Shorts C

A Lullaby For Yellow Roses

Cast: Trimala Adhikari, Somnath Mandal, Uma Jhunjhunwala

Year Of The Film: 2023

Language: Hindi

Length: 17 minutes 55 seconds

Synopsis:

An estranged migrant working-class couple seeks friends in each other as they lose their daughter to an ill-fated custom.

Director: Rahul Roye

Born in Kolkata, India in 1993, an English literature student, Rahul Roye (they/them) have been working as an independent filmmaker and screenwriter since 2018. They advocate strongly against any agency of social suppression or segregation adhering to superiority, especially concerning gender politics and norms.

Their recent work Man & Wife (2021) has just begun its festival run. As yet it has been selected to play at Gaze International LGBT Film Festival Dublin, New York Indian Film Festival, Fringe Queer Film and Arts Fest, Kashish MIQFF. San Francisco Queer Film festival, DFWSAFF, PIQFF etc.

Rahul Roye (loro/essi) è natə in India nel 1993, studia letteratura inglese e dal 2018 lavora come regista e sceneggiatorə indipendente. Si pone in contrasto a qualsiasi tipo di repressione sociale o segregazione, in particolare nei riguardi delle politiche e delle norme di genere.

Il recente lavoro del* regista, “Man & Wife” (2021), ha appena iniziato il suo percorso di distribuzione in vari festival. Finora è stato selezionato a diversi festival, tra i quali: Gaze International LGBT Film Festival Dublin, New York Indian Film Festival, Fringe Queer Film and Arts Fest e molti altri.

Dosh

Cast: Renu Razdan, Nikhil Prakash, Tyler Anton, Mona Sishodia

Year Of The Film: 2023

Language: English, Hindi

Length: 16 minutes 8 seconds

Synopsis:

When her son’s life is put at risk at their family’s pre-wedding ritual, a hard-of-hearing mother must decide how to seek help for her husband in order to keep her family safe.

Director: Radha Mehta

Radha Mehta is a film director, a multi-disciplinary artist, and first-gen Indian American based in Los Angeles, California. She uses her background as a musician, painter, and hard-of-hearing mother of two children to tell stories of hope from within her marginalized communities on the themes of motherhood, disability, womxn empowerment, and rising above shame within her South Asian diaspora.

Radha is an MFA graduate for Film Directing at American Film Institute Conservatory, an Entertainment Lab Fellow of RespectAbility, and a scrip Winner of the M Film Lab x OpenScreenplay supported by Pillars Fund and MPAC, and a Top-3 Finalist for the 2023 Netflix/Tasveer Film Fund. She also served as an elected Board Member of The Recording Academy, co-founded the South Asian Entertainment Organization (SAMMA), and co-hosts an annual casting ABC diversity workshop that elevates South Asian talent.

Radha's latest short live action film "DOSH" is currently on the film festival circuit and won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Short at the 2023 Tasveer Film Festival and was nominated for the 2023 ASC Heritage Award. Her other short film "Evan Ever After" is an Audience Award Winner at Florida Film Festival and Jury Prize Winner for Best Documentary Short at Out On Film Film Festival. And her previous short film "Being Gina" was a Top 3 Finalist for the WrapWomen & STARZ/Lionsgate "Telling Our Stories" Film Challenge awarded at the 2021 Power Women Summit.

Full & Final

Cast: Prakhar Singh, Tuhina Vohra

Year Of The Film: 2023

Language: English, Hindi

Length: 16 minutes 10 seconds

Synopsis:

A nice man gets sick of chasing his ex-boss for his pending salary. He decides to change his ways and inadvertently ends up inspiring his housemaid to do something crazy.

Director: Sohit Khanna

Sohit Khanna works as a Screenwriter & Creative Director in Mumbai. He has worked as a commissioned writer for long-form fiction content for some of the most reputed Indian studios namely Red Chillies, Endemol Shine & Jar Pictures. He was part of the writers’ room at Drishyam Films and Disney-India as a fiction writer. His previous short film Spellbound (2019) commissioned by LXL Ideas, a horror-comedy was selected for Chicago International Film Festival & Sharjah Film Festival among others. Currently, he is trying to make his debut feature film which like the genre of the film is turning out to be a dark comedy.

Monsoon Walk

Year Of The Film: 2023

Language: Marathi

Length: 27 minutes

Premiere status: World premiere

Synopsis:

In the remotest village of the Sayhadri mountain range, a 75-year-old woman embarks on a journey to fetch medicines for her sick grandson. Her solitary pilgrimage is speckled with routine places and unfamiliar faces as she traverses the verdant landscape on a heavy monsoon day.

