News

Seattle-based nonprofit Tasveer is expanding its footprint with the launch of the Tasveer Producers Lab, a mentorship program designed to cultivate the next generation of South Asian producing talent.

The lab, which will operate out of Los Angeles as an extension of the Oscar-qualifying Tasveer Film Festival and Market, selected just five projects from over 100 submissions for its inaugural cohort. The competitive program targets producers of South Asian descent and projects rooted in the diaspora experience.

Leading the initiative is Milan Chakraborty, head of film at Marginal MediaWorks, who has been named the lab’s first artistic director. The veteran indie producer brings more than 30 film credits and Warner Bros. Pictures experience to the role.

“I have been a fan of Tasveer for years and was honored to become the first artistic director of the producer Lab,” Chakraborty said. “The South Asian diaspora has made incredible strides over the past several years; and yet,...

Documentaries

Filmmaker Adam Morse, who directed Billy Zane-starrer “Lucid,” is set to get in front of the camera in a new documentary, titled “Blind Ambition,” about his career. The unscripted project, directed by Ukrainian-British filmmaker Julia Varvara, will follow Morse’s journey from losing his eyesight at the age of 19 due to the incurable condition Lebers Hereditary Optic Neuropathy to shooting a SuperBowl commercial earlier this year. Among other achievements, Morse has walked the runway at London Fashion Week and did his own stunts in AppleTV+’s “See.”

Morvara Entertainment is co-producing the doc with Abrupt Films. Rocky Mudaliar produces. “This documentary is more than just a film, it’s a powerful message for people everywhere to stay positive and be more determined,” says Varvara.

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A new two-part documentary from Wonderhood Studios (“The Kidnap of Angel Lynn”) is set to uncover the story of a Canadian chef accused of...

Pakistan superstar Fawad Khan has signed onto two projects while Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor has joined veteran director Jahnu Barua’s latest film at the inaugural Tasveer Film Market. The Seattle-based South Asia-focused market concluded recently.

“Behind the Scenes,” a newsroom thriller, is being developed by producers Bilal Sami, Raza Namazi and Suri Gopalan of Film Lab++, in collaboration with Khan. Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s Modoxy Media has joined as executive producer. The dark comedy will feature talents including Mehreen Jabbar (“Jackson Heights”), Sarmad Khoosat (“Joyland”) and Mohammed Ali Naqvi (“Insha’Allah Democracy”) behind the camera.

The actor is also set to play a key role in “The Prisoner,” a crime thriller series for Awedacious Originals. Based on Omar Shahid’s bestseller, the 1990s-set Pakistani drama is created by Parisa Siddiqi and Ahmer Khan. Khan will play one of the two daring cops who embark on a covert mission...

The inaugural Tasveer Film Market has unveiled over 40 projects selected from more than 300 submissions across India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, the U.K., the U.S., Canada and Australia. The initiative, positioning itself as a new hub for South Asian and diaspora filmmakers, is set to launch as part of the 19th Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle.

Notable talents presenting projects include Radhika Apte (“The Sleepwalkers”), the Cannes-winning “Joyland” team of Apoorva Charan and Saim Sadiq, Sarvnik Kaur (“Against the Tide”), Q (“Garbage”), Nabeel Qureshi (“Na Maloom Afraad”) and Hania Chima (“Laal Kabootar”). The lineup also features the adaptation of Soniah Kamal’s “Pride and Prejudice” adaptation “Unmarriageable,” led by Sadia Ashraf and James McMillan.

Industry leaders scheduled to attend include filmmakers Deepa Mehta and Pan Nalin, along with representatives from Amazon MGM Studios, Blumhouse, HBO, Est N8, Creativeland Studios, NBCU, CAA and WME. The market has partnered with organizations such as NBCU,...

The Tasveer Film Fund, which offers $75,000 of grants for South Asian filmmakers in North America, has been renewed for a fifth year.

