Friday, October 22, 2010

I WANT TO BE A DESI wins 2nd place and premieres at GRFF


My short comedy, I Want To Be A Desi, took second place at the 2010 Grand River Film Festival's BMO SHORT Shorts Competition and premieres there on Saturday, October 23.

At a recent ceremony held in Kitchener, ON, the judges praised Desi for its witty writing, assured direction and smart cinematography, and for addressing the issue of identity in modern Canada. "The acting was excellent, the editing thoughtful, and the use of music very clever," announced one of the judges, Phillip Bast, a Kitchener filmmaker and journalist. "I Want To Be A Desi is a delightful film, a comic social investigation into multicultural identity for second generation Canadians in large urban centres, particularly the Greater Toronto Area."

Fellow judge and Toronto filmmaker, Benjamin Rousse, added that Desi is "a solid film with no weaknesses in any area of film production. Writer/director Allan Tong demonstrates a firm grasp of the art of filmmaking."

Desi bride (Tari Joshi on left) and Pal Uncle (Jazz Mann at right) celebrate with wannabe Desi, Roger/Raj (David Yee)

I Want To Be A Desi will screen in a program devoted to the BMO SHORT Shorts on Saturday, October 23, 1:00 p.m. at the Galt Little Theatre in Cambridge, next to Kitchener-Waterloo. The screening will be the World Premiere of I Want To Be A Desi. Click here for schedule and tickets. Waterloo Record article about GRFF.

Thursday, October 14, 2010


Desi 2 plays Barrie Film Festival

I Want To Be A Desi 2 screens at this weekend's Barrie Film Festival north of Toronto. It takes part in the festival's Short Film Showcase on Saturday, October 16. The winner will be announced at the Awards Party later on Saturday night.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

I Want To Be A Desi 2 completes American schools tour

As I Want To Be A Desi embarks on its festival run, Desi 2 has completed the first tour of American schools as organized by Asian CineVision (ACV). ACV are the same folks who premiered Desi 2 at New York's Asian American International Film Festival in July last year.

Desi 2 and other shorts played New York and New Jersey schools "to promote the vision of Asian and Asian American media artists...and inspire and inform the Asian American community and audiences everywhere," said ACV.

Plans are afoot for Desi 2 to take part in the 2010-11 tour. Stay tuned.