3RD I SAN FRANCISCO SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
November 16 - 18, 2007

From art-house classics to documentary films, from innovative and experimental visions to next-level Bollywood: 3rd I is committed to promoting diverse images of South Asians through independent film. Now in its fifth year, 3rd I is pleased to announce in-person appearances by featured filmmakers Manish Acharya (Loins of Punjab Presents), Rituparno Ghosh (Dosar) and Meena Nanji (View From A Grain of Sand) at this year's festival. The 2007 festival opens on Friday, November 16th with a screening Ashim Ahluwahlia's documentary 'John and Jane - Toll Free' which examines the cultural & psychological impact of the "American dream" on six young call-center workers.

ABOUT RITUPARNO GHOSH

About our featured directors: Kolkata-born Rituparno Ghosh gained serious critical acclaim with his films Crossfire ('97), The Lady of the House ('99) and The Festival (2000), all of which screened at the SF International Film Festival. Widely considered the inheritor of Satyajit Ray, Ghosh excels in intimate scenes of conflict and revelation between characters, and he has secured a position in the pantheon of great Bengali filmmakers.

ABOUT MANISH ACHARYA

Manish Acharya is a graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and winner of Best Feature at the 65th First Run Film Festival in New York. Before his production days, he was the founder of a successful software company.

ABOUT MEENA NANJI

Acclaimed filmmaker Meena Nanji's films focus on diasporas of post-colonial peoples, and how migration affects their cultural norms. Nanji has been working in experimental & documentary film & video for the past 12 years and her films have been recognized by the Rockefeller Foundation, the NEA, Paul Robeson Fund, AFI and NAATA.

The 2007 festival opens on Friday, November 16th at the Victoria Theatre in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District. At 7:00pm, is a compilation of South Asian Shorts by local filmmakers and at 9:00pm is Ashim Ahluwahlia's surreal documentary 'John and Jane - Toll Free' which examines the cultural & psychological impact of the "American dream" on six young call-center workers.

On Saturday, November 17th 3rd I moves to the famed Castro Theatre. The program begins with an 11:00am screening of the 1957 Guru Dutt classic, Pyaasa (Eternal Thirst), an emotionally charged indictment of the materialism of our times. With richly textured cinematography, stirring music and nuanced performances, this is pure celluloid poetry.

At 2:00pm is Loins of Punjab Presents - Manish Acharya's sidesplitting look at a Desi singing contest in a New Jersey town. Think Monsoon Wedding meets Annie Hall, at a diner in Queens, for a masala omelet. Meet Manish Acharya in person after the screening. At 5:00pm, there's Rituparno Ghosh's Dosar (The Companion). A beautiful B&W film set in contemporary Calcutta, it traces the infidelities of three couples and is unabashed in its representation of sexuality in India. Rituparno Ghosh will be available for a post-screening Q&A.

We close the night at 8:30pm with Farhan Akhtar's Bollywood blockbuster Don, starring Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan, re-inventing the role that Amitabh Bachchan made famous in 1978. Stylized action sequences, dazzling dance numbers - this is Bollywood at its finest!

For the last day of the Festival, Sunday, November 18th, we move to yet another San Francisco landmark - the Roxie Theatre. At 12:00 noon, join us for View From a Grain of Sand, Meena Nanji's powerful exploration of culture, tradition and migration over the last thirty years, seen through the eyes of three Afghan women. Meet Meena Nanji in person after the screening. At 2.30pm, there's Unni (Another Story of an Indian Child) by Cannes award winner Murali Nair. This coming-of-age journey of four mischievous young friends from different social classes is the first of a trilogy, Life Is All About Friends.

Sri Lankan director Prasanna Jayakody's debut, Sankara, is at 4:30 pm. Official selection at the Rotterdam and London Festivals, this meditative film is about a Buddhist monk who finds a woman's hairpin while restoring a temple painting and sets him off on a reverie of worldly passion. The festival wraps at 7:00pm, with Anish Ahluwalia's Kya Tum Ho? (Are You There?). Part of a new wave of 'noir' films from India, it examines the underbelly of urban isolation in this cyber-age, through the intersecting online lives of three alienated individuals.

Shows are $9 at the Roxie and Victoria Theatres and $10 at the Castro; passes are $65 for the entire festival and $32 for all films at the Castro. A pass will get you into the VIP Guest Reception. For more information please visit the festival website at www.thirdi.org/festival or call (415) 835-4783.

FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Friday, November 16th, 2007 Victoria Theater, San Francisco
7:00 pm Local South Asian Shorts
9:00 pm John & Jane Toll-free

Saturday, November 17th, 2007 Castro Cinema, San Francisco
11:00 am Pyaasa (Eternal Thirst)
2:00 pm Loins of Punjab Presents
5:00 pm Dosar (The Companion)
8:30pm Don

Sunday, November 18th, 2007 Roxie Cinema, San Francisco
12:00 am View from a Grain of Sand
2:30 pm Unni (Life is All about Friends)
4:30 pm Sankara
7:00 pm Are You There? (Kya Tum Ho?)

For further details visit www.thirdi.org