NYIFF To Screen ‘Saving Face,’ Oscar-Winning Pakistani Documentary, As Part of its Stellar 12th Anniversary Line-up of Films, Festival Runs May 23-27 at Tribeca Cinemas

(New York, NY—March 5, 2012) Saving Face,Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daniel Junge’s Oscar-winning short documentary about the plight of two Pakistani women who were victims of acid attacks, is one of more than 50 hand-selected films that will wow audiences at the 12th annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF). Presented by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), NYIFF is scheduled from May 23 to 27 at Tribeca Cinemas in lower Manhattan. Formerly known as the IAAC and MIAAC Film Festivals, NYIFF has premiered some of the most well-known South Asian and foreign films, including Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, Bride and Prejudice, Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake, and several others. Some of the highlights of this year’s festival include:

May 23rd - Opening night red carpet screening at Paris Theatre & Gala Benefit at Essex House
May 24th – Industry Panels at Tribeca Cinemas
May 24th to 27th – NYIFF Screenings, post-screening events, parties, special events
Script-writing workshops
One minute cell phone films by NYU Tisch Film & TV students on Bollywood Music
Nightly networking parties at lounges around New York City
May 25th – Centerpiece screening & discussion: Tribute to Dev Anand – Hum Dono Rangeen
May 26th – Sidebar: Shyam Benegal Retrospective followed by post-screening discussion with director. Mamoo (1994), Sardari Begum (1996), and Zubeidaa (2001) – the first such programming of Benegal’s trilogy based on scripts by renowned critic, journalist, and filmmaker Khalid Mohamed. All three films are Mohamed’s personal stories about his mother, grandmother, aunt and grandaunt.
Children’s films afternoon screenings and discussions at Tribeca Cinemas
May 27th – Closing Night red carpet screening, discussion & awards ceremony at Skirball Center for Arts

“Our lineup of films, networking parties, and red carpet events this year will be bigger and better than ever,” says Aroon Shivdasani, IAAC Executive Director. “As the longest-running and most prestigious Indian film festival in the country, we are proud to provide a much-needed platform for independent filmmakers to showcase their talent and share their art with New Yorkers.” For more information about NYIFF, please visit http://www.iaac.us/NYIFF2012/

About the Indo-American Arts Council: The Indo-American Arts Council is a registered not-for-profit arts organization passionately dedicated to showcasing, building awareness, and celebrating artists of Indian origin in the performing, visual and literary arts. Annual festivals of art, dance, play writing and film are scheduled through the year, with several special events and book launches. For further information please visit www.iaac.us. NYIFF was born in the aftermath of 9/11 in response to Mayor Giuliani’s call to New Yorkers to help rebuild a limping city. The First Annual film Festival opened its doors with Film Diaspora Godfather Ismail Merchant and closed with New York’s favorite Indian filmmaker Mira Nair.

Film
Richard Atkinson’s DOGS LIE, Starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Frank Boyd and Ewa Da Cruz in Theaters on April 24, 2012
Sudhish Kamath’s Good Night | Good Morning Starring Manu Narayan and Seema Rahmani in Theaters on January 20, 2012
DOGS LIE, Starring Samrat Chakrabarti, Frank Boyd and Ewa Da Cruz, Nabs ”Best Film (USA)” and ”Feature Film Audience Award” at 2011 ITN Distribution Film and New Media Festival
Soham Mehta’s Fatakra Starring Samrat Chakrabarti Screens at Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on August 13
Sixth Annual Asian American Film Festival – Ajay Naidu’s Ashes Screens on May 11 & May 15 in Edgewood, PA
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival Winners: Sthaniya Sambaad, Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rishi Kapoor, Bhopali
Photos: Samrat Chakrabarti, Soham Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai at the New York Indian Film Festival
Photos: Neetu Singh Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor at 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival Opening Night
Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF
Nan Melville’s Documentary ‘Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance’ screens at the Newport Beach Film Festival on May 3
Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens Karma to Nirvana premieres at New York Indian Film Festival on 5/7 at Tribeca Cinemas
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Video: Aroon Shivdasani interviews The Waiting City’s Samrat Chakrabarti at the 10th Annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater
Shailja Gupta’s WALKAWAY with Manu Narayan & Samrat Chakrabarti, Opens on 26 Screens Across 18 Cities
Sudhish Kamath’s Good Night|Good Morning Starring Manu Narayan & Seema Rahmani
Actor Samrat Chakrabarti Receives 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers
Samrat Chakrabarti is featured in Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City, which screens at the Toronto International Film Festival
AAIFF Karma Calling, You Don’t Know Jack and Children of Invention
Click here for film articles.
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.

