Editor

 

 

 

Silk Screen is celebrating its 13th Annual 10-day Asian American Film Festival on September 22-30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year's festival will showcase 25 feature-length films and 10 short films from 13 countries, including India, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, South Korea, China, Pakistan, The Philippines, and Iran. This year, films will be screened at six venues in and around the Pittsburgh area: Harris Theater, Alumni Hall (University of Pittsburgh), Frick Fine Arts Auditorium (University of Pittsburgh), Regent Square Theatre, and Cranberry and Waterworks Cinemas.

To buy tickets and view the complete 2018 film schedule, please visit:

www.silkscreenfestival.org/2018-films/

 

 

2018 Festival Lineup

 

CHUMBAK- OPENING NIGHT FILM

2018 | India |104 Minutes | Drama/Coming of Age

Saturday, September 22 | 7:30 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Fifteen-year-old Mumbai resident Baalu dreams of escaping his wretched life as a busboy by starting a small business of his own. Having exhausted all means, a desperate and broke Baalu and his street-smart friend Dhananjay (a.k.a Disco) make a plan to put together the money with the only way they can think of - the infamous “Nigerian SMS Scam.” However of the hundreds expected to respond to his text messages, none but one man falls for it: the intellectually disabled, poor villager Prasanna. Baalu becomes caught between his guilt of stealing from this marginalized man and his own drive to fulfill his ambitions, and he finds that he must reexamine his life choices and decide what kind of man he wants to become. Anchored by the sensitive performances from Swanand Kirkire and Sahil Jadhav, Chumbak relies on its simple concept and brilliant execution to explore what it means to be human in the modern world.

 

DIRECTOR: Sandeep Modi

CAST: Sahil Jadhav, Swanand Kirkire, Sangram Desai

LANGUAGE: Marathi with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: New York Indian Film Festival, Dallas/Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival

 

DISAPPEARANCE - CENTERPIECE

2017 | Iran and Qatar | 88 Minutes | Drama

Thursday, September 27 | 7:00 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Disappearance follows a young couple, Sara and Hamed, who are caught between tradition and modernity. After Sara is mysteriously injured following an ambiguous, intimate event, she and Hamed struggle to find her the life-saving care she desperately needs. Numerous hospitals turn Sara away because she has no father or husband with her to approve of her treatment. Caught at the crossroads of personal morals and the ethics of the community as they face their uncertain future, Sara and Hamed endure a struggle that couples around the world are still forced to confront. The heart-breaking, real-world struggle shown in Disappearance is augmented by its chilling, claustrophobic settings and the stellar acting from newcomer Sadaf Asgari.

 

DIRECTOR: Ali Asgari

CAST: Sadaf Asgari, Amir Reza Ranjbaran

LANGUAGE: Persian with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival

 

 

TAKE OFF - CLOSING FILM

2017 | India | 139 Minutes | Thriller/Drama

Sunday, September 30 | 7:00 PM Alumni Hall Auditorium

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Nurse Sameera, newly divorced mother of 8-year-old Ibru, makes the difficult decision to leave her son behind and take up a job in war-torn Iraq.  Very quickly, Sameera remarries her colleague Shahid and unexpectedly discovers herself pregnant.  When her ex-husband sends Ibru to live with her, Sameera finds herself having to find a way to explain the divorce, remarriage, and pregnancy in the midst of keeping her loved ones safe amid the bullets and bombs.  This thriller tests the bond of family in an environment that wants to tear Sameera, Shahid, and Ibru apart.

 

DIRECTOR: Mahesh Narayan

CAST: Parvathy, Fahad Fazil, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Prakash Belawadi

LANGUAGE: Malayalam with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: International Film Festival of India 2017 (Best Actress Award), New York Indian Film Festival 2018

 

 

 

 

ABU

2017 | Canada/ Pakistan/Japan/Saudi Arabia/Thailand| 80 Minutes | Documentary

Sunday, September 23 | 8:00 PM Regent Square Theatre

Saturday, September 29 | 7:00 PM Harris Theater

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Abu is a journey to the center of a fragmented family while they grapple with religion, sexuality, colonialism and migration. Through a tapestry of narratives composed of family footage, observation and classic Bollywood films, gay-identifying Pakistani-Muslim filmmaker Arshad Khan takes viewers through the tense relationships between family and fate, conservatism and liberalism and modernity and familiarity.  

