News

Sometimes, it’s not so much our own experiences but those of the people closest to us that inform our opinions of certain films. I was moved enough by Barry Avrich’s “Born Hungry” (2024) on its own merits, but as I watched the story of Sash Simpson, the former homeless street child from Chennai turned internationally renowned Toronto chef, I also realized I was also watching the story of some of my closest friends and family as well. Despite the documentary’s undeniable flaws, I could not help but be moved by it. How other viewers respond, however, may be similarly dependent on how well they themselves identify with the life story unfolding onscreen.

The documentary begins on the eve of the grand opening of Sash Simpson’s eponymous restaurant on Toronto’s Yonge Street. Most of his life has been spent in Canada, where from the age of seven...

For those who believe rags-to-riches stories are the stuff of fairy tales, Sash Simpson’s life will make them wake up and dig into the caviar. It is ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ played out in real life. And it will bring back memories of ‘Lion’, the Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman-starrer based on the amazing story of Saroo Brierley and his search from Melbourne for his original home in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh.

The story of Sash Simpson, an orphan found off the streets of Coimbatore who’s now one of Toronto’s top chefs, is the subject of a documentary, ‘Born Hungry’, by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich, which was just premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and then picked up by Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s company, Purple Pebble Pictures.

In the words of ‘The New York Times’, “Sash Simpson made his name as a chef for Canada’s rich, preparing...

Exclusive: Melbar Entertainment Group and Purple Pebble Pictures announced that award-winning actor and producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her production company Purple Pebble Pictures banner have joined the production team of Barry Avrich’s new feature documentary Born Hungry.

A true story brought to life, Born Hungry is a gritty drama about a young Indian boy who finds himself abandoned by his family, lost on trains and thousands of miles from home. Now, Sash Simpson, a celebrity chef who once survived alone on the streets of Chennai eating from garbage bins before ultimately being adopted by a Canadian couple, returns to India armed with only blurry memories to find his lost family.

Chopra Jonas and Mary Rohlich, Head of TV and Film at Purple Pebble Pictures, will serve as producers. The partnership was negotiated by Iag representing Melbar Entertainment Group and UTA representing Chopra Jonas.

“Sash’s story immediately captivated me,...

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival has selected 168 films for its 2024 edition, including world premieres of Red Fever, American Cats: The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly and The Ride Ahead.

The festival is pushing ahead with its 2024 event from April 25 to May 5, despite the resignation of 10 programmers this past weekend; and the departure of artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy on March 20.

The 51 world premieres in the festival include Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond’s Red Fever, in which he travels North America and Europe investigating the world’s fascination with Native Americans; Amy Hoggart’s American Cats: The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly,...

Toronto’s Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, has unveiled the full lineup of films that will screen in its Special Presentations program. The festival runs April 25 to May 5.

World premieres include “Red Fever,” which sees Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond travel to the four corners of Turtle Island and across Europe to explore the world’s fascination with Native Americans; “American Cats: The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly,” in which “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” correspondent Amy Hoggart explores the controversial practice of declawing cats; “The Ride Ahead,” an expansion of co-director Samuel Habib’s short film “My Disability Roadmap” (which got an Honorable Mention in the International Shorts section of Hot Docs in 2022), exploring a typical 21-year-old itching to move out, start a career and find love—all while navigating life with a disability; “Lost in the Shuffle,” which follows world champion magician Shawn Farquhar as...