watch I WANT TO BE A DESI 1 & 2 online

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

I WANT TO BE A DESI completed

Production of the short film, I Want To Be A Desi, has ended and the completed film has been delivered to broadcaster, Bravo. The six-minute comedy will play the festival circuit for the next 12 months before Bravo broadcasts it across Canada.

In the film, a young man of multiracial origin, Roger (David Yee), doesn't know who he is, and so hires a suspicious Indo-Canadian (Jazz Mann, see below) to teach him to become a 'desi' in one day. That includes choosing a beautiful bride who can cook a perfectly circular roti. But is it that easy to step into someone else's skin?


The film was shot over two days in December in North York. DP Daniel Grant shot the film on the Red camera while Rose Legace acted as the Production Designer. Baun Mah edited the film, while Danijel Margetic completed the online edit in addition to his producer's duties. The film was made by Balkan Films and the executive producers are Michael McNamara and Judy Holm.

The film was a pleasure to shoot, according to director Allan Tong. "The film was a pleasure to shoot," he recalls today, extending his thanks to a hard-working and dedicated crew.


Bravo and the Toronto Arts Council invested in this six-minute production. Special thanks also go to ACTRA for its TIP program, and the CFTPA. (Click here for the cast and crew list.) Check back for regular updates as Desi during its festival run.

T R A I L E R

Desi2 to screen at Okanagan Film Festival in July

The West Coast loves DESI. The Okanagan International Film Festival has chosen the short documentary to play at its annual festival taking place July 21-25 in lovely Kelowna, B.C. Desi2 has already screened in San Diego, Vancouver and Portland.

Screening times will appear on the Okanagan site as soon as renovations are done, but sign up at the festival's Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36407298283&ref=ts&v=info

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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.