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2nd Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston

Presented by Indian Film Festival of Houston at Studio Movie Grill - CityCentre (Town & Country)

September 22-September 26, 2010

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Sutapa Ghosh is thrilled to announce the 2nd Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston will be held Wednesday, September 22 through Saturday, September 25, 2010. The Festival will culminate with an elegant and glamorous “Awards Night” on September 26, at Royal Oaks Country Club. The Film Festival will showcase movies from India and beyond, including regional films in three categories: feature films, short films, and documentaries.

Sutapa Ghosh, the driving force behind creating the Houston Indian Film Festival, has produced several award-winning films in India. “Houston is a natural selection to become another Bollywood location,” Ms. Ghosh explains. “There is a large Indian population here and throughout Texas and Houston has become an important film center. The composite South Asian Houston, Dallas and other surrounding city communities include Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and others, with an aggregate population of more than 350,000. The Asian Community includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and others, with a total population of more than 375,000 people. These combined communities offer more than 700,000 potential audience members. In addition, there are large Indian populations in cities close to Houston – Austin, Baton Rouge and San Antonio.

The Film Festival will once again be held at the Studio Movie Grill at Town & Country CityCentre at Memorial and Beltway 8 from September 22 through September 25, 2010 . Tickets are $15.00 and include one documentary film, one feature film and one short film.

New to this year’s Awards Night will be the presentation of the Leadership Award. This award will be given out to three distinguished corporate movie legends in the industry.

Highlights of the Film Festival:

• Mohammad Iqbal Khan - Model, Actor, TV Host & television superstar. Talented, versatile and charming, he has created a niche for himself. He is an idol for national and international audiences.
   
• Shah Rukh Khan – Filmmaker, prominent Bollywood figure and actor and Tv host. Nominated in 2008 as one of the 50 most powerful people.
   
• Documentary Film: Revealed: Shah Rukh Khan – Highly anticipated Documentary film about actor Shah Rukh Khan who began his career as a dark anti-hero and rises to become a Mega International Star.
   
• Feature Films – Cooking with Stella, The Japanese Wife and Udaan
   
• Short Films – Idol , Boond, You Can’t Curry Love

About the Indian Film Festival of Houston
The Indian Film Festival of Houston is a nonprofit organization devoted to creating a greater appreciation of Indian Cinema and culture by showcasing quality films that honor entertainment industry performers and film makers while promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora through an annual Festival within Houston’s diverse community. 

Schedule of films/events:
Theater 1 & 2 | Feature Film – UDAAN | VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE – HINDI
Wednesday, 22 September 2010 at 08:00 PM
A seemingly minor infraction is one too many for Rohan and his three classmates. They are thrown out of a prestigious boarding school where he has spent eight straight years after his mother died. His father never visited him, so he has a rude awakening when he returns to his small industrial town to find his young half-brother Arjun whom he never knew existed. His father is so irate at the expulsion, he forces Rohan, an aspiring writer, to work long hours at the factory.

His cruelty breaks the spirit of the once rebellious boy. When Rohan discovers that Arjun, whom he has grown to love, has been beaten so severely that he is hospitalized, Rohan takes matters into his own hands with satisfying results.

Theater 1 | Short Film – BOOND | ABHISHEK PATHAK – HINDI – 26 MINUTES
Thursday, 23 September 2010 at 07:00 PM
Water becomes the major focus of life in the stark futuristic film Boond. Its lone source is carefully guarded by an unmarried woman and her young bastard son whose father dug the well then was killed after it was completed. The cruel village leader plots to take the well by force with surprising results. Caution: Language

Theater 1 | Feature Film – SHOB CHARITRO KALPONIK (Afterwards In The Language Of Lost Love) | RITUPARNO GHOSH – Bengali – 102 mins,
Thursday, 23 September 2010 at 08:00 PM
The poet Indraneel Mitra is about to be memorialized by his colleagues and admirerers. He died of a massive heart attack not long after learning that he won a prestigious prize, including a large sum of money, for his book. His wife Radhika.sits on the stage listening to the recitation of his beautiful poems. Though a series of flashbacks, she reviews their life together, remembering their conflicts. By education, he was an engineer, yet he often missed work, was irresponsible, lazy undependable and had a hard time making money. By contrast, Radhika was the “adult” of the relationship, taking responsibility for keeping food on the table.

She relives the moment when she heard that Indraneel was dead. She was away, taking care of her ill mother, accompanied by her colleague Shekhar. Radhika had planned to ask for a divorce, then was jolted by the news. During the days after her return, she fantasizes that her husband is still there with her, along with the imaginary woman featured in his book. As the film ends, Radhika accepts reality and begins to live again.

