SHPP_PRreport_SSAFF2014

PR Report
SEATTLE SOUTH ASIANSEATTLE SOUTH ASIANSEATTLE SOUTH ASIANSEATTLE SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVALFILM FESTIVALFILM FESTIVALFILM FESTIVAL
presented bypresented bypresented bypresented by
TASVEERTASVEERTASVEERTASVEER
October 31October 31October 31October 31 –––– November 9, 2014November 9, 2014November 9, 2014November 9, 2014
Prepared by
Sara Huey Publicity & Promotions, LLC

Prepared by Sara Huey Publicity & Promotions, LLC 2
CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS
1 – Summary
2 – Press Releases
3 – Listings
4 – Online Coverage
5 – Print Coverage
6 – Broadcast Coverage
7 – Wire Photography

1 – Summary
Publicity efforts for the 2014 Seattle South Asian Film Festival presented by Tasveer were a great
success. I enjoyed my part in formulation of the Festival’s theme, Stories that dare . . ., collaboration on
pulling together the communications toolkit, and close teamwork throughout the Festival with the rest
of the talented and dedicated marketing and PR team.
Despite a short timeline, we programmed and executed a successful press launch event, attended by
journalists from Seattle Times, The Stranger, Seattle Chinese Times, and many more.
Three press releases were strategically timed to inspire and encourage ongoing coverage in local and
regional publications. A media alert sent a few days ahead of Opening Night paid off with wire photo
coverage of the many filmmakers in attendance. Images from the event now available online via Getty
and Wireimage for publications who wish to purchase them in the future.
Press attendance at Opening Night also resulted in an additional feature in the Renton Reporter with
quotes from JAYA filmmaker Puja Maewal, THE ROAR filmmaker Monish Gangwani, and SOLD producer
Jane Charles.
Comprehensive local coverage included mentions in The Stranger three weeks in a row, culminating in
placement on the “Stranger Suggests” page for the ANIMA STATE screening on Saturday, November 18.
Special-interest local print coverage included International Examiner, Renton Reporter, and NW Asian
Weekly.
A specially-designed pitch and persistent follow-up work was rewarded with four short reviews and a
glowing recommendation in Seattle Gay News. Co-director Alka Kurian’s Festival preview in Seattle
Globalist showed the breadth, quality, and seriousness of SSAFF 2014’s programming.
Following the announcement of Festival awards, a piece ran on DearCinema.com and was picked up by
IMDb. India-West also ran a short piece in print and online.

2 – Press Releases
Permalink / Click to read online: http://ymlp.com/zpCrIH
Subject: Go Beyond with SSAFF 2014: Stories that dare . . .
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Sara Huey, Festival Publicist
sara.huey@hueypr.com | 206-619-0610
Contact Info for Publication:
info@tasveer.org | www.tasveer.org
Tasveer presents
The 9th Annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival
Stories that dare . . .
October 31, 2014 – November 9, 2014
SEATTLE, WA (October 10, 2014) – This fall, Tasveer invites the Pacific Northwest community to delve
deeper into the beating heart of South Asia through ten days of celebration, exploration, and
conversation during the 2014 Seattle South Asian Film Festival. Highly anticipated, SSAFF brings socially
relevant topics to the forefront through engaging features, shorts, and documentaries and meaningful
post-screening exchanges between audiences and filmmakers with roots in South Asia and across the
globe.
In keeping with this year’s theme, Stories that dare . . ., SSAFF spotlights tales of vision, determination,
and resilience in the face of adversity. ARE YOU LISTENING! celebrates the common people of
Bangladesh and their strength of spirit as they recover from a tidal surge. IN BETWEEN DAYS brings us
close to two young transgender friends who strike out to make their own way in the world. In the
inspiring documentary GOONGA PEHELWAN, India’s most successful deaf athlete dares to wrestle his
way to the World Championships. And sometimes daring can lead to laughter, as in SULEMANI KEEDA
(WRITERS), a comedy that presents two slacker brothers with the audacity to peddle their mediocre film
script in Bollywood.
“Thanks to an unprecedented number and quality of submitted films, we are proud to include a broader
range and greater depth of programming than ever before,” says Festival co-founder and executive
director Rita Meher. “We are partnering with 18 visiting filmmakers and various Seattle organizations to
connect with social causes and engage the local film community.”
SSAFF 2014 also includes a number of acclaimed films that continue to raise the profile of serious and
thoughtful South Asian cinema around the world, including the 2013 submissions for Best Foreign
Language Oscar from both Nepal (SOONGAVA) and India (The Good Road). Cannes 2014 official
selection TITLI brings us the story of a young Delhi man desperate to leave behind a life of crime.

WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, which took home the Grand Chameleon Award from the 2013 Brooklyn Film
Festival, provides a rare glimpse into six brave lives trapped in the turbulent waters of Pakistan today.
FANDRY, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Mumbai International Film Festival and went on
to win the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director, takes on caste-based discrimination
through the lens of a romantic drama; FANDRY is supported by Pratham, the largest Indian non-profit
working in the field of primary education in India.
For the first time, SSAFF will include a competition adjudicated by a jury of local film luminaries. Jurors
will evaluate a selection of this year’s titles and award the SSAFF 2014 Jury Award to the film with the
best storytelling and strongest alignment with the mission of Tasveer. Audience members will also have
the chance to vote for the coveted SSAFF 2014 Audience Awards in three categories – Best Narrative,
Best Short Film, and Best Documentary. SSAFF Audience Awards have been claimed by the likes of Nila
Madhab Panda for I Am Kalam and Satish Manwar for The Damned Rain in past years. Winners will be
announced at SSAFF’s Awards Ceremony and Closing Night Reception, following the screening of WITH
YOU, WITHOUT YOU on Sunday, November 9th
.
Tasveer has partnered with Washington Filmworks to start an important conversation with the Seattle
filmmaking community: Filmmaking for Global Audiences: Stories that Travel. The event will take place
on November 1st
at Mobius Hall on the Cascadia Community College campus in Bothell and will be
moderated by Warren Etheredge (host of The High Bar). Says Etheredge, “Stories that travel do so
because they have global appeal; it’s not about the race or culture of the characters, but about the
relevance of their honest, personal narratives. I am happy to launch this crucial dialogue with
filmmakers who have made films that have successfully crossed borders and oceans.”
"This festival represents a great opportunity for the Washington film community to engage on multiple
levels - from a business perspective and from a creative perspective - and to discuss cross-cultural
communication in a global marketplace," adds Washington Filmworks Executive Director Amy Lillard.
"This panel is the start of an important conversation about storytelling and international filmmaking in
Washington."
SSAFF film screenings will take place at Mobius Hall on the Cascadia Community College campus in
Bothell and Roxy Cinema in Renton, with special events and panels to be held at the Renton Pavilion
Event Center, Roy Street Coffee & Tea in Seattle, and the SIFF Film Center.
The full lineup and tickets for all events of the 9th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival are available
at http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014/ beginning Thursday, October 9th
.
About SSAFF and Tasveer
Running Friday, October 31st
through Sunday, November 9th
, SSAFF 2014 includes 24 feature films and
17 shorts representing nine countries to inspire, inform, and provoke audiences throughout the Festival.
For more information, please visit http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014/.
Founded in 2002 by Rita Meher and Farah Nousheen, Tasveer strives to curate thought-provoking
artistic work of South Asians through films, forums, visual art, and performances that engage and
empower the community.

