The 14th edition of 3rd i's San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival, Bollywood and Beyond, plays the Castro Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 12, with programs Nov. 10-13 at the New People Cinema in Japantown. The festival features 15 programs from India and the nations bordering the subcontinent, and includes some Bay Area short film offerings, with thematic influences ranging from queer poet Audre Lorde to Canadian pop music guru Justin Bieber.
Aligarh (India) While history may have no reverse gear, lately there have been disturbing signs refuting this optimistic thesis. In director Hansal Mehta's timely drama, an oddball friendship develops between a poetry teacher close to retirement and a restless young journalist. One night the teacher, Dr. Siras, is brutally attacked in his rented room while having a sexual encounter with a young rickshaw driver. A cub reporter, Deepu, discovers signs that the teacher may have been targeted by jealous faculty colleagues. As these two most unlikely friends draw closer, they discover developments in their province that not only threaten their safety but pose a distinct danger to India's still very young LGBTQ rights movement.
Aligarh features two outstanding performances. Veteran film actor Manoj Bajpayee gives the teacher both a wounded vulnerability and a hidden reservoir of strength and dignity. The younger, very handsome Rajkummar Rao tempers the arc of his performance from headstrong impetuosity to a nuanced sense of life's implacable tragedies. The film shows that some of the most vicious opposition to the men and the cause of queer rights in India comes from those most stuck in their ways and resentful. One minor quibble is a scene where the young reporter is seen getting it on with a woman. It's as if the filmmakers were hedging their bets.
Those who follow Indian affairs know that their Supreme Court ruling decriminalizing homosexuality has been overturned, creating a more uncertain outlook for the nation's huge LGBTQ minority, estimated to number anywhere from 50 to 100 million people. (New People, 11/13)
Escaping Agra (US) Captivating eight-minute animation on an Indian myth involving an adult trickster who escapes the wrath of a feudal Indian leader. You may need to consult Wikipedia to understand where this story fits into the mosaic of Indian history. Plays as part of the 3rd i program Coast to Coast: Mumbai to the Mission.
Kaul (A Calling) (India) Director Aadish Keluskar, a disciple of Soviet-era Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-86), presents the mythological story of a chance meeting between a young teacher and an old man. Pausing to light the elderly man's cigarette leads the teacher to a supernatural experience and another meeting with the older fellow, whom the teacher now believes to be a spiritual sage. Inspired in part by such Tarkovsky films as Solaris. (Castro, 11/12)
One Crazy Thing (UK) London-based director Amit Gupta's hetero rom-com involves a disgraced former TV soap actor. The program will include a Skype interview with the director. (Castro, 11/12)
The World of Goopi and Bagha (India) Director Shilpa Ranade offers this animated remake in tribute to one of his nation's most gifted filmmakers, Satyajit Ray (1921-91). The film details the misadventures of two itinerant musicians driven out of their small village for producing little more than discordant, loud noise. (Castro, 11/12)
Khoya (Lost) (India, Canada) An Indian man adopted by Canadians starts to feel emotionally at sea upon the death of his Canadian mom. Director Sami Khan and actor Rupak Ginn appear in person for post-film Q&A. (Castro, 11/12)
Parched (India, US, UK) This late-night Castro offering examines sex in small Indian villages from a woman's perspective. (Castro, 11/12)
Info: thirdi.org.