and another film festival
.holding it together. will be screening at the 3rd i film festival in November in San Francisco.
another festival!
.holding it together. will be screened at the chashma film festival in NYC.
more later.
Keep your laws off my body!
The ban on the burqa by that old white guy from France called Sarkozy once again infringes on a woman’s ability to choose. I have been working with Planned Parenthood for a while now and on everyday basis have to deal with the anti-choice screamers. A woman should have the option to wear a burqa if she feels the need. Likewise a woman should be able to have an abortion if the pregnancy is not planned.
CHOICE
Why is it so difficult to let somebody have the freedom of choice?
Of poetry and performances
Yesterday, I attended the San Francisco International Poetry Festival at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and was transported back in time to Amherst, MA where I had first experienced that undiluted pleasure of poetry in performance. I had thought I had moved away from poetry because I had stopped performing it infront of an audience but yesterday watching the poet Ziba Karbassi helped me realize how I had used performed poetry in every film that I have made and it was the throw of the voice and the poignancy of the words that created the magic for my images. What a serendipitous moment for an artist! I realized how I make films for poetry–so that text as a visual element and poetry as performance consummate on screen to create the magic of cinema!
I am going to CalArts this fall to creat many more such films but I will talk about that later.
I want to use this post to introduce to you three poets that moved me greatly last night.
First was Ziba Karbassi.
Ziba Karbassi at the Iranian Literary Arts Festival
Her poem,Love is lemony, was performed by her in farsi. The eroticism of the poem manifested itself through the spoken short sudden words that mimiced the breathlessness of lovemaking and the languidness of her voice that reminded one of gentle yet all encompassing love.
For all those who made me feel bad about my Facebook addiction-
how does it feel to eat your words?
Disclaimer: This is a gloat post 
Three years ago, people gave me shit for my addiction with facebook, youtube, and the internet in general. Now, I get paid good money for it. A year back in grad school, the students in their thirties mocked many of us in our early twenties for knowing everything about the internet. Now, I advice several in their age bracket about how to utilize these social networking tools. This weekend I was paid to attend the Craigslist Foundation Bootcamp and noticed how desperate everyone was to jump onto the web 2.0 bandwagon.
The present political situation in Iran, the Pink Chhadis campaign, and the Obama administration all are sending out clear signals–there is no escaping social networking! And amen for that!
Of Australian memories
by Mansi Shah
My most vivid memory of Australia is being called one of above mentioned racial slurs. I was seven years old in a playground in Melbourne.
In light of the recent racial attacks on Indian students in Australia, this memory has also become one of the saddest.
Call me Madhavikutty
My division III at Hampshire College centered around her poetry. I wrote 70 pages of critical analysis focussed on Das’s three poems and made an 11 minute avant-garde film out of ”An Introduction.” My father suggested, on several occasions, that I mail my thesis and film to Das but I was too unsure of my educational and creative endeavors to share it with the muse. I had meant to…when I had the confidence to discuss her work with her but I guess three years is too long a time to garner confidence. She is gone and I’m still working on making a film good enough to show her.
Yo! Your shampoo is toxic!
Here is a disturbing fact: everyday products such as plastic water bottles, personal care items and household cleaners contain toxic chemicals that can cause early puberty in young girls, and negatively impact adult fertility and reproductive health. Even our environment contains contaminants such as lead, mercury and pesticide residue that can have far-reaching impact on healthy fetal development.
Below are some chemical contributors you should be aware of:
Phthalates are a group of chemical compounds that are mainly used to make plastics more flexible and in perfumes.
Phthalates may cause: hormonal imbalance, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergy and organ system toxicity.
They are found in:
fragrances
shampoos
lotions
nail polish
pill coatings
hospital equipment
plastic shower curtains
vinyl flooring
IV bags
Biphenol-A
BPA is a key building block for polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate is a lightweight, shatter and heat-resistant plastic.
BPA cause hormonal disruption and may trigger early puberty in young girls, cancers, hampers fertility and could contribute to childhood behavioral problems such as hyperactivity.
BPA is found in:
Sport water bottles
Baby bottles
Food and milk cartoning
Dental sealants
Canned food lining
And finally for all my wonderful, beautiful women friends out there–Please determine the toxicity of your lipsticks(lead), nailpolish(formaldehyde) and other beauty aids on this database!
My next post will be about alternative affordable substitutes for these toxic cosmetics. Keep reading!
India has voted!
Congress has re-emerged in Uttar Pradesh! Good Bye Mayawati!
NO MORE EXTREME VIEWS.
Sardarji is again the P.M. of Bharatvarsh.
Film Screening
Last night my film screened at the Bay Area Women in Film and Media Film Festival in San Francisco.
Lunafest also contacted to and inquired if they can screen .holding it together. in their film festival.
The ball has started rolling!
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