Theater 2 | Documentary Film – IDOL | KRANTI KANADE – ENGLISH and MARATHI – 11 MINUTES
Thursday, 23 September 2010 at 07:00 PM
Many people pray fervently but don’t apply religious principles to their everyday lives. Idol shows the generational divide between father and son, tradition and the modern world. A simple request to watch the World Cup quarter finals leads to violence and a relationship that is forever broken.

Theater 2 | Feature Film – HARISHCHANDRACHI FACTORY | PARESH MOKASHI
Thursday, 23 September 2010 at 08:00 PM
Dadasaheb Phalke was a multi-talented man who was ahead of his time. After dabbling in photography, printing and performing magic, he became mesmerized when he saw his first silent film. He learned as much as he could in his small town, then traveled to England where he was taught about equipment and technical matters. He made the first Indian full-length “moving picture’ in 1913. This period piece is a humorous look at his trials and tribulations making Raja Harishchandra at a time when no decent woman would dare be an actress, so he used men in wigs instead. His search for cast and crew, involving his family in the adventures, are recreated and the sped-up shots in this film are like those in early silent films. Phalke’s marketing skills changed empty theaters into sold out ones, and he is considered the Father of Indian Cinema.

Theater 1 | Short Film – THE SPELL Hindi & Marathi (English subtitles)
Friday, 24 September 2010 at 07:00 PM (Gaarud)-India/2009/10min/35mm, Director: UMESH VINAYAK KULKARNI
A voyeuristic peek into the lives of residents of an apartment complex in an Indian metropolis. Hindi & Marathi (English subtitles)

Theater 1 | Feature Film – COOKING WITH STELLA | DILIP MEHTA – CANADA – ENGLISH – 104 MINUTES
Friday, 24 September 2010 at 08:00 PM
At first glance, Stella, who has cooked for Canadian High Commission families for thirty years, is a religious Catholic and devoted servant in New Delhi. Everyone loves her, not knowing she has a thriving side-line business selling food, silver, jewelry and anything else she can steal from the household. She’s devious, making it appear that other employees are responsible for the thefts.

When a new family arrives with their baby, Stella assumes that the husband Michael is a diplomat. Instead, Maya, his half-Indian/half-Polish/Canadian wife is the Consul. Michael, a chef in Ottawa, looks for a diversion from being a house-husband and implores Stella to be his “cooking guru.” After initially refusing, she relents. An honest nanny enters the household and a series of adventures ensue. A plot is uncovered and in culinary terms, Stella gets her just “desserts.”

Theater 2 | Short Film – THE ROAD HOME | RAHUL GANDOTRA
Friday, 24 September 2010 at 07:00 PM
Sent by his parents to an international boarding school in the Himalayas, Pico grapples with his identity as he escapes from his boarding school in search of the road back home to England.

Theater 2 | Feature Film – THE JAPANESE WIFE | APARNA SEN – ENGLISH
Friday, 24 September 2010 at 08:00 PM
Orphaned at a young age, Snehamoy a shy school teacher, lives with his Mashi (Aunt) in a small Bengali village. He has corresponded with his pen friend Miyage, an equally shy Japanese woman, since his days in college. English is their common language, though neither is proficient in it. When Miyage suggests that they marry, he accepts. They build a loving relationship through letters and gifts, yet never meet face-to-face. Can true love survive under such unusual circumstances.

Theater 1| Documentary – WOMAN REBEL | KIRAN DEOL – NEPALI/ENGLISH SUBTITLE – 37 MINUTES
Saturday, 25 September 2010 at 03:00 PM
A young woman from the countryside of Nepal joins the Maoist rebels as a result of witnessing the effects of inequality on women and the poor. During the ten-year revolution, 1996-2006, she fights against government forces, the side which her brother has chosen.

Uma Bhujel, code name “Silu,” rises to leadership in the People’s Liberation Army which is comprised of 40% women. Eventually Nepalese, tired of the senseless waste of life, press for peace. When the King steps down, and a new Parliament is formed, Uma/”Silu” becomes a Constitutional Assembly Member. She vows to continue the struggle for the right of everyone to have food, clothes and a roof over their head. But this time she’s working within the lawSaturday, 25 September 2010 at 03:00 PM

Theater 1 | Feature Film – THE SUN BEHIND THE CLOUDS: TIBET’S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM, INDIA,UK 2009 –DIRECTOR: RITU SARIN, TENZING SONAM – 79 MINUTES
In 1959, ten years after the Chinese invaded Tibet, The Dalai Lama led an exodus of his people to Dharamsala, India, where they have made their home in the diaspora. He feels that the Tibetan Issue is not “pro-Tibetan nor anti-Chinese; but rather, it is pro-justice.” He accepts having the Chinese rule, but for general autonomy.

