Exclusive premieres lead this year's Tongues on Fire
- asiansinmedia.org
Exclusive screenings of the films Water, Provoked and The Namesake will be part of the annual Tongues on Fire which launches at the end of this week in London.
Now in its 9th year the festival aims to celebrate the contribution of South Asian women filmmakers from across the world. It starts on 9th March and will continue until the end of the month.
Organisers have managed a coup by getting the right to premiere three highly anticipated films.
Launching the film festival on Friday 9th March in London will be The Namesake, a film by the acclaimed director Mira Nair about an Indian family who move to New York in the 70s.
Exploring issues of identity and culture-clash, it covers three decades in the Ganguly family. Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar, Superman Returns) marries a rich American girl and struggles to come to terms with his Bengali heritage, neglecting his parents and even going so far as to hide his given name from his wife and her family.
The Namesake, which is based on a book by American writer Jhumpa Lahiri, also stars the Indian actress Tabu and actor Irfan Khan.
On the 10th March, Tongues on Fire will screen Water, Deepa Mehta's Oscar nominated film set in India during the 1930s.
Exploring the plight of child widows against the backdrop of Gandhi's rise to power, it raised the ire of religious Hindu militants in India and forced Deepa Mehta to abandon the film and later complete it in Columbo, Sri Lanka. It stars Lisa Ray and Bollywood actor John Abraham.
The domestic violence film Provoked, directed by Jag Mundhra and starring Aishwarya Rai and Naveen Andrews, will premiere on 18th March at the ICA. Its cinema release date has been pushed back to April by distributors Eros International.
Other screenings include Pratibha Parmar's Nina's Heavenly Delights, Hiding Divya and Dor.
Tongues on Fire will also screen documentaries covering disparate subjects including: India's Third Gender - a look at the 'hijra' community in India; No More Tears Sister - a documentary about love, revolution and betrayal in time of war.
The full programme of events is on their website.
Please visit the Provoked section of the Tongues on Fire official site for screening dates and times, ticket prices and directions to the venues.
Related Links:
02/21/07 'Ash has gone way beyond her other roles'
02/16/07 Aishwarya starrer Provoked certified 'U/A'
02/09/07 Controversial films finally hit screens
02/09/07 Mundhra: Aishwarya was not the star on my sets
01/08/07 Gulshan plays Ash's hubby! - indiatimes.com
12/29/06 Rai ka tadka! - mumbaimirror.com
12/17/06 Provoked and Ash's quest for the West - ibnlive.com
12/17/06 Provoked: When a woman is pushed too far
Mundhra to discuss 'Provoked' at University of Leicester
