1. 4/17, 6:30pm "LEISURE TIME" - 3rd i NY & Alwan for the Arts
Collaborative Monthly Screening Series @ Pioneer Theater
2. 4/20 - 22: South Asian Underground Film Festival @ NYU. Featuring
live appearances by Hanif Kureishi, Steve Savale of Asian Dub
Foundation, and Vivek Bald of MUTINY!. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
_________________________________________
1. 3rd i NY and Alwan for the Arts Collaborative Monthly Film & Video
Series presents encore presentation of Egyptian box-office smash indie
feature film "Leisure Time"
LEISURE TIME
(Mohamed Mostafa/ Egypt / 134 mins / 35 mm / Arabic with English subtitles
Two Boots Pioneer Theater Tues, April 17th @ 6:30pm
155 East 3rd Street (at Avenue A)
Subway: F to 2nd Ave; 6 to Bleecker
Tickets: $10 Adults / $6.50 Pioneer Members
Followed by FREE PIZZA & BEER/SODA at the Den of Cin
About the Film
Leisure Time was the renegade box-office hit this summer in Cairo.
This low-budget film breaks radically with prevailing trends: a
docu-fiction with a large cast of excellent actors, none famous or
even known. Leisure Time delves in the world of teen-agers from within
and gives them unprecedented voice; we follow Ahmed, Hazem, Amr, and
others, as they ask, "What to do?" The film does not attempt to answer
the question nor dwell on its implications. It simply takes us to an
adolescent world scripted from the inside. The film's emphasis on real
life rather than fiction was the source of its popular success. The
film also marks the return of once retired veteran producer Hussein Qalla.
_________________________________
2. The Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University, in
association with 3rdi NY, presents:
South Asian Underground Film Festival
EMERGENCES AND EMERGENCIES: NEW SOUTH ASIAN FILM-MAKING FROM BRITAIN
Curated by Sukhdev Sandhu, Assistant Professor of English and A/P/A
Studies at NYU
Featuring: "My Son the Fanatic", "Mutiny: Asians Storm British Music",
"India Calling","The Road to Guantanamo", "Bradford Riots", "Otolith",
"England Expects" and more...
Friday-Sunday - April 20-22
Cantor Film Center
36 E. 8th St. @ University Pl.
Subway: A, C, E, B, D, F, V to West 4th ST.
N, R, W to 8th St., 6 to Astor Place
FREE, First come/first serve. Doors open 15 minutes before screening.
Visit www.apa.nyu.edu for more information.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20
7pm-10pm in Theater 200
"My Son The Fanatic"
Kick-off screening
Featuring a Q&A with Hanif Kureishi
Join Hanif Kureishi, internationally-renowned author (THE BUDDHA OF
SURBURBIA), Oscar-nominated screenwriter (MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE),
and playwright for a special screening of this prescient 1997 drama.
Om Puri stars as a Pakistani taxi driver who enters into a passionate
relationship with a Northern prostitute much to the disgust of his
increasingly fundamentalist son.
*Screening Co-Sponsored by New York University's Tisch School of the
Arts, The Maurice Kanbar Institute, The Directors Series*
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
2pm-10pm in Theater 101
2pm - "Bradford Riots" (2006, dir. Neil Biswas) and "Young, Angry and
Muslim" (2005, dir. Julian Hendy)
Discussion with Steve Savale from Asian Dub Foundation
5pm - "The Road To Guantanamo" (2004, dir. Michael Winterbottom)
8pm - "A Love Supreme" (2001, dir. Nilesh Patel) and "The Warrior"
(2001, dir. Asif Kapadia)
SUNDAY, APRIL 22
2pm-10pm in Theater 101
2pm - "India Calling" (2002, dir. Sonali Fernando) and "Otolith"
(2003, dir. The Otolith Group)" (2003)
5pm - "England Expects" (2004, dir. Tony Smith)
8pm - 10pm
*Closing Night Screening*
"MUTINY: Asians Storm British Music" (2003, dir. Vivek Bald)
and "Skin Deep" (2001, dir. Yousaf Ali Khan)
Special post-screening discussion with Asian Dub Foundation's Steve
Savale and Mutiny Director Vivek Bald, moderated by reknowned music
journalist Vivien Goldman, author of "Exodus: The Making and Meaning
of Bob Marley and the Wailers Album of the Century"
Join the filmmakers and festival goers at the film festival Afterparty
to follow this screening at Leela Lounge, located at One West 3rd
Street at Broadway.
