BEYOND BOLLYWOOD:
THE 2007 SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
September 29 - October 1

Co-produced with the Asian Cultural Association, the South Asian Film Festival will celebrate its 13th anniversary at Enzian Theater September 29 - October 1, 2007. The three-day celebration of Indian culture, heritage, and film artistry will be comprised of weekend matinees and a Monday evening show.

OUTSOURCED
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Saturday, September 29	10:30 AM
Monday, October 1	7:00 PM
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Outsourced

"This unaffected charmer treats a hot-button contempo issue with old-fashioned grace and benevolent wit."—Eddie Cockrell, VARIETY

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Feature at both the Seattle International Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, OUTSOURCED is a pitch-perfect comedy from John Jeffcoat and co-writer George Wing (50 First Dates). Todd (Josh Hamilton, Kicking and Screaming) heads up a call center for an American company that sells cheap novelty products. After his entire department is outsourced, he succeeds in hanging on to his job by agreeing to go to India to train his own replacement. Completely lost in the climate and the culture, his befuddlement is matched by the young Indian workers in the company’s Mumbai office, who fail to understand why anyone would want the worthless products they are being trained to sell. Help is at hand though, in the shape of the striking and capable Asha (Ayesha Dharker, The Terrorist), who shows Todd what he needs to learn about India and how to motivate his workers. A cross-cultural work-place comedy that skillfully avoids stereotypes, OUTSOURCED boasts a smart script, agile direction, and winning performances that make it a genuine crowd-pleaser.

USA, 2006, 102 min, Not Rated, Directed by John Jeffcoat, In English and Hindi with English subtitles
official site

DIVIDED WE FALL: AMERICANS IN THE AFTERMATH
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Saturday, September 29	1:00 PM
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Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath

Filmmaker Valarie Kaur to be in attendance for Q&A

"This must-see film is a moving portrait of one of America's rawest periods, and grips the viewer from its very first scenes. Valarie Kaur and Sharat Raju are filmmakers with heart and talent."—Lisa Tsering, INDIA WEST

When a turbaned Sikh man is brutally murdered in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, a college student journeys across America to discover who counts as “one of us” in a world divided into “us” and “them.” Armed with only a video camera, Stanford undergrad Valarie Kaur encounters hundreds of stories never before told—stories of fear and unspeakable loss, but also of resilience and hope—until she finally finds the heart of America halfway around the world, in the words of a widow. Weaving expert analysis into a personal journey and cross-country road trip, this powerful, sensitive, and important work confronts the forces dividing a nation head-on as it explores questions of national identity, hate violence, and collective grief. Winner—Best International Documentary, Toronto ReelWorld Film Festival and Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

USA, 2006, 110 min, Not Rated, a film by Sharat Raju and Valarie Kaur, In English and Punjabi with English subtitles
official site

VANAJA
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Sunday, September 30	10:30 AM
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Vanaja

"Engrossing…absolutely timeless…features strong performances from a mostly nonprofessional cast and some lovely dance sequences."—Laura Kern, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Winner of over 15 international film awards including Best Debut Feature at the Berlin International Film Festival, VANAJA explores caste, gender, and sexuality in its fascinating story of a child’s coming of age in rural South India. When a soothsayer predicts that Vanaja (Mamatha Bhukya), the 14-year-old daughter of a poor fisherman, will become a great dancer one day, she takes a job with the local landlady in hopes of learning Kuchipudi dance and alleviating her father’s mounting debt. The landlady, Mrs. Rama Devi, takes notice of the spirited girl and begins to guide her in the art of music and dance, a privilege usually reserved for high-caste Brahmins. Despite her social position, Vanaja excels in her training. But a flirtation with Rama Devi’s son Shekhar, recently returned from the US, escalates into a struggle when her natural intellect causes him public humiliation. Shekhar’s wealth, power and class give him an upper hand, but Vanaja’s toughness and irrepressible nature are not to be underestimated. Young Bhukya, who learned dancing to make the film, gives a standout performance of great charm as the title character. VANAJA is a colorfully shot debut that touches the heartstrings.

India/USA, 2006, 111 min, Not Rated, Directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli, In Telugu with English subtitles
official site

PROVOKED
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Sunday, September 30	1:15 PM
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Provoked

"Asian dramatic sensibilities bring color and emotion to this battered-immigrant-wife drama…the mixed Indian and Western cast turn the true story of a case that changed British law into an old-style melodrama (in the best sense)."—Derek Elley, VARIETY

Set in London in the late 1980’s, PROVOKED is based on a true story. Unable to bear the brutality of her alcoholic husband, Deepak (Naveen Andrews, TV’s Lost), a battered Punjabi wife and mother of two, Kiranjit Ahluwalia (Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai, The Mistress of Spices, in her most unglamorous role to date), takes revenge by setting him on fire. Charging her with murder in the first degree, the British court sentences Kiranjit to life imprisonment. While in prison, she befriends her cell mate, a wealthy woman who teaches her to speak English and leaks her story beyond the prison walls. Kiranjit’s case garners the attention of a gutsy group of South Asian social workers, who fight to expose the immigrant mother’s plight to the media, ultimately leading to a landmark case that redefined the word “provocation” in British laws dealing with domestic violence. L.A.-based filmmaker Jag Mundhra (Bawandar “Sandstorm,” 2001 SAFF) avoids sentimentality in this intense drama that illustrates how one woman’s bravery helped fuel a nationwide crusade, and brought together a vibrant pool of talent for the production—besides Rai and Andrews, the cast also includes Miranda Richardson, Nandita Das, and Robbie Coltrane, and the musical score is by A.R. Rahman.

India/USA, 2006, 111 min, Not Rated, Directed by Jag Mundhra, In English and Punjabi with English subtitles
official site

Click here to view last year's South Asian Film Festival schedule.