 

DIRECTOR: Arshad Khan

CAST: Arshad Khan, Asma Mahmood, Arjumand Bano

LANGUAGE: English, Urdu, and Punjabi with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Sexual thematic content

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: NYIFF New York Indian Film Festival 2018 (Best Documentary), IndieMeme Austin Film Festival 2018 (Best Feature), Reelout Film Festival 2018 (Audience Award)

 

ALIFU THE PRINCE/SS

2017 | Taiwan | 91 Minutes | Drama

Monday, September 24 | 7:00 PM Regent Theater

Friday, September 28 | 8:30 PM Frick Fine Arts

 

SYNOPSIS: Alifu is a Taiwanese-indigenous, twenty-something man who works at a salon in the city. He has a dream – to fully transition into a woman. However, as an only “son” he is under pressure to succeed his father as chief of the tribe. Peizhan, a lesbian and Alifu’s roommate and colleague, is always on his side. However, she gradually finds out her feelings toward Alifu are not so platonic after all. Alifu the Prince/ss treats our heroes as human beings yet still captures the struggles of the LGBT community with eloquence and poise.

 

DIRECTOR: Yu Lin Wang

CAST: Utjon Tjakivalid, Zhao Yilan, Wu Pengfeng, Chen Zhusheng, Zheng Renshuo
LANGUAGE: Taiwanese and Mandarin with English subtitles
CONTENT ADVISORY: Sexual content, language
 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Tokyo International Film Festival of Japan, Wisconsin Film Festival, Queergestreift Shivers, Chinese Visual Festival, Asian Film Festival of Italy

AVA

2017 | Canada and Iran | 103 Minutes | Drama/Thriller

Wednesday, September 26 | 6:30 PM Harris Theater

Saturday, September 29 | 7:00 PM Frick Fine Arts

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Sadaf Foroughi's semi-autobiographical film debut focuses on teenager Ava's coming of age in a strict, traditional society and an even more strict, traditional household.  After committing an act of rebellion, Ava must navigate her relationship with her parents, peers and teachers as her rage grows against both the people in her life and social restrictions in Iran.  Dark and riveting, Ava explores the youths’ need to be heard and understood.

 

DIRECTOR: Sadaf Foroughi

CAST: Mahour Jabbari, Bahar Nouhian, Leili Rashidi, Vahid Aghapour

LANGUAGE: Persian with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Brief Scenes of Violence, self harm

 

Festivals and Awards: 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, 2018 Canadian Screen Awards (Winner of Best First Feature)

 

BITTER MELON

2018 | USA | 97 Minutes | Dark Comedy

Tuesday, September 25 | 8:30 PM Waterworks Cinemas

Wednesday, September 26 | 8:30 PM Cranberry Cinemas

 

SYNOPSIS: This home-for-the-holidays dark comedy is the story of gay Filipino-American Declan who returns to his San Francisco childhood home for Christmas where his brother Troy lives with their mother, his wife and daughter, ruling the house with fear and intimidation, going so far as physically abusing his wife. During the holiday vacation, Declan fantasizes about murdering his abusive brother, but, as tension grows, will it remain only a fantasy?  H.P. Mendoza handles both themes of domestic abuse and homosexuality with deft assuredness, making the audience see gay Declan and abusive Troy as complex characters with real motivations.

 

DIRECTOR: H.P. Mendoza

CAST: Jon Norman Schneider, Patrick Epino, Theresa Navarro, Brian Rivera, L.A Renigen, Josephine de Jesus, Sohr Picart, Anna Ishida

LANGUAGE: English

CONTENT ADVISORY: Explicit sexual content, violence

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: LA Outfest 2018, CAAMFest 2018

 

COLOURS OF LIFE

2017 | India | 117 Minutes | Drama

Sunday, September 23 | 4:00 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

SYNOPSIS: Colours of Life tells the story of a single working mother, Chandrima, and her adult daughter Esha as they grow apart while living under the same roof. Esha’s suicide attempt forces both mother and daughter to confront the changes in their relationship over the past few years.  As Chandrima starts to understand Esha’s perspective and discover a side of her daughter she never knew, Esha, in turn comes to realize that Chandrima was always her closest friend.

