Contact:
Patricia Gruben, 778.782.7881; gruben@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.9017; Marianne_Meadahl@sfu.ca

Simon Fraser University film students will be among those participating in workshops led by South Asian film industry leaders while the general public explores a gamut of cultural films, during next week’s South Asian Film Festival.

With venues in Vancouver, Surrey and Abbotsford and dozens of films on tap, the four-day event, co-sponsored by SFU, offers the chance to learn about and experience South Asian films and film-making.

Film professor Patricia Gruben, who will lead an SFU field school to India in January, will moderate a master class with Chaitanya Chinchlikar of Whistling Woods International (WWI), the top private film school in India.

Gruben says: “Throughout South Asia, a new crop of sophisticated young filmmakers is developing new forms that build on both the great tradition of Bengali art cinema and those irresistible mass-market musicals.

“For the past few years we’ve been taking students to India and bringing Indian filmmakers and scholars to SFU, and there’s a growing admiration for the work we’re seeing from across the region.”

The festival opens on Oct. 31 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. SFU President Andrew Petter will be among those giving an opening welcome. Others include Jaya Bachchan, an internationally known actress and member of the Indian government, and an honorary patron of SAFF, who will join a conversation with former premier Ujjal Dosanjh Nov. 1 at the VIFF.

Among highlights:

• SFU is hosting master classes at the VIFF International Film Centre, including a Whistling Woods master class led by Chaitanya Chinchlikar on Nov. 1 and Buddadeb DaS Gupta on Nov. 4.
  Chinchlikar, head of business development and new ventures at WWI, will give students the chance to view a program of master classes, lectures, and interviews, featuring some of the leaders of the Indian production industry. They will also see a series of films created to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema.
  Das Gupta, an economics professor by training, is considered by many to be India’s foremost director and a filmmaker reputed for his films’ lyrical quality and hard-hitting, socially relevant themes. Das Gupta will speak about his work using clips of selected films on the topic How I Grow My Image, and engage the audience in dialogue and discussion.
• The first SAFF Canada Industry Symposium on Friday, Nov. 2, 12 noon – 6 pm at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, will explore new collaborative ventures, production possibilities and challenges.
  The afternoon will provide a panel discussion with some of India’s top directors, producers and educators and focus on such topics as marketing international short films and how actors can perfect a foreign accent.
• SFU students, faculty and staff will be admitted to all Empire Theatre Guildford screenings free with valid SFU ID. For more information see: www.saffcanada.org.

Simon Fraser University is Canada's top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

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