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Film Fri Oct 01 2010
Chicago Welcomes the South Asian Film Festival
It sometimes feels like Chicago is becoming the new hub for the film festival. From small one room screenings to large, expansive festivals film covers every subject and is shown in every part of the city. The Chicago South Asian Film Festival starts this weekend and is the first time this festival, let alone the South Asian community, is being represented in the film community. Illinois has a large Indian and Pakistani population and a definite market for a festival representing South Asian culture. There are film festivals in New York and LA for the South Asian community, why not one for the Midwest?
Whereas films about drugs, violence, and sex may be common fodder in the US market these things are often taboo in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Chicago South Asian Film Festival gives films and filmmakers from those countries the chance to exhibit their work without prejudice or social censorship. There are many exciting films being shown this weekend. We offer some suggestions of films to see this weekend.
Wild Things (Saturday, Oct. 2 @ Film Row, 1 pm and Sunday, Oct. 3 @ Film Row, 6 pm): Wild Things is a re-thinking of Maurice Sendak's classic storybook Where the Wild Things Are done by adjunct Columbia College professor Sandeep Sharma. The film itself is not about South Asian culture and is instead a selection from a South Asian filmmaker. Wild Things is wonderfully executed because it's not just another spin-off from the original material. Sharma worked with children at Children's Memorial Hospital to create the narrative and design of the film, giving it a very unique look and feel. This is also the first time Wild Things is being shown, so go see it!
The Japanese Wife (Sunday, Oct. 3 @ Film Row, 3:15 pm): The Japanese Wife is set in one of the most beautiful places in India, the Sundarbans mangrove forest. This alone should encourage you to see this film. The Japanese Wife tells the story of two people that meet, fall in love, and even get married through a series of letters. All the while these two people have never seen each other, he living in the Sundarbans and she living in Japan. As impossible as the story sounds it plays out very nicely, the improbable becoming possible through film. Director Aparna Sen will do a Q&A after the screening.
Ringa Ringa (Saturday, Oct. 2 @ Chicago Cultural Center, 1 pm): Many of the films at the South Asian Film Festival are serious explorations into culture and narrative. Ringa Ringa is just fun. Combining an interwoven plot line of love and political intrigue, the film follows a woman caught between the two and trying to find a way out. It's not the best film at the festival by any means and falls into the more over the top Bollywood style but between heavy hitters like Ashes it's a welcome change-up. This film is also one of the free film screenings being offered this weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center. If you want to experience the South Asian Film Festival but don't have the cash, try to make it to one of the free screenings Saturday.
All screenings are to take place at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E Washington) and Film Row Cinema at Columbia College Chicago (1104 S. Wabash, 8th floor). An all-access pass to the festival, which grants you admission to all the films this weekend as well as opening night, is $125. A weekend pass is $35 and individual admission to a session screening is $11. Snehal Patel's DSLR workshops are $50. A full screening schedule as well as links to purchase tickets can be found on the Chicago South Asian Film Festival website.