All seating is first come/first serve. Doors open 15 minutes before
screening. For more information, visit http://www.apa.nyu.edu
"Emergences and Emergencies" is co-sponsored by NYU's Tisch School of
the Arts, The Maurice Kanbar Institute, The Directors Series; NYU
Center for Media, Culture and History and Center for Media and
Religion, 3rd-I NY, Asian Cinevision, Imaginasian Theater, Leela Lounge.
ABOUT THE FILMS
A Love Supreme (2001, dir. Nilesh Patel), 9 min
Nilesh Patel's debut film is a beautifully shot and
multi-award-winning audio-visual essay on the preparation of samosas
by his mother. Influenced, unexpectedly, by sequences in Martin
Scorsese's Raging Bull, it makes the daily dishes cooked by Asian
mothers resemble exquisite art installations.
Bradford Riots (2006, dir. Neil Biswas), 75 min
The July 2001 riots in the Northern city of Bradford were the most
violent to hit the United kingdom in over two decades. 191 men, most
of them locally-born Pakistani Muslims, were jailed for a total of
more than 500 years. Neil Biswas's meticulously researched drama goes
beyond the tabloid headlines to present a fascinating portrait,
influenced visually by La Haine and The Battle of Algiers, and scored
by Asian Dub Foundation, of an immigrant community riven by religious
and generational tension. New York premiere.
England Expects (2004, dir. Tony Smith), 124 min
The New York premiere of this controversial and no-holds-barred drama
about a responsible family man, living in the shadow of London's
financial district, whose life falls apart after he develops a sexual
obsession with a trader at the investment bank where he works as a
security guard. His meltdown, of a ferocity that recalls both Taxi
Driver and the work of the late Alan Clarke, brings him into violent
conflict with local Bangladeshis. As powerful and incisive a post-9/11
film as has yet been made.
India Calling (2002, dir. Sonali Fernando), 50 min
The first and still the best documentary about the modern-day call
centre, this is a deliciously ironic portrait of a David Brett-style
Australian boss who has arrived in Delhi to effect a self-proclaimed
revolution in the working practices of twenty-something Indian
graduates. Acclaimed film-maker Fernando ensures that the black
comedy is leavened with a probing and deeply empathetic study of the
yearning, aspirational call agents themselves.
Mutiny: Asians Storm British Music (2003, dir. Vivek Bald), 77 min
Combining music documentary and social documentary, Mutiny charts the
meteoric rise of South Asian music in 1990s Britain, as well as the
decades of cultural cross-pollination and political struggle that led
up to that historic moment. Shot independently on digital video over
the course of seven years, Mutiny features Asian Dub Foundation, State
of Bengal, Talvin Singh, Fun^Da^Mental, DJ Ritu and a host of other
British musicians of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi descent,
presenting these artists and their music with depth, intimacy, and
intensity. Rarely screened in New York since its completion in 2003,
this is a film not to be missed.
My Son the Fanatic (1998, dir. Udayan Prasad), 87 min
Hanif Kureishi adapted this remarkably prophetic film from a short
story he originally wrote for The New Yorker. Set in Bradford, it
centres on a Pakistani taxi driver (Om Puri) whose respect and love
for most things English - including a local prostitute (Rachel
Griffiths) - brings him into terrible conflict with his increasingly
fundamentalist son who regards his family's adopted northern English
city as irredeemably decadent. Movingly acted and expressionistically
filmed, this is an affecting romance rich in political and
psychological insights.
Otolith (2003, dir. The Otolith Group), 22 min
Influenced by the work of Chris Marker and the Black Audio Film
Collective, and with stunning sound design from the latter's Trevor
Matthison, Otolith is an eerie cinematic essay that doubles as a rare
example of post-colonial science fiction. Moving between the zero-
gravity astronaut-training centre at Star City and the two-million-
protestor-strong anti-war protests in London in early 2003, it's a
meditation on utopianism, Third World socialism and the nature of
colonialism's visual archive.
The Road To Guantanamo (2004, dir. Michael Winterbottom), 95 min
Winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival,
this is the true story of three British Muslims, subsequently known as
the 'Tipton Three', who traveled to Pakistan to attend a wedding,
only to end up being held for two years without charges in the
American military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Shot in Winterbottom's
characteristic part-dram, part-documentary style, it has been
described by the New York Times as a "film of staggering force".