Tasveer presents three keystone events each year: AAINA, a women-focused arts gathering (spring);
South Asian International Documentary Festival (spring), and Seattle South Asian Film Festival (fall).
The purpose of Tasveer is to increase awareness of South Asian countries and cultures from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; to provide a platform for South
Asian filmmakers and artists; to initiate dialog that bridges communities; to provide an alternative to
corporate media; and to employ independent South Asian film as a vehicle to give voice to marginalized
communities.
For more information, please visit www.tasveer.org.
###

Permalink / Click to read online: http://ymlp.com/ztXG4n
Subject: Don't Miss! Visiting Filmmakers, Fabulous Parties, and Free Educational Panels at SSAFF 2014
Media Contact:
Guests Galore at SSAFF 2014
Celebration, Education, and Conversation
with Honored Guests from South Asia to Seattle
SEATTLE, WA (October 20, 2014) – With excitement and great anticipation, Tasveer welcomes more than
15 visiting directors, producers, and actors during the 9th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival –
including Prasanna Withanage, Sri Lanka’s veteran statesman of cinema, who will be honored with the
Tasveer Emerald Award at the Festival’s Closing Night Reception on Sunday, November 9th.
“Attending filmmakers enrich the festival experience, bringing fresh perspective and valuable
knowledge into our conversations,” says SSAFF co-founder and executive director Rita Meher. “We are
proud to provide this opportunity for our guests to meet each other, and to share their expertise with
our community.”
Filmmakers scheduled for the opening weekend will be in attendance at the Opening Night Gala on
Friday, October 31st at the Renton Pavilion Event Center – including Puja Maewal, director of the multi-
award-winning JAYA, and Bob Woosley and Summer Pervez of the Pakistani-Canadian co-production
SHAME. Another NW favorite, Portland’s DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid, hosts of the longest-running
Bhangra and Bollywood party on the West Coast, will bring the beats for Opening Night.
“Renton is honored to host the Seattle South Asian Film Festival (SSAFF) for the first time,” says Renton
Mayor Denis Law, “one of the most highly-respected South Asian film festivals in the United States. The
Renton Community Marketing Campaign is partnering with SSAFF to bring the world of film to Renton
and help showcase the diversity of our community, bring visitors to Renton and Renton's hotels, and
promote arts, culture and cultural understanding”
Many guest filmmakers will serve on SSAFF educational panels designed to foster cross-border
communication through filmmaking. These events are free of charge and open to the public.
On November 1st, in collaboration with Washington Filmworks, SSAFF presents Filmmaking for Global
Audiences: Stories that Travel. Director Kanu Behl of Cannes 2014 official selection TITLI, director
Subarna Thapa of Nepal’s first LGBTQ-themed feature film SOONGAVA, director John Jeffcoat of the
critically acclaimed OUTSOURCED, and Mayank Tewari, renowned Indian comic and co-star of the

hilarious SSAFF 2014 bromance comedy SULEMANI KEEDA, or WRITERS, will discuss the cultural
crossroads of film with Warren Etheredge, host of The High Bar.
On November 4th, The Film School’s monthly First Tuesday event will be co-presented with SSAFF on A
Global Perspective on Screenwriting: Writing that Resonates. Tewari will be joined by director
Bauddhayan Mukherji of TEENKAHON and director Agneya Singh of M CREAM to discuss what makes a
script ring true across borders and cultures.
Says Diana Dotter, Executive Director of The Film School, “The Film School’s focus is on educating
screenwriters and filmmakers on authentic storytelling. We need to have an international perspective
on our stories. The diverse and uniquely qualified group that SSAFF is convening in Seattle will be able
to give us unparalleled insight into this topic.”
Also prominent among attending filmmakers are three locals, whom SSAFF proudly presents not only as
excellent artisans but strong figures in the NW filmmaking community. Director Nadeem Uddin will
present a work-in-progress clip of his next film, BHOPAL84, on November 2nd along with the Indian
feature AN AMERICAN IN MADRAS (director Karan Bali also in attendance).
Local producer Jane Charles, whose film SOLD thrilled audiences at the 2014 Seattle International Film
Festival and went on to win the Pure Heaven Audience Award at the London Indian Film Festival and
Best Narrative Feature at the Albuquerque Film and Music Experience, will join a Q&A that promises to
be very engaging following the November 8th screening of her film.
Monish Gangwani, whose short film THE ROAR will screen with ANIMA STATE (director Hammad Khan
also in attendance) on Saturday, November 8th, will be on hand to discuss his transition from a
corporate marketing career to filmmaking, the artist’s impulse that led him to create, and his
forthcoming film, ALWAYS…
The full lineup and tickets for all events of the 9th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival is now
available at http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014/.
A full listing of guests expected at the Festival can be found at
http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014/index.php/program/filmmakers-in-attendance/ .
, SSAFF 2014 includes 24 feature films and

communities.
###

Permalink / Click to read online: http://ymlp.com/zvI16u
Subject: AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED at 2014 Seattle South Asian Film Festival
Media Contact:
SSAFF 2014 Awards Announced
Sri Lankan Filmmaker Receives Tasveer Emerald Award
First-Ever Jury Award to Cannes 2014 Selection TITLI
SEATTLE, WA (November 11, 2014) – The 9th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival closed Sunday
evening with a screening of WITH YOU, WITHOUT YOU, the latest award-winning film from Sri Lanka’s
pre-eminent filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage.
Vithanage was also honored for his contribution to Sri Lankan cinema during the Festival’s Closing Night
Reception, receiving the Tasveer Emerald Award. This occasional award is bestowed upon exceptional
prolific and influential filmmakers and was first given in 2011 to the prolific and accomplished actress
Deepti Naval for her contribution to Indian cinema.
“I am proud to receive the Tasveer Emerald Award, and impressed with the richness and variety of films
and filmmakers that Tasveer brings to Seattle,” says Vithanage, who was unable to attend the Festival
due to last-minute scheduling conflicts. “Through their organization, many important conversations are
being brought to this community.”
This year’s Festival welcomed eighteen visiting filmmakers – more than any SSAFF in history. Along with
27 screenings, two educational panels, co-presented with Washington Filmworks and The Film School,
brought the public together with attending filmmakers from a variety of countries and backgrounds to
discuss the state of international filmmaking today.
“Throughout the Festival, audiences were enthusiastic and full of bold questions, actively participating in
rich discussions with filmmakers from all over the world. We are so inspired by the support the Festival
has received from the local film community, audiences, filmmakers, Washington Filmworks, and The
Film School,” says Festival executive director Rita Meher.
A special award for Outstanding Film in a Social Category was awarded during the Festival to SSAFF
2014 selection FANDRY by the Seattle chapter of Pratham, the largest education non-profit in India.
Pratham is dedicated to improving the quality of education in India, ensuring access to all people
regardless of caste – a subject eloquently addressed in the beautiful and gentle FANDRY through the
story of a young lower-caste man in a small village.

“My time at SSAFF felt like an extended family, and that was truly heartwarming,” says FANDRY
producer Vivek Kajaria. “The Seattle film market is vibrant and inquisitive -- true players in the film
scene. I'm honored to be recognized for this important story on caste discrimination; it shows that the
Festival and Pratham really have their heart and values in the right place.”
For the first time in 2014, a SSAFF Jury Award was given. The jury, staffed with local film scholars, critics,
and writers, was commissioned to select the film with the best storytelling and strongest alignment with
the mission of Tasveer. Indian director Kanu Behl’s feature-length debut TITLI (2014) was their selection,
and so the SSAFF 2014 Jury Award will join the other accolades of this vibrant drama.
Says Behl, “It’s amazing to be given this honor. I had such a wonderful and fulfilling time at the Festival –
attending screenings and participating on the educational panels – and hope the city welcomes me back
next time, with as warm a hug as this one!”
“TITLI not only embodies Tasveer’s mission to engage and empower the community through thought-
provoking art and conversation; it also clearly demonstrates SSAFF 2014’s theme of Stories that dare . . .
,” according to a jury statement.
The SSAFF 2014 Audience Awards in three categories were also announced at the Closing Night
Reception. Taking home the honor for Best Narrative is the Bengali mystery-drama TEENKAHON (“Three
Obsessions”) from director Bauddhayan Mukherji.
Says Mukherji, “SSAFF has been a dream. The ovation following our film was humbling, the Q&A
exhilarating, and the praises heaped on TEENKAHON unexpected. A big thank you to the outstanding
efforts of the SSAFF team. I have won a coveted award, but in a way I won much more: lovely friends, a
new-found love for a new city, tremendous respect for a learned and a wonderful movie-going
audience, memories to last a lifetime, and -- above all -- recognition of the people for an independently
produced film. What more can a debutant filmmaker ask for?"
The beautiful and surprising JAYA from director Puja Maewal is the audience’s choice for Best Short
Film. Director Maewal was in attendance at her screening and is currently developing JAYA into a
feature-length film.
For Best Documentary, SSAFF audiences chose ARE YOU LISTENING! by director Kamar Ahmad Simon,
which follows the struggles of a coastal Bangladeshi community as they strive to recover following the
deadly cyclone of May 2009.
The 10th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival is slated for autumn 2015. Information on Tasveer’s
other annual arts and culture festtivals can be found at http://said.tasveer.org/ and
http://aaina.tasveer.org/.
, SSAFF 2014 included 24 feature films and

communities.
###

3 – Listings
October 22, 2014
FEATURES
Halloween 2014!
All the Halloween Parties, Concerts, Haunted Houses, and Events
You Need to Know About!
The house band at Champion Party Supply.
...
FRI 10/31
SSAFF 2014 Opening Night Gala
It's the opening night party for the Seattle South Asian Film Festival, which is actually not in Seattle
but in Renton. Presumably, they will acknowledge the fact that it's Halloween at some point during
the event. Renton Pavilion Event Center, ssaff.tasveer.org, 233 Burnett Avenue S, Renton, 8 pm, $35
Click to read online: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/halloween-2014/Content?oid=20862419

| Entertainment
Originally published Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 3:06 PM
In the mood for big-screen aliens, zombies, and monsters?
Some events during the week of Oct. 31: Longtime editor Thelma
Schoonmaker comes to the Seattle Art Museum for screenings of “Black
Narcissus” and “Raging Bull”; the “Into the Black: Great Outer Space Films”
series begins at SIFF Cinema Egyptian; and more.
By Doug Knoop
Seattle Times staff
...
The Seattle South Asian Film Festival begins its 10-day run on Friday, Oct.
31, at several venues in Bothell, Renton and Seattle. Single tickets are $5-
$12. For more information: 360-818-4000 or .
Click to read online: http://seattletimes.com/html/entertainment/2024911127_atatheater31xml.html

