BEYOND BOLLYWOOD: THE 2005 SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Co-produced with the Asian Cultural Association, the South Asian Film Festival had its 11th anniversary at Enzian Theater June 11-13, 2005. The three-day celebration of Indian culture, heritage, and film artistry comprised weekend matinees and evening shows of four cinematic programs. For more information on the South Asian Film Festival, call the Enzian box office or the Asian Cultural Association at (407) 333-3667.

Below is the schedule of films for the 2005 event:

BHAVUM Saturday, June 11 at 11:15 am

Bhavum

“Ambitious…aims high in its attempt to marry traditional Malayalam cinema—with its strong literary roots—with contemporary social issues.” – Robert Koehler, Variety

A Streetcar Named Desire meets Crime and Punishment in post-globalization urban India in this multiple award-winning feature debut by Satish Menon. BHAVUM (subtitled “Emotions of Being”) is a powerful drama that captures the struggles of a young couple--university literature professor Lata and her newspaper-editor husband Joy--whose happiness is taken to task when their love and fidelity are challenged by the arrival of the wife’s beautiful older sister, Subadra, a woman with a mysterious past. With its vivid exploration of guilt, desire, conscience, media, corruption, and politics, this portrait of a middle-class man caught in his own multi-layered ethical drama is a rich and thought-provoking experience.

India, 2002, 111 min, Not Rated, Directed by Satish Menon, In Malayalam with English subtitles

Writer/Director Satish Menon will be in attendance for Q&A after the screening.

MORNING RAGA Saturday, June 11 at 2:15 pm Monday, June 13 at 7:00 pm

Morning Raga

“The performances of Carnatic music, Southern India’s classical form, are heaven.” – Anita Gates, The New York Times

Respected stage and screen actress Shabana Azmi (Fire) won the Screen Weekly Award for Best Performance in an Indian Film in English for her stunning portrayal of a classically trained singer who abandons her career after the death of her son. Years later she comes into contact with struggling musician Abhinay (Prakash Rao) and aspiring singer Priyanka (Perizaad Zorabian), who try to reignite her passion through the unifying force of music. Fusing Carnatic music with contemporary western sounds, the talented trio help each other cope with the emotional loss of their loved ones. MORNING RAGA’s light-hearted moments are provided by Priyanka’s gregarious boutique-owner mother Mrs. Kapoor (Lillete Dubey, Monsoon Wedding), and this offbeat musical drama builds to a fantastic finale.

India, 2004, 89 min, Not Rated, Directed by Mahesh Dattani, In English and Hindi with English subtitles 

SHORT CUT TO NIRVANA Sunday, June 12 at 11:30 am

Short Cut to Nirvana

“Radiates good cheer…an infectious quality only enhanced by the charming, boyish Hindu monk serving as its unofficial guide…a display of pure bliss.” – Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle

This award-winning documentary is an exhilarating, insightful, uplifting and often hilarious journey of discovery to the biggest event in history—the Kumbh Mela. Held every twelve years where the holy Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet, this incredible festival brings together up to 70 million pilgrims and many of India’s greatest gurus and spiritual leaders, including the Dalai Lama. As the filmmakers travel through this extraordinary and vibrant world, they are accompanied by an irrepressible young Hindu monk and several Westerners, each on their own spiritual quest. SHORT CUT TO NIRVANA: KUMBH MELA is a fascinating sensory experience of an ancient, grand occasion, a swirl of color and motion, song and cacophony, the sacred and the surreal—spiritual India exactly as anyone would hope to find it. And from this unique event comes a powerful message of peace and tolerance for all humanity.

USA, 2004, 85 min, Not Rated, Directed by Maurizio Benazzo and Nick Day, In English and Hindi with English subtitles

Co-Director Nick Day will be in attendance for Q&A after the screening.

KHAMOSH PANI: SILENT WATERS Sunday, June 12 at 2:00 pm

Khamosh Pani: Silent Waters

“Sabiha Sumar’s debut feature could scarcely be more relevant to Pakistan’s present…what begins as a seemingly aimless, leisurely paced comedy soon turns into a multidimensional family tragedy.” – Joshua Land, The Village Voice

Winner of five awards at the Locarno International Film Festival, including the Golden Leopard (Best Film) and Best Actress for Kirron Kher, this gripping film is based on actual events that took place during the nasty 1947 partition that carved up India into Muslim-dominated Pakistan and predominantly Hindu India. KHAMOSH PANI: SILENT WATERS is set in 1979 in Pakistan, when General Zia-ul-Haq took control of the country and stoked the fires of Islamic nationalism. Ayesha, a Muslim woman who gets by on her late husband’s pension and by teaching young girls the Koran, invests her hopes in her beloved 18-year-old son Saleem. But when Saleem takes up with some Islamic fundamentalists just as a group of Sikh pilgrims come to town, Ayesha’s haunted past turns her present life upside down.

Pakistan/France/Germany, 2003, 95 min, Not Rated, Directed by Sabiha Sumar, In Punjabi and Urdu with English subtitles