Chicago South Asian Film Festival

Schedule:

6:00 PM: FULL & FINAL
A nice man gets sick of chasing his ex-boss for his pending salary. He decides to change his ways and inadvertently ends up inspiring his housemaid to do something crazy.

6:00 PM: KHADDA
Khadda is a short film that follows a wealthy football player determined to prove his worth and earn his rightful place on the team, despite facing bias from the captain and others. The film explores themes of overcoming stereotypes that suggest wealthy individuals don't need to work hard. Through relentless effort and dedication, he seeks to break this societal stereotype and demonstrate that hard work and merit are what truly matter.

6:00 PM: MAN UP
Man Up by Shivani Shah explores the masks we don to live a seemingly normal life when silently struggling with depression. A look at men's mental health and how gender norms make men beholden to ideas of masculinity that prevent them from asking for help & support.

6:00 PM: PLEATS
When Gayatri confesses to having an extramarital affair, she is ostracized by her family. No one is willing to listen to what she has to say - except for Meera, her granddaughter.

An ashamed, devastated Gayatri pours her heart out to Meera, forcing herself to recount the details of her affair that she was trying so hard to forget. She has loved her husband for over 40 years, and doesn’t understand what drew her to someone else. She questions how she could have fallen in love with another man. Witnessing her grandmother being so vulnerable, Meera sees this as an opportunity to share a piece of herself that she's been keeping from the rest of her family. Meera reveals that she is bisexual and is in a polyamorous relationship with a man and woman. Using herself as an example, Meera explains to Gayatri that it is indeed possible - and perhaps even expected - to love more than one person. Love is fluid and endless, and pouring all of it onto only one person isn’t fair, she tells Gayatri. This is a lot for Gayatri to process - Meera’s queer and polyamorous identity all in the same conversation. Justifiably, Gayatri is curious. How does this work? Do they practice safe sex? How can they trust one another? The two women question each other's choices and slowly grow to understand not only one another, but also the ability to love abundantly in a way that is safe, honest and fulfilling.

2:30 PM: FAR FROM HOME
Samira Faizi and her family escaped to India from Afghanistan in 2021, right before the Taliban takeover. She hoped for a better life for her children by eventually leaving India and settling in a new country. But she is now grappling with the possibility of being stuck forever, as slow asylum processes and the lack of a refugee law in India threaten her existence. She is also stuck in India at a time when violence against Muslims is steadily increasing in the country, led by a right-wing nationalistic government. This film touches upon Samira's struggle and sheds light on the situation of refugees in India.

The film has a diverse cast and crew. The director's family also came to India as refugees, and the cinematographer belongs to the Muslim community of India. The project features Afghans who live in the Bhogal market Afghan settlement in Delhi.

12:00 PM: A LULLABY FOR YELLOW ROSES
In the heart of a sprawling metropolis, where towering condominiums pierce the sky, an estranged working-class couple finds themselves nestled in the depths of a basement dwelling. Beena, the laundress, and Pankaj, the lift operator, carry the weight of their unfulfilled dreams and unspoken sorrows.

The film opens with a haunting scene: the couple, faces etched with anguish, digging a clandestine grave at a forsaken dumpyard. Their unborn daughter, a victim of circumstance and despair, is laid to rest on the cold earth. Returning to their windowless room, a cramped sanctuary shared with Pankaj's mother, Beena seeks solace in her weary embrace. The older woman, a survivor of a bygone era, shares her own harrowing tale of sacrificing three daughters before Pankaj's birth.
A makeshift curtain of bedsheets, a flimsy barrier hung between them, divides the shared bed into two solitary islands. Beena and Pankaj, haunted by their loss, grapple with their grief in silence. Their isolation deepens as they navigate the labyrinthine corridors of their shared existence.

12:00 PM: RSVP
After her father's sudden and unexpected death, Zeesha is grappling with an unsettling feeling she can't quite figure out. It is grief, but why does it feel it without connection? She wishes she could process this without the constant interruption by her mother, Benaifer, who, let's say, does not seem to be grieving 'appropriately' at all. At least not according to Zeesha. All this, while they were in the midst of preparing for Zeesha's wedding; the coffee table is a mélange of wedding RSVPs and condolence cards. Zeesha only wants one person to respond to her right now-her mother. After failed attempts to reason with Benaifer, Zeesha's unprocessed grief quickly turns into anger. She pushes, but Benaifer pushes right back, or deflects. Zeesha can't hold back anymore when her mom labels her reaction as 'over the top'. It is one thing for Benaifer to not process her own emotions, but to call Zeesha's exaggerated is not something Zeesha was prepared for. She lets it all out, holds nothing back. That's when Benaifer finally responds to her. But what Benaifer has to say is something Zeesha did not expect. Did that response bring them closer?

6:00 PM: KURTA PANTS
A girl is bringing her boyfriend home for dinner. But will her family accept him for all of who he is? In this fast paced comedy, two people from two different backgrounds test their relationship like it's never been tested before.

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