PRESS RELEASE 1

For immediate release

Media Contacts:
Engendered: Jitin Hingorani, 512.773.6679 / JitinHingorani@gmail.com
Peepul PR: Gayatri Hingorani-Dewan, 917.346.0551 / gayatri@mypeepul.com

Engendered announces I VIEW FILM 2009:
Second Annual Film Festival focused on Gender & Sexuality Issues in the South Asian Diaspora

* I-VIEW Film Festival to be held from August 28-30, 2009, at Lincoln Center & the Asia Society

- Aug 28th: Red carpet with Film Personalities and Bollywood Celebrities Followed by an Opening Plenary and Party

- Aug 29th: Opening Film “Dostana”followed by Q&A with John Abraham, Tarun Mansukhiani and Kirron Kher

- Aug 30th: Closing Film “Luck By Chance” followed by Q&Awith Zoya Ahktar

New York, NY, July 28, 2009: Engendered, a transnational arts and human rights organization aimed at creating awareness around gender and sexuality in the South Asian Diaspora, is proud to presentI VIEW FILM 2009. This cutting-edge film festival brings together a body of bold and contemporary cinematic work that provides a new lens with which to view South Asian Cinema. Films range from Bollywood to independent Hollywood to eclectic shorts and documentaries from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, as well as the Diaspora in the United States and Australia. This year, the film festival’s opening film “Dostana” and the closing film “Luck By Chance” are two of the major Bollywood blockbusters that involve themes of sexuality and gender inequity, a clear indication of the topical nature of such social issues. The film festival will be held at the Lincoln Center and Asia Society in New York from August 28-30, 2009.

I VIEW FILM intends to engage, uplift and transform viewer perceptions around women's issues, minority and health rights, as well as the LGBT community. Spread over three days, the diverse lineup includes ground-breaking, independent productions such as the critically-acclaimed Let's Talk by Ram Madhvani and Baariwali by Rituparno Ghosh. The curation also includes international, award-winning human rights shorts and documentaries like “My Daughter the Terrorist” and “Searching For Sundeep.”  

Dialog and discourse form an integral part of I VIEW FILM - all the screenings will be followed by discussions and panels with the key cast members, film personalities and academics. “Dostana” is the first major Bollywood movie to openly talk about homosexuality, and the New York Times raves “it irreverently normalizes a topic that has been virtually absent from screen in India.” For “Dostana,” the director Tarun Mansukhani will be joined by lead actor John Abraham and supporting actors Boman Irani and Kirron Kher. Director, Zoya Akhtar, will present her film “Luck By Chance” at the festival. A huge box-office success in India, it is a biting satire and insider look at gender disparity in Bollywood’s competitive film industry; the New York Times says “it might seem as if Bollywood couldn’t possibly satirize itself…but Zoya Akhtar manages the trick deftly.”

Another key highlight of the festival is that Bollywood celebrities will share the stage with U.S.-based film personalities, such as Mira Nair and Mehreen Jabbar for a plenary on the opening night to kick off the festival.

“The festival reveals and provokes newer ways of seeing and understanding the changing landscape of South Asian intimacies, desires and sexualities. It firmly contextualizes gender and sexuality within the larger framework of human rights conversations,” says Myna Mukherjee, festival director. “We hope that the festival creates a space like its New York audience: diverse, open-minded, curious, keen for all kinds of experience; a knowledgeable audience, with whom filmmakers, actors and producers can develop a real dialogue.”

For more information about the film lineup and ticket information, please log on to www.engendered.org.

About Engendered:
Engendered is a non-profit, trans-national arts and human rights organization focused on exploring the complex realities of gender and sexuality in the South Asian Diaspora. Based in New York, Engendered presents an annual four-part festival that brings together the best in contemporary South Asian performance, music, visual arts, and cinema. Both a political and aesthetic festival, Engendered uses the medium of arts and culture to create change and promote social justice by initiating public dialogue around women’s issues, gender inequity, sexual orientation, and minority and health rights. For more information about the organization, please visit www.engendered.org.

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