watch I WANT TO BE A DESI 1 & 2 online

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

Desi premieres in Toronto this summer

I Want To Be A Desi has been chosen as an official selection in the Short Film Program for The 2011 Mississauga Independent Film Festival, July 20-24. Screening details to come at: http://miff.ca

Desi American premiere in Oregon on April 29

I Want To Be A Desi makes its U.S. premiere at the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival on Saturday, April 30 to kick off the 3:00 pm Shorts Program. Details and tickets.

Desi invades America

I Want To Be A Desi has been chosen as an official selection at the Sixth Annual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon. DisOrient take place at the Bijou Arts Cinema in Eugene, OR April 29-May 1, 2011. This will be the American premiere of Desi.

Details to come.

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

Desi 2 plays at 2010 University of Toronto Film Festival

IWTAB2 plays on Saturday, March 13 at the University of Toronto Film Festival. It appears in a one-hour program devoted to non-student shorts at 5:45 pm. All screenings at this fest are free and take place at Hart House just west of Queen's Park. Go to the second floor Music Room. Full schedule at: http://uoftfilmfest.ca/wp/