Skin Deep (2001, dir. Yousaf Ali Khan), 13 min
Set in deprived, inner-city England during the 1970s, Skin Deep is a
brutal and haunting portrait of Romo, a half-English, half-Pakistani
teenager who tries to pass for white. Things come to a crisis one
night when his new-found skinhead friends tell him to attack another
Asian kid. This unforgettable exploration of Asian abjection won
Salford, Manchester-born Khan a nomination at the UK BAFTA awards in 2002.
The Warrior (2001, dir. Asif Kapadia), 82 min
Kapadia's debut feature is a ravishing Western in which the drama has
been relocated to the deserts of feudal Rajasthan. Irfan Khan plays
a bloodythirsty warlord's henchman who decides to lay down arms. In
consequence, his only son is killed. He finds himself travelling
deeper and deeper into a wilderness that is both geographic and
spiritual. Magisterial in pace and sweep, this fully deserves the
comparisons to Kurosawa and Leone that enthusiastic international
critics have been making since its release.
Young, Angry and Muslim (2005, dir. Julian Hendy), 48 min
In the wake of the London Underground bombings in July 2005, Navid
Akhtar, a British Pakistani Muslim, journeys across the country to
explore the tensions and alienation within his community and asks how
this has contributed to the terror attacks. As part of his
passionate and very personal documentary, Akhtar also returns to his
parents' Kashmiri village and agonises over whether to sell the land
he has inherited from his recently deceased father.
_________________________________
About 3ri NY
3rd I New York's monthly film and music salon designed by local
filmmakers and experimental djs showcases the works of independent
filmmakers of South Asian descent and local djs, musicians and
electronica artists. Providing alternative forums for South Asian
filmmakers who often have few venues to showcase their work not only
increases their visibility, but also provides a social forum for peers
and audiences to participate in an ongoing discussion.
Showing posts with label South Asia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Asia. Show all posts
Monday, April 09, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
"South Asian Cooperation and the Role of the Punjabs" by Tridivesh Singh Maini
(Photo of Singh with Ambassador John McDonald)
I recently came across some information about a fascinating book written by an Indian Punjabi fellow by the name of Tridivesh Singh Maini. Singh has studied in England and the US and has worked all over the world in diverse sectors and organizations, and is using his experiences constructively to talk about the role of the two Punjabs - Indian and Pakistani (that were torn apart during the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947) - in South Asian cooperation.
I have yet to get my hands on it, but will leave you with some resources that show you how much of a must-read this book is for anyone remotely interested in South Asia, especially cooperation and peace in that region.
Happy reading!
Links to coverage in Pakistani papers:
Coverage in Indian Papers:
The book is available from the following website;
Friday, March 02, 2007
Article: A blind eye to bigotry
When I read the title of the article, I thought it'd be something about Blacks in America or antisemitism in the Middle East, but alas - it was on the Muslim massacre that took place in Gujarat, India five years ago.
I recall the horrors of that time in South Asian history because I was living in Lahore, Pakistan when it happened. We saw the images, read the stories. And today, to see that the ultimate perpetrator of that tragedy - Chief Minister Narendra Modi - is still in power is revolting. His political party - the BJP - is ultra-right wing and is thankfully no longer in power nationally, yet the ugly serpent still rears its head occasionally.
The article opened my eyes to the fact, no matter what, to make money, people will stoop to the lowest rung on a ladder and not even be hesitant or remorseful about it. Take, for example, China, which buys a lot of oil from Sudan. Likewise, you've got huge corporations from all over the world that continue to do business in Modi's Gujarat.
Some excerpts copied below:
Five years ago this week, across the Indian state of Gujarat, the stormtroopers of the Hindu right, decked in saffron sashes and armed with swords, tridents, sledgehammers and liquid gas cylinders, launched a pogrom against the local Muslim population. They looted and torched Muslim-owned businesses, assaulted and murdered Muslims, and gang-raped and mutilated Muslim women. By the time the violence spluttered to a halt, about 2,500 Muslims had been killed and about 200,000 driven from their homes.
I recall the horrors of that time in South Asian history because I was living in Lahore, Pakistan when it happened. We saw the images, read the stories. And today, to see that the ultimate perpetrator of that tragedy - Chief Minister Narendra Modi - is still in power is revolting. His political party - the BJP - is ultra-right wing and is thankfully no longer in power nationally, yet the ugly serpent still rears its head occasionally.
