Bhawana Somaaya

Over the years, MAMI’s sidebar Film Worldwide (FIW) India goes across the globe in search for that intriguing film genre – one essentially international in concept and yet connects intrinsically with the Indian film scene.

This year FIW presents five films that have been made by directors or producers of Indian origin settled elsewhere who look to a remembered homeland. There are also films made by international directors who increasingly turn to India for their creative inspiration. Collectively, these films represent a merging of international talent that spans continents and cultures, triggered by a love and regard for India.

The FIW film package provides a deeper perception of the immigrant world of cross-cultural lifestyles and preoccupations. The section has a special place in a festival held in Mumbai, India’s film capital. MAMI offers them the invaluable venue and opportunity for distribution and sales.

A look at 2010 package of films

Florida Road
South Africa / 2009 / Digital / 104 mins
Director: Brad Glass

Synopsis: This directorial debut by California-based Brad Glass is the culmination of a ten-year dream. The film revolves around the good-hearted Shaan Sahay who moves with his wealthy Indian family to the city of Durban (the film’s title derives from the city’s main highway where it was shot). Shaan yearns for his father’s love and approval as he pursues his passion for writing.

He struggles trying to discover his identity and the importance of his culture and the love of family, when a tragedy hits his home and secrets are revealed. The director says, “Florida Road has a Bollywood flavour with the Hollywood traditions that people all over the world can enjoy.”

The film stars popular Mumbai-based actors Ashmit Patel, Vipin Sharma, Smita Jayakar and Priyanshu Chatterjee. They are teamed with South African actors Cokey Falkow, Corine Du Toit and Vicky Davis. Florida Road has traveled extensively to festivals within the United States as well as to Wales (UK) and Stutgart( Germany ), collecting awards along the way. The screenplay was written by Hollywood veteran Fred Fontana who also co-produced the film. Fred Fontana has worked on many Hollywood Big Budget films including, ‘The Specialist’ (Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone).

Produced by Fred Fontana, screenplay by Fontana the film stars Ashmit Patel, Vipin Sharma, Smita Jayakar, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Cokey Falkow, Corine Du Toit and Vicky Davis.

Director Glass started his acting career in his late 20’s, with bit parts in TV soaps. He later acted in several TV commercials overseas in Europe, Australia and Asia . His interest in direction began while working in the Philippines as a lead actor, as he observed takes from behind the camera. Brad eventually travelled to South Africa , a place he fell in love with, where he continued to work in TV commercials while he began pre production on ‘ Florida Road.

When Harry Tries to Marry
USA-India/ 2010/35mm/Col./101 mins
Director: Nayan Padrai

Synopsis: Harish is a ruggedly good-looking American of desi origin who is on the verge of graduating with that coveted New York college degree. Harish as he was named, or ‘Harry’ as he is now known, has developed an aversion to the concept of a ‘love marriage’ because he is convinced that it will only leave him as bitterly divorced as his parents are. Everyone who hangs out with easy-going Harry is therefore in for a shock when he opts for an arranged marriage with Nita, a young woman from India who seems pretty perfect, but whom he hardly knows.

he embarks on the journey towards marrying his perfect bride, the unfolding events begin to make him wonder if there really is any such thing as the perfect match. What is the formula, if there is one, to prevent mistakes in marriage – whether arranged or love? The more adamant Harish gets about his goal, the more Indian and American cultures clash through the two contrasting families – both pushy in their own right and both determined to uphold their own cultural traditions and customs. His growing friendship with an American girl, Theresa, adds to his confusion. Will Harish or Harry prevail?

Produced by Sheetal Vyas, Nayan Padrai, Ritu Ahuja and script by Ralph Stein and Nayan Padrai it has music by Siddharth Kashyap and stars Rahul Rai , Stefanie Estes , Freishia Bomanbehram and others

Director Nayan Padrai was born in 1975. He studied screenwriting and filmmaking at The School of Visual Arts, NYC. He was the President and now is Co-Founder of CineMaya Media, one of the largest South Asian media, entertainment and marketing conglomerates in the US. Padrai has written, produced and directed over 300 hours of Indian television programming across genres. Padrai and his writing partner Ralph Stein have written over a dozen screenplays together. He adapted Beneath a Marble Sky based on the acclaimed eponymous novel. When Harry Tries To Marry which was one of the top ten finalists of the 2009 Creative Screenwriting magazine competition.

Punyam Aham Limpid Souls
India/ 2010/ 35 mm / Col. /109 mins
Director: Raj Nair

Synopsis: Punyam Aham is a Malayalam-language feature about a man’s search for his own true identity, set in the heart of a small village in the North of Kerala. The film follows the story of Narayanan Unni, who has lived in the agony of the story of his origin for many years, and now wants to find the answers that will put an end to all the doubts, questions and unfulfilled desires.

