The Eleventh Annual South Asian International Film Festival runs from Tuesday, November 18th, 2014 to Sunday, November 23rd, 2014 in New York City, at the SVA Theater. SAIFF 2014 celebrates its Opening Night with the US premiere of DR. CABBIE, starring The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Navvar, Centerpiece title, is the World Premiere of Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.’s romantic comedy HAPPY ENDING, and on Closing Night, the festival hosts the World Premiere of X – a ten-part intertwining story from eleven of India’s most exciting directors… all of whom will be attending the festival.
Opening Night Premiere: DR. CABBIE
Directed by Jean-François Pouliot. 2014. Canada/India. In English. US Premiere. 101 min.
An unemployed doctor turned cab driver becomes a local hero when he converts his taxi into a mobile clinic. DR. CABBIE is the heartwarming journey of a young Indian doctor who immigrates to Canada with the selfless ambition of healing others while beginning a new life in the land of opportunity. Dr. Cabbie discovers his true purpose and true love when he embarks upon this journey of a doctor turned cabbie.
Centerpiece World Premiere: HAPPY ENDING
Directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K.. 2014. India. In Hindi (with English subtitles). World Premiere. 135 min.
Yudi is a writer who hasn’t written anything in the last few years because he’s caught between finding inspiration and finding love. Armaan is a fading movie star is desperate to save his stardom. He went to Hollywood to get a Bollywood script written in the Hollywood style. His solution? Approach Yudi and ask him to write a film. Meanwhile, his ex-girlfriend thinks that she’s still in a relationship with him after they’ve broken up!
Closing Night World Premiere: X
Directed by Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Anu Menon, Hemant Gaba, Nalan Kumarasamy, Pratim D. Gupta, Q, Raja Sen, Rajshree Ojha, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath, and Supran Verma. 2014. India. In Hindi (with English subtitles). World Premiere. 112 min.
X is a filmmaker’s journey through his past encounters with his 10 ex-girlfriends as he spends one surreal unforgettable night at a film festival after he meets a mysterious girl who intriguingly seems to have something to do with every woman in his life.
SAIFF 2014’s feature film lineup includes:
Dukhtar. Directed by Afia Serena Nathaniel. 2014. Pakistan/USA/Norway. In Urdu and Pashto (with English subtitles). New York Premiere. 93 min.
Ek Hazarachi Note. Directed by Shekhar Sathe. 2014. India. In Marathi (with English subtitles). New York Premiere. 89 min.
Killa. Directed by Avinash Arun Dhaware. 2014. India. In Marathi (with English subtitles). North American Premiere. 110 min.
Labour of Love. Directed by Aditya Vikram Sengupta. 2014. India. In Bengali (with English subtitles). New York Premiere. 93 min.
Titli. Directed by Kanu Behl. 2014. India. In Hindi (with English subtitles). New York Premiere. 127 min.
