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.

Desi plays Hamilton

I Want To Be A Desi plays The Hamilton Film Festival on Wednesday, November 3 at the 7:00pm Comedy Shorts program. Come out and have a hilarious time. Tickets and directions: http://www.hamiltonfilmfestival.com/

Pal Uncle (Jazz Mann) welcomes you to The Hamilton Film Festival

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

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.

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.

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

I Want To Be A Desi captured second-place in the BMO SHORT Shorts Competition held at the fourth Grand River Film Festival.

"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."

Things are looking up for "desi" Roger (David Yee)

Allan was on hand at The Museum in downtown Kitchener, ON last night to receive the award from the festival and awards sponsor BMO. The presentation was part of GRFF's annual Chairman's Gala and Festival Launch taking place at The Museum in Kitchener. I Want To Be A Desi and other finalists' films were was shown on a silent loop in the resplendent open-air lobby of the The Museum.

The judges praised Desi for its witty writing, assured direction and smart cinematography, and for addressing the issue of identity in modern Canada. I Want To Be A Desi will appear 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.

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