The 6th Annual Chicago South Asian Film Festival presented by Zee Cinema, gave the lifetime achievement award to Sharmila Tagore for her groundbreaking work in Bengali and Hindi films at a gala awards ceremony at Venue Six10, an event space in downtown Chicago, Oct. 4.
The main highlight of the festival was the screening of Satyajit Ray’s film “Devi” at the Art Institute of Chicago. In the movie Sharmila plays the role of a 16-year-old newly married girl. Sharmila, who was present to receive the award, said that working with Ray “was the most progressive time in her acting career and the performances have added a great deal to her initial learning.” According to her, Ray was the most favorite director of her time and she has been honored to have worked with someone of his vision.
The award ceremony marked the inauguration of in-competition films for the sixth year of the Chicago SAFF, which presented over 40 independent feature and short films over a span of five days. The star-studded night also featured Chicago premier of playwright Fawzia Mirza’s hilarious yet heart-breaking one-woman show ‘Me, My Mom and Sharmila,’ a play about a mother and daughter and their shared love for Sharmila Tagore. The play shares Mirza’s journey of self-discovery from her childhood as a Pakistani-Muslim in small-town in Canada to living as an actress in Chicago, using personal anecdotes, pop culture and South Asian history.
“One of my dreams came true during this year’s Chicago South Asian Film Festival. I did my show “Me, My Mom and Sharmila” for Sharmila Tagore herself,” Mirza said.
Acclaimed fashion designer Joy Mitra provided a preview of his Spring/Summer 2016 Collection through his exhibit “Chitrahaar” reminiscent of Bollywood classics.
The feature films jury consisted of Madhuvanti Ghose, Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan and Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago; Sadia Uqaili, independent curator, arts administration executive and chief creative officer at Somerset Street and Anuradha Rana, filmmaker and Professor of Cinema Production and Documentary Filmmaking at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts.
The jury award for best feature film was presented to “Kaaka Muttai, The Crow’s Egg” by M. Manikandan. It’s a story about two carefree slum boys who are consumed by the desire to taste this new-fangled dish called ‘Pizza’. Realizing that one pizza costs more than their family’s monthly income, they begin to plot ways to earn more money inadvertently beginning an adventure that will involve the entire city.
The jury award for best short film was presented to “The Blue Sweater” from the United States. It’s a film about a promise made by a girl to her little brother Unni that she will knit him a sweater in his favorite color, blue, by the next full moon. On the following day, Unni accidentally enters the forbidden forest and discovers something intriguing; it takes him on a long journey, only to return home on the night of the promise. In the Indian calendar it is ‘raksha bandhan’, when the special bond between siblings is celebrated. But then, the encounter in the forest has altered the fate of Unni’s little blue sweater, perhaps forever.
The jury award for People’s Choice Award for best feature film was presented to “Dukhtar” from Pakistan. Dukhtar, which was Pakistan’s nomination for the 2015 Oscars, received the jury award for best full-length feature film, telling the story of a mother and her ten-year-old daughter who leave their home to save her young daughter from an arranged marriage to a tribal leader. This was Afia Nathaniel’s feature directorial debut, which she also wrote and produced.
The audience award for People’s Choice best feature Film went to “Sundar” by Indian director Rohan Kanawade. The film explores the cultural taboos of cross -dressing. The Chicago’s choice award for best short film was presented to “The First Session” by American Director Ryan Logan.
The festival kicked off Sept. 30 at Intuit Art Gallery with a tribute screening of Prashant Bhargava’s acclaimed film “Patang”. The official opening night of the festival was Oct. 1, when the Chicago Premiere of Avinash Arun’s “Killa” (The Fort) was screened at Showplace ICON Theater.
In addition to the award-winning films, there were a number of other notable artists who featured their work in the festival, including the world premiere of “G-A Wanton Heart” by Rahul Dahiya which took critics and festival goers by surprise for its seamlessly fluid direction and exceptionally touching story about honor killings in India.
“Haramkhor” featuring Shweta Tripati and last year’s lifetime achievement awardee Nawazuddin Siddiqui, was controversial but loved by audience for excellent performances. When asked about the cultural sensitivity of the topic Shweta Tripati, the film’s main actress, said: “It may be taboo, but it happens and it’s my duty as an actress to give the best I can in each role; in reality this does take place. I met with more than a dozen girls who had relationships with their teachers and they all ended badly with the exception of one couple who did get married.”
Another film which appealed to the festival movie goers was “Miss India America” directed by filmmaker Ravi Kapoor and written by his wife Meera Simhan and it was another audience favorite that touched upon the issues of competiveness in the South Asian community.
The festival originally founded by the South Asian Arts Council in 2010 has consistently been supported by the Mayor of Chicago, Chicago Film Office, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Consulate General of India in Chicago, Consulate General of Pakistan in Chicago, Chicago Sister Cities, the City of Evanston, and a number of other educational institutions and industry ambassadors, has become one of the more prestigious film events in the Midwest.
The post Chicago South Asian Film Festival Honors Sharmila Tagore appeared first on News India Times.