 

DIRECTOR: Prakash Bharadwaj

CAST: Rituparna Sengupta, Kaushik Sen, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Payel Roy

LANGUAGE: English and Bengali with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Suicide Attempt

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS:  IFFSA Toronto 2018

 

DAHA

2017 | Turkey | 115 Minutes | Drama

Wednesday, September 26 | 8:30 PM Harris Theater

Friday, September 28 | 9:00 PM Alumni Hall Auditorium

 

 

SYNOPSIS:  In Onur Saylak's debut feature, fourteen-year-old Gaza helps his domineering father smuggle refugees from war-torn countries to Europe, giving them temporary lodgings and scant food until they attempt the crossing. Gaza dreams of escaping this life, but can't help being drawn into a dark world of immorality, exploitation, and human suffering. Gritty and disturbing, Daha asks the question: can you avoid becoming a monster when you've been raised by one?  

 

DIRECTOR: Onur Saylak

CAST: Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Hayat Van Eck, Turgut Tuncalp Tankut Yildiz, Tuba Büyüküstün

LANGUAGE: Arabic and Turkish with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Rape/Violence/Language

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Valladolid International Film Festival, Film Fest Gent, Films from the South Festival, Stockholm Film Festival, Titanic International Filmpresence Festival

 

 

DYNAMITE GRAFFITI

2018 | Japan | 138 Minutes | Drama

Wednesday, September 26 | 8:30 PM Regent Square Theatre

Saturday, September 29 | 9:00 PM Frick Fine Arts

 

 

SYNOPSIS: In the 1980’s, Akira Suei achieved fame as the chief editor for several pornography magazines, although his reputation as a trendsetter was under constant scrutiny due to the magazines’ taboo material. The film follows Suei from a traumatic event in his youth (involving his mother, the next door neighbor, and a bundle of dynamite) to Tokyo, where he climbed the ladder from lowly graphic designer to the chief editor of his own magazine due to his aggressive, raw style which attracted a variety of talented people who helped bring about a revolution in the Japanese magazine industry.

 

DIRECTOR: Masanori Tominaga

CAST: Tasuku Emoto, Atsuko Maeda

LANGUAGE: Japanese with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Nudity and explicit sexual situations, violence

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: None

MARLINA THE MURDER IN FOUR ACTS

2017 | Indonesia, France, Malaysia, and Thailand | 93 Minutes | Revenge Thriller

Sunday, September 23 | 7:30 PM Frick Fine Arts

Saturday, September 29 | 8:45 PM Harris Theater

 

SYNOPSIS: In the deserted hills of an Indonesian island, Marlina, a young widow, is attacked and robbed of her cattle. To defend herself, she kills several men of the gang. Seeking justice, she goes on a journey of empowerment and redemption. But the road is long especially when the ghost of her headless victim begins to haunt her.  This gripping revenge thriller shows Marlina in a personified feminist rage like no other that will audiences talking about it for years to come.

 

DIRECTOR: Mouly Surya

CAST: Marsha Timothy, Dea Panendra, Yoga Pratama, Egi Fedly, Rita Matu Mona

LANGUAGE: Indonesian (dialect from Sumba) with English Subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Violence

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2017, Melbourne International Film Festival  2017, Toronto International Film Festival 2017, Contemporary World Cinema Section, Busan International Film Festival 2017

 

MAYURAKSHI

2017 | India | 100 Minutes | Drama

Sunday, September 23 | 6:15 PM Regent Square Theatre

Saturday, September 29 | 5:00 PM Frick Fine Arts

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Mayurakshi follows Aryanil, who has traveled from Chicago to Kolkata to meet with and care for his aging father, Sushobhan, who is in poor health.  With dementia phasing out his immediate past, Sushobhan tends to be silent, irritable, and fretful. The son, with his failed marriages behind him, faces life numbly and without hope. When Sushobhan starts asking for the mysterious Mayurakshi, Aryanil realizes he has more on his plate than he originally anticipated.  

