Silk Screen festival opens with 'I Am'
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"The White Meadows" will be part of Silk Screen. -
"Women Without Men," a winner at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, will play at the Silk Screen film festival on May 8 at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland.
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No need for anyone to snarl, "This town's not big enough for the both of us."
When it comes to movies, May not only ushers in the commercial summer season but -- for the past half-dozen years -- signals the arrival of the Silk Screen film festival.
The Asian film festival, which came out of the gate with an ambitious lineup in May 2006 and has broadened to include events year round, launches May 6 with "I Am," from Indian director Onir, who is known by only one name.
It weaves together four stories exploring dark themes about child abuse, criminalization of homosexuality, single motherhood and political tension in Kashmir.
"I Am," in Hindi with English subtitles and containing some sexual content, will be shown at 7 p.m. May 6 at the Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown, one of four festival venues.
The others: Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Regent Square Theater at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. and its Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Ave., along with The Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky St. on the North Side.
Tickets for the opening night film are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
A gala that evening, from 8 p.m. to midnight May 6, will be held at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown, with celebrants in ethic dress and Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian and other exotic food on tap. Guests are expected to include the Sri Lankan ambassador, His Excellency Jaliya Wickramasuriya.
Gala tickets are $100 until May 1 and $125 afterward and at the door.
The event will close May 15 at The Warhol with "Women Without Men," a winner at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, from Iranian visual artist Shirin Neshat. It also will play at 2:30 p.m. May 8 at the Melwood Screening Room.
"Women Without Men" focuses on four women from different social backgrounds affected by the ouster of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in a coup supported by the British and American governments in 1953. It is in Farsi, with English subtitles, and also contains sexual content.
First Published April 22, 2011 12:00 am
