Mira Nair
An investigative look and analysis of gender disparity in Hollywood, featuring accounts from well-known actors, executives and artists in the Industry.
An account of the life and work of the legendary cinematographer and director Carlo Di Palma (1925-2004) and an emotional journey into the greatest moments of cinema, from the Italian neorealism to the masterpieces of Woody Allen, commented by prestigious figures of world cinema.
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.
Explores the hot-button issues around the striking gender gap in Hollywood. Both women and men in the entertainment industry share first-person insights, questions, and anecdotes about the place of women in Hollywood.
Right at the heart of the debates on the discrimination of women in the film industry, this documentary raises questions, while offering a voice to women and their cinema. Catherine Breillat, Claire Denis, Mira Nair, Margarethe Von Trotta, Ulrike Ottinger, Micheline Lanctot, Rakshnan Bani-Etemad, María Novaro but also the names of the less visible directors of the general public. Joining the filmmakers are the voices and comments of producers, film specialists and archivists through whom our images are meticulously preserved.
The first of four installments in the groundbreaking Heartbeat of the World anthology film series. Comprised of several short films by some of the world's most exciting directors, Words with Gods follows the theme of religion - specifically as it relates to an individual's relationship with his/her god or gods...or the lack thereof. In Words with Gods, each director recounts a narrative centered around human fragility, as well as environmental and cultural crises involving specific religions with which each has a personal relationship; including early Aboriginal Spirituality, Umbanda, Buddhism, the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, and Atheism. An animated sequence by Mexican animator Maribel Martinez is woven through each of the film segments, with each segment narratively connected as a feature-length film.
In New York, a Pakistani native finds that his American Dream has collapsed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
A retrospective documentary on 9/11 in connection with the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival.
A sequel to the 1988 award winning documentary, "Slaying the Dragon," this film looks at the past 25 years of representation of Asian and Asian American women in U.S. visual media -- from blockbuster films and network television to Asian American cinema and YouTube -- to explore what's changed, what's been recycled, and what we can hope for in the future.
The story of Zainab and Arif, who live their son, Munna, in Brooklyn. Zainab makes the complicated decision to leave her protected life and follow her heart. One of eight shorts commissioned by the United Nations on themes concerning global society.
New York, I Love You delves into the intimate lives of New Yorkers as they grapple with, delight in and search for love. Journey from the Diamond District in the heart of Manhattan, through Chinatown and the Upper East Side, towards the Village, into Tribeca, and Brooklyn as lovers of all ages try to find romance in the Big Apple.
Years ago, when Abhijit was a boy, he learned his father was involved in extramarital relationships. He kept it secret for several years, until tension rose too high and he left for Cape Town. Time passes and Abhijit is called by his mother. His father had contracted the AIDS virus. It was up to Abhijit to be the bigger person to comfort his father, even after all he had done, in his last moments of life.
American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.
Beautiful, funny, passionate, and calculating, Becky is the orphaned daughter of a starving English artist and a French chorus girl. She yearns for a more glamorous life than her birthright promises and resolves to conquer English society by any means possible. A mere ascension into the heights of society is simply not enough. So Becky finds a patron in the powerful Marquess of Steyne whose whims enable Becky to realise her dreams. But is the ultimate cost too high for her?
In this collection of interviews conducted in 2004, directors Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone discuss the influence, style, and importance of Gillo Pontecorvo’s film THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS.
11 directors show their view on the terrorist attacks on the world trade center in New York.
Set in the 1980's, Debby Miller (Uma Thurman) goes out in New Jersey looking for a man after she is diagnosed with "hysterical blindness".
It is September 11, 2001, and a young man goes missing in New York. Because of his eastern name and his Islamic religion, he is suspected of being involved in the World Trade Center attack. The FBI inquire about him. The neighbors of his family show their disapproval. His family hold out hope that he will be found and exonerated. (Originally appeared as a segment of the omnibus film "11'09"01 - September 11", but later presented as a separate short film.)
Portrait of the first laughing club in India, its founding by a doctor who believes that laughter is the best medicine, his outreach to schools, interviews with club members, scenes of outdoor sessions, and shots of billboards and street scenes in contemporary Mumbai. Club members gather, stretch, and start to laugh. Founder Dr. Madan Kararia talks of the club's history and the growth of laughing clubs across the country. Among those interviewed, there's a stockbroker, three bawdy women, a musician, a widow laughing to cope with grief, and two old men - friends since school days who meet daily to laugh. No form, no fuss: happiness equals health.
As the romantic monsoon rains loom, the extended Verma family reunites from around the globe for a last-minute arranged marriage in New Delhi. This film traces five intersecting stories, each navigating different aspects of love as they cross boundaries of class, continent and morality.
After obtaining his medical degree from Madras Medical College, Dr. Abraham Verghese decides to re-locate to Johnson City, Tennessee. He eventually gets married to Rajani, who is an accomplished dancer, and has a boy, Steven. Since Abraham specializes in infectious diseases, he takes special interest in patients suffering from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome(AIDS), and presents his work at the local gay/lesbian hang-outs and clubs, creating a public awareness of AIDS. Soon he has as many as 82 patients in his care at the local hospital. He gets engrossed in his work to the extent that he starts neglecting his very heavily pregnant wife Rajani, who eventually gives birth to Jacob. She threatens him with marriage counseling, while fearing that her husband may acquire AIDS through contact with his patients, while he himself has to deal with hospital administration who are concerned about funds and resources being utilized on patients who may never recover.
Tara and Maya are two inseparable friends in India. Their tastes, habits, and hobbies are the same. Years later, the two have matured, but have maintained their friendship. Tara gets married to the local prince, Raj Singh, who soon succeeds the throne as the sole heir. After the marriage, Raj gets bored of Tara and starts seeking another female to satisfy his sexual needs. He notices Maya and is instantly attracted to her. He has her included as one of his courtesans, and is intimate with her. Watch what happens when Tara finds out and the extent she will go to keep her marriage intact.
In the midst of the Mariel boat lift -- a hurried exodus of refugees from Cuba going to America -- an immigration clerk accidentally presumes that dissident Juan Raul Perez and Dorita Evita Perez are married. United by their last name and a mutual resolve to emigrate, Dorita and Juan agree to play along. But it gets complicated when the two begin falling for each other just as Juan reunites with his wife, Carmela, whom he hasn't seen in decades.
The story is inspired by the assassination of Chris Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party.
An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families have to come to terms with it.
Before Slumdog Millionaire came Salaam Bombay!, Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated drama tells the moving story of life on the streets of Bombay as seen through the eyes of Chaipu, a twelve-year-old boy living rough in the city.
India Cabaret (1985) is a documentary by Mira Nair exploring the "respectable" and "immoral" stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of 2 strip-tease dancers in a cabaret house in Bombay.
Via the New York Times: "...film examines the marriage of Ashok Sheth and his wife, Hansa. Ashok moved to New York only days after the wedding, to a woman he barely knew; the match was arranged in the traditional way. Now Ashok sells magazines in a subway station at 116th Street, lives in a cell- sized apartment and cherishes his new freedom. The film follows Ashok through such American activities as a visit to a store that sells running shoes. Then it follows him back to India, where Hansa waits with a baby he has never seen, and with a great many questions as to her future. "
