I WANT TO BE A DESI online at Bravo!

I Want To Be A Desi is now available online.  The complete film can be viewed at Bravo!

DESI director and writer attend MIFF opening gala

(L to R): "DESI" co-writer Dinesh Sachdev, director Allan Tong & TTN-HD's Katie Uhlmann
@ Mississauga Indie Film Fest opening gala (July 20). (Photo by Joanne Uhlmann)

(L to R): "DESI" co-writer Dinesh Sachdev, director Allan Tong & TTN-HD's Katie Uhlmann @ Mississauga Indie Film Fest opening gala (July 20): Photo by Joanne Katie Uhlmann

The Desi gang hit the Mississauga Independent Film Festival's gala party at the resplendent Art Gallery of Mississauga. Co-writer Dinesh Sachdev and co-writer/director Allan Tong were interviewed on the red carpet by the lovely Katie Uhlmann of TTN-HD (and photographed by the equally lovely Joanne Uhlmann).

Tong and Sachdev were pleased to meet the festival organizers and fellow filmmakers such as producer Ryan Reaney.

Remember: I Want To Be A Desi screens at MIFF this Saturday at noon.

Meet the crew of I Want To Be A Desi

Making any film is a team effort, and Desi was definitely a collaborative effort. The two-day shoot at a high school in North York was intense, but full of laughs and camaraderie. Here are some of the talented people who helped make Desi. All photos by producer Danijel Margetic and property of Balkan Films:

Director of Photography DANIEL GRANT pondering the next set-up

Production manager PETER MABRUCCO pondering the next meal break for the cast and crew

DP DANIEL GRANT (left) ponders the day's schedule with First Assistant Director CHARLES SMITH (right)

First Assistant Camera BRAW DWORKIN ponders what DP DANIEL GRANT (back to us) says

Production Designer ROSE LEGACE builds a set while others ponder

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.

Click here to see the trailer

I Want To Be A Desi finalist at Grand River Film Festival

I Want To Be A Desi has been chosen as a finalist in the Open Category of the 2010 Grand River Film Festival's BMO SHORT Shorts Competition. The winning films will be announced at the annual Chairman's Gala and Festival Launch on Tuesday, September 28, 2010, taking place at The Musuem, 10 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario.

David Yee as Roger ("Raj") learning to be a desi