Saturday, December 27, 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

How DESI are you?
Click on the test:




Monday, December 15, 2008

I Want To Be A Desi 2
documentary
6 minutes ~ 2008/9
Directed and written by Allan Tong
Produced by Allan Tong & Dinesh Sachdev
Edited by Ngardy Conteh
Cinematography by David Eng
Music by DJ A.P.S.


excerpt


This hard-hitting six-minute documentary asks the perennial questions:
What does a non-Desi have to do to become a Desi?
What does the word "Desi" mean to you?



"Desi"
Used colloquially to mean South Asian immigrants and their descendants, carrying a subtext of inclusiveness and unity...

The filmmakers interviewed dozens of people at two South Asian cultural festivals (Masala! Mehndi! Masti! and FILMI South Asian Film Festival) in Toronto in the summer of 2008. Young and old, male and female, Bengali and Sikh alike gave us their heartfelt answers:

What does a non-Desi have to do to become a Desi?


"do Bhangra"


"watch Sholay"


"First of all you don’t stand in a line-up like this.
You stand in line for two minutes then your patience runs out,
then you start pushing the people to get into the thing,
and if that doesn’t happen you start screaming and shouting.
"


What does the word "Desi" mean to you?

"...if you’re a Canadian you’re a Canuck;
if you’re American you’re a
Yankee,
and if you’re 'toned' you’re
a Desi.'


"Anything that really reminds me of India,
but not necessarily Indian
people."


"In East Africa we did not have 'Deshi.'
We were Indians or
there were non-Indians."


SCREENINGS

Just completed, I Want To Be A Desi 2 will do the film festival circuit starting in spring 2009. Screenings will be announced here.
This the pre-sequel to the serious comedic short I Want To Be A Desi
which will be made in 2009.