What is I Want To Be A Desi?
They are a pair of short films directed by Toronto filmmaker Allan Tong. One is a comedy, the other is a documentary. In the comedy, I Want To Be A Desi, multiracial Roger (David Yee) doesn't know who he is, and so hires a suspicious Indo-Canadian (Jazz Mann) to teach him to become a 'desi' in one day. But is it that easy to step into someone else's skin? I Want To Be A Desi is generously supported by Bravo!FACT and The Toronto Arts Council. It is currently playing the festival circuit and won second place at the BMO SHORT Shorts competition at the 2010 Grand River Film Festival in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.
I Want To Be A Desi 2 is a hard-hitting six-minute documentary asks the perennial questions: "What does a non-Desi have to do to become a Desi?" and "What does the word DESI mean to you?" For anyone who's ever danced Bhangra in his kurta while watching a Bollywood epic and devouring hot, spicy curry this film is for you! This is the pre-sequel to I Want To Be A Desi, and the research uncovered in this film was used to make I Want To Be A Desi. Self-financed, Desi 2 has enjoyed a successful festival run in New York, Vancouver, San Diego, Washington, Oregon and other cities. It won Best Documentary at the 2010 University of Toronto Film Festival.
How did these films begin?
In May 2008, director Allan Tong attended desiFEST, a celebration of South Asian culture in downtown Toronto. He was struck by the number of non-South Asian people enjoying the food, dance, clothes and culture of India. Also, South Asian and Chinese (Allan's background) cultures are similar, so he could identify with desis. Allan then enlisted desi friend, Dinesh Sachdev (co-producer and star of Desi 2) to teach him to become a desi. At the same time, Jyoti Rana was kind enough to invite Allan to the South Asian festival Masala! Mehndi! Masti! and film research there. Much of the footage in Desi 2 was shot at MMM.
What's next?
As of June 2011, I Want To Be A Desi is playing festival in Mississauga and New York this summer. Bravo will broadcast the film following the festival run. I Want To Be A Desi 2 was actually released a year before Desi 1 and has completed its festival run. Meanwhile, Allan is directing a documentary, Leone Stars, and Little Mao, also for Bravo.
