The Cinequest Film Festival 2016, which will run from March 1- March 13 in San Jose, Calif., will present a line-up of Indian cinema, offering three examples of the current state of Indian film art. The films that will be showcased are: Director Selvamani Selvaraj’s debut film “Nila”; first-time director Atul Taishete’s “Vartak Nagar-A Story of Four Crows”; and “The Last Smile.”
“Nila,”which will see its North American premiere at the festival, deftly explores the murky realm of deceptive desire and the damaging consequences resulting from a passionate, but misguided pursuit of love, according to a press release.
“Vartak Nagar-A Story of Four Crows,” starring actor Jimmy Shergil, merges an emotionally stirring coming-of-age tale with real life drama. The premise of the film is: In 1982, the innocence of four boyhood friends is abruptly shattered during the Bombay Mill Strike and the encompassing violence imperils their lives. But through the combined forces of brotherhood, love, and the resilience of the human spirit, the boys not only survive, they thrive, according to the release.
“The Last Smile” is described as a film where an Indian American father suddenly loses his son under mysterious circumstances and simply wants to know what happened. But his pursuit of the truth plunges him into the corrupt and shady underworld of the unregulated dietary supplements business, a thriving $37 billion industry, the release said. Inspired by a true story, this drama exposes the greed-driven practices that prey on human vanity, gullibility, and the American obsession with the “quick fix.” Both “Vartak Nagar-A Story of Four Crows” and “The Last Smile” will have their world premiere at the festival.