All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2012 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at lia@backstagepasswithliachang.com.

Lia Chang: Sthaniya Sambaad, Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rishi Kapoor, Bhopali among 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival Winners

Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony), directed by Arjun Gourisaria & Moinak Biswas was named Best Feature Film.

The 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival came to a close on May 8 with the Closing Night premiere of Rituparno Ghosh’s film Noukadubi at the Asia Society in New York, which was attended by Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh Kapoor, Salman Rushdie, Mira Nair, Aparna Sen, Madhur Jaffrey, Ambassador Prakash Shah, Consul General Prabhu Dayal, and many other notable celebrities. After the screening, this year’s awards were announced.

Best Director winner Aparna Sen (Iti Mrinalini). Photo Credit: MichaelToolan.com

Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony), directed by Arjun Gourisaria & Moinak Biswas was named Best Feature Film. Iti Mrinalini scored two nods with Best Actress for Konkona Sen Sharma and Best Director for Aparna Sen. Rishi Kapoor was named Best Actor for Disney’s Do Dooni Chaar.

(L-R) Presenter Neetu Singh Kapoor and Best Actor winner Rishi Kapoor (Do Dooni Chaar) Photo Credit: MichaelToolan.com

Mohan Raghavan received Best Screenplay for T.D. Dasan Std. VI B., Max Carlson’s Bhopali ,which covered the 1984 Union Carbide factory gas leak that contaminated and killed thousands in Bhopal, India, was named Best Documentary, and Abhay Kumar’s Just That Sort Of A Day was named Best Short Film.

Mohan Raghavan received Best Screenplay for T.D. Dasan Std. VI B.,

The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), presented by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), is the oldest and most prestigious Indian film festival in the country. http://www.iaac.us/nyiff2011/

Max Carlson’s Bhopali was named Best Documentary.

About the Indo-American Arts Council: The Indo-American Arts Council is a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit, secular service and resource arts organization charged with the mission of promoting and building the awareness, creation, production, exhibition, publication and performance of Indian and cross-cultural art forms in North America. The IAAC supports all artistic disciplines in the classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India. Their focus is to work with artists and arts organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists and arts organizations from India to exhibit, perform and produce their works here.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Christine Toy Johnson, Jaygee Macapugay, Jon Norman Schneider to perform in National Asian Artists Project: Discover: New Musicals at 47th Street Theatre on 5/23
Sixth Annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival – Ajay Naidu’s Ashes Screens on May 11 & May 15 in Edgewood, PA
Photos: Samrat Chakrabarti, Soham Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai at the New York Indian Film Festival
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens Karma to Nirvana premieres at New York Indian Film Festival on 5/7 at Tribeca Cinemas
Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater on 11/12/10

Lia Chang Photos: Samrat Chakrabarti, Soham Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai at the New York Indian Film Festival

Samrat Chakrabarti at the NYIFF at Tribeca Cinemas on May 7, 2011. © liachang.com

“Samrat Chakrabarti is one of the finest Indian actors working today,” said Aseem Chhabra, Film Festival Director of the 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF). Presented by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) which just completed a successful five-day run, is the oldest and most prestigious Indian film festival in the country.

Chakrabarti, an award-winning actor and internationally acclaimed musician, starred in three short films- Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story, Soham Mehta’s Fatakra and Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju- that screened at the Festival. Film projects in the can include A.J. Carter’s Extinction, Deepa Mehta’s Winds of Change, Dagen Merrill’s Murder in the Dark, Michael Walker’s Price Check, Richard Atkinson’s Dogs Lie and Salim Khassa’s Desperate Endeavors. His recent guest starring appearances on TV include “Outsourced” (HBO), “In Treatment” opposite Irrfan Khan (HBO), “30 ROCK” (NBC) “The Horrible Terrible Misadventures of David Atkins,” and “Bored to Death.”

Soham Mehta’s Fatakra copyright 2011 Soham Mehta

I was particularly moved by Chakrabarti’s soulful performance as Naveen in Fatakra (Firecracker), a tailor who left his wife and son in India to chase his dreams in America. When they join him three years and a recession later, the sparks that fly on their first day together as dreams collide with reality are heartbreaking. Chakrabarti also composed the score for Fatakra, which has garnered accolades at Film Festivals across the country. Director Soham Mehta recently received the Linda Mabalot New Directors/New Visions award from the 2011 LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL, picked up the Audience Award for Best Short at the 2011 Sarasota Film Festival, and has been nominated for a Student Academy Award.