4 – Online Coverage
TASVEER: 9TH SEATTLE SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS
YAYOI LENA WINFREY | OCTOBER 21, 2014
Fandry.
Plenty of tasty movies are featured on this year’s menu for Tasveer: 9th Annual Seattle South Asian Film
Festival. From lighthearted shorts to heavy dramas, offerings include films rich in culture, languages, and
religious rituals. Spanning from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom, the countries
represented provide both emotional satiation and delectable insight into their particular regions. Watch for
a short made by Seattle filmmaker Monish Gangwani.
Among the narratives are films that include a family of coarse men who appear clueless about women; a
road trip with two crooks, a puppy, and a boy whose family inadvertently left him at a truck stop; and, a
tender story about a tween’s first love as he navigates his family’s low caste.
Embedded: FANDRY trailer
‘Fandry’: At 12 years-old, Jabya longs to be in school studying like the other boys in his Maharashtra
State village, but he’s at his father’s command working menial jobs to help his impoverished family
survive. For fun, Jabya, along with his best friend and slingshot in hand, goes searching for the elusive
long-tailed black sparrow. Informed by the local bike repair shopkeeper that sprinkling its ashes will make
his dream come true, Jabya is driven to capture the creature.

Shalu is the name of Jabya’s dream, a lovely schoolmate who, unfortunately, is of a higher caste than
Jabya’s Dalit (Untouchable) family. Besides tolerating villagers making fun of his father’s dialect, Jabya
endures being called names like “blacky” because of his dark skin and “fandry” which means pig.
Because of their Untouchable status, Jabya’s family is tasked with capturing the pesky wild boars that
aggravate the villagers. Meanwhile, Jabya’s father worries about the dowry for his younger daughter’s
marriage even as he begs for cow dung to patch their raggedy house.
When Jabya finally gets a chance to impress Shalu with his skillful dancing at the Village Fair, the local
bully intentionally knocks him aside. Worse, Shalu is among the group watching when his family is
ordered to capture several feral pigs.
Although all cast members are superlative in their roles, Somnath Avghade is especially gifted at playing
Jabya. Director Nagraj Manjule doubles as the philosophical shopkeeper in this tale that explores
colorism and caste through a boy’s coming of age.
Embedded: TITLI trailer
‘Titli’: The Hindi word for butterfly is also the name of the youngest of three grown brothers in a family of
career criminals living in Delhi. As carjackers, they brutally beat and rob their victims without remorse.
Strongly hinted at is that the family matriarch’s death encouraged their dysfunction, immorality, and lack
of finesse towards women. As the father listlessly sits around the house pitting his sons against each
other, the oldest brother’s wife snatches their daughter and exits, weary of the men’s thuggery. The
middle brother harbors a secret about his sexuality while Titli is offered a financially independent young
lady as a bride, although she’s already in love—with a married man. All three actors are amazingly
believable as the brothers with Shashank Arora giving a visceral performance as Titli. Lalit Behl, who
plays the father, is director Kanu Behl’s real father and a director himself. Exceptional music by Karan
Gour enhances every scene.
Embedded: THE GOOD ROAD trailer
‘The Good Road’: Like the title indicates, this is a road movie about a trio of unlikely travelers. A bratty
boy on his way to vacation with his parents becomes entranced with a puppy when they stop for gas.
Slipping from the car unseen, he watches as his folks drive off. Soon, he’s hitching a ride with two
smugglers who dodge police and an angry crime boss. In Gujarati language, this story with a tragic
beginning has a surprisingly happy ending.
Embedded: SOONGAVA trailer
‘Soongava, Dance of the Orchids’: From Nepal comes a modern-day, middle-class drama about two
women who fall in love. But one, Diya, a dancer, has already had her marriage arranged and feels
powerless to stop it. Urged by her lover, tomboyish Kiran, she breaks off her engagement with deadly
results. Nisha Adhikari is perfect as Kiran.
Embedded: FRANGIPANI trailer
‘Frangipani’: In this Sri Lankan film, a love triangle involves two seemingly bisexual men and the woman
they both desire for different reasons. When the threesome lays in the grass together, the female, Sarasi,
pointedly tells them that the frangipani flower has five petals, but she’s found one with six. Visually rich
with an abundance of cross-dressing scenes, this film features a strong performance by Dasun Pathirana
as Chamath, one of the two men.
Documentaries on TASVEER’s bill of fare include the usual social issues, but some are nonetheless quite
startling.
Embedded: WITHOUT SHEPHERDS trailer

‘Without Shepherds’: A fast-paced documentary about six Pakistanis and their views of their country’s
future, this film features among them a former cricket celebrity turned politician and a pro-feminist model.
Declared by Newsweek to be “The Most Dangerous Country in the World” in 2007 when Benazir Bhutto
was assassinated, Pakistan has suffered a tumultuous history. The film’s participants explain why.
Embedded: GOONGA PEHELWAN trailer
‘Goonga Pehelwan’: A deaf wrestler who fights the system so he can rightfully challenge professional
wrestlers is the subject of this film. Because India’s athletic infrastructure won’t recognize him (he can’t
hear the referee’s whistle), he’s omitted from competitions he could easily win. Although Pehelwan’s
proven himself in matches and special Olympics, his pleas to wrestle professionally fall on, well, deaf
ears. This film is all the more touching because Pehelwan never loses his winning smile.
Embedded: THE PLASTIC COW
‘The Plastic Cow’: While the cow is sacred to India’s Hindus, the bovine creatures are being forced from
out-of-business dairies and left to fend on their own. Roaming city streets, they feed on garbage at landfill
sites teeming with non-biodegradable items like plastic bags. In this documentary from India,
environmental concerns are graphically illustrated by showing surgery performed on cows to remove
plastic bags from their stomachs.
With so much variety, Tasveer will showcase another flavorful year of films.
For more information and a schedule of screenings, visit http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014. SSAFF begins
October 31.
Click to view online: http://www.iexaminer.org/2014/10/tasveer-9th-seattle-south-asian-film-festival-
returns/

Seattle South Asian Film Festival 2014 Preview,
Capsule Reviews SSAFF includes six films concerning LGBT issues
by Sara Michelle Fetters - SGN A&E Writer
Programmed by local nonprofit Tasveer, an organization founded on the promise to curate thought-
provoking artistic work of South Asians through films, forums, visual art, and performances that engage
and empower the community, the 9th Seattle South Asian Film Festival presents its most ambitious slate
yet. Showcasing 24 features, 17 shorts and with 18 filmmakers currently schedule to attend, the festival
promises to be an absorbing showcase highlighting themes and ideas universal in scope yet also
reflective of the cultures, people and countries represented.
The schedule includes two documentaries, two narrative features and two shorts revolving around LGBT
subject matter, and in the case of the entries from India and Sri Lanka, comment, whether directly or
indirectly, on those country's respective draconian laws concerning Lesbian, Gay and Transgender rights.
All four of the features are highly worthwhile, especially Nepal's stunning Soongava: Dance of the
Orchids, a Lesbian drama that might look like your typical coming-of-age coming out tale, but in the end
fascinatingly becomes anything but.
A full schedule along with ticket information can be found at http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014/. The film festival
runs October 31-November 9. Following are short capsule reviews of the four LGBT-themed feature
motion pictures screening during the festival, all of which I highly recommend and urge everyone to make
the effort to go and see.
And You Thought You Knew Me (Saturday, Nov. 1, 5 p.m., Mobius Hall - UW Bothell) A film that taught
me a new acronym, one that makes me shudder just thinking of it again, PAGFB. What's it mean? 'People
Assigned Gender Female at Birth.' What's the point? It's the answer to that particular question you learn
while watching Pramada Menon's absorbing documentary, each of these five disparate souls becoming
activists of one sort another in large part thanks to the cruelty done to them at the time of their respective
births. An unforgettable story, their collective tales are both chilling and optimistic, sometimes both at the
exact same time. (Plays with In Between Days.)
Frangipani (Saturday, Nov 8., 4 p.m., Roxy Cinema - Renton) Moody, atmospheric love triangle from Sri
Lanka, the movie's political agenda in regards to horrific local laws sometimes overshadows its simple,
straight-forward and beautifully slight central story, three friends - two men, one woman - living with one
another for reasons they cannot openly disclose, yet yearn to flaunt all the same. The movie works best
when it lets actions and emotions speak for themselves, and it's only when director Visakesa

