September 20–23 2012 CHICAGO SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL CSAFF.ORG FEATURES / SHORTS/ DOCUMENTARIES / PANELS / GALAS & MORE FESTIVAL SPONSORS FEATURES Abu Son of Adam Director: Salim Ahamed Cast: Salim Kumar, Zarina Wahab India | 101 mins | 2011 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: A man out of touch with the modern world finds his own way to make a religious pilgrimage to Mecca. Jalpari SUPPORTED BY CHICAGO FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN Director: Nila Madhab Panda Cast: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Parvin Dabas India | 100 mins | 2012 | US Premiere Synopsis: Shreya and Sam discover the dark secrets of an isolated village in Haryana. Lessons in Forgetting SUPPORTED BY CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL CHANGE FILM FESTIVAL Director: Unni Vijayan Cast: Adil Hussain, Roshni Achreja India | 100 mins | 2012 | US Premiere Synopsis: When Meera’s husband walks out on her, she takes up a job with a cyclone studies expert who has a traumatic past. Their lives get intertwined in strange ways. A Decent Arrangement Director: Sarovar Banka Cast: Shabana Azmi, Adam Laupus USA | 96 mins | 2011 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: Ashok must navigate the complexity of cultural traditions and learnings of his own heart as he travels to India for an arranged marriage. Gattu Director: Rajan Khosa Cast: Jayanta Das, Ritika Malkan India | 82 mins | 2011 Synopsis: Wanting to defeat the kite ‘Kali’ during the traditional kites festival, Gattu is forced to impersonate as a student in a local school so he can access the rooftop and gain strategic advantage. Only problem is, he can’t read or write. Rat Race Director: Miriam Chandy India | 70 mins | 2011 | US Premiere Synopsis: Men hired by the municipal corporation who set out with torches and sticks to bring back the bodies of 30 rats to earn a daily wage. Listen Amaya Director: Avinash Kumar Singh Cast: Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval India | 88 mins | 2012 | World Premiere Synopsis: The story of a daughter, Amaya, and her widow mother who begins to develop a relationship with Amaya’s friend played by Farooq Shaikh. Runaway Director: Amit Ashraf Cast: Monir Ahmad, Shahed Ali Bangladesh | 98 mins | 2012 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: Babu, a dubious rickshawalla, has made it his life mission to find a ‘runaway’ by the name of Akbar and return him back to his family before pursuers catch up. Masala Director: Sandesh Kulkarni Cast: Girish Kulkarni, Amruta Subhash India | 110 mins | 2012 | US Premiere Synopsis: The Marathi film Masala depicts the story of of Revan and Sarika in their quest of finding livelihood and their identity. SHORTS Adrak Director: Sahirr Sethhi Cast: Faezeh Jalali, Sohaila Jalali India | 6 mins | 2012 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: An Instant Photographer at Gateway of India (Mumbai) is drawn by the sudden urge to photograph a stranger. She doesn’t speak his language. They are worlds apart. Raju Director: Max Zahle Cast: Wotan Wilke Möhring, Krish Gupta Germany | 23 mins | 2011 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: A German couple adopts in Kolkata an Indian orphan. Their child suddenly disappears and they realize that they are part of the problem. Fatakra Director: Soham Mehta Cast: Samrat Chakrabarti, Hunter Cudini USA | 19 mins | 2011 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: Naveen left India to chase his dreams in America. Three years and a recession later, his wife and son finally join him. Sparks fly as dreams collide with reality. The New Brit Director: David Krissman Cast: Paul Gregory, Sathya Jesudasson UK | 22 mins | 2012 | World Premiere Synopsis: A Pakistani Brit refuses to settle for anything less than his dream of one day becoming a broadcast journalist. Road to Peshawar Director: Hammad Rizvi Cast: Yasmine Al-Bustami, Philip Kreyche USA | 19 mins | 2011 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: Soviet-Afghan War 1988. An injured Afghan girl is taken to Pakistan by her father to seek medical attention until they are interrupted by a homesick Soviet sniper. Girl & The Auto Rickshaw Director: Sarwesh Mewara Cast: Vikas Banger, Suhasini India | 7 mins | 2012 | US Premiere Synopsis: After denying an eunuch a ride, an auto rickshaw driver finds this rickshaw can only give rides to female passengers. Fowl Men Director: Aparna Pednekar Cast: Balasaheb Chavan, Francis Mathew India | 15 mins | 2011 | World Premiere Synopsis: This film is an episode in the life a British photojournalist and an Indian guide who come to a village called Morachi Chincholi, to shoot the national bird. The 5 Directed: Ravi Kapoor Cast: Samrat Chakrabarti, Parvesh Cheena USA | 17 mins | 2011 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: Freely inspired by the ancient Hindu myth the Mahabharata, THE 5 imagines a family stuck in exile and mourning their mother’s death until they must meet for one final confrontation with the cousin that sent them into purgatory. Reincarnation Director: Gaurav Bakshi Cast: Sumeet Raghavan USA | 15 mins | 2011 | US Premiere Synopsis: The film tells the story of Siddhartha, a common man, who’s in the news because he’s believed to be the reincarnation of ‘Mahatma Gandhi’. My Lad Director: Sami Khan Cast: Ace Bhatti, Rory Girvan UK | 13 mins | 2010 | US Premiere Synopsis: There’s something Abdul must do and tries to numb his pain but the time is approaching. In life there are some things that you can never change. Doggoned Director: Arshad Khan Cast: Ulka Simone Mohanty, Karl Werleman USA | 16 mins | 2012 | World Premiere Synopsis: Living in the beautiful city of Montreal, Maria seems to have it all: until she receives a letter in the mail telling her that she can no longer work legally in the country. The Last Marble Director: Manjari Makijany Cast: Baba B, Vikrant Makijany India | 8 mins | 2011 | Chicago Premiere Synopsis: Every child has the ability to create something beautiful. This story is about a nine year old street kid that makes things from metal scrap and junk. FESTIVAL STAFF Amit Rana Festival Director Margi Patel Events Director Shalini Trivedi Hospitality Director Kaivan Dave Marketing and Communications Director Bidisha Sinha Sponsorship and Fundraising Director Raza Siddiqui Legal Affairs Director Robbie Abed Technology Director PROGRAMMING TEAM Mili Ghosh Programming Director Mileen Patel Programming Coordinator Sid Ghosh Programming Coordinator BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ketki Parikh Shiban Ganju Nilesh N. Kamath Mileen Patel Amit Rana Raza Siddiqui Shalini Trivedi ADVISORY BOARD Aparna Sen Shabana Azmi Bhawana Somaaya Lillete Dubey MODERATORS Bill Natale Sandeep Sharma Deepa Gupta Anu Rana Ann Feldman Shalini Parekh Kaajal Oza Vaidya SPECIAL THANKS Toral Bhansali Kant Desai Anjali Dubey Rajat Goswami Zohra Hasta Laurent Laffineur & James Robinson Karl Kalra Darshan & Ankita Patel Monika Sharma Shwetha Suresh Aarthi Susarla Anu Veeramaneni Jay Verma