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The Community Speaks
by
Shahana Dattagupta
Day 2 of ISAFF reminded me -experientially- what’s different about this
film festival. It is not just about screening films, but about creating a
safe space for dialogue about real, pressing socio-political issues.
Last
night there was a unique alignment of vision and impact. 26 refugees
evicted from Bhutan, who have just arrived in Seattle, made their way to
ISAFF and were granted free admission. It had to be poignant for them to
collectively watch Eviction, which was the first short film of the evening, and a
filmographic presentation of their plight.
The
feature, My Daughter the Terrorist, presented a rarely heard voice of two
young female warriors on the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) force in Sri Lanka.
Following the film, a panel discussion with Seattle-based experts,
moderated by Rukshana Edwards, gave the subject an immediate
accessibility, urgency and relevance in our lives. Mark Balmforth, from
the UW Clowes Center for Conflict and Dialogue Studies, Brahmy
Poologasingham, born and raised in-part in Northern Sri-Lanka where the
conflict is primary located, provided both historic and personalized
perspectives on the half-century long Tamil-Sinhalese conflict and its
root in the British rule. As Mark commented, the film is unique because “…it
turns on its head the common concept of a combatant and warrior…” helping to bring out the
complexities, especially as it is told through the two female voices.
The
9pm package of 4 shots was simply delightful. It will be hard to forget
the audience’s bursts of laughter with Pakistan’s Dame Edna saying, “I’m
“trysexual”, and it’s “try” with a Y… I’ll try anything!” and at the irreverent humor of
the incredible Dr. Sharadkumar Dicksheet who is so sick that he is
practically the walking-dead himself, but works tirelessly to save
hundreds of children’s lives in surgery camps in India.
Tonight,
those of us who missed the SIFF screening of Before the Rains by acclaimed director Santosh
Sivan will have another opportunity to see it. There is a second feature,
the light-hearted Kissing Cousins, and two shorts – Released and Rewind. Amyn Kaderali, filmmaker of
Kissing Cousins will be present for Q & A. Don’t miss this opportunity to
see another great line-up of films!
Also,
don't miss the opportunity to participate in the free workshop Queer and
Desi: Exploring LGBTQ Issues in the Desi Community. Remember, you don’t have to be
queer to quell societal ignorance! Do read the previous blog entry on the
illuminating experience I had attending a previous offering of this
workshop: Questioning:
Cultivating a Mindset of Full Openness.
Kids Play Room
Babies in arms welcome in the movie theater. Kids Play Room is available
for children over 1yr to be dropped off at suggested minimum donation of
$5 per child per program. Note: we have trained babysitters and
volunteers, however, this is not a licensed childcare room. Try to let us
know ahead of time if you will be dropping off your child, but no problem
if you decide at the last minute. Email farah@tasveer.org
or just drop in.
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Friday September 26th, 2008
6:00 PM
Queer
& Desi: Exploring LGBTQ issues in the South Asian Community
By Gita Mehrotra, FREE
As a community-based organization, Tasveer sees this as an opportunity to
spark dialogue, consciousness-raising, and skill-building around queer
issues within the South Asian community. The focus of the workshop will
be to provide a space for participants to engage with basic training and
dialogue regarding issues of gender identity and sexual orientation in a
South Asian context. This will include: critical self-reflection about
our own values regarding gender, sexuality, and LGBT communities, basic
terminology and language, discussion about homophobia and heterosexism,
and conversations about how to work in alliance with South Asian LGBTQ
communities. We highly recommend this workshop for audience members who
plan to attend one or more of the LGBTQ programs in ISAFF. The workshop
will prepare you to better understand and engage with the ideas presented
in these programs. Workshop is limited to 20 participants and is FREE.
Friday September
26th, 2008 9:00 PM
 Kissing
Cousins
Amyn Kaderali, 2007, USA, English, 98 minutes
A "relatively" romantic comedy about a professional
heartbreaker (and cynical bachelor) who teams up with his attractive
cousin from the UK in order to fool his friends into believing he is
capable of a relationship. Hijinks and laughs ensue with a hilarious
cast! Post
film discussion with filmmaker Amyn Kaderali.
Preceded by short film Rewind(Atul Taishete, 2007, India, English, 9
minutes) Told entirely in reverse, a group of thieves play Russian
Roulette to determine who gets to keep all of their heist money. Rewind
is the first Indian short film to have an all India theatrical release.
Friday September
26th, 2008 7:00 PM
 Before the
Rains
Santosh Sivan, 2007, India, English/Malayalam, 98 minutes
Set in 1930s southern India against the backdrop of a growing
nationalist movement, BEFORE THE RAINS is the English language debut of
acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan (The Terrorist, Asoka). An idealistic
young Indian man (Rahul Bose) finds himself torn between his ambitions
for the future and his loyalty to the past when people in his village
learn of an affair between his British boss (Linus Roache) and a village
woman (Nandita Das). Before the Rains explores the turmoil of a man who
is torn between two worlds and the choices he makes to gain his own
freedom and embrace his true identity.
Preceded by short film Released(Soham Mehta, 2008, USA, English, 8
minutes) Three years ago, a brutal hate crime sent Kaustabh to the
hospital. Today, his assailant will be released from prison, and Kaustabh
wants revenge. The film opens with Kaustabh waiting outside of the prison
for Jeffrey's release. Kaustabh follows Jeffrey home and confronts him at
gunpoint. Through his encounter with Jeffrey, Kaustabh realizes that
revenge will not help him and that his only hope is releasing the hate
and anger he has harbored within himself.
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Thank you to all our dedicated volunteers without
whose help the festival would not be possible -- Neelu, Andrew, Anil,
Uma, Angie, Prashant, Shahana, Gita, Nitika, Sahar R, Sahar Z, Afrose,
Sabina, Rupesh, Sandeep, Kruti, Prachi, Ankur, Sukhi, Syed, Ann, Ali,
Abhishek, Shemon, Semonti, Anusha, Anusuya, Amina, Sophia, Trisha, Sedra,
Asha, Mary-Jayne, Mala, Vega, Brandon, Himanshu, Ullas. Our sincere
apologies in case we missed anyone, please write to info@tasveer.org and we will include
you in the next one!
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