November 16th 2017 Surrey City Hall
OPENING NIGHT GALA
Doors open: 07.00pm
Walk the red carpet with one of the finest actress in Bollywood “Ms. Huma Qureshi”, indulge in some distinctly Indian delicacies and experience a night to remember as you get set for a week of incredible screen entertainment. Come and celebrate International, Canadian films and music with us at the opening night for Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival taking place at the City of Surrey. The Opening Night Celebration is “THE” event to be seen at as we kick off Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival with unforgettable entertainment.
It is Canada’s 150th Birthday and we are taking the opportunity to celebrate and present “Iconic Leaders of the Decade” and “Women of the Decade” awards to our leaders in the community presented by the All Ladies League, Delhi.
This event is open to “Opening Night Celebration” Ticket Holders exclusively. Please purchase tickets online
Single Tickets: $128
Table for 10: $1280
PREVIOUS FESTIVALS
MOVIES
November 17th 2017 Surrey City Hall
Cocktail Party and Opening Night Film
Doors Open: 06.30pm
Movies Time: 07.30pm
NO WAY TO RETURN
(Short Film)
Director: Sonu Bajwa
Producer: Happy Joshi
Running Time: 4.21 minutes
A new Punjabi Inspirational short movie “No Way To Return” is about those guys who spoil their life in addiction of DRUGS
ACTOR IN LAW
(Feature Film)
Director: Nabeel Qureshi
Running Time: 94 minutes
Estranged from his attorney father, an aspiring actor poses as a lawyer who becomes a celebrity for taking on difficult cases.
Tickets : $28
November 18, 2017 SFU Surrey
Feature Movie Segment
Time: 02:00pm to 03:30pm
THE CINEMA TRAVELLERS
(Feature Film)
Director and Written by : Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya
Running Time: 82 minutes
Cannes prize-winning The Cinema Travellers is a journey with the traveling cinemas of India, which bring the wonder of the movies to faraway villages annually. The Cinema Travellers accompanies a shrewd exhibitor, a benevolent showman and a maverick projector mechanic who bear a beautiful burden – to keep the last traveling cinemas of the world running.
Tickets : $15
Short and Documentary Segment
Pre Reception: 03.45pm to 04.30pm
Time: 04.30 to 05.30pm
HELP WANTED
(Short Film)
Director/Writer :Jacquile Kambo
Running Time: 15:11 minutes
Pavan, a Punjabi teenager, gets involved in his local gang in order to support his fragmented family when his unemployed and abusive father fails to do so. When a drug deal goes wrong and tensions run high with his two-faced gang leader, Pavan must make a tough decision that could ultimately threaten his life.
MAPLE
(Documentary)Canadian Premier
Director:Jasleen Kaur
Running Time: 47 minutes
A documentary profiling the life and loss of Maple Batalia, 19 year old health sciences student, aspiring actress and model. #WeAreAllMaple.
Tickets : $15
Feature Movie Segment
Time: 06.15pm to 07.30pm
JUGAAD
(Feature Film)
Director/Writer;Susannah Heath-Eves
Running Time: 75 minutes
Meet a transgender sex-ed teacher, a knife-fighting mafioso, and go fishing in the Arabian Sea. Jugaad is a cinematic mosaic of stories about people from different communities in Mumbai, one of the most disparate, diverse and densely populated cities on Earth. The word “jugaad” means creative problem solving. It’s the connective tissue of the city and is at the crux of survival in the world today.
November 18th 2017 Surrey City Hall
Short Movies Segment
Time: 12.00 pm to 01.15pm
BOUT US
(Music Video)
Director: A Slam
Running Time: 04.01 minutes
“Bout Us”; is a real-life & “Romeo and Juliet”; story that highlights cultural stigmas in Canada. Thesong is written about the true story of desiFEST founder & GPS co-founder, SatsB, and his wife Michelle. SatsB.