(l-r) Fatakra director Soham Mehta, Samrat Chakrabarti and NYIFF Festival director Aseem Chhabra at the Q & A after the screening of the film at Tribeca Cinemas on May 7, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

http://www.sohammehta.com/films/fatakra/

Shiva Shankar Bajpai's ‘Raju’ Copyright 2011 Shiva Bajpai

Chakrabarti has the affinity to inhabit the skin of the characters he portrays. In Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju, Chakrabarti plays the title character, an undocumented immigrant who works for a debt relief agency who must choose between the girl he’s falling for and his work visa. http://shivabajpai.com/film.html

Raju writer/director Shiva Shankar Bajpai, Samrat Chakrabarti and producer Samina Akbari in the lobby of Tribeca Cinemas at the 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival in New York on May 7, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Sixth Annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival – Ajay Naidu’s Ashes Screens on May 11 & May 15 in Edgewood, PA
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens Karma to Nirvana premieres at New York Indian Film Festival on 5/7 at Tribeca Cinemas
Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF
Video: Aroon Shivdasani interviews Samrat Chakrabarti at Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens Karma to Nirvana premieres at New York Indian Film Festival on 5/7 at Tribeca Cinemas
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater on 11/12/10

Lia Chang: Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF

Samrat Chakrabarti Photo by Lia Chang

Award-winning actor and musician Samrat Chakrabarti scores another trifecta starring in three short films at the Tribeca Cinemas – Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story on Friday, May 6, and Soham Mehta’s Fatakra and Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju on Saturday, May, 7, as part of the 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF).

Last year, Chakrabarti’s talents were on display in three films at the Festival. He created the score for Sundaram Tagor’s documentary The Poetics of Color: Natvar Bhavsar, and had roles in Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City opposite Radha Mitchell and Joel Edgerton, and in Ajay Naidu’s Ashes.

Chakrabarti was named one of the Fresh Faces at TIFF by thestar.com, for his role as Krishna in Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City, after the film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2009. Linda Barnard of thestar.com wrote, “The high point of The Waiting City, about an Australian couple in Calcutta to adopt a child, is the lively and hilarious performance of Samrat Chakrabarti as Krishna, a meddlesome worker at the hotel where the Aussies stay. Befriending them and inserting himself into their lives, he digs out their secrets and gives unsolicited advice, in what seems like a typical Bollywood comic turn by an Indian actor.”

The Waiting City will be released on DVD on May 31, 2011, by Entertainment One.

Samrat Chakrabarti © Lia Chang

Samrat Chakrabarti is the recipient of the 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers in the category of Film, TV and Drama, for his outstanding body of work as an actor. Chakrabarti’s film credits include Italo Spinelli’s Gangor, Shilpa Sunthankar’s Seeta’s Demon, Joseph Mathew’s Bombay Summer, Kabir Khan’s New York, Shailja Gupta’s Walkaway, Bruce Leddy’s Sing Now, Sai Selvarajan’s Joy Lies, and Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab of Presents alongside Shabana Azmi. He has also had roles in in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me, Leonardo Ricagni’s Indocumentados, Jonathan Betzler’s Homecoming, Manan Katahora’s Arya, and Joseph Castelo’s The War Within which was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award. In addition, he has appeared in Gareeb Nawaz’s Taxi, Robert Harte’s Finding Graceland, Anjaan Dutt’s The Bong Connection with Victor Banerjee, Sarba Das’s Karma Calling, Amyn Kaderali’s Kissing Cousins, Randall Krongard’s Override, Manan Katahora’s Arya and When Kiran Met Karen, Joseph Matthews’ Days of Love and Loss with Tanishtha Chatterjee, Raj Basu’s Piyalir Password and and Suman Ghosh’s Dwando. New films in the can include A.J. Carter’s Extinction, Deepa Mehta’s Winds of Change, Dagen Merrill’s Murder in the Dark, Michael Walker’s Price Check, Richard Atkinson’s Dogs Lie and Salim Khassa’s Desperate Endeavors .

His recent guest starring appearances on TV include “Outsourced” and “In Treatment” (HBO), “30 ROCK” (NBC) and “The Horrible Terrible Misadventures of David Atkins”. Other TV credits include “Law And Order” (NBC), “Bored to Death”, “The Sopranos” (HBO), FX’s “Damages”, “Love Monkey” (CBS) and “Hope and Faith” (ABC). Onstage, he has appeared as Nirad Das in Indian Ink at The Missouri Repertory Theater and Arun in Lingering Voices at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Chakrabarti is also an established international musician and has won numerous awards for his music, including: a U.S. CARA for Best Original Pop/Rock Song, for his composition, “What’s It all About”.

