One-two punch by female Asian expat directors
Deepa Mehta and Afia Nathaniel, two female Asian filmmakers who live in the West, bring their broadened world views to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in a pair of screenings as part of the Contemporary World Film Series.
First up at 7pm on Tuesday is the Indo-Canadian Mehta’s critically acclaimed 1998 epic, “Earth”, a tear-jerking drama about a multi-cultural circle of close friends growing up in Lahore during very turbulent times around 1947, which saw Hindu-Muslim riots and the partition of India. Aamir Khan, Maia Sethna and Nandita Das are among the stars. “Earth” had music by award-winner AR Rahman, and it was India's submission to the Academy Awards in 1999.
April 25 has “Dukhtar” (“Daughter”), in which the Pakistani-born, New York-based Nathaniel lifts the veil on child marriages among the Pashtun people of Pakistan. The adventure story deals with one determined mother who wants to break from tradition and keep her daughter out of an arranged tribal union. It was Pakistan’s official submission to the Academy Awards.
Admission is Bt150 for non-members. For more details, check FCCThai.com.
Also showing
- The Friese-Greene Club – The club is open as a refuge to the Songkran weary. Please leave your water pistols by the door. Tonight’s show is a “quirky ’80s” entry and a Club favourite –the little-known end-of-the-world comedy “Miracle Mile”. Shows are at 8pm. For more details, check FGC.in.th.
- Alliance Fran็aise – The French films return after the Songkran break with “Fidelio, l'odyss้e d’Alice”, about a young woman who takes a job that is unusual for women, as an engineer aboard an ocean-going freighter. It’s showing at 7pm on Wednesday in French with English subtitles. The Alliance is now also showing French films with Thai subtitles on Fridays, with the next one on April 22 with “9 mois ferme” (“Nine Month Stretch”). Admission is Bt100. For details, check AFThailande.org.