LIFE FU*K$
(Short Film)
Director: Kabir Sadanand
Running Time: 15.36 minutes
Life Fu*k$ is a dark comedy, that peeps into the life of a once successful actor Karan. He had everything going for him until the dream of creating a masterpiece over took his life. The only stabilizing part of his life “Kiara” his girlfriend was now walking away too.
SEEING CLEARLY
(Short Film)
Director/ Writer: Manu Jain
Running Time: 06.55 minutes
A narrative exploring an individual’s psychological journey in losing his vision, and the effects it has both upon himself and others around him.
SANYOG
(Short Film)
Director/Writer: Aly Rana
Running Time: 19.18 minutes
Late night at a chawl in central Mumbai, a prostitute finds the courage to leave her sterile and meaningless life. A hostage girl escapes her kidnappers, causing a shootout between some gangsters. And a paralysed war veteran tries to walk after years of a sedentary lifestyle, All happening next door to each other in a singular uninterrupted shot.
LIGHT SIGHT
(Short Film)
Director: Seyed M. Tabatabaei
Running Time: 07.34 minutes
M.E., the imprisoned character in a room is attracted to a hanging light and tries to catch it. But the room itself becomes an obstacle on his way.
KHUJLI
(Short Film)
Director/ Writer: Sonam Nair
Running Time: 15.16 minutes
What happens when Girdharilal and Roopmati decide to scratch a 25-year-old itch? Secret desires come out, hidden fantasies are revealed, long-lost fire is rekindled, and things can’t help but get a little…kinky.
Short and Documentary Segment
Pre Reception: 01.15pm to 02.00pm
Time: 02:00 pm to 03.30pm
JIGDEN
(Short Film)
Director: Shenpenn Khymsar
Running Time: 24.00 minutes
Jigden is the first Tibetan gangster film ever made and this is the story of Singhi (Lion in Tibetan) a Gang leader in Jackson Heights, Queens NY. Singhi wants to quit the crime world and lead a respectable life with his two younger brothers.
LIVING ON THE EDGE
(Documentary)
Director/Produceer/Writer: Opender Chanana
Running Time: 50 minutes
Living on the Edge is a startling revelation about the abysmal working conditions in Bollywood which is now laying claim to be global giant and churning out thousands of hours of content. In nutshell human rights are violated on sets and locations with impunity
Feature Film Segment
Pre Reception: 06.00pm to 06.45pm
Time: 06.45 pm to 08.35pm
THE VALLEY
(Feature Film)
Director/Writer: Saila Kariat
Running Time: 95 minutes
The Valley is the story of an immigrant entrepreneur Neal Kumar and his family, who live in the technologically driven culture that is Silicon Valley. His affluent life appears idyllic from the exterior, however, when his daughter Maya tragically commits suicide, the fractured nature of his interior life becomes apparent to himself and those around him. Neal’s quest to find out the truth propels him on an increasingly frantic journey that brings him to the brink of disaster.
November 19th 2017 Surrey City Hall
Short Movies Segment
Time: 11.30 am to 12.45 pm
WHITE HOUSE
(Short Film)
Director: Arastoo Mafakheri
Running Time: 20.00 minutes
The short story about young religious man who wants to start his job as a priest.
UNDER AN UMBRELLA WE MET
(Short Film)
Director: Salima Stanley
Running Time: 05.48 minutes
Meet Saidur, a Bangladeshi, Muslim rickshaw driver. Saidur, who pedals his rickshaw rain or shine through the streets of Dhaka, shares his views about money, religion and life.
ZUBAAN
(Short Film)
Director: Ojaswwee Sharma
Running Time: 24.19 minutes
As a mute shop assistant accidentally witnesses a murder. Would he go report the crime or keep to himself and fight his conscious given that there is no clear witness protection policy in place in India.
KHEER
(Short Film)
Director:Surya Balakrishnan
Running Time: 06.44 minutes
As we age, life can get lonelier and the definition of relationships, mature. ‘Kheer’ is a delightful serving of love and companionship where secrets get accidentally spilt and shared.