 

DIRECTOR: Atanu Ghosh

CAST:  Soumitra Chatterjee, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Indrani Halder, Sudipta Chakraborty

LANGUAGE: Bengali with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: New York Indian Film Festival, International Film Festival Of South Asia, Bangalore International Film Festival

 

MISSING JOHNNY

2017 | Taiwan | 104 Minutes | Drama

Friday, September 28 | 6:30 PM Frick Fine Arts

Sunday, September 30 | 2:00 PM Alumni Hall Auditorium

 

STILL

 

SYNOPSIS: Following Hsu’s move to Taipei by herself, she starts receiving a series of wrong-number calls for the mysterious Johnny.  As her emotions stir, Hsu attempts to put Johnny’s life together piece by piece. Lee, her landlord’s son, becomes increasingly obsessed with Hsu and her new bird.  Feng--wandering foreman hired by Lee’s mother to renovate a site near her apartment--becomes overcome with paranoia when his car breaks down on the way to Lee’s. The three Taipei residents’ lives merge and intertwine due to Hsu’s lost bird, and the transient beauty from the exchange blooms into serendipity and awe.

 

DIRECTOR: Huang Xi

CAST: Rima Zeidan, Ko Yu-Lun, Huang Yuan

LANGUAGE: Mandarin with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Violence

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: 2017 Shanghai International Film Festival, 2017 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (New Talent Competition), 2018 Malaysia Golden Global Awards (Nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography)

 

MORI, THE ARTIST’S HABITAT

2018 | Japan | 99 Minutes | Drama

Sunday, September 23 | 5:00 PM Alumni Hall Auditorium

Saturday, September 29 | 3:00 PM Frick Fine Arts

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Painter Mori and his wife Hideko live surrounded by gardens and pastures away from the hustle and bustle of city life for their 52 years of marriage.  For the last 30 years, Mori has scarcely left his home, preferring to lay among the critters around his home, painting while Hideko attends to visitors.  But when developers decide to build a condominium next door, the small paradise the couple have created is at risk, so Mori and Hideko decide to take action to protect the garden that they cherish. Taking place in the more affable social atmosphere of the 1970’s, Mori, the Artist’s Habitat humorously depicts a summer-day-in-the-life of an elderly couple you’ll grow to love and root for.

 

DIRECTOR: Shuichi Okita

CAST: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kirin Kiki

LANGUAGE: Japanese with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: None

 

NUDE

2018 | India | 110 Minutes | Drama

Wednesday, September 26 | 6:15 PM Regent Square Theatre

Saturday, September 29 | 8:45 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

 

SYNOPSIS: After her husband abandons her and their 12 year old son for another woman, Yamuna is left with no choice but to move to Mumbai for survival. The job she finds is to be a nude model at an art school. She will do everything to fulfill her dream to help her son lead a successful life in future. But fearing the judgement of society, she keeps her profession a secret. This award-winning film captures the poignance of being a female and being a parent in a world where neither title earns its bearer respect.

 

DIRECTOR: Ravi Jadhav

CAST: Kalyani Mulay, Madan Deodhar, Shrikant Yadav, Neha Joshi, Chhaya Kadam, Om Bhutkar, Kishor Kadam, Naseeruddin Shah

LANGUAGE: Marathi with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Nudity

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: New York Indian Film Festival (Opening Film, Best Film, Best Actress)

 

THE RETURN

2018 | Denmark and South Korea | 85 Minutes | Drama/Hybrid

Sunday, September 23 | 5:30 PM Frick Fine Arts

Saturday, September 29 | 2:00 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Based on director Malene Choi's personal experience and on stories shared by adoptees Malene encountered in Seoul while shooting the film, The Return tells the story of two Danish-Korean adoptees returning for the first time to the country where they were born.  Intrigued by the spirit of their motherland and confronted with the personal stories of the fellow adoptees they meet in Seoul, Karoline and Thomas are hurled into an emotionally disorienting journey that forces them both to question their own identity and destiny.  Quirky, yet understated and touching, The Return asks us to consider the nature vs. nurture debate on a more personal level than ever before.

