her village is closed. Rumor has it that the school is haunted and the teacher is possessed by a jinn. As the ghostly tales about the school take over the village\, Rabia increasingly comes to doubt them. \nIn this coming-of-age and hopeful feature\, filmmaker Seemab Gul’s experience in both documentary and narrative filmmaking\, particularly her focus on the current political landscape\, informs the film’s insightful critiques of feudal power\, gender injustice\, and the state’s neglect of rural education. These heavy themes are skillfully balanced and sensitively humanized through young Rabia’s clear-eyed perspective and her refusal to accept silence and superstition in place of truth. \nPREMIERED – Toronto International Film Festival\, 2025\nPREMIERED – Berlinale Film Festival\, 2026\n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/ghost-school/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,Festival Screenings and Events,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261011T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20261011T160000
DTSTAMP:20260909T232632Z
CREATED:20260909T232632Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260909T232632Z
UID:10010174-1791734400-1791734400@www.thirdi.org
SUMMARY:The Loyal Man
DESCRIPTION:Specially recorded Q&A with director Lawrence Valin!\nTHE LOYAL MAN\, a riveting and romantic gangster thriller directed by audience favorite\, French-Sri Lankan Lawrence Valin\, is essential viewing for “Valin” fans. Following last year’s rave reviews for his sold-out opening night film LITTLE JAFFNA\, 3rd i follows up with his first French-Sri Lankan Tamil film to immerse us in the gritty underworld of iconic Paris\, France. \nValin adeptly performs double duty\, acting and directing with aplomb. In the role of the character Aathi—an enforcer for the mob—he must confront his allegiance to his mob boss when he falls in love with a trafficked woman\, Minale\, who is under the boss’s control. Does loyalty matter more to Aathi than the cost of human life? Will Minnale gain her freedom from her enforced obligations? \nSkillfully blending elements of the Western gangster genre with the vibrant aesthetics of South Indian cinema\, Valin explores complex portraits of identity\, displacement\, and belonging within the Tamil community in Paris. \nPreceded by the short film HOMEBODY\nHOMEBODY / Shruti Parekh\n(USA\, 2026\, 21 min\, narrative)\nFacing eviction after her mother’s death\, a young artist searches for creative ways to defend her right to stay in her family’s Brooklyn apartment. \n
URL:https://www.thirdi.org/event/the-loyal-man-2/
LOCATION:Roxie Theater\, 3117 16th Street\, San Francisco\, CA\, 94103\, United States
CATEGORIES:2026,festivals,films,Screenings and Events
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