An Opening of Courage

Last night the 5th ISAFF opened with a bang! An energetic buzz rang in the lobby of the Broadway Performance Hall and the hall itself filled to 70% of its capacity. Archana Kumar, Kathak dancer and choreographer returned to Seattle to present a riveting piece specially crafted for ISAFF, dancing to the fusion music of Seattle-based Indian/Afro-Cuban band Anjuman.

The opening night screening consisted of two shorts – 24 Frames in a Day and Milind Soman Made Me Gay, and the Seattle premier of the feature – A World Unseen. Filmmakers of both shorts, Sonali Gulati and Harjant Gill respectively, made it all the way across the country. Lead actress of the feature Sheetal Sheth also graced the occasion, introducing the film to the audience.

Seeing the three films together made for an impactful experience. When issues of sexuality are overlaid with race, ethnicity, cultural biases, economics, politics of immigration … a powerful matrix is formed, heightening the experience and understanding of the issues. I was so violently struck by the line in the feature film that suggested, that it is unnatural for blacks and whites to be mixed in marriages, that I choked up. This happened only 50 years ago, and apartheid only ended in the 90s. Can you believe that?

It was also great to witness that Tasveer has successfully cultivated an evolving relationship with filmmakers and their work. Sonali has a historic association with ISAFF – every year a film of hers has been screened, and Tasveer’s first ever film screening back in 2002 was of her film Sum Total. Sheetal’s previous film Indian Cowboy was the closing night film for the first ISAFF, to which audience response was huge. As Sonali told the audience, “I have showed my films in hundreds of festivals across the world, but coming to ISAFF feels like coming home.”

The post-film discussion was rich. People asked Harjant, Sonali and Sheetal many good questions. One audience member asked, “What educative lesson would each of you like people to take away from your film, and inspired to learn more about?” Another person spoke up, identifying herself as coming from a very conservative Sikh family, and said that in the end all the films were about courage. “This gives me courage and inspiration to deal with the ongoing issues in my life.”

Indeed, ISAFF (re)presents courage. Do make it to another bold line-up tonight, including My Daughter the Terrorist and other films.

See http://isaff.tasveer.org/2008/schedule.php for details on schedule.