 

DIRECTOR: Malene Choi

CAST: Karoline Sofie Lee, Thomas Hawn, Seong In-Ja

LANGUAGE: Danish, English, and Korean with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: Language

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: International Film Festival of Rotterdam (Bright Feature Award), Goteborg Film Festival (FIPRESCI Award), Jeonju International Film Festival (Special Jury Prize)

 

SCAFFOLDING

2017 | Israel and Poland | 99 Minutes | Drama

Sunday, September 23 | 2:00 PM Regent Square Theatre

Thursday, September 27 | 8:00 PM Alumni Hall Auditorium

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Scaffolding depicts the coming of age of impulsive troublemaker Asher in his junior year of high school.  Essentially sweet and charming, but mostly controlled by his own inner rage, Asher feels pressure from both his strict father who sees him as the natural successor to the family’s scaffolding business and his gentle literature teacher Rami, the only person in his life who makes him believe he is capable of becoming more than a laborer.  Torn between this old school and new age masculinity, Asher has to take the ultimate test of maturity when sudden tragedy occurs.  

 

DIRECTOR: Motan Yair

CAST: Asher Lax, Ami Smolarchik, Yaacov Cohen, Keren Berger

LANGUAGE: Hebrew with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS:

Israeli Film Academy, (Best Supporting Actor)
Cannes Film Festival, (ACID)

Jerusalem Film Festival, Best Cinematography (Aaron Emanuel Award)

Singapore International Film Festival, (Asian Feature Film)

 

SMALLER AND SMALLER CIRCLES

2017 | Philippines | 111 Minutes | Crime

Friday, September 28 | 8:30 PM Regent Square Theatre

Saturday, September 29 | 6:30 PM Regent Square Theatre

SYNOPSIS: In this crime drama, we follow two priest-as-investigators who take on the mystery of a series of dead pre-teen boys turning up in a dumpsite.  When it started as just one nameless faceless boy from a poor community, no one cares enough to notice--no one except Father Gus Saenz, a forensic anthropologist and Jesuit.  Caught up in the case, Father Gus and his colleague Father Jerome have the help of the journalist Joanna Bonifacio as they investigate the murders through the cramped, urban landscape of Manila-leading them to confront the systematic corruption and collusion in the entire community.

 

DIRECTOR: Raya Martin

CAST: Nonie Buencamino, Sid Lucero, Carla Humphries, Bembol Roco

LANGUAGE: English and Filipino with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Busan International Film Festival, Udine Far East Film Festival, Festival Policier Liege

 

 

 

THE THIRD MURDER

2018 | Japan | 124 Minutes | Thriller

Thursday, September 27 | 9:00 PM Regent Square Theatre

Saturday, September 29 | 4:00 PM Harris Theater

 

STILL

 

DIRECTOR: Hirokazu Koreeda

CAST: Masaharu Fukuyama, Kôji Yakusho

LANGUAGE: Japanese with English subtitles

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Asian Film Awards 2017, Venice Film Festival 2017, Awards of the Japanese Academy 2018 (Best Film, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Director, Best Editing)

 

SYNOPSIS: Leading attorney Shigemori takes on the defence of murder-robbery suspect Misumi who served jail time for another murder 30 years ago. Shigemori's chances of winning the case seem low - his client freely admits his guilt, despite facing the death penalty if he is convicted. As he digs deeper into the case, as he hears the testimonies of the victim's family and Misumi himself, the once confident Shigemori begins to doubt whether his client is the murderer after all.

 

TO LET

2017 | India | 99 Minutes | Drama

Saturday, September 29 | 2:00 PM Harris Theater

Sunday, September 30 | 4:15 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

STILL

SYNOPSIS: A young family faces sudden eviction without reason after five years in their Chennai rental.  Thus begins the search for a new home as Ilango, Amutha, and five-year-old Sidhu live out their last days in their previous home. Struggling to find a new home under budget in the hustle of the city with its irrationally rising costs and narrow-minded, religious and caste-oriented house owners, Ilango is distraught over how to balance his long-pending dreams of a film career with providing security for his family. To Let explores the economic and cultural politics of house-hunting and its effect on families.

