South Asian International Film Festival

South Asian International Film Festival on Sulekha New York Events: "India 's entry for the Oscars. Shwaas is about a villager (Arun Nalawade) who brings his ailing grandson to the town hospital, only to learn the child must undergo a life-saving operation, which may leave him blind. Directed by 36-year-old debutant Sandeep Sawant, Shwaas was also awarded this year's National Award for Best Film."

Black Friday (2004) India

Based on S Hussain Zaidi's book, Black Friday follows the investigations that came as a result of the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. Told through the eyes of all those involved - police, conspirators, victims, middlemen - Anurag Kashyap's film is a stunning and controversial work. It at once documents the course of events that led up to the blasts and revisits it with recent history in mind to find insights into the cyclical nature of violence and the potential for similar outbreaks in modern, urban India

GOUTAM GHOSE SHOWCASE: In the Forest Again (2003) India

In the sixties, in Satyajit Ray's 'Days and Nights in the Forest', four
city-bred young men had wandered into the jungles of Palamau for a vacation. In the new millennium, three of of them decide to return to the forest on a trip down memory lane in "In the Forest... Again." One of the friends, however, has passed away and another is dying of cancer. In this new trip, they are accompanied by their spouses and children as they try to relive and rediscover the joys of the past. In the forest, they find peace in a picturesque setting, a seemingly dream-induced freedom away from reality. That is, until, reality comes back to impinge in a strikingly unusual way .

The Inner World of Shah Rukh Khan (2004) India

The much-hyped, eagerly anticipated documentary on one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Nasreen Munni Kabir has created a quiet profile of a thoughtful man and reveals how one of the film's most public personalities remains a deep, pensive, lonely, and ultimately loving soul.

DAM/AGE (2002) India

DAM/AGE traces writer Arundhati Roy's bold and controversial campaign against the Narmada dam project in India, which led to her conviction for criminal contempt by India's Supreme Court. As the film traces the events that led up to her imprisonment, Roy meditates on her own personal negotiation with her fame, the responsibility it places on her as a writer, a political thinker and a citizen, and the choices she has made

Final Solution (2004) India

Initially banned by India's Censor Board, Final Solution has become known as one of the most controversial films of the last ten years. Sharma's masterwork is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of genocidal violence against Moslems

King of Bollywood (2004) UK

A true blend of East and West, King of Bollywood brings megawatt stars Om Puri and Sophie Dahl together in a mockumentary about 51-year-old Karan Kumar (best known as KK), who in his heyday was the top star in Bollywood. Piyush Jha's film follows Crystal Chaurasia (Dahl), a young NRI documentary filmmaker of a somewhat Indian origin, as she tries to track down Kumar and help him relaunch his career

Matrubhoomi (2002) India

rampant female infanticide, women are practically extinct. The impact of the absence of women on men sees them finding alternative sources of release - pornography, homosexuality, bestiality, violence, the works. When a girl is actually spied, she is promptly sold and married to five brothers. All five - and the father-in-law-exercise their conjugal rights in turn. She starts coming closer to the youngest brother, the only one who treats her as a human being much to the chagrin of the father and other brothers