South Asian International Film Festival 2007


The Asian Women Giving Circle proudly sponsor two documentaries, Bare  and The Sky Below, at the 2007 South Asian International Film Festival

October 3-9, 2007, New York City
Documentary Series 1
Rubin Museum of Art

BARE
India / SAIFF Premiere / 2007
English
Director: Santana Issar
Duration: 11 mins
Synopsis: In the piecing together of home videos shot by her parents nearly 2 decades earlier, and through a string of conversations with her father, mother, and sister, a daughter looks to understand the impact of her father’s alcoholism on each of their lives: the sister’s refusal to include him in her life; the mother’s belief that her daughters should reach out to their father despite her own refusal to see him; the father’s moment of honest introspection. In talking to them, the questions she is struggling with come to the fore: should she stand behind him, drawing only on her memories of what a wonderful father he was? Or should she move on, and build her life without him?
About the Director: Santana Issar graduated in Economics from Delhi University in 2005. Thereafter she interned briefly with a news channel before coming upon work as an assistant director on a corporate film. The chance to direct Bare—her first film—came along a year later. Since Bare’s completion she has worked with a media action group, and is currently completing a research fellowship on animal activism.

THE SKY BELOW
India / New York Premiere / 2007
Director: Sara Singh
Producer: Sara Singh
Written by: Sara Singh
Synopsis: From the shared, ancient history of the Indus Civilization, the people of the Northwest area of the Subcontinent have connections that go back millennia. In 1947, the partition of this region left a legacy of suspicion and a profound inability to reconcile this political divide. From Kutch to Kashmir and from Karachi to the Khyber Pass, some of the ground realities of the lingering fallout are explored; and also, if reconciliation is possible between two countries with interwoven histories…after 60 years of strained relations and the unresolved crisis in Kashmir. A former terrorist, politicians, royalty, citizens, historians, and others share their insights of the past, present, and future of this volatile, yet emerging, South Asian economic bloc. Folk singers recorded live in their surroundings, found footage, verite and conceptual location shooting, contemporary and archival still photography are merged to emphasize the contrasted realities which compose this culturally connected, yet politically disconnected, region.
About the Director: Sara Singh was born in India and has spent most of her life in the US. She is an artist, writer, photographer, and filmmaker. The Sky Below is her first documentary completed entirely on her own, with no other crew