Chandrasekaram take a more direct approach that things get a little overtly didactic. Still, this is a strong,
character-driven drama with surprising moments of light and levity, everything building to a suitably
stirring climax that suits all that came before it rather beautifully.
In Between Days (Dui Dhuranir Golpo) (Saturday, Nov. 1, 5 p.m., Mobius Hall - UW Bothell) Shot over
a period of 14 months, director Sankhajit Biswas' In Between Days is a surprisingly vibrant, refreshingly
honest slice-of-life documentary looking at Transgender Bengali teens Bubai and Chiranjit, best friends
who are involved in the local sex trade. Landing jobs at an NGO doing HIV outreach prevention, the pair
explore their dreams and desires while also coming to terms with the life they have at this very moment.
Perceptive almost to a fault, at less than an hour the film can't help but bring up issues it can't hope to
completely dissect in close to enough detail. At the same time, Bubai and Chiranjit's stories are
impossible to forget, and the bits of hope and a yearning for a better life that permeate throughout are
oftentimes earthshattering in their emotional intensity. (Plays with And You Thought You Knew Me.)
Soongava: Dance of the Orchids (Saturday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m., Mobius Hall - UW Bothell) Nepal's 2013
submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, this Lesbian coming-of-age melodrama
is a powerful, thought-provoking groundbreaker that's universal in both message and theme. The story of
a 22-year-old dancer who ends her engagement to take off with her best friend on an impromptu road trip,
the movie is an exhilarating treatise on following one's heart and the sometimes earth-shattering
consequences that can oftentimes arise from doing so. Masterful.
Click to read online: http://www.sgn.org/sgnnews42_43/page23.cfm

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
by TRACEY COMPTON, Renton Reporter Staff Writer
October 26, 2014 at 9:00 AM
The film Jaya will screen at the 9th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival, along with others on Oct. 31.
— image credit: Courtesy photo
The world of film comes to Renton next weekend as the city will play host to the ninth annual Seattle
South Asian Film Festival, with lots of special guests from around the world.
Renton Pavilion Event Center will be centerstage for the festival’s opening-night gala from 8 p.m. to
midnight, on Friday, Oct. 31. According to Dr. Alka Kurian, festival co-director, the selection committee
chose Renton as part of this year’s festival because the city is the most diverse in King County and
because Renton is becoming “the new film festival destination of the state.”
“(Renton) is the most happening film city in the state,” Kurian said during brief remarks at Monday’s City
Council meeting. “We didn’t want to be left out.”
Opening-night features a showcase of short films including, “Jaya,” “FU377” and “What Remains,”
followed by Bollywood and Bhangra dance beats, with Indian cuisine catered by Naan-N-Curry. In total,
41 films will be shown as part of the festival, which also includes locations in Bothell and Seattle.
Filmmakers are scheduled to attend, including Puja Maewal, director of the multi-award-winning film
“Jaya,” and Bob Woosley and Summer Pervez of the Candanian-Pakistani co-production, “Shame.” Music
will be provided by Portland’s DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid, who hosts the longest running Bhangra
and Bollywood party on the West Coast.
“Renton is honored to host the Seattle South Asian Film Festival (SSAFF) for the first time,” said Mayor
Denis Law in a press release, “one of the most highly-respected South Asian film festivals in the United
States. The Renton Community Marketing Campaign is partnering with SSAFF to bring the world of film to
Renton and help showcase the diversity of our community, bring visitors to Renton and Renton’s hotels,
and promote arts, culture and cultural understanding.”

The event is presented by the organization Tasveer, which presents three keystone events each year:
AAINA, a woman-focused arts gathering, South Asian International Documentary Festival and SSAFF.
Kurian on Monday also thanked the City of Renton for its “massive support and help” in getting the
festival on its feet.
Tickets to the opening night gala are $35 general admission and $25 for students. The Renton Pavilion
Event Center is located at 233 Burnett Ave., S., Renton.
The film festival also features educational film panels and they are free and open to the public. For a
complete listing of festival events visit, http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014/index.php/schedule/.
Additional reporting by Brian Beckley.
TRACEY COMPTON, Renton Reporter Staff writer
tcompton@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5052
Click to read online: www.rentonreporter.com/entertainment/280369832.html

Bringing South Asian stories to Seattle’s screens
BY LAILA KAZMI, KCTS 9 October 28, 2014 at 3:47 PM EDT
Rita Meher wanted to introduce the Pacific Northwest to the realities of life in South Asia so she created
the Seattle South Asian Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Tasveer
Editor’s note: Laila Kazmi, a senior producer at KCTS 9, is one of five jury
members for the 2014 Seattle South Asian Film Festival, which runs from Oct.
31 to Nov. 9.
When Rita Meher screened her first short film, she had no idea that it would
lead to a career devoted to bringing South Asian stories to the Pacific
Northwest. It was 2002 and, as an immigrant from India, she had only been a
U.S. citizen for about a year.
”I had never made a film before, didn’t know anything about making films.”
The film, which she screened for a small audience in Seattle, was based on a
personal encounter that Meher had in the days after 9/11 attacks.

“I experienced racial slurs, I was told, ‘Go back to your own [expletive]
country,’ and there was a beer bottle thrown at my window,” said Meher. “It
shook me up and my friend suggested, ‘Why don’t you make a film about it
and tell people about it instead of keeping it to yourself?’”
Meher did just that, and she and her friend went on to form an organization
called Tasveer, meaning ‘picture’ in Hindi and Urdu.
“We wanted to tell people who we really are, how diverse we are, belonging to
different religions, we are Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and more,” says Meher.
Video by Tasveer
The best way they knew to tell the stories of real people was through film.
“Independent films, more often than not, show the reality of life, they show the
culture and explore issues in depth.” To Meher, that is a stark contrast to
stereotypical images of South Asians often portrayed in Western films or the
glitz and glamour shown in mainstream Bollywood films.
Tasveer held its first major Seattle South Asian Film Festival in 2004. Films
are selected that explore social issues, whether dealing with women’s rights,
religious fundamentalism, LGBT rights, issues of minority rights in South
Asian communities or experiences of South Asian Americans.
“Our goal was to show films and have community engagement through
discussions after the films.”

“Fandry” is another submission from India. From director Nagraj Manjule, it tells the story of a teenage
boy from an Indian village who grapples with caste discrimination. Photo courtesy of Tasveer
In the beginning, people were less understanding, especially other South
Asians. “They would ask us, ‘Why do you want to show the bad side of our
country?”
Since then, Meher has seen a shift in audience attitudes. “Those questions
have now stopped,” she says. “Today, people are more aware and they
recognize that it’s not showing the ‘bad side,’ it’s showing and being able to
talk about the realities of life.”
The festival has grown and so has Tasveer’s work. For the past nine years,
Tasveer has held the annual South Asian Women’s Focus, a festival called
Aaina. It is a weekend of poetry, art, film and music by local women artists
and writers of South Asian descent. Aaina has become Tasveer’s second
signature annual program, allowing women a platform to express themselves
in creative ways.

Aaina, Tasveer’s South Asian Women’s Focus, is a weekend-long festival of poetry, art, film and music
that brings together female artists of South Asian descent who live in the Pacific Northwest. Photo
courtesy of Tasveer
The Women’s Focus is about connecting artists, and the South Asian Film
Festival has learned from Aaina’s success. During the film festival, the
audience can interact with some of the best-known independent filmmakers
from South Asia.
“We just recently began to afford bringing filmmakers from outside the
country,’ says Meher excitedly. “Last year was a big year for us. We expanded
our festival to 10 days and we brought filmmakers from Pakistan.”
Seattle hosted the U.S. premiere for the film “Zinda Bhaag,” Pakistan’s first
official submission to the Academy Awards in 50 years, which tells the story of
three young men dealing with the crude realities of life in modern day Lahore,
one of Pakistan’s largest cities. The filmmakers chose Seattle because they
had heard of Tasveer’s festival.