In addition to the huge numbers of Chinese already there, the new railroad brought 1.5 million Chinese migrant workers and aspiring entrepreneurs to Tibet, which will cause the character of the country to vanish. The documentary gives a comprehensive look at Tibetans who were born in India and want to go back, at those who were born in Tibet, and how both differ with the Dalai Lama’s philosophy of “The Middle”.

Theater 2 | Documentary – YOU CAN’T CURRY LOVE | REID WATERER – ENGLISH – USA – 23 MINUTES
Saturday, 25 September 2010 at 03:00 PM
A “closeted” young Indo-British executive who is obsessed with his boss is temporarily transferred to India to oversee the new office. He resists going, but on the first day meets and begins a comfortable relationship with the desk clerk. The film gives a light-hearted look at the two men as they go sightseeing. When the executive returns to London, he is given the choice of a large promotion which means traveling around Europe with his boss, or returning to manage the office in India. What will he decide?

Theater 2 | Feature Film – THE JAPANESE WIFE | APARNA SEN – ENGLISH
Saturday, 25 September 2010 at 04:00 PM
Orphaned at a young age, Snehamoy a shy school teacher, lives with his Mashi (Aunt) in a small Bengali village. He has corresponded with his pen friend Miyage, an equally shy Japanese woman, since his days in college. English is their common language, though neither is proficient in it. When Miyage suggests that they marry, he accepts. They build a loving relationship through letters and gifts, yet never meet face-to-face. Can true love survive under such unusual circumstances?

Theater 1 | Short Film REVEALED: SHAH RUKH KHAN | SAMAR KHAN – ENGLISH – 45 MINS
Saturday, 25 September 2010 at 06:30 PM
The actor who began his career as dark anti-heroes and rose to become a Mega-Star is the subject of an unusual biography. Film critics and scholars, an advertising/brand expert, the Editor of Vogue, India, and a social anthropologist give insight into Shah Rukh Khan’s phenomenal rise. His movies opened the overseas market and captured the spirit of the nation. Snippets of his films, such as “My Name Is Khan” are shown, and the engaging “King” Khan himself shares his thoughts about family and films.

Theater 1 | Feature Film – UDAAN | VIKRAMADITYA MOTWANE
Saturday, 25 September 2010 at 07:30 PM
A seemingly minor infraction is one too many for Rohan and his three classmates. They are thrown out of a prestigious boarding school where he has spent eight straight years after his mother died. His father never visited him, so he has a rude awakening when he returns to his small industrial town to find his young half-brother Arjun whom he never knew existed. His father is so irate at the expulsion, he forces Rohan, an aspiring writer, to work long hours at the factory.

His cruelty breaks the spirit of the once rebellious boy. When Rohan discovers that Arjun, whom he has grown to love, has been beaten so severely that he is hospitalized, Rohan takes matters into his own hands with satisfying results.

Theater 2 | Documentary – REVEALED: SHAH RUKH KHAN | SAMAR KHAN – ENGLISH – 45 MINS
Saturday, 25 September 2010 at 06:30 PM
The actor who began his career as dark anti-heroes and rose to become a Mega-Star is the subject of an unusual biography. Film critics and scholars, an advertising/brand expert, the Editor of Vogue, India, and a social anthropologist give insight into Shah Rukh Khan’s phenomenal rise. His movies opened the overseas market and captured the spirit of the nation. Snippets of his films, such as “My Name Is Khan” are shown, and the engaging “King” Khan himself shares his thoughts about family and films.

Theater 2| Feature Film – COOKING WITH STELLA | DILIP MEHTA – CANADA – ENGLISH -104 MINUTES
Saturday, 25 September 2010 at 04:00 PM
At first glance, Stella, who has cooked for Canadian High Commission families for thirty years, is a religious Catholic and devoted servant in New Delhi. Everyone loves her, not knowing she has a thriving side-line business selling food, silver, jewelry and anything else she can steal from the household. She’s devious, making it appear that other employees are responsible for the thefts.

When a new family arrives with their baby, Stella assumes that the husband Michael is a diplomat. Instead, Maya, his half-Indian/half-Polish/Canadian wife is the Consul. Michael, a chef in Ottawa, looks for a diversion from being a house-husband and implores Stella to be his “cooking guru.” After initially refusing, she relents. An honest nanny enters the household and a series of adventures ensue. A plot is uncovered and in culinary terms, Stella gets her just “desserts.”

The 2nd Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston and “Awards Night”
This year’s “Award’s Night” will be held Sunday, September 26, 2010 at the Royal Oaks Country Club, located at 2910 Royal Oaks Club Dr, Houston, TX 77082, reflecting a night of glamor and elegance reminiscent of a Hollywood Film Awards event.

The Indian Film Festival of Houston Award will be presented to seven of the most prestigious categories of Indian Film.