The fund, which is supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, and is aligned with the Tasveer Film Market Initiative, requires applicants to have over three years of industry experience and have made at least three short films.

It invites narrative short scripts exploring themes of diaspora or immigrant Stories, Lgbtqia+, and South Asian narratives. Nine pitches will be shortlisted and the top three will be awarded $25,000 each to produce their next short film. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 11.

The Tasveer Film Market, including the Tff and the Tasveer Film Festival will be held October 15-20, 2024 in Seattle. The festival’s best short film winner automatically qualifies for the Oscars.

“In its fifth year, we are thrilled to continue the Tasveer Film Fund, a powerful initiative...

The Seattle-based Tasveer Film Festival has unveiled several high-profile partner sponsors for its inaugural South Asian film market, ahead of its launch at the Cannes Film Festival.

The sponsors include Amazon, NBCUniversal Launch, Film Companion, credit union Becu, civil liberties organization Acluwa, University of Washington South Asia Center and Bully Media.

The newly rechristened Tasveer Film Festival & Market will take place Oct. 15-20, during the festival. The best short film winner at the festival qualifies for the Oscars. The market aims to facilitate South Asian diasporic representation and filmmaking on a global level. It will feature a co-production market, a producer’s lab, industry panels and a work-in-progress lab. The co-production market will invite director-producer teams to pitch long-form and short-form projects, including features, shorts and series, both scripted and unscripted, to financiers, investors and studio executives.

The content advisory board for the market includes producers Apoorva Bakshi (“Delhi Crime...

Streamer Chorki has acquired Bangladesh rights to iconoclastic Indian filmmaker Q’s latest film “Zewel,” it was revealed on the sidelines of Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market.

Chorki has also boarded the project as a co-producer alongside Rita Meher, curator of Tasveer Festival and CEO of Luminary Pictures (Seattle). Produced by India’s Oddjoint, the project is currently in post-production.

The film, shot across India and Bangladesh, tells the story of a young TikToker’s journey from zero to villain. Zewel wants to be a hero on Tiktok and already has 15,000 followers. He is a firestarter, a matchstick master who never misses a target. Living at the edge of an industrial wasteland in Bangladesh, Zewel and his brother Zibon, both daily-wage labourers, were planning to move to Qatar to join the booming influencer factories. But dreams come at a cost. As Zibon gets busted selling drugs, all doors...

Nico Santos, from “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Superstore,” will star in Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” in an unspecified role.

Stantos joins an already sprawling ensemble, including the returning cast Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone and Elizabeth Debicki, as well as new stars Will Poulter, Chukwudi Iwuji, Maria Bakalova and Daniela Melchior.

Writer-director James Gunn recently wrapped production on the film, which is currently scheduled to debut on May 5, 2023. It will conclude the “Guardians” trilogy, which Gunn launched in 2014 to great skepticism given the characters’ obscure provenance within the Marvel comics canon. It went on to gross 773.4 million globally and the 2017 sequel earned 863.8 million worldwide.

Santos has also performed in a voiceover role on HBO Max’s animated royals comedy “The Prince,” and recently wrapped the Netflix film “Happiness for Beginners” with Ellie Kemper.

A Seattle fund aiming to fill a gap in financing for South Asian filmmakers is launching Monday. The Tasveer Film Fund will bestow $5,000, in a first for that community, to South Asian shorts filmmakers to tell their stories, according to the organizers.

Rita Meher, executive director of Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, and Pulkit Datta, artistic director, said they had been discussing such a fund before the coronavirus crisis began.

“After a lot of discussion — the Covid crisis has heavily impacted the film industry, many are out of work and funding [has] pulled out — we decided this is the best time,” Datta said. “If it helps one filmmaker, we should do it.”

Since the festival’s mission is social justice, scripts should reflect that in theme and be five to 20 pages long. Interested applicants may submit their short film scripts via FilmFreeway. The deadline is July 30.

Supported by Tasveer, Archana Soy Fund and local donations,...