Look Out For the South Asian Tang at ReelWorld Film Festival 2004
ReelWorld Line-up

Every year a zesty portion of South Asian talent makes it presence felt at the ReelWorld Film Festival. With cultural diversity at its roots, the film and video festival brings an interesting mix of raw and seasoned talent. The fourth annual edition of ReelWorld brags of a collective of 13 South Asian films. This includes 4 feature films amongst which one is a Gala presentation; 2 documentaries and 7 short films. The festival runs from March 31- April 4, 2004 at Silvercity Empress Walk on Yonge Street.

South Asian Highlights at ReelWorld 2004:

Jogger's Park - Friday, April 2, 6:30 p.m.
Subhash Ghai's 'Joggers Park' is the story of a retired judge who chances upon Jenny, a bubbly, exuberant part-time model/ event manager working at a luxury hotel. Jogger's Park is a great place for people to take a stroll and connect. Jenny (Perizaad Zorabian) is in awe of Judge Chatterjee (Victor Bannerjee) and immediately tries to befriend him, however the judge is least inclined towards her. It isn't long before her charm starts having an influence leading a reputable family man to disarray.

Raghu Romeo - Saturday, April 3, 9 p.m.
Directed by Rajat Kapoor, 'Raghu Romeo' is the story of a man obsessed with television so much so that reality collides with fantasy. The film is a gala presentation at ReelWorld. Vijay Raaz of Monsoon Wedding fame plays the lead in the film. His life seems to revolve around an Indian soap opera and he has imaginary conversations with the characters and a crush on one of its stars. Raghu works in a bar where a dancer is in love with him and a gangster in turn is in love with her. The love triangle gets further complicated as Raghu's object of fascination turns out to be contrary to his belief.

Aabar Arnenye (In the Forest Again) - Sunday, April 4, 2:30 p.m.
Goutam Ghose's Bengali film 'Aabar Arnenye' ('In The Forest Again') traces the story of of Satyajit Ray's 1969 classic, 'Days And Nights In The Forest'.The characters in the film return to Palamu Forest in north Bengal in search for their youth, re-tracing fond memories. The film stars Tabu, Sharmila Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee and brings alive compelling performances. The four young men from Satyajit Ray's film are now much older and wealthier and are accompanied by their wives and children. As the journey in the forest continues the film makes interesting observations and becomes a deeper exploration of the self.

Indian Fish in American Waters - Sunday, April 4, 9:00 p.m.
Manish Gupta's 'Indian Fish in American Waters' explores the romantic connection between Naveen (Raj Vesudeva) and Megha (Shweta Malhotra) despite dissimilarities in their cultural, social and emotional perspectives. The film utilizes the opposites attract formula and portrays the immigrant experience with some humorous story telling. Both protagonists represent valuable life lessons in each other's lives.

Shorts & Docs:

Hina Khan's documentary short Jihad: Struggling With Islam chronicles the intensely personal journey of the filmmaker as she explores her faith in a post-9/11 world..

Director Ben Anthony's Al-Jazeera Exclusive is a timely retrospective about the 2003 American invasion of Iraq and the way it was covered by the media seen from the Arab perspective.

Local talent from Toronto makes its presence felt at the festival with quite a few short presentations like Jazz Virk's Broken, Mohit Rajhans' Code and Rohan Bader's Peace TV. Other shorts include, Sharat Raju's American Made, Sugith Varughese's Tongue Tied, Prem Sooriyakumar's Mourning Breakfast, Pranaya Chulet's ...And The Carpet Wrapped The Globe and Keshni Kashyap's Hole.

For complete movie schedule, please visit the festival website at www.reelworld.ca.

Individual tickets are available at the Guest Services Booth Famous Players SilverCity at Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge Street from March 31-April 4 or by calling 416.923.9232 or online at www.reelworld.ca/tickets.