The article opened my eyes to the fact, no matter what, to make money, people will stoop to the lowest rung on a ladder and not even be hesitant or remorseful about it. Take, for example, China, which buys a lot of oil from Sudan. Likewise, you've got huge corporations from all over the world that continue to do business in Modi's Gujarat.
Some excerpts copied below:
Five years ago this week, across the Indian state of Gujarat, the stormtroopers of the Hindu right, decked in saffron sashes and armed with swords, tridents, sledgehammers and liquid gas cylinders, launched a pogrom against the local Muslim population. They looted and torched Muslim-owned businesses, assaulted and murdered Muslims, and gang-raped and mutilated Muslim women. By the time the violence spluttered to a halt, about 2,500 Muslims had been killed and about 200,000 driven from their homes.
The events of 2002 did not conform to the paradigm of the war on terror, in which India was a prize ally, so never achieved the infamy in the west they deserved. An array of interests - in New Delhi, London and Washington - is dedicated to ensuring the atrocity is consigned to oblivion. For them, the release of Parzania, a feature film centred on the violence, is an uncomfortable development. Despite dramatic flaws, it accurately depicts the savagery of the anti-Muslim violence, its planned, coordinated character, and the complicity of the police and the state government. Cinemas in Gujarat, under pressure from the Hindu right, are refusing to screen the film.
If and when Parzania reaches audiences here and in the US, it will offer a necessary counter-tale to the fashionable fable of the Indian neoliberal miracle, exposing the brutality and bigotry that have gone hand in hand with zooming growth rates and hi-tech triumphalism.
· Mike Marqusee writes a column for the Hindu; his most recent book is Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s.
Read the entire article from The Guardian.Thursday, January 18, 2007
My article: To proliferate or not to proliferate
My recent column in the Pakistani paper I write for went online earlier this morning and I am copying it below. Many thanks to my friend Christina Madden who provided some latent inspiration for it. Thanks, Christina!
To proliferate or not to proliferate
Nuclear energy is fast becoming a commodity the developing world wants to get its hands on. Iran, much to the chagrin of the rest of the international community, is well on its way to developing power plants to harness power from nuclear energy. And quick to follow suit is India. While both cases differ radically, India’s, much to the surprise of many of us, might prove to be the one to keep a watchful eye on.
This December, American politicians voted in favor of providing the Indians with “civilian nuclear technology”. This event has effectively reversed the US policy where the government would not provide any nuclear technology or know-how to anyone, irrespective of prior track record. While there will obviously be checks and balances every step of the way, the very fact that a country like India will be receiving this technology is cause for concern not only for Pakistan, but also for the entire world.
India has neither signed nor ratified the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It has conducted numerous nuclear tests and the last time it received nuclear technology it proceeded to use it in preparation for a nuclear bomb under Indira Gandhi’s reign. While India is correct in arguing that it is in dire need of hefty power supplies to keep pace with its stupendous economic and industrial growth, it is incorrect in relying on the US for these “civilian” uses. Such a move on the part of the US government can single-handedly trigger an arms race the like of which was witnessed during the Cold War.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Chinese were quick to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s government wherein exchange of nuclear technology would take place between the two Asian countries. China has long been an ally of Pakistan and arriving at this current juncture was not difficult for either country. What remains to be seen is how the two countries proceed from here.
What interests me, though, is the use of public relations methodologies by the Indian authorities to garner support for this endeavor. While many recognizable people like US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice did the public bidding for the US-India civilian nuclear energy agreement, the deal was actually sealed behind closed doors with much assistance from lobbying firms and PR agencies. According to Subrata Ghoshroy, who is a research associate in the science, technology and society programme at MIT and directs a project to promote nuclear stability in South Asia, $ 1.3 million was spent on two lobbying firms. He mentions that one of the firms hired was Barbour, Griffith, and Rogers, which is headed by Robert Blackwill, a former US ambassador to India.
Needless to say, the Indian lobby is making its political power quite apparent by flexing its lobbying muscle. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on travel expenses of American political leaders shuttling between India and the US. To add to the pressure being exerted, the American Jewish community also played a leading role in promoting India’s cause.
A lot can be learnt from this whole experience. It is not only representative of the American political process whereby lobbies garner power and exert influence, but also where one can clearly see that the US no longer plays a role where it safeguards the interests of the international community. Today, that same country harms many millions the world over while allowing a minuscule number of them the opportunity to see the “American dream” come true. Today’s America cares, at best, only for itself, or at worst, for its closest allies in the dirty games it plays in the name of “civilization”, “development” and “modernity”.
