3rd i`s South Asian Film Fest to screen India`s entry |
Bollywood and Beyond is set to promote diverse images of South Asians through independent films. The five-day festival, which ran at the New People and Castro Theaters in San Francisco, Calif., Nov. 1-4, before moving to Palo Alto, Calif., Nov. 17, will screen over a dozen narrative and documentary features and shorts by independent filmmakers from South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, including stories from India, Sri Lanka, Canada, and the U.S. Rima Das` ``Village Rockstars,`` which is India`s official entry to the 2019 scars,was screened on Nov. 2. A magical coming-of-age film, reminiscent of Satyajit Ray, ``Village Rockstars`` follows the feisty young Dhunu and her frolicking band of friends, who rock out to their styrofoam instruments and dream of becoming real musicians. When the village elders complain about Dhunu`s tomboyish ways, her mother stands up for her, in the film`s subtle yet radical feminist gesture. Another stellar narrative is Rohena Gera`s ``Sir,`` which explores the forbidden attraction between Ratna, a maid, and her employer Ashwin, a wealthy Mumbai bachelor, with each character quietly yearning to break free from the narrow bounds of their class and gender-based expectations.
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