Hava Aane De
Independent filmmaker Partha Sengupta’s film “Let the Wind Blow” (Hava Aane Dey) has been chosen by the Global Film Initiative for the Global lens 2008 Lineup, along with nine other award-winning narrative, feature films from Argentina, China, Croatia, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Philippines and South A
frica. Global Lens, now in its fifth year, is a project conceived by The Global Film Initiative (GFI) to encourage filmmaking in countries with developing film communities, and promote cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema. Global Lens 2008 was premiered at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), New York, in January 2008, before embarking on year-long tour of over thirty cities across the United States.
Punching at the Sun
Tanuj Chopra’s debut film “Punching at the Sun”, which was screened at NJISACF 2007, was chosen for an exclusive online premiere on 8th February by Jaman.com, the leading online destination for quality independent and international films. The emotionally charged “Punching at the Sun” was an official selection at the Sundance and Tribecca film festivals in 2006, and winner of the “Best Narrative Film” at the 2006 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. The film has been described as “distinctive, original and iconoclastic.”
The Jaman Collection
Jaman.com is pioneering entertainment on the Internet by delivering high-definition films to a vast online community of fans and filmmakers. Many award-winning acclaimed independent films get lost after a few years, because they never get traditionally distributed. Such films can now be viewed, by a global audience, through jaman.com. Jaman lets filmlovers browse and download films from its vast library directly onto their PCs, Macs, televisions and home-set-top boxes such as AppleTVs and TiVos.
SAYA! Turns 10
Also, check out Tanuj Chopra’s beautiful and poignant film, “SAYA! Turns 10” on youtube. The film is Chopra’s tribute to South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!), the first and only organization of its kind in the United States, working to develop the skills, talents, and leadership potential of South Asian youth living in New York City.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_5x9QUiwoU]
Enemy on the Inside
Shakti Productions, LLC is a production house dedicated to producing and using videos to advocate for an end to violence against women. Their film, “The Children We Sacrifice (TCWS)” by Grace Poore, was screened in NJISACF, 2007. Their latest production, “Enemy On The Inside” also by Grace Poore, picks up where TCWS left off. The documentary, along with an educational guide on CD-ROM an a 2-year community education campaign, will be a priceless multi-vocal, multi-disciplinary tool for social change that will push people working on both sides of the divide – be it the victim-survivors of incest or incest perpetrators – to think about preventing incest perpetration in new ways. Shakti Productions is actively fundraising for “Enemy on the Inside.” Contribute to the making of this film by donating generously. Visit their website at www.shaktiproductions.net.
Into the Timeless
Our representative from India, filmmaker Utsav Mukherjee recently released his documentary film, “Into the Timeless.” A documentary on the veteran musician Ramkumar Chattopadhyay, “Into the Timeless” also captures the Kolkata and its musical milieu of the past, that is now lost. This film, in a way, is more of a journey back in time, and a historical document of a city that has changed over the years.
Be Kind Rewind
Our technical director, Sachin Edekar’s Hooga Productions team submitted a short film to a film-making competition inspired by the upcoming movie Be Kind Rewind (Starring Jack Black and Mos Def), which will hit theaters this February. The goal of the competition (Filmmaking Frenzy) is to make a 2 to 6 minute, homemade/low-budget version of a well-known Hollywood film. All submissions are available on a website for the public to view and rate. Finally, the ‘best 30′ will be screened at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Texas. Hooga Productions worked very hard to film a version of the classic “My Fair Lady”, starring NJISACF committee members Vaidehi Mehta and Rajesh Chandrasekharan. The film is up on http://beta.filmmakingfrenzy.com/sites/filmfrenzy_beta/ViewFilm.aspx?FilmId=83 for you to see and vote at Support and help them to win the competition.