In “Sulemani Keeda,” one of India’s submissions to the South Asian Film Festival, filmmaker Amit
Masurkar follows two friends working on (and struggling with) a Bollywood screenplay together. Photo
courtesy of Tasveer
“The Seattle audience gave them a wonderful reception,” said Meher. ”We
screened to a full house.”
This year, the Seattle South Asian Film Festival is screening the largest
number of films yet, and hosting 18 filmmakers and producers from India,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
“In previous years, we would receive 20 to 30 films and we would select nine
features,” said Meher. This year, the festival had a record 120 submissions,
with the festival showing 24 feature films and 17 shorts from nine countries.
Highlights for 2014 include India’s “Fandry,” about caste discrimination;
Nepal’s “Soongava: Dance of the Orchids,” a forbidden love story between
two women; Pakistan’s “Anima State,” about a young man’s experience in the
political and social chaos of a Pakistani city; and Sri Lanka’s “With You
Without You,” by Prasanna Withanage.

Nepal’s “‘Soongava,” by director Subarna Thapa, tells a story of forbidden love-story between two
women. Photo courtesy of Tasveer
For Meher, Tasveer has been a labor of love from the beginning. The
organization is run by a small staff and a group of volunteers. It’s year-round
hard work, without any big financial rewards. But, Meher wouldn’t have it any
other way.
“Every year, before the festivals, I ask myself, why am I working so hard?
Then during the festival, when I see filmmakers coming to me and expressing
deep gratitude, I see how engaged and friendly the community is, how
dedicated the volunteers are, and the rich and thought provoking
programming. That’s when I say, ‘Its all worth it.’ Let’s do it again next year.”
Local Beat is a weekly series on Art Beat that features arts and culture stories
from PBS member stations around the nation.
PBS's Art Beat features arts and culture stories from PBS member stations around the nation, and this story was
chosen from among KCTS 9's features for this honor!
The piece was also picked up by several aggregators that link back to the original article, listed below.
KCTS 9 original post: http://kcts9.org/programs/in-close/culture/tasveer-film-festival-brings-south-asian-stories-
to-pacific-northwest
PBS NewsHour post: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/bringing-south-asian-stories-to-seattles-screens/
WXXI: http://interactive.wxxi.org/node/288754
Fresh--News: http://fresh--news.com/fresh-news/bringing-south-asian-stories-to-seattles-screens-pbs-newshour
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NewsGlobal US: http://newsglobal.us/news/bringing-south-asian-stories-to-seattles-screens

October 29, 2014
Film
Festive
Seattle South Asian Film Festival 2014
by CHARLES MUDEDE
Certainly one of the top films you will watch this year is in the Seattle South Asian Film
Festival, which opens on October 31 with a night of short films, food, and music. The
movie is called Fandry, and it concerns a young man, Jabya (Somnath Awghade), who
has two goals: One is to catch a black sparrow, and the other is to capture the heart of a
young woman, Shalu (Rajeshwari Kharat). For reasons relating to class and color,
Jabya's first goal is far more realistic than his second. He might be handsome and have a
gorgeous smile, but he is an untouchable, a member of the lowest caste. Shalu, on the
other hand, is a member of the middle class, and her skin is much lighter than Jabya's.
Despite these real limits, the young man spends his days dreaming about what will
never happen: her walking with him, her holding his hands, her light-skinned body
resting next to his dark body.

Jabya's family lives on the edge of a village and struggles to make ends meet by selling
baskets at the market, selling Popsicles from a bicycle, selling labor to local farmers, and
chasing pigs. The last job is the shameful one. The village is terrorized by wild little
black pigs. The pigs appear and disrupt whatever the villagers are doing—kids playing
games during break, a family trying to relax after a long day, a religious festival. But the
only people who can catch and kill these troublesome and noisy animals are the
untouchables, Jabya's family. Early in the film, a man orders Jabya, who is walking to
school, to get rid of a pig that's trapped in a hole next to his porch. Jabya flatly refuses
and continues walking. He is too proud to do untouchable work. He is rebelling against
the whole social order of his rural world. This revolt, however, has real and material
consequences for him and his family.
Nagraj Manjule's film is expertly paced, elegantly scored (no sitars but mandolins and
violins), and packed with convincing details of village life. The film also has the best
Facebook scene you will find in all of cinema.
The Seattle South Asian Film Festival runs Oct 31–Nov 9 at various theaters; see
ssaff.tasveer.org for more information.
Click to read online: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/festive/Content?oid=20910988

Festival brings top-notch South Asian filmmakers to town
by Alka Kurian - Oct 29, 2014
A still from “Titli” about a young man trying to escape his criminal family in Delhi, one of the flagship films
of the Seattle South Asian Film Festival’s 9th year.
Now in its ninth year, the Seattle South Asian Film (SSAFF) once again brings
a wide array of radical, thought-provoking films to the Puget Sound area. This
year there’s narrative and documentary films from Bangladesh, India, Nepal,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka on everything from human rights, gender, LGBT
issues, education, and the environment — and some laughs as well.
Produced by Tasveer, a local South Asian Film and Arts non-profit, SSAFF is
the biggest and longest-running film festival of its kind in the region, attracting
a more than 3,000-strong audience each year. SSAFF 2014 is a collaboration

between Tasveer, the University of Washington Bothell, Cascadia College,
and the Cities of Renton and Bothell, with over 40 films spread out over two
weeks. All the films have English subtitles.
One of the highlights of the festival comes from Indian film director Kanu Behl,
who will be in attendance when his debut feature film Titli screens
on Saturday, November 1st, at Cascadia College’s Mobius Hall in Bothell
Behl had two things in mind while making his film: to subvert the star-studded,
box-office oriented, idealistic Bollywoodesque notion of family, and to blur the
line between the oppressed and the oppressor. Selected for Cannes’ “Un
Certain Regard” section, and set in the “badlands of Delhi” — the flipside of
the shining India — this film noir follows the life of a young man, Titli (which
means butterfly in Hindi), in a desperate attempt to escape from his
testosterone-driven crime infested car-jacking of a family.
To put reins on Titli’s fantasies, his ruthless brothers get him married off,
hoping also for a financial bargain in the process. But the pretty young bride
has a dark agenda up her sleeve and teams up with Titli for an exit strategy
from the family. And yet, the harder they try, the more they are caught up in
this masculine brotherhood of crooks, wedged inside an eternal circle of
crime, reflecting at times the very people that they wish to flee from.
In this must-see film, characters carjack, are hoodwinked by criminal
policemen, rough up each other, and then ritualistically brush their teeth to
cleanse the filth and dirt that dribbles from their mouths all day.
As a graduate of the Kolkata-based Satyajit Ray Film Academy, majoring in
film direction, director Kanu Behl relies on mostly non-professional actors and
documentary style cinematography so as to make his film as far removed from
fiction as possible.
Embedded: TITLI trailer
The SSAFF screening on Saturday gives Northwest audiences a chance to
see Titli before its general release (tickets here). Behl will be on hand to
answer questions at the post-film Q&A, and at the “Stories that Travel” panel
discussion led by Warren Etheredge earlier that day.
Other festival highlights include:

Fandry
Nov 1, Mobius Hall, Cascadia College, 12 PM, India, film’s producer in
attendance
This Opening Day Film tells the story of unrequited love steeped in caste
politics. Set in the state of Maharashtra, the film is about the struggles
endured by a teenage boy from a village and focuses on the problem of caste
discrimination and dispossession. The film has won many awards at film
festivals across the world, including the Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Mumbai
International Film Festival and the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film.
The film will be followed by a free reception for the audience.
Embedded: FANDRY trailer
More details and tickets here.
Sulemani Keeda
Nov 1, Mobius Hall, Cascadia College, 5 PM, India, Actor in attendance:
This hilarious bromance comedy tells the tale of two scriptwriters’ dream
about writing the ultimate blockbuster Bollywood film. Mainak and Dulal must
make a choice between friendship, love, and profession in an unforgiving
Mumbai, teeming with wanna-be migrant writers.
Embedded: SULEMANI KEEDA trailer
Sold
Nov 8, Roxy Cinema in Renton, 6 PM, Nepal/India, Producer Jane Charles in
attendance:
Sold tells the heartbreaking story of one of the countless girls that are daily
hoodwinked into sex-trade across the Indo-Nepal border. What kind of
choices must the 12-year old Laskmi make in a world where children are
some of the worst victims of disappearance, kidnapping, trafficking, and
slavery? Based on Patricia McCormick’s much-admired and award-winning
international best-seller, the film bagged the Audience Award at the London