 

DIRECTOR: Chezhiyan Ra

CAST: Santhosh Sreeram, Amutha, Dharun

LANGUAGE: Tamil with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: none

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: National Film Awards, India (Best Tamil Film)

 

TOYS & PETS

2017 | China | 98 Minutes | Animation

Saturday, September 29 | 10:00 AM Waterworks Cinemas

Sunday, September 30 | 10:00 AM Cranberry Cinemas

 

STILL

 

SYNOPSIS: Nathan is one of a line of little toy porcelain figures that change colors in contact with water. However, for some reason, his color do not change anymore, even though he was made by the Toy Master. One day, Nathan meets Timebot, a little robot. He decides to join him on an adventure. Along the way he will be helped by many different pets to find out why he cannot change color, and how to recover the ability. This animated children’s comedy, reminiscent of Toy Story, explores Chinese culture in a fun, engaging way through tea and toys.

 

DIRECTOR: Gary Wang

LANGUAGE: English

CONTENT ADVISORY: None

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2017 (out of competition), 6th Brisasia Cultural Festival, "Best Animation" at Phoenix Festival (Melbourne)

 

VILLAGE ROCKSTARS

2017 | India | 87 Minutes | Coming of Age

Tuesday, September 25 | 6:30 PM Waterworks Cinemas

Wednesday, September 26 | 6:30 PM Cranberry Cinemas

 

SYNOPSIS: In a small village in northeast India, 10-year-old Dhunu dreams of having her own rock band. Her vibrant spirit, imagination and self-assurance stand out in a world where girls are expected to be timid and submissive. With her gang of boys and the support of her widowed mother, Dhunu faces the struggles of her daily life and hopes for the day she can finally play on a real guitar.  An evergreen subject, young girls pursuing their dreams is approached in a new, touching way in Village Rockstars.

 

DIRECTOR: Rima Das

CAST: Bhanita Das, Basanti Das, Boloram Das, Rinku Das, Bishnu Kalita, Manabendra Das, Bhaskar Das

LANGUAGE: Assamese with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: None

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: Toronto International Film Festival 2017, Mumbai Film Festival 2017 (Golden Gateway Award), Cannes Festival 2017, National Film Awards, India (Best Film), Mumbai Film Festival (Best Film)

 

WAJIB

2017 | Palestine, France, Germany, Colombia, Norway, Qatar and UAE | 96 Minutes | Drama

Sunday, September 23 | 7:00 PM Alumni Hall Auditorium

Friday, September 28 | 6:30 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

 

SYNOPSIS: Divorced father Abu Shadi has accepted that he will be living alone once his daughter’s upcoming wedding takes place.  In the meantime, Shadi, his architect son, arrives from Rome after years abroad to help his father in hand-delivering the wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom.  In this tense, yet quirky take on the relationship of an estranged father and son, Wajib challenges the fragility and differences in lifestyles between countries and generations.

 

DIRECTOR: Annemarie Jacir

CAST: Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Tarik Kopty
LANGUAGE: Arabic with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY:

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: MedFilm Festival in Rome 2017 (Special Jury Award), Dubai International Film Festival 2017 (Best Muhr Fiction Feature, Best Actors), Kerala International Film Festival India 2017 (Best Film), Cinetopia Film Festival (Director’s award)
 

WRATH OF SILENCE

2017 | China | 120 Minutes | Crime/Suspense

Tuesday, September 25 | 6:30 PM  Regent Square Theatre

Sunday, September 30 | 2:00 PM Regent Square Theatre

 

 

SYNOPSIS: On a chilly winter's day in Northern China, a shepherd boy roams the mountains with his herd. He walks by a slope and gazes down into the shallow creek beneath him. Two days later, miner Zhang Baomin hurries back to his home - his son has disappeared in the mountains. Three days later, lawyer Xu Wenjie's daughter disappears as well. He picks up the phone and calls the only suspect possible. Among the mountains and the wilderness, people lose themselves in a no man's land in search of their blood in this award-winning film that keeps audiences at the edge of their seats.