His father was a high-caste, fair complexioned Brahmin from a highly respected family. During the communist revolution, he married a low-caste, dark-skinned Parayee or a woman from the untouchable caste, from a southern farming community.

Having done this deed that he considered to be noble, his father then left his family behind, and set out for the capital city, never to return. All these years later, Narayan Unni sets out for the capital in his father’s footsteps to discover why his father left in the first place. He is motivated by the sheer disgust he feels at what he considers his father’s grave misdeeds.

He finds his answers upon this journey of discovery and they lead him to understand that people are ultimately enslaved by their heritage and genes.

Produced by Raj Nair, Shyam Chengalath, Janardhan Menon, screenplay by M J Radhakrishnan the film starsPrithviraj Sukumaran, Samvritha Sunil , Nedumudi Venu , M R Gopakumar

Director Raj Nair was born in Kerala. He studied in London and Harvard universities and is now settled in Australia. He is the author of fiction, poems and short stories. He published his first novel Nishabdathayilae Theerthadakan (A Pilgrim of Silence) in 2001.

In 2004, his made his debut as in films with his feature length docu-drama, The Exhibits, on his grandmother, widow of famous Indian author, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. Although he has spent a major part of his life in the west, his lineage inspires him to write in his mother tongue Malayalam on social issues of his birthplace, Kerala.

Sound of Mumbai: A Musical
UK/ 2010/ HDCAM/Col./ 64 mins
Director: Sarah McCarthy

Synopsis: Sound of Mumbai: A Musical captures the moving story of a choir of children from the slums of Mumbai who stage a concert of songs from the film, The Sound of Music with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra.

The venue is the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai, a grand theatre normally inaccessible to the poor. The choir comes from Muktangan school, an initiative of the Paragon Charitable Trust, which provides high quality education to low income families.
The story is told through one of Muktangan’s best students; eleven-year-old Ashish, whose cheerful optimism and enthusiasm for songs from a film he has never seen would make you forget he lives in a slum.

Ashish is performing a solo and the opportunity to participate in such a prestigious concert cannot help but set him daydreaming of opportunities that could open up for him. How far will singing songs about climbing mountains help him find his dreams? Ashish hopes to move a patron enough to sponsor his education and to win the affections of an upper class girl. The stakes are high and under the eye of the camera, Ashish’s story encapsulates the ambition and competitiveness that characterize growing up in Mumbai.

Produced by Joe Walters, camera work by Liam Iandoli and music by Jody Jenkins, film stars the children from the Mukutangan School, Mumbai.
Director Sarah McCarthy is a British documentary filmmaker who was born in Sydney and studied film in her native Australia, graduating with honours. She moved to London, England and worked in development for the BBC and RDF Media before working as a director. Her documentary heroes include Errol Morris and Werner Herzog.
Her TV documentaries include Murderers on the Dancefloor and Black Widow Granny. The Sound of Mumbai:: A Musical is her third documentary and was screened as an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2010. McCarthy is currently working on her next film The Dark Matter of Love.

Next Year In Bombay
France/ 2010/HDV/Col./ 55 mins
Directors: Jonas Parienté, Mathias Mangin

Synopsis: The documentary Next Year In Bombay is based on the lives of the Bene Israeli community of Indian Jews who sought asylum from religious persecution in India over 2000 years ago. The community lived without experiencing anti-semitism in India for centuries and yet, chose to move to Israel in the 1950s.

Today the population of Bene Israelis in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and its nearby regions and districts number about 4000. The film focuses on the last two educators of the Bene Israeli community – Sharon and Sharona Galsulkar, who have been training in a yeshiva in Jerusalem and who have dedicated their lives towards bettering life for the Jewish community in India.

As their daughters are getting older they are faced with the debate– should they remain in the country that has been their religious and social home for centuries and devote their work efforts here or should they relocate to their spiritual home in Israel and reunite their daughters with the promised homeland? All they want is to provide their children a good Jewish life. How much will uprooting a family that can trace its harmonious roots in a culture back to generations damage that very culture?

Produced by Jonas Parienté, Mathias Mangin, Sophie Goupil and script by Jonas Parienté , Mathias Mangin the film has music by Raphael Elig and stars Sharon Galsulkar, Sharona Galsulkar, Joseph Dandekar, Aadiyel Wakrulkar

Director Jonas Parienté gained a Masters degree in Sociology in Paris and an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from New York, where he directed his first two documentaries. His film Bodies & Soul was about a former heroin addict who became a body builder. His A Rickshaw In The City is about the urbanization of Mumbai. Mathias Mangin was born in Sao Paulo but grew up in Paris, graduating in finance from Edhec Business School.

He studied photography in Sao Paulo and filmmaking in New York. His short The Chance was selected in Paris and Toronto festivals. Mathias is currently writing fiction in the Atelier Scénario, Fémis.

Bhawana Somaaya
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