Film Festival, and won the second prize, best feature film at Athen
International Film Festival.
Embedded: SOLD trailer
With You, Without You
Nov 9, Roxy Cinema,4 PM, Sri Lanka, Director in attendance
Made by Sri Lanka’s legendary filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage, this Closing
Night film charts the intriguing story of two characters coming across each
other in the most unusual of circumstances and unraveling the
bridgeable/unbridgeable gulf between two communities torn apart by the
country’s thirty-year bloody civil war. The film has garnered several awards
including the “Best Film Cyclo d”or Vesoul Asian Film Festival” award and
whose central female lead, Anjali Patil, has been nominated for the Best
Actress Award by the “New York India Film Festival.” The film will be followed
by a free wine and cheese reception.
Embedded: WITH YOU, WITHOUT YOU trailer
Click to read online: http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2014/10/29/south-asian-film-festival-seattle-bothell-
renton/30197

| Movies
Originally published Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 2:52 PM
No Bollywood at this festival, but plenty of compelling films
The Seattle South Asian Film Festival starts Friday, Oct. 31.
By Tan Vinh
Seattle Times staff reporter
Photo courtesy of Tasveer
“Sulemani Keeda,” a bromantic comedy, will screen as part of the Seattle South Asian Film Festival.
Seattle South Asian Film Festival
Oct. 31-Nov. 9, various locations in Seattle, Renton and Bothell. For lineup and showtimes: tasveer.org.
To the casual observer, the Seattle South Asian Film Festival may seem more notable for what’s not
showing than what’s premiering. Sorry, no gyrating, Bollywood-jingle here.
“We wanted shorts and independent films that portray and tell the stories in a true way,” said Rita Meher,
executive director of the ninth annual festival that runs from Oct. 31-Nov. 9 in Seattle, Renton and Bothell.
“In India, we ride scooters, not SUVs. Yet, every Bollywood movie would have an SUV and someone
living in a mansion.
“Each film we picked, it has some kind of social relevance of who we are and how we grew up in south
Asia or India.”
The festival’s theme, “Stories that dare,” puts a lens on the ugly, the closeted and the underbelly of India
and neighboring countries.
There are stories about salarymen and women and their daily struggles, along with films addressing sex
trafficking and discrimination.

Seven films touch on LGBT themes, including the animated, “Fu377,” which attacks the controversial
2013 India Supreme Court ruling that made gay sex illegal. Nepal’s first LGBT film, “Soongava: Dance of
the Orchids,” will also premiere here.
The opening-night gala, at the Renton Pavilion Event Center Oct. 31, features six shorts including “Jaya,”
the true story of an orphan girl masquerading as a boy in a gang to protect herself in the slums of
Mumbai.
Other indies look at those who live on the fringe of society: a deaf Indian bodybuilder who tries to wrestle
his way to the top (“Goonga Pehelwan”) and a young Dehli man looking to escape a life of crime (“Titli”),
the latter a 2014 Cannes International Film Festival selection. “Titli” filmmaker Kanu Behl will fly in for the
Seattle showing.
More than 40 films and documentaries from nine south Asian countries will be showing, with 18
filmmakers appearing, including actor and stand-up comic Mayank Tewari, who is featured in the
bromantic comedy “Sulemani Keeda.”
On Nov. 9, director Prasanna Vithanage will attend the closing ceremony for his film “With You, Without
You,” a look at Sri Lanka post-civil war.
Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @tanvinhseattle
Click to read online: http://seattletimes.com/html/movies/2024915136_asianfilmsxml.html

A film festival evolves from tragedy —
Seattle South Asian Film Festival features a
theme of “daring”
Posted on 31 October 2014.
By Andrew Hamlin
Northwest Asian Weekly
The new Seattle South Asian Film Festival, put on by the Tasveer organization, will be running from Oct.
31 to Nov. 9. Festival director Rita Meher took some questions over e-mail.
NWAW: Please describe your childhood
adolescence in Odissa, India. What were your
favorite memories of growing up? How does Odissa
compare and contrast to other places in India?
Rita Meher: I actually grew up all over India, barely
staying in one place, not longer than four years at a time.
My last years in India were spent in New Delhi due to
school and work. My favorite memories were traveling on
a two-day train journey ride to Odissa from wherever we
lived at the moment, having chai with my family every
morning, crouching on the floor, and having dinner, too. I
miss authentic Indian food on the street, so very cheap,
and also the fact that you can buy anything on the street.
I also miss all the people, and all the many festival
celebrations.
NWAW: When did you come to live in Seattle? How
have your impressions of the city changed over
time?
Meher: I came to live in Seattle in the fall of 1997, after
living in Japan for some time. I lived in seven or eight
different neighborhoods of Seattle, all great – busy and
bustling. When I first moved here, I didn’t like Seattle or
the U.S. I didn’t find it a very fun place to live. I thought
Tokyo or New Delhi was more fun. But I have grown to
love every day of living here. Coming from living in highly urban cities, I didn’t appreciate the green very
much, and I certainly wasn’t a hiking person. But now I love to go for a walk in the woods, and I love all
the trees. The city of Seattle is gradually changing all the time. There is always something new to
discover.
NWAW: What inspired you to create the Seattle South Asian Film Festival?
Meher: Soon after I became a U.S. citizen, 9-11 happened. Many South Asians in the United States
experienced discrimination at that time, and stereotypes that had been hidden came to the surface –

often in an ugly way. I had a very difficult personal experience with this. A friend encouraged me to
document my experience, so I picked up a camera and made my first-ever short film, “Citizenship 101.” I
wanted to find a platform to showcase that film and I couldn’t find a place to show it. My friend and I
rented a screen space and set out to tell the stories of South Asians – who we are and who the South
Asians are – because there was so much misrepresentation in the mainstream media. The festival
became an annual event, and we are now in our ninth year.
NWAW: Who were your early collaborators on the festival? How have people joined in and/or
dropped out?
Meher: My dear friend Farah Nousheen is my fellow co-founder of Tasveer and SSAFF. She no longer
lives in the Northwest, which limits her involvement with running the festival, but she is still very
supportive in her role as an honorary member of our board. I could not have founded Tasveer without her
and I still rely on her encouragement very much.
SSAFF has always relied on our incredible corps of volunteers, which continues to grow each year. I am
always amazed at their enthusiasm and dedication. They are able to accomplish so much through their
organizational and grassroots efforts. This year, we are able for the first time to bring a couple of
additional staff members on to support the festival’s marketing efforts. It is a great milestone and we are
confident it will pay off as more and more people in the area come to realize the great films and
conversations Tasveer brings to this region. And of course, we couldn’t do without our community
partners, who help us get the word out and provide cash and in-kind sponsorships.
NWAW: What is significantly different about this festival, over previous festivals?
Meher: By far, we received more submissions this year than ever before. The number of submissions for
2014 was 100 percent greater than in 2013. The quality of submissions also continues to grow.
Sometimes a theme emerges from among the films, and this year, the common thread was clearly a
theme of daring. Film after film tells the stories of people who defy their circumstances to pursue their
dreams – whether that is shedding the roles imposed by caste and gaining education (“Fandry”), leaving
behind a life of crime for a life of promise (“Titli”), marrying one’s true love (“Soongava: Dance of the
Orchids”), following a screenwriter’s dream to the doorsteps of Bollywood (“Sulemani Keedea” or
“Writers”), or joining in athletic competition despite disabilities (“Goonga Pehelwan”). Our theme this year
is stories that dare . . . , and we hope to spur many conversations about the vision, determination, and
resilience we see in our main characters’ lives, whether in narrative films or documentaries.
NWAW: Please describe four or five of your favorite titles from this year. What were your first
impressions of them, where do they come from, and are they similar/different?
Meher: It’s really hard to choose favorites! “The World of Goopi and Bagha” is a delightful children’s film
that every Indian kid will recognize because we grew up with this story of two wandering musicians. It’s
animated and very funny – a very joyful tale. This film made its world premiere at the Toronto
International Film Festival and went on to thrill audiences young and old alike at the world-renowned
festivals in Busan, Dubai, and Mumbai.
“With You, Without You” is the first Sri Lankan film I have seen in a long time that is not a war story.
Because of the terrible civil war that lasted over 25 years, the narratives coming out of that country have
consistently been concerned primarily with conflict. Now, we see this beautiful love story that does not
ignore the war, but lets it paint the characters in a realistic way. In addition, we are incredibly honored to
have director Prasanna Withanage, Sri Lanka’s veteran statesman of cinema, joining us for the final
weekend of our festival. He will be presented with the Tasveer Emerald Award during our closing night
reception in recognition of his incredible achievements and advancement to Sri Lankan film.