Tomorrow’s world will be one where states compete for “civilian nuclear technology” while their own populations die for want of food, water and clothing. A shelter from their leaders is what they actually need. Their greed and vanity knows no bounds. At this very moment, I can imagine a child’s eyes closing for one last time as I type these final words. Perhaps, with sustained efforts, a future of non-proliferation can give that child one more chance at a life of peace and prosperity.
To proliferate or not to proliferate
Nuclear energy is fast becoming a commodity the developing world wants to get its hands on. Iran, much to the chagrin of the rest of the international community, is well on its way to developing power plants to harness power from nuclear energy. And quick to follow suit is India. While both cases differ radically, India’s, much to the surprise of many of us, might prove to be the one to keep a watchful eye on.
This December, American politicians voted in favor of providing the Indians with “civilian nuclear technology”. This event has effectively reversed the US policy where the government would not provide any nuclear technology or know-how to anyone, irrespective of prior track record. While there will obviously be checks and balances every step of the way, the very fact that a country like India will be receiving this technology is cause for concern not only for Pakistan, but also for the entire world.
India has neither signed nor ratified the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It has conducted numerous nuclear tests and the last time it received nuclear technology it proceeded to use it in preparation for a nuclear bomb under Indira Gandhi’s reign. While India is correct in arguing that it is in dire need of hefty power supplies to keep pace with its stupendous economic and industrial growth, it is incorrect in relying on the US for these “civilian” uses. Such a move on the part of the US government can single-handedly trigger an arms race the like of which was witnessed during the Cold War.
Taking advantage of the situation, the Chinese were quick to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s government wherein exchange of nuclear technology would take place between the two Asian countries. China has long been an ally of Pakistan and arriving at this current juncture was not difficult for either country. What remains to be seen is how the two countries proceed from here.
What interests me, though, is the use of public relations methodologies by the Indian authorities to garner support for this endeavor. While many recognizable people like US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice did the public bidding for the US-India civilian nuclear energy agreement, the deal was actually sealed behind closed doors with much assistance from lobbying firms and PR agencies. According to Subrata Ghoshroy, who is a research associate in the science, technology and society programme at MIT and directs a project to promote nuclear stability in South Asia, $ 1.3 million was spent on two lobbying firms. He mentions that one of the firms hired was Barbour, Griffith, and Rogers, which is headed by Robert Blackwill, a former US ambassador to India.
Needless to say, the Indian lobby is making its political power quite apparent by flexing its lobbying muscle. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on travel expenses of American political leaders shuttling between India and the US. To add to the pressure being exerted, the American Jewish community also played a leading role in promoting India’s cause.
A lot can be learnt from this whole experience. It is not only representative of the American political process whereby lobbies garner power and exert influence, but also where one can clearly see that the US no longer plays a role where it safeguards the interests of the international community. Today, that same country harms many millions the world over while allowing a minuscule number of them the opportunity to see the “American dream” come true. Today’s America cares, at best, only for itself, or at worst, for its closest allies in the dirty games it plays in the name of “civilization”, “development” and “modernity”.
Tomorrow’s world will be one where states compete for “civilian nuclear technology” while their own populations die for want of food, water and clothing. A shelter from their leaders is what they actually need. Their greed and vanity knows no bounds. At this very moment, I can imagine a child’s eyes closing for one last time as I type these final words. Perhaps, with sustained efforts, a future of non-proliferation can give that child one more chance at a life of peace and prosperity.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Bangladeshi gets Nobel Peace Prize
This is amazing news. Power to South Asians! The region has come along way in its almost six decades of independent existence. While many say we have miles to go before we sleep, I like to think we also have much to be proud of.
Slow and steady...we'll make it.
While I am delighted that Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, received the award, I was slightly taken aback when I read the sub-headline for an article from The Economist:
Slow and steady...we'll make it.
While I am delighted that Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, received the award, I was slightly taken aback when I read the sub-headline for an article from The Economist:
"An anti-poverty campaigner and a bank in Bangladesh have won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The purpose of the prize has become muddled. It may be better to withhold it next time"
Upon reading the article, I found out some very interesting information and a different point of view on how the bestowing of this award works. Read on for further enlightenment...
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