We are very pleased to announce that Kurt Engfehr has agreed to be an advisor on the film. Kurt was co-producer and editor on both Bowling For Columbine and Fahrenheit 911. Not only did those two films win an Oscar and a Golden Palm, but Kurt’s editing work on Columbine also earned him the American Cinema Editors’ Eddie award. His support and advice means a lot to us. His critical eye will help us keep Hooch And Hamlet In Chharanagar clear, honest, and engaging.

Almost Half Way There!

We’ve raised $6,816 so far! Thank you everyone. That puts us about a grand shy of the half way mark as we move towards our $15,000 budget. If you haven’t given yet, we’ve made it even easier to donate. You can now make a secure, tax-deductible, donation with your credit card online! ($20 min.)

Technorati Tags: dnt, Film, hooch and hamlet, India

Sonia Faleiro of Tehelka has written a very good essay on Chharanagar, where we are quoted and our film project gets a plug! You can read the article on her blog. If you get hold of the print edition, the lead photo is by Kerim.

Tarun Jain has written an article for India Together on Budhan Theatre and our film project, Hooch and Hamlet in Chharanagar. Check it out!

Announcing Acting Like a Thief! Now available as a free BitTorrent download or, for a $50 donation, as a DVD.

Acting Like a Thief is a short film about the Budhan Theatre of Chharanagar. Starting with playwright Dakxin Bajrange discussing his arrest , the film brings us inside the lives of a dedicated group of young actors and their families as they discuss what it means to be a “born criminal” and how theater changed their lives.

More to Come!

Although we are releasing it as a self-contained movie, Acting Like a Thief is a preview of a larger project: Hooch and Hamlet in Chharanagar. We are raising funds to go back to India and film more so that we can get this story out to a wider audience.

If you like Acting Like a Thief, please help support Hooch and Hamlet in Chharanagar.

Kerim redesigned the Hooch and Hamlet website.

For those who don’t know, this is for our documentary project in Ahmedabad, India. Check it out.

Writing has been spotty on the blog for a while and here is the reason. This December, Kerim and I are going to India to shoot a documentary film about the residents of one city’s slum who are using theatre to fight back against decades of prejudice and police oppression.

Help us tell their story.

Even though we are paying our own way to India, we need to raise $15,000 to cover expenses for the shoot: transportation in India, accommodation, salaries for the people who will help us on the shoot, equipment rentals, etc. We’ve already raised $3,000, but we need to do much more.

Kerim wrote about the people of Chharanager after our last trip. You can read more about the film, the people and organizations involved, and how to give money, or the film’s web site. And here is a Flickr photo gallery of Chharanager pics.

Thank you.

PS: If you can offer support in the way of help with web/graphic design, promotion, advertising, or just posting this information on your own blog, that will be much appreciated as well!

My films Bollywood Terror and Eunuch Alley are screening at a fundraiser for Raksha, an Atlanta based non-profit. Its on the 27th and for a good cause so if you live in Atlanta, please consider going and encouraging your friends to do the same.

RAKSHA:  Celebrating 10 Years of Service - Kickoff & Fundraiser!

Don’t miss Atlanta’s first ever Bollywood & Gender Bender Party!
Saturday, August 27th, 8:00 p.m.

Short films, Dances & Performances, Live set with Asian-Massive pioneer Sharaab and more!

Venue: Sutra Lounge, 1136 Crescent Ave, Ph: 404-607-1160 

Date/Time: Saturday, Aug 27th, 8:00 p.m.- 10 p.m.

Donations: $15 Minimum, $20 Suggested donation (includes a free drink ticket)

$25-$50: “Friends of Raksha” – Private VIP lounge access all night + delicious Indian Food + a Free Drink ticket (Please RSVP)

For RSVP (VIP access) & other details: 404-876-0670 or director.at.raksha.org or Evite.

All proceeds go to Raksha, Inc which provides support, services, education and advocacy for the South Asian community.  www.raksha.org

This article is in several news outlets. Considering its about my films, I guess I am allowed to quote it in full:

Charles Sobhraj Released - on Silver Screen

by Sudheshna Sarkar

His eventful life makes for a perfect movie script - serial murders, young, beautiful women and daring escapes from prisons across the world. Now, Charles Sobhraj, one of the most wanted serial killers of the 1970s, has made it to the silver screen.

Indian filmmaker Shashwati Talukdar, who hails from Dehradun in India’s Uttaranchal state, has made two films on Sobhraj.
Read the rest of this entry »

In Whose Name? and Whose Children Are These? is screening in New York again at:

28TH ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
(in ‘War, What Is It Good For ?’ Shorts Program)
on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 @ 6:30PM
ROSE HALL, THE ASIA SOCIETY
725 PARK AVENUE @70th St, NYC
www.asiancinevision.org

In Whose Name is a short documentary by Nandini Sikand for which I was the editor. It has won the Best Documentary Short award at Tupelo Film Festival in Mississipi. It will also be screened at the Asian American Film Festival in New York on July 19th at 6:30 pm.

In Whose Name? (2004, 12:00) is a filmic essay inspired by a changing political landscape. It explores the co-opting of icons by right-wing and national agendas. Filmed in India and the UK, this experimental short is told through personal narrative, Super 8mm home movies, Bollywood film and comic book art, creating an evocative pastiche of symbols and imagery.