We have a remarkable number of LGBTQ-related films this year, which is noteworthy in and on itself —
and the timing makes it even more so. With a late-2013 decision of the Supreme Court of India,
homosexuality is now practically illegal in that country. South Asians around the world are divided on the
issue, but SSAFF takes a stand by presenting stories from South Asia about people of all sexual
orientations. “Soongava: Dance of the Orchids,” the first-ever Nepali lesbian feature film, was that
nation’s submission to the 2013 Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.
“In Between Days” is an Indian film about two young transgender friends and the methods they employ to
get by from day to day on the difficult streets of Kolkata. “Frangipani,” another Sri Lankan film, displays
through a love triangle in a sleepy village the humanity of all people, regardless of sexual orientation –
their ability to laugh and cry, and to love.
We also have an amazing multi-award winning short film that will be featured among others at our
Opening Night Gala on Friday, Oct. 31. “Jaya” is based on the true story of a young woman who dresses
like a boy in order to survive on the streets of Mumbai. It was a semi-finalist for the Student Academy
Awards and has been a finalist and winner for many other student film awards.
NWAW: What are the plans for the Tasveer organization in the immediate future?
Meher: In addition to the SSAFF, which is held each autumn, Tasveer continues to present Aaina, a
South Asian women’s focus arts festival, and the South Asian International Documentary Festival (SAID)
each spring. Aaina 2015 will be our 10th annual celebration. Once again, we will feature a program called
Yoni Ki Baat, a kind of South Asian version of the Vagina Monologues, which always sells out well in
advance. SAID 2015 will be our third annual celebration and we look forward to inspiring more deep
conversations and inquiry into the state of our world.
As always, the mission of Tasveer remains “to curate thought-provoking artistic work of South Asians
through films, forums, visual art, and performances that engage and empower the community.” (end)
For more information, visit http://ssaff.tasveer.org/2014/.
Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
Click to read online: http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2014/10/film-festival-evolves-tragedy-seattle-south-asian-
film-festival-features-theme-daring/

NEWS
by TRACEY COMPTON, Renton Reporter Staff Writer
November 4, 2014 at 3:48 PM
South Asian Film Fest gala a success in Renton
The stars came out for the Seattle South Asian Film Festival including directors and producers (left to
right) Jane Charles, Puja Maewal and Vivek Kajaria.
— image credit: Tracey Compton, Renton Reporter
Directors, producers, actors and film enthusiasts turned out for the opening gala of the 2014 Seattle
South Asian Film Festival in Renton, on Halloween night.
Some attendees made their appearance on the red carpet at the Renton Pavilion Event Center for the
very first time, but for others Renton was a familiar and welcoming stop on their film tour. Puja Maewal,
director of the award-winning short film "Jaya" (India, 2014) was excited to be in South Seattle or Renton
for the first time ever.
"I'm very excited; it's like a cool Halloween-slash-film party," said Maewal.
Attendees were dressed in both Halloween and traditional cultural outfits at the gala.Hearing great things
about Seattle, Maewal was also excited to attend because she said this particular festival is famous for its
daring programming, which is very different from other South Asian festivals. Her film "Jaya" is the story
of a teenage girl in a street gang in Mumbai who encounters a man she thinks is her long lost father. The
film was shot on the streets of Mumbai with "untrained kid actors from the slums."

"They were really passionate about acting even though they'd never really been in front of a camera; so it
was pretty fun" Maewal said.
Currently she is working on a feature-length version of "Jaya" and will soon be looking for financing. The
film has been screening for a year all over cities in the U.S. and will start to screen internationally in
Hungry, Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta.
Also screening with "Jaya" at the opening gala was "FU377" (UK, 2014), "My Dear Americans" (USA,
2013), "Shame," (Canda, 2014), "Ravel" (Afganistan, 2014) and "What Remains" (USA, 2013).
Filmmaker Monish Gangwani, of Bellevue, was happy to have the film festival screening so close to
home. His experimental art film "The Roar," about a suppressed artist, trying to find his freedom of
expression, will screen at the Roxy Cinema in Renton on Nov. 8.
"I'm just so glad that we're having the festival here," said Gangwani. "I'm a filmmaker so I know that
through SIFF we've done stuff over here before. I'm just really excited that SSAFF is here."
Sharing in the excitement was director and producer Jane Charles, who's been to Renton before with the
Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) for the movie "Fat Kid Rules the World." Charles was at the
SSAFF event to promote and screen the film "Sold."
The film features actors Gillian Anderson, David Arquette and Tillotama Shome.It won the "Best Narrative
Feature" at the Albuquerque Film Festival and the audience award at the London Indian Film Festival.
"Sold" is a story about a young girl from Nepal who's trafficked into India.
"I'm really excited for our film to be here," said Charles. "'Sold' actually opened the L.A. Indian film festival
and several other Asian film festivals amid the response has been amazing."
Charles was excited for other films showing at SSAFF saying that the films screened here were some of
the best international films.
"Renton's great; I was very excited that 'Sold' had a screening in Renton," said Charles.
The opening gala attendees watched the screening, dined on food from Naan-n-Curry and danced to
Bollywood and Bhangra music provided by Portland's DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid.
TRACEY COMPTON, Renton Reporter Staff writer
tcompton@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5052
Click to read online: http://www.rentonreporter.com/news/281523731.html

News
Titli, Teenkahon winners at SSAFF 2014
By NewsDesk • Published on November 12, 2014
Kanu Behl’s Titli won the Jury Award for Best Feature at the recently concluded 9th Seattle South Asian Film
Festival (SSAFF). Bauddhayan Mukherji’s Teenkahon won the Audience award for Best Feature.
Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage was presented the Tasveer Emerald Award for Contribution to Sri
Lankan cinema.
The ten-day festival was held in Seattle from October 31-November 9, 2014.
Here is the complete list of winners:-
• Tasveer SSAFF 2014 Jury Award for Best Feature Film – Titli by Kanu Behl
• Tasveer SSAFF 2014 Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film – Teenkahon by Bauddhayan Mukherji
• Tasveer SSAFF 2014 Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary – Are You Listening? by Kamar Ahmad
Simon
• Tasveer SSAFF 2014 Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film – Jaya by Puja Maewal
• Seattle South Asian Film Festival 2014 Tasveer EMERALD AWARD to Prasanna Vithanage for Contribution
to Sri Lankan Cinema
Click to read online: http://dearcinema.com/news/kanu-behls-titli-buddhayan-mukherjis-teenkahon-winners-ssaff-
2014/4509

Titli, Teenkahon winners at Ssaff 2014
11 November 2014 10:15 PM, PST | DearCinema.com | See recent DearCinema.com news »
A still from Titli
Kanu Behl’s Titli won the Jury Award for Best Feature at the recently
concluded 9th Seattle South Asian Film Festival (Ssaff). Bauddhayan
Mukherji’s Teenkahon won the Audience award for Best Feature.
Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage was presented the Tasveer
Emerald Award for Contribution to Sri Lankan cinema.
The ten-day festival was held in Seattle from October 31-November 9, 2014.
Here is the complete list of winners:-
Tasveer Ssaff 2014 Jury Award for Best Feature Film – Titli by Kanu Behl Tasveer Ssaff
2014 Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film – Teenkahon by Bauddhayan Mukherji
Tasveer Ssaff 2014 Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary – Are You Listening? by
Kamar Ahmad Simon Tasveer Ssaff 2014 Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film – Jaya
by Puja Maewal Seattle South Asian Film Festival 2014 Tasveer Emerald Award to Prasanna
Vithanage for Contribution to Sri Lankan Cinema »
- NewsDesk
See full article at DearCinema.com »
Click to read online: http://www.imdb.com/news/ni57998597/

