Richie Mehta’s India in a Day (opening film) and Buddhadheb Dasgupta’s Tope (Closing film) to make their US Premiere at inaugural ‘India Kaleidoscope’

The first edition of ‘INDIA KALEIDOSCOPE’, an exciting new film festival held in New York December 8-11, 2016 will focus on Indian regional cinema.

The festival will showcase films in 6 different Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri, Tamil and Kannada.

India Kaleidoscope, a collaboration between the Museum of the Moving Image and The India Center Foundation, will present film lovers with a chance to immerse themselves in the unique sights and sounds that make up the Indian regional, independent film landscape.

The inaugural India Kaleidoscope Festival, taking place at the Museum of the Moving Image, will feature eight films, including seven new titles that will be making their U.S. or North American premieres and one special presentation of a classic Indian film. Most films will feature directors in person.

The Opening Night film is India in a Day, an ambitious documentary project initiated by Google and comprised of images shot by thousands of people throughout India, artfully edited by director Richie Mehta (who will appear in person on Dec. 8), and executive produced by Ridley Scott and Anurag Kashyap.  Buddhadheb Dasgupta’s Tope (The Bait) will be the Closing Night film.

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India In A Day

Both the filmmakers, Richie Mehta and Buddhadheb Dasgupta will be present at their respective screenings.

Other highlights include a pairing of Ghatashraddha (The Ritual), a key work of the Indian New Wave by pioneer Kannada director Girish Kasaravalli, with Harikatha Prasanga (Chronicles of Hari), the directorial debut of Ananya Kasaravalli, daughter of Girish Kasaravalli, with both filmmakers appearing in person; Priyarashan’s new film Sila Samayangalil (Sometimes), Bauddhayan Mukherji’s soul-shaking The Violin Player, Haobam Paban Kumar’s spellbinding Loktak Lairembee (The Lady of the Lake), and Mangesh Joshi’s lyrical and meditative Lathe Joshi.

The India Kaleidoscope 2016 programming committee includes Priya Giri Desai (The India Center Foundation), Priyadarshini Shanker (NYU Cinema Studies), Anupama Kapse (Queens College), Tristine Skyler (writer and producer), and Christina Marouda (Museum of the Moving Image, founder of India Film Festival Los Angeles); with additional programming support from Uma da Cunha.

IFFLA Founder, MoMI’s Director of Development and the organizer of India Kaleidoscope, Christina Marouda says, “We are thrilled to turn the spotlight on Indian regional cinema, showcasing its diversity and richness”

“Consistent with our mission to offer a platform for barrier-breaking and emerging work from the subcontinent, the films featured in India Kaleidoscope film festival are eye opening studies from all corners of India,” said Priya Giri Desai, a Founding Director of The India Center Foundation. “The India Center Foundation is proud to present many of these new voices for the very first time in North America. The festival represents the kind of work we hope to continue: quality collaborations that result in exposure to new sights and sounds to inspire our audience.” 

“India Kaleidoscope is an auspicious start to MoMI’s collaboration with The India Center Foundation. This dynamic partnership is proven by the quality of the Festival lineup and the participation of so many emerging and established film directors,” said the Museum’s Chief Curator, David Schwartz.

FILMS AND SCHEDULE FOR KALEIDOSCOPE INDIA 2016: 

India in a Day – Director Richie Mehta
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 7:30 P.M.
U.S. PREMIERE | SCREENING FOLLOWED BY OPENING RECEPTION
India/UK. Dir. Richie Mehta. 2016, 86 mins. DCP. In Hindi and English with English subtitles. Over the course of a single day in October 2015, thousands across India recorded and shared moments from their everyday lives. From over 16,000 submissions, director Richie Mehta fashioned a vibrant, richly sensorial mosaic that reflects the subcontinent’s extraordinarily diverse range of people, places, experiences, and perspectives.

Loktak Lairembee (Lady of the Lake) – Director Haobam Paban Kumar
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 7:30 P.M.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
India. Dir. Haobam Paban Kumar. 2016, 71 mins. DCP. In Manipuri with English subtitles. With Ningthoujam Sanatomba, Sagolsam Thambalsang. Set amidst the unique community of fishing families that populate the floating islands of northeast India’s Lake Loktak, the spellbinding narrative debut from nonfiction filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar blends documentary-like realism with a touch of the surreal. Winner of ‘India Gold’ at Mumbai Film Festival 2016

 Lathe Joshi – Director Mangesh Joshi
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2:00 P.M.
U.S. PREMIERE
India. Dir. Mangesh Joshi. 2016, 104 mins. DCP. In Marathi with English subtitles. With Chittaranjan Giri, Ashwini Giri, Seva Chouhan, Om Bhutkar. After losing his job, a lathe worker takes a stand to reclaim his dignity in a society that no longer seems to value him. This lyrical, meditative character study is both a moving portrait of a man and a perceptive look at globalization’s human toll.

The Violin Player – Director Bauddhayan Mukherji
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 4:30 P.M.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
India. Dir. Bauddhayan Mukherji. 2015, 72 mins. DCP. In Hindi with English subtitles. With Ritwick Chakraborty, Adil Hussain, Nayani Dixit, Sonam Stobgais. A chance encounter with an enigmatic filmmaker sets a struggling violinist on a surprising journey of self-discovery. This mesmerizing tale of art and destiny conjures a quietly gripping air of mystery as it builds towards its soul-shaking denouement.

Sila Samayangalil (Sometimes)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 6:30 P.M.
NEW YORK PREMIERE
India. Dir. Priyadarshan. 2016, 110 mins. DCP. With Prakash Raj, Sriya Reddy, Ashok Selvan. In a doctor’s office waiting room, eight people of varying backgrounds nervously await the results of their HIV tests. When they learn that one among them has tested positive, tensions mount and anxious guessing games begin. This richly emotional comedic drama tackles a serious subject with compassion and unexpected humor.

Ghatashraddha (The Ritual) – Director Girish Kasaravalli
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2:00 P.M.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
India. Dir. Girish Kasaravalli. 1977, 108 mins. 35mm. In Kannada with English subtitles. With Meena Kuttappa, Naraya Bhat, Ajith Kumar. One of the key works of the Indian New Wave, this spare, haunting drama tells the story of a bond that develops between two outsiders: a Brahmin boy who contends with bullying at school and an unmarried young woman who faces excommunication when she becomes pregnant.

Harikatha Prasanga (Chronicles of Hari) – Director Ananya Kasaravalli
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 4:30 P.M.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
India. Dir. Ananya Kasaravalli. 2015, 105 mins. DCP. In Kannada with English subtitles. With Shrunga B.V., K.G. Krishnamurthy, Ganesh Kelamane. The lines between stage and reality begin to blur for a male actor who plays female roles in traditional Yakshagana theater. Taking the form of a faux-documentary, the provocative feature debut of Ananya Kasaravalli examines issues of gender, performance, and identity within Indian society.

Tope (The Bait) – Director Buddhadeb Dasgupta
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 7:30 P.M.
U.S. PREMIERE | CLOSING NIGHT
India. Dir. Buddhadeb Dasgupta. 2016, 88 mins. DCP. In Bengali with English subtitles. With Sudipto Chatterjee, Kajal Kumari, Ananya Chatterjee, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Paoli Dam. Internationally renowned auteur Buddhadeb Dasgupta directs this seductively surreal, folkloric fable about three fantastical characters—a traveling tightrope walker, a tree-dwelling postman, and a wealthy, tiger-hunting raja—whose lives intertwine in the lush Bengal countryside.