Texas Premiere
Anita
India I 17 mins I Drama I 2020 I Gujarati w/ English subtitles
While attending her sister's wedding in India, Anita is pushed to question whether her life in America is any better than those in her hometown.
Director's Statement:
Anita is my thesis film for an MFA in Screenwriting & Directing at Columbia University in. It also serves as a 'proof of concept' for my first feature length film, Salt.
I grew up in a community with the belief that a woman who moves to America lives an exciting, independent life. Anita is an exploration of this myth of the independent, young, expat wife and the struggle to maintain this façade. The visual language of this film is rigid and deliberate to convey the increasing dissonance Anita feels upon returning to her family home and the eventual disillusionment of her American dream.
+ Screens with the feature HAVA, MARYAM, AYESHA
VIRTUAL PREMIERE :
SAT. APRIL 17 - 3:30PM CT
About the Artist
Born and raised in India, Sushma Khadepaun is a writer/director based in New York City. She writes stories that explore identity, freedom, and the myth of the American Dream.
Her short film ANITA premiered In Competition at the Venice Film Festival and went on to win The Gotham Award/Focus Features Student Showcase & the National Board of Review Student Grant Award.
Sushma often mentors screenwriters at Sundance Co//ab, a digital expression of the Sundance Labs & Festival, and is an Adjunct Professor at VCUArts. She is herself an alumna of the screenwriting & directing program at Columbia University.
She is currently developing her first feature, SALT.
Credits
Writer/Director: SUSHMA KHADEPAUN
Producer: ANKUR SINGH
Co-Producer: SASHA JOHN
Cinematographer: NIKHIL AROLKAR
Editor(s): WILL MAYO
SUSHMA KHADEPAUN
Sound Department: PRANAV KOTHI
SAVITHA NAMBRANTH
Colorist: SUDARSHAN SURESH
Cast
MITRA GADHVI as 'Vikram'
SANJIVANI SATHE as 'Mother
NIKHIL DAVE as 'Father'
BHAKTI MANIAR as 'Sister'
DEEP SHETH as 'Groom'
Additional Crew
Prod. Design: POOJA TALREJA
Costume Design: VIDHI GALA
Visual Effects : ROB BELLON