The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), presented by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), is the oldest and most prestigious Indian film festival in the country. NYIFF continues through May, 8, 2011 and tickets are available online at http://www.iaac.us/nyiff2011/

Rehana Mirza’s ‘Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story’ screens on May 6 at 3:30pm. copyright 2011 Rehana Mirza

Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 3:30pm
Chakrabarti plays a Muslim groom about to wed a Hindu bride in New Jersey in Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story. When the groom gets a case of cold feet, will the wedding become just another case of religious conflict? Buy Tickets

Soham Mehta’s Fatakra screens on Saturday, May 7 at 6pm. copyright 2011 Soham Mehta

Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 6 pm
In Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Chakrabarti plays Naveen, who left India to chase his dreams in America. Three years and a recession later, his wife and son finally join him. Fatakra (Firecracker) tells the story of the sparks that fly on their first day together as dreams collide with reality. Chakrabarti also composed the score for the film, which has been nominated for a Student Academy Award. Buy Tickets http://www.sohammehta.com/films/fatakra/

Shiva Shankar Bajpai's ‘Raju’ screens on May 7 at 9pm. Copyright 2011 Shiva Bajpai

Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 9.00 pm
Shiva Shankar Bajpai’s Raju stars Paul Calderon, Judy Marte and Chakrabarti as an undocumented immigrant who works for a debt relief agency who must choose between the girl he’s falling for and his work visa.Buy Tickets
http://shivabajpai.com/film.html

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Sixth Annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival – Ajay Naidu’s Ashes Screens on May 11 & May 15 in Edgewood, PA
Video: Aroon Shivdasani interviews Samrat Chakrabarti at Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens Karma to Nirvana premieres at New York Indian Film Festival on 5/7 at Tribeca Cinemas
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater on 11/12/10

Lia Chang Video: Aroon Shivdasani interviews The Waiting City’s Samrat Chakrabarti at the 10th Annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival

Indo-American Arts Council founder and executive director Aroon Shivdasani and Samrat Chakrabarti at the 10th annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival at the SVA Theater in New York on November 12, 2010. © Lia Chang

Claire McCarthy’s cross-cultural drama The Waiting City, starring Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton and Samrat Chakrabarti, will be released on DVD on May 31, 2011, by Entertainment One.

After the film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2009, Chakrabarti was named one of the Fresh Faces at TIFF by thestar.com, for his role as Krishna. Linda Barnard of thestar.com wrote, “The high point of The Waiting City, about an Australian couple in Calcutta to adopt a child, is the lively and hilarious performance of Samrat Chakrabarti as Krishna, a meddlesome worker at the hotel where the Aussies stay. Befriending them and inserting himself into their lives, he digs out their secrets and gives unsolicited advice, in what seems like a typical Bollywood comic turn by an Indian actor.”

Samrat Chakrabarti, author Jhumpa Lahiri and Glee’s Iqbal Theba at the 10th annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival at the SVA Theater in New York on November 12, 2010. © 2010 Lia Chang

Last November, I attended the sold-out screening of The Waiting City at the 10th annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival at the SVA Theater in New York. After the screening, Indo-American Arts Council founder and executive director Aroon Shivdasani interviewed Chakrabarti about his experience working on The Waiting City. Watch the video below.

It was a big night for Chakrabarti, who had three films at the festival, appearing as an actor in Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City and Ajay Naidu’s Ashes, and creating the score for Sundaram Tagor’s documentary The Poetics of Color: Natvar Bhavsar, which screened the night before. Chakrabarti, who is also an award-winning musician, is the recipient of the 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers in the category of Film, TV and Drama, for his outstanding body of work as an actor. Click here for Samrat’s reel.

Bonus features on the DVD include commentary by director Claire McCarthy and actors Radha Mitchell and Joel Edgerton, a featurette and cast and crew interviews.

Other Articles by Lia Chang:
Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Bajpal’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF
Nan Melville’s Documentary ‘Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance’ screens at the Newport Beach Film Festival on May 3
11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), May 4-8, 2011
Vikas Khanna’s Holy Kitchens Karma to Nirvana premieres at New York Indian Film Festival on 5/7 at Tribeca Cinemas
MIAAC Screens Ashes & The Waiting City, two films featuring Samrat Chakrabarti at SVA Theater on 11/12/10