Writers Review
12th November 2014 by Ron Wilkinson
Screenwriting bromedy that shows Bollywood is not that much different than
its American counterpart.
Dulal is the brains and Mainak is the street smarts in Amit Masurkar’s flighty
bromedy screened at the 9th Seattle South Asian Film Festival. Like most
screenwriters, these two need that one big break to make it into the big time.
Actually, these two need holy water from the hands of a hundred virgin angels
to write their street address. But that is not important, where there is a will,
there is a way. If they can do it with women, they can do it with producers.
Well, OK, they cannot do it with women, either. Except for Dulal who is slowly
becoming involved with an attractive and smart woman destined to leave him
for an actual job on another continent. But that comes later. Right now, they

have a golden opportunity to write the screenplay for the debut of the son of
one of the richest and most successful producers in India, Sweety Kapoor
(Razak Khan). Kapoor’s son Gonzo (Karan Mirchandani) is in perfect shape
for his history-making first picture, all he needs is two ambitious young writers
who can create something fresh and new. It has to be something with a plot,
yet without a plot, with a soundtrack, yet without one, with film, yet without
film.
In short, Dulal (Naveen Kasturia) and Mainak (Mayank Tewari) are in a heap
of trouble. Gonzo is the screenwriter’s worst nightmare, the talentless but rich
actor who thinks he can buy the screenplay that will win him the Oscar. His
father Sweety is not any better, going into impossible flights of fancy at the
drop of a hat and making it perfectly clear that no matter how good their
screenplay is, he will change it into rubbish in an afternoon. That is before
Gonzo gets to bayonet it on screen.
Hoping to get ahead of the game when it comes to girls, there is an
opportunity to read poetry in an amateur coffee shop setting. The result is a
combination of tough love and an Ebola patient’s welcome at a Legionnaire’s
conference. Where talent is lacking, hip and cool can save the day.
Unfortunately, neither of these two have either one.
Just when things are looking their worst, Dulal’s attractive friend Ruma (Aditi
Vasudev), the daughter of a rich, sophisticated couple who view Dulal as
something that crawled out of their potted plants, announces that she must
leave soon for some place far away. Dulal wants her to stay and share the life
he might have some day. As they discuss their last minute hopes and dreams,
Ruma’s parents walk past them and through them, pointedly loading Ruma’s
luggage in the car. It appears the relationship is in danger. Dulal must choose
between the girl he loves, whose parents want to ship him to China and
making the hit film of the century with Gonzo.
If Dulal makes the wrong decision he will not only lose the girl, but he will lose
his feckless and morally inept partner Mainak as well as the opportunity to
work with the all mighty Sweety Kapoor. Too many tough decisions, but love
will find a way. And, if that fails, perhaps Bollywood will find a way. Or, maybe
Dulal will find a job at the Mumbai McDonalds and consummate Ruma’s
relationship on Facebook.
A young movie for those young at heart, there is a carefree lameness to
“Writers” that speak a universal language. Times are tough for the young, but
the young have their dreams. In the end, that is all that counts. Yes, there are

trough patches in the road, the false escape of drug use and the beckoning
hand of the muse of poetry that is better never written. Plus there is the
money thing that seems to have captured the hearts and minds of everyone
over thirty. Money, the arch enemy of creative inspiration and yet the singular
entity that buys, well, food. That is the contradiction, to love and create, or to
eat and have shelter. Somewhere in there, the love and understanding of
one’s best friend is the solution. If you do not kill him first.
A fun take on growing up in Bollywood and a comforting reassurance that
there is no easier way to success in India than in Hollywood, USA.
Ron Wilkinson rated this 7/10 What do you think?
Click to read online: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/writers-review/

Sri Lankan Filmmaker Wins at Seattle South Asian
Film Festival
This year’s Seattle South Asian Film Festival Jury Award went to “Titli.”
Posted: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 4:30 pm
India West Staff
Seattle, Wash. — Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage’s
“With You, Without You” was the closing night film at the 9th
annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival Nov. 9.
At a VIP reception later that evening, Vithanage — who could not
attend due to scheduling conflicts — was also honored for his
contribution to Sri Lankan cinema, receiving the festival’s Tasveer
Emerald Award which honors exemplary personalities in the
South Asian film industry. “I am proud to receive the Tasveer
Emerald Award, and impressed with the richness and variety of
films and filmmakers that Tasveer brings to Seattle,” Vithanage
said in a statement.
A special award for Outstanding Film in a Social Category was awarded to the acclaimed
Marathi drama “Fandry”by the Seattle chapter of Pratham; while the SSAFF 2014 Jury Award
went to Kanu Behl’s feature debut “Titli.” SSAFF 2014 Audience Awards in three categories
went to “Teenkahon”(“Three Obsessions”), “Jaya” and the documentary “Are You Listening!”
The festival included 27 screenings and two educational panels.
“We are so inspired by the support the festival has received from the local film community,
audiences, filmmakers, Washington Filmworks and The Film School,” said festival executive
director Rita Meher.
Click to view online: http://www.indiawest.com/entertainment/global/sri-lankan-filmmaker-wins-at-
seattle-south-asian-film-festival/article_4f17783c-7025-11e4-8e3c-27df494bb953.html
Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna
Vithanage's "With You, Without
You" ws the closing night film at the
9th annual Seattle South Asian
Film Festival.

SSAFF 2014 awards announced —
Sri Lankan filmmaker receives Tasveer Emerald Award
Posted on 21 November 2014
Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithana was awarded at the 9th
annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival Sunday evening with a
screening of his film, “With You, Without You.”
Vithanage was also honored for his contribution to Sri Lankan
cinema during the Festival’s Closing Night Reception, receiving
the Tasveer Emerald Award. This occasional award is bestowed
upon exceptional prolific and influential filmmakers and was first given in 2011
to actress Deepti Naval for her contribution to Indian cinema.
This year’s Festival welcomed eighteen visiting filmmakers. There were 27
screenings, two educational panels, co-presented with Washington Filmworks
and The Film School.
A special award for Outstanding Film in a Social Category was awarded
during the Festival to SSAFF 2014 selection “Fandry” by the Seattle chapter
of Pratham, the largest education non-profit in India. Pratham is dedicated to
improving the quality of education in India, ensuring access to all people
regardless of caste – a subject addressed in “Fandry” through the story of a
young lower-caste man in a small village.
The first SSAFF Jury Award was given to Indian director Kanu Behl’s feature-
length debut “Titlli.” The jury, staffed with local film scholars, critics, and
writers, was commissioned to select the film with the best storytelling and
strongest alignment with the mission of Tasveer.

“TITLI not only embodies Tasveer’s mission to engage and
empower the community through thought-provoking art and
conversation; it also clearly demonstrates SSAFF 2014’s theme
of Stories that dare . . . ,” according to a jury statement.
Founded in 2002 by Rita Meher and Farah Nousheen, Tasveer
strives to curate thought-provoking artistic work of South Asians
through films, forums, visual art, and performances that engage
and empower the community.
Tasveer presents three keystone events each year: AAINA, a women-focused
arts gathering (spring); South Asian International Documentary Festival
(spring), and Seattle South Asian Film Festival (fall).
The purpose of Tasveer is to increase awareness of South Asian countries
and cultures from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; to provide a platform for South Asian filmmakers and
artists; to initiate dialogue that bridges communities; to provide an alternative
to corporate media; and to employ independent South Asian film as a vehicle
to give voice to marginalized communities. (end)
Click to view online: http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2014/11/ssaff-2014-awards-announced-sri-lankan-
filmmaker-receives-tasveer-emerald-award/

Arts Etc. — December 6, 2014
Alan Chong Lau | December 6, 2014
…
The 9th
Annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival recently concluded one of its’ most successful
events in its’ history. Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage received the Tasveer Emerald
Award. Vivek Kajaria, producer of the film, “FANDRY” received a special award for “Outstanding
Film in a Social Category”. Indian director Kanu Behl’s “TITLI” received the SSAFF Jury Award.
SSAFF 2014 Audience Awards were given out in three different categories. The Bengali
mystery-drama “Teenkahon” by Bauddhayan Mukherji received an award for “Best Narrative”.
Puja Maewal’s “JAYS” received an award for “Best Short Film”. Finally for “Best Documentary”,
Kamar Ahmad Simon’s “Are You Listening!” got the nod in that category. The 10th
Annual
Seattle South Asian Film Festival is lated next for the fall of 2015. Go to http://said.tasveer.org/
for details.
Click to view online: http://www.iexaminer.org/2014/12/arts-etc-december-6-2014/

6 – Broadcast Coverage
Rita Meher’s interview with Comcast Newsmakers aired multiple times on CNN Headline News (Channel
45 in most places) beginning on Wednesday, October 22 and continuing over the following few weeks.
Click to view online:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUUXYZOHB2M&list=UUpME5qJHypriVH4TfjqUVGw

7 – Wire Photography
Click to view online: http://www.wireimage.com/search/#events?q=[521358723]&ep=1/60/1&s=3

Click to view online: http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?EventId=521242773
Additional images can be found by typing "Seattle South Asian" into the search bar on this page.

Last Updated
December 8, 2014
###

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