Over one hundred films, including Indian and other South Asian films, have been selected to be screened June 7-9 at the Landmark Theater in Los Angeles, during the seventh annual New Media Film Festival, which celebrates the ever-changing world of new media.
Indian director Aaditi Dutt’s short film, “Nepal Heroes,” which has won accolades at other film festivals, including the IndieFEST Film Awards, will be screened in the Socially Responsible Content category. The 3:39 minute film, which Dutt wrote, traces how ordinary people came together to make an extraordinary difference in helping the people of Nepal recover from the April 2015 earthquake.
Also featuring in the same category is a three-minute music video, called “Anti-Street Harassment PSA.” Directed by Katherine Filaseta, the video, inspired by Bollywood, depicts a woman walking down the street. This short public service announcement makes a statement about street harassment in New York City through a re-appropriation of the lyrics of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” by Alycia Lang. Anita Singh is the assistant director of this short, while the director of photography is Srinath Ravichandran. Abhinav Chintakunta has co-edited the video with Filaseta.
“Four Million Threads” a 48-second short produced and filmed by U.S. filmmaker Jackie Hurwitz, is an interactive journey into Bangladesh’s garment industry: the women joining the workforce, the managers on the top floor, and the disaster that changed them all.
The Web series category will showcase a one-minute micro documentary series, “One Minute Meal: Ganesha’s Favorite Meal.” In one minute, Director James Boo takes the viewers to a celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi in Queens, New York City, which includes a peek into the rituals, prayers, songs, dances, and food.
“The Achiever,” by filmmaker Nardeep Khurmi, has been selected in the Web series category. “The Achiever” is the story of a man who puts little effort in to life and gets by on even smaller victories.
A three-minute-long animated film by UK filmmaker Roxi Khan, “Save My Soul,” will be screened in the Machinima category. The premise of the film is: A very important decision must be made via text message. If they choose riches, someone will die; if they reject riches, no one will die but they will not be rich — the countdown has begun!
“Save My Soul,” “The Achiever,” “1 Minute Meal: Ganesha’s Favorite Meal” and “Four Million Threads” will see their world premiere at the fest.