 

DIRECTOR: Xin Yukun

CAST: Song Yang, Jiang Wu, Yuan Wenkang, Tan Zhuo, Yi Tiankai, Wang Zichen

LANGUAGE: Mandarin with English subtitles

CONTENT ADVISORY: NR

 

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS: 11th FIRST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL XINING (Closing Film), 2nd International Film Festival and Awards (Best Actor)

 

SHORT FILM PRESENTATION: CHINA

Sunday, September 23 | 3:00 PM Frick Fine Arts

 

The Chinese shorts presentation will show a myriad of films from emerging Chinese filmmakers, including a story about

 

CHICKEN FLY

China | 14 Minutes

 

DIRECTOR: Luo Yunpeng

LANGUAGE: Chinese with English subtitles

SYNOPSIS: Six-year-old Xiao Duo, and proud owner of a little chick, lives with her grandfather in a remote village.  When she sees her grandfather killing a chicken to serve as their supper, she is determined to save her little chick from being killed as well.  With the full stimulation of her imagination, she does her best to help the chick fly away.

 

LONELY

China | 28 Minutes

 

DIRECTOR: Zhang Heng

LANGUAGE: Chinese with English subtitles

SYNOPSIS: He Yun, a migrant filmmaker, eagerly searches for a girlfriend through WeChat.  He Yun goes out with Xiao Jing only to discover she has been his next door neighbor the entire time.  These two lonely souls grow closer until an event in Xiao Jing’s life threatens their relationship.

 

MATERNAL LOVE

China | 26 Minutes

 

PRODUCER: Lin Ji  

LANGUAGE: Chinese with English subtitles

SYNOPSIS: A mother, son, and daughter-in-law live together in a small apartment with little privacy.  The mother clearly hears when the young couple make a phone call about wanting their own place and decides to move out, but this move is harder on the mother than the couple, or the mother, have anticipated.

 

NAUGHTY BOYS

China | 18 Minutes

 

DIRECTOR: Li Jia

LANGUAGE: Chinese with English subtitles

SYNOPSIS: Mario, returning to his grandfather’s village home, steals his grandfather’s firecracker to exchange for a slingshot from his friends Locust and Little Fatty.  When Little Fatty uses the firecracker to explode a bird’s nest, passerby Old Sun tries to stop him.  The friends try to exact revenge on Old Sun, but as this revenge grows more and more extreme, Mario must decide if this is the person he wants to be.

 

LOST N LOVE

China | 20 Minutes

 

SHORT FILM PRESENTATION: INDIA

Tuesday, September 25 | 8:30 PM Regent Square Theatre

Friday, September 28 | 6:30 PM Alumni Hall Auditorium

 

STILL

 

COUNTERFEIT KUNKOO

2018 | India | 15 Minutes | Narrative Fiction

 

DIRECTOR: Reema Sengupta

LANGUAGE: Hindi with English subtitles

SYNOPSIS: Though Smita would make an ideal tenant for any landlord, Mumbai’s strange prerequisite holds Smita back from finding an apartment to live in.  This intimate perspective on the “ideal Indian female” shows discrimination against unmarried women in Mumbai is alive and well and explores the idiosyncrasies that accompany this misogyny.

 

HUMMING BIRD----WAITING FOR AN EMAIL BACK--emailed again 8/7

 

JAAN JIGAR----WAITING FOR AN EMAIL BACK--emailed again 8/7

 

MAACHER JHOL

2017 | India | 12 Minutes | Drama

 

DIRECTOR: Abhishek Verma

LANGUAGE: Hindi with English subtitles

SYNOPSIS: When 28-year-old Lalit decides to come out to his parents, he decides to make the traditional dish Maacher Jhol, or fish curry, and serve it to his parents before he makes his big announcement.  In a society where most LGBT people stay in the closet their entire lives, Lalit’s story pivots around the dish and the metaphor of his parents loving the dish as they accept this new information about their son.

 

MANDI---WILL EMAIL ME 8/2--emailed again 8/7

 

SOUND PROOF

2018 | India | 30 Minutes | Mystery/Allegory

 

DIRECTOR: Aditya Kelgaonkar

LANGUAGE: Hindi with English subtitles

SYNOPSIS: A young divorced woman, Sana, rents an apartment in Mumbai hoping for a new independent life, but instead she finds herself caught in a maze of peculiar occurrences. Her attempts to unearth the mystery makes her run into a society that has insulated itself--a society that's become rigid with fear by serving the powerful.

 

 

To buy tickets and view the complete 2018 film schedule, please visit:

www.silkscreenfestival.org/2018-film-listings/