Attending Slant in person this year is New York-based filmmaker J.P. Chan. We’re screening his short film I Don’t Sleep I Dream on May 21. See details for the screening here.
J.P. is a self-taught filmmaker and playwright who was born in New Jersey to working-class immigrant parents. Not coincidentally, some of his films have been set in immigrant-owned businesses.
This year at Slant, we are excited to present a free discussion with award-winning filmmaker PJ Raval. Known for his success in both the Asian American and GLBT film community, PJ will talk about his experiences with niche markets of the indie filmmaking world.
PJ’s work first debuted at Slant in 2003 with a 4-minute film, Clean, about a man whose obsession with cleanliness turns into absurdity. At Slant 7, we screened Lead Role: Father, in which a film director holds auditions for a film about his family. When his real-life father appears to read for part of the father, past and present intertwine, roles are reversed, and the director is forced to confront his own fears and realizations. See PJ talk about the film in the clip below. You can also watch Lead Role: Father on IMDB here.
Televisnu
Prithi Gowda’s Televisnu just screened at SXSW in March. We’re pleased to bring this surreal story of a call center worker who falls into a dreamland of wires and memories to Slant. New York-based Prithi says she was inspired to make the film after a trip to India a few years ago.
“I noticed a big change. Many of my young, female cousins were working rather than adopting the more traditional and expected role of husband hunting,” she says. “In the past, a young Indian woman did not leave her home until a suitable man agreed to marry her. She went directly from the care and responsibility of her father to the care and responsibility of her new husband. But, due to globalization, a new and curious detour has become more common.”
Televisnu was shot over 12 days in Bangalore, India and in Prithi’s parents’ respective villages outside Kolar. It was a labor of love for the filmmaker and her family. Her uncle served as a location scout, her mother co-produced the film, and her cousin built all the sets. Watch the trailer, then see the film on May 21 at Slant.
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