Director: Avinash Arun Dhaware

Avinash Arun Dhaware is a Director-Cinematographer from Maharashtra, India. Born in the textile town Solapur in 1985, he started assisting in FTIl Diploma films at the age of 16. He graduated in Cinematography from FTIl in 2011. In 2010, his school project 'The Light and Her Shadows' won him the cinematography award in Kodak Film School Competition. His diploma film 'Allah Is Great' was the official entry from India for Student Oscars. It also won several awards including the National award in 2012.

His directorial debut 'Killa' won the Crystal Bear for the Best Film at Berlin Film Festival in 2014. It also won the National Award for Best Marathi Film.

After working as a cinematographer on landmark films like Masaan, Madaari, Kaarwan, Love per Square Foot, Drishyam, and Hichki, he moved on to shoot and direct short films such as ‘Vishaanu’ (2020) which was part of the ‘Unpaused’ series on PrimeVideo and ‘Monsoon Walk’ (2023) produced by Macguffin Pictures and Colosceum Media.

His first directorial venture in web series, ’Paatal Lok’ (2020) on Amazon PrimeVideo, garnered nationwide praise. The second season of the acclaimed series is currently in post-production and slated to release this year.

The Disney+Hotstar show, ’School of Lies’ (2022), marks another OTT venture directed, shot and co-created by Avinash.

His feature film, ‘Three of Us’ (2021), which premiered at IFFI Goa, won him the Best Director award at the prestigious NYIFF and the Filmfare for Best Cinematography in 2023.

Postcard from Tahiti

Cast: Nikta Tewani, Piyali Syam, Vick Krishna, Siraj Huda

Year Of The Film: 2023

Language: English

Length: 14 minutes 57 seconds

Synopsis:

A young female owner of a struggling restaurant has an unspoken connection with a mysterious patron and when he disappears never to return again, realizes that her own troubles are fleeting and that everyone gets a second chance at life.

Director: Nitin Madan

Nitin Madan is a New Yorker by choice. Born and raised in India, he made TV documentaries before he went to the USA and made New York his home to earn his MFA in Film from Columbia University.

As a Producer and Director, he has found his calling in both documentary and fiction. He has chronicled artists on video, including the inimitable New York-based painter, the late Russell Connor; India's pre-eminent artist, MF Husain; and the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. His foray into narrative features as a Producer garnered him awards and acclaim for the live-action/ animation film, "Colin Hearts Kay" (2010).

Samay Ki Baazi

Directors: Anish and Vel

Cast: Ishan Pandita

Language: No dialogue just subtitles

Length: 5 minutes 59 seconds

Year Of The Film: 2023

Premiere status: None of the films have been shown in the US. They were showcased at the award ceremony at the IFP festival.

Synopsis:

In the quiet streets, a burglar's mundane life twists when he finds an ancient clock, a portal to time. Tempted by its power, he manipulates time for heists, believing in control over fate. But consequences unravel his reality. Time's grip tightens, blurring past and future. Chaos ensues, forcing him to face his choices' consequences. Amidst the turmoil, he learns the limits of ambition and the unyielding nature of fate.

Directors: Anish and Vel

Anish and Vel, early on, recognized the potent force of curiosity in shaping original content. Their journey began with a deep dive into the vibrant South-Indian film industry, amassing over 5 years of experience as Assistant Directors. Now, they stand poised to revolutionize the industry with their pursuit of feature filmmaking. Fueled by an unwavering passion for storytelling, they aim to captivate audiences and industry professionals alike with their collaborative and artistic approach. They prioritize quality, synergy, and innovation, relentlessly challenging the status quo with each endeavor. Anish and Vel are on a mission to redefine the art of filmmaking, one groundbreaking project at a time.

Crown

Director: Krishav Payyade

Cast: Aditya Sathe, Krishav Payyade, Manas & Ray

Language: Hindi with subtitles in English

Length: 6 minutes 34 seconds

Year Of The Film: 2023

Premiere status: None of the films have been shown in the US. They were showcased at the award ceremony at the IFP festival.

Synopsis:

Chicku - a servant, decides to go rogue on his owner thereby trying to steal his Rolex but his perfect plan is thrown out of track as the house he is guarding is being robbed by two real thieves. Will he be able to stop the robbery, thereby executing his own plan?

Director: Krishav Payyade

Krishav Payyade is a 26 year old aspiring filmmaker who is currently working as a Creative Producer at QI Lifecare. Making films is his greatest joy and he believes film-making is a rich, centuries old art-form and he aspires to make a positive dent in it!

Host or Publisher Indo-American Arts Council