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April 22-25th, 2022
Shorts Program B - Family Shorts
India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, USA I 120 mins I Coming
of Age, Thriller, Comedy, Drama I Multiple Languages
From the Himalayan mountains to the US suburbs, the children in these stories are finding, and asserting, their place in the world.
FEATURING:
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Grasshoppers Sleep Here (dir. Balaram J)
A mowing man meets a determined girl.
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Bambirak (dir. Zamarin Wahdat)​​
Kati stows away in her dad's van to see his workday in their new, adoptive country.
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Baahar ( dir. Prakshi Malik)
A school admission causes tension at a family dinner.
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Hot Chocolate( dir. Lila Mali) *online only
A young man reflects on a comforting tradition.
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An Early Spring ( dir. Pramati Anand)
A rural girl befriends a visiting female backpacker.
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Chai ( dir. Arshum Rouhanian)
In a quiet suburb, a chai and hot chocolate stand compete.
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About the Artist(s)
Balaram J is a writer, designer, animator, and independent filmmaker from Kerala, India and a graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. He created animated sequences for the visionary filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery's feature films Jallikattu (2019) and Churuli (2021). His thesis film, Story of a Beginning, travelled to 35+ international festivals. He craves stories that make him a better human and wishes to make films that do the same to others.
Lila Mali is an incoming University of Texas-Austin freshman passionate about storytelling through animation and filmmaking. A self taught animator who has has been studying film production and direction for 7 years, Lila has worked on several animated projects and is also studying Computer Science. Her short, Hot Chocolate, was created during her senior year of high school and became a state finalist at the 2021 UIL film festival.
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Born in Afghanistan and raised in Germany, Zamarin Wahdat is a cinematographer and writer/director, who attended NYU Tisch. Her work as a cinematographer has screened & been awarded at at many festivals including Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, & Tribeca. In 2020, she received an Academy Award for the short doc "Learning how to Skate in a Warzone'' (if you’re a girl). This experience led her to write & direct her first short BAMBIRAK, which received the Sundance Short Film Jury Award for International Fiction in 2021.
Prakshi Malik is a filmmaker and dancer creating cinema about women of color from a global perspective. She grew up in Delhi, India and is currently based in the Twin Cities, MN. She was recently awarded the 2020 Short Film Grant by Austin Film Society for her short film, Baahar. Prakshi holds an MFA in Film Production from UT- Austin. .
Pramati Anand pursued her Masters in Film & Video from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. She has worked as a creative content strategist and writes a travel and photography blog called ‘Safarnama'. Her film, Jhat Aayi Basant (An Early Spring) was an official selection at the International Film Festival, Goa and is currently doing the festival rounds.
Arshum Rouhanian was born & raised in Maryland after his parents fled Iran in light of the revolution. He grew up in a small apartment with 10 relatives.and credits his creativity in part to this time, as he found inventive ways to sneak around and pretend quietly. He graduated from American University with a BA in Film & Media Arts and a minor in Business Admin. He currently works as a Content Producer/ Director/ Editor at Capitol Records in Hollywood.
Trailer
Thank you to our community partner for this screening!
