20 September, day 1of the festival witnessed a record number of viewers for the screening of Kanchivaram (India) by Priyadarshan, Amal (Canada) by Richie Mehta and Kissing Cousins (USA) by Amyn Kaderali.

Throughout the two days, along with an exhilarated audience, the filmmakers also made it a point to watch each other’s films constantly and make the most of the experience.

Brahmanand Singh and Sarmed Mirza in a packed auditorium

At the start of the first day, while one theater played a bunch of fascinating short films, three young and talented Bangladeshi directors, Shariar Rahman, Zahid Sharif, Sharbari Ahmed were present at the other auditorium. Sharier and Zahid presented their first film Healing Life and Sharbari presented Aimee Undercover. The three filmmakers talked about their experiences and struggles as they tackled the complex subject of immigration and the American dream. At the same time, one couldn’t miss their passion for filmmaking and the determination to keep doing it, no matter what.

A great cinematic experience with a stunning performance by  Prakash Raj , the screening of Kanchivaram was entirely sold out, especially because Prakash Raj himself was present for a question/ answer session with the audience.

Prakash Raj at the screeing of Kanchivaram

In the very interactive q/a session, Prakash Raj talked at length about this dream project of Priyadarshan and his experiences of being a part of what he described as a ‘very human story.”

Q and A session with Prakash Raj

Richie Mehta shared his experiences of making Amal and working with legendary actors like Naseeruddin Shah as well as the challenges of shoot on location at New Delhi.

Richie Mehta, as he talks about Amal

Amyn Kaderali was present with his excellent debut feature Kissing Cousins, a flawless hip film which was quite a hit among the young crowd. Amyn shared his experiences of completing the film in 3 weeks and how the film evolved into something even better than what he had conceived while he was shooting with the actors.

Q and A session with Amyn Kaderali

Rosemary Rawcliffe, director of Women in Tibet was present during the screening of the film, to talk about Tibet and her experiences of researching about some of the strongest and most dynamic Tibetan women in exile.

Through these daylong discussions, innumerable hours of watching films and the process of sharing and contributing to a mission to support independent films and filmmakers, as well as the encouragements that we received from the filmmakers and audience alike, NJISACF is confident that this is just the beginning of a movement.

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