KASHMIR
(Short Film)
Director/Writer:Sugandha Garg
Running Time: 10.25 minutes
Kashmir is the story of Vicky, who is dealing with the sudden loss of his father by retreating into the disjointed memory scape of his own mind.
Short and Documentary Segment
Pre Reception: 12.45pm to 01.30pm
Time: 01:30 pm to 02.45pm
LUNCH TIME
(Short Film)
Director/Writer:Alireza Ghasemi
Running Time: 15.00 minutes
A 16-year-old girl deals with the responsibility and harsh bureaucracy of having to identify the body of her mother.
THE SNAKE CHARMER
(Documentary)
Director/Writer:NinaMaria Paschalidou
Running Time: 58 minutes
The documentary follows Amir Khan on a journey through India’s TV and Bollywood film industry, from the set of ‘Satyamev Jayate’, to the filming of his new Bollywood blockbuster ‘Dangal’, the biopic of a father who encourages his young daughters to take up wrestling and make their own choices in life.
Short and Web Series Segment
Pre Reception: 2.45 pm to 3.30pm
Time: 3.30pm to 5.15pm
RANVIR
(Short Film)
Director/Writer:Amit Dhuga
Running Time: 11.25 minutes
RANVIR is a drama about a young Indo-Canadian man who must enter the racist, white supremacist underworld in order to save a loved one.
WELCOME TO SURREY
(Full Web Series)
Director/Writer:Kashif Pasta
Running Time: 58 minutes
When Suneet graduates medical school, she’s sent to work in the one place she’s trying to avoid: back home to the suburban town of Surrey, Canada.
Welcome to Surrey is about going home, growing up, and if it’s possible to do both at the same time.
Short and Documentary Segment
Pre Reception: 05.15pm to 06.00pm
Time: 06:00 pm to 07.45pm
SISAK
(Short Film)
Director/Producer/Writer: Faraz Ansari
Running Time: 15.00 minutes
A first-of- its-kind silent LGBTQ film in India, Sisak makes waves before the visuals of this short hit the shore. A return to the unspoken, unsaid and universal expressions of love, on the path of subtlety and humanity, Sisak is the result of the belief that if love knows no bounds, it need not be bound with words, either.
ABU
(Documentary)
Director/Writer:Arshad Khan
Running Time: 72 minutes
Arshad always knew he was different. Soon after emigrating from Pakistan to Canada with his family, Arshad realized he was gay.Khan shares a deeply personal story of self-discovery and familial reconciliation, as he explores the challenges that can threaten the bonds between children and their parents.
WORK SHOPS
November 16th 2017
Talk with Huma Qureshi
Time: 04.00pm to 05.00pm
Conversation with one of the leading Actress in Bollywood where she speaks about her work in the Indian Cinema, provides some insider tips and tricks and career advice for local talent. Also learn about her experience working on the sets of Viceroy’s House; her International debut.
November 18, 2017 Surrey City Hall
Get to know your Casting Director with Bim Narine
Time: 12.00pm to 1.00pm
Wonder how casting directors are going to find you?You go to castings and wait two hours for your five minutes in the room with them. But nothing happens. What more can you do?
Come and learn with one of the best casting directors in town from
Falcon and Narine Casting, Bim Narine
VISAFF Presents Practise your Pitch for Crazy8s TOP 40
Time: 02.00pm to 03.30pm
This pitch session is for applicants who will be pitching to be the top 40 applicants for crazy8s. Here is your chance to be in front of 5 industry experts as Judges who will be asking you the right questions to help you improve your chance to WIN your pitch.
November 19th 2017 Surrey City Hall
Conversation with Agam Darshi
Time: 02.00pm to 3.00pm
Talk with Agam Darshi: Co- Founder of Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival.
Industry talks with filmmakers
Time: 03.00pm to 04.00pm
Listen to filmmaker stories from all across on how they worked with people to create professional movies.