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FIRST GENERATION
Description: Trailer - 2 minutes
"First Generation" is a feature film about a South Asian family in transition. The secret love affair between Asha and Kevin becomes increasingly tense when her mother, who wants to marry her off in the traditional manner, exerts pressure on Asha. The father, on the other hand is more concerned about Asha’s education. He has lost all hope in his son Ajay, who has a history of getting in trouble within the family and with the outside world. The father has invested all his trust in Asha until she reveals her secret affair, which leaves him feeling extremely betrayed. He is unable to control his rage. His violence and the constant persuasion by Kevin leaves Asha with no choice but to go her own separate way. Ajay is lost and confused in his enclosed world showing all signs of isolation... A final tragic situation has a humbling effect on the family, which ironically brings them all together...briefly...
Production Notes:
Shot on a shoestring budget, this first feature film by director Ishwar L. Maisuria had a successful premiere at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. It is now available on DVD and VOD.
"As in any low budget film, the shooting schedule comprised of 2 weeks and 2 weekends with 16-18 hour days. The cast and crew, all working on a volunteer basis had to endure great pains and make personal sacrifices to keep the production on schedule. A lot of times we did not have expensive permits required for outdoor locations, so we improvised, for example, the scene on the ferry, the cast and crew played tourist, went on board, set up the scene, shot it and got off the boat! We did this at every exterior location. It was in the best sense of the word ‘Guerilla Filmmaking’! We had a skeleton crew and long hours of shooting. Everyone worked and almost lived together. It was a real family affair and we all bonded well. The family atmosphere was great because it gave us the enthusiasm we needed to get the production to completion."
Buy DVD with bonus gifts at: www.firstgenerationmovie.com
GIGS 1 & GIGS 2
Description: TV sitcom Pilot - Excerpts
ZACK is a stand-up comic. His sister ZOE is a lounge singer. Their manager, GEORGE, is a novice, high on ego and short in stature. Welcome to the gigs nobody wants to talk about: birthday parties, rest homes, dingy bars, country fairs, prisons and mental institutions.
George works out of an office which doubles as a utility room in the back of his Father's Italian barbershop. Slick talking and well intentioned, George has a cell phone and isn't afraid to use it. But when he somehow stumbles on a last-minute replacement gig for Zoe at an exclusive club, her comedian brother Zack is furious and envious. Who wouldn't be, having just come from a nightmare gig at a rest home?
Combining fast-paced dialogue with stand-up comedy and musical performances, the pilot episode 'Loose Wires', follows the exploits of a core group of endearing characters while entertaining the viewer with the talents of a real-life comedian and a gifted singer.
Production Notes:
A joint venture with Fountain Productions Inc, this sitcom series is presently being packaged for TV networks. Director I.L. Maisuria collaborated with comedian Byron Bertram and Writer, Producer May Brown to refine the pilot script before production. Initially, a demo was to be shot for networks, but the producers decided to shoot the pilot script in its entirety. With Chris Oben on board as cinematographer, casting and rehearsals began. The pilot was shot in 4 days in as many locations. Editor Richard Schwadel cut several hilarious versions, one of which is making the rounds in the festival circuit. Early reviews by audiences and critics are positive and furthering the projects forays onto TV land. Keep an eye out for GIGS...
NUTS
Description: commercial for SHMECKEN NUTS - 30 seconds
An audition is in progress in auditorium. There are three judges, one of whom calls out the next performer. Sanjay who is seated with two friends quickly puts the half eaten snack he was munching into his backpack and goes on stage. While on stage and about to audition, Sanjay sees his friends digging into his backpack and devouring his snack. Sanjay gestures for them to stop. The judges and some girls behind them react to his pleadings. By now Sanjay is emotionally calling out gesturing for his friends to stop the devouring of his snack. He falls to his knees and weeps. The judges and the girls start applauding thinking Sanjay is performing. Realizing this, Sanjay gets up and takes a bow…
Production Notes:
Cinematographer Chris Oben invited Ishwar to come along with him to Chennai India to scope out a potential feature film project. A producer there, G. Arun, had acquired the phantom HD camera system and required Chris who has experience using this camera, to perform tests as to its suitability for use on the feature film some months later. This commercial is the result of that testing process. Two days before our return, G. Arun decided to make the commercial. Actors and locations, and crew was quickly acquired. Ishwar directed the commercial along side G. Arun. Chris, Ishwar, G. Arun and the Indian cast and crew got all the shots within a 10-hour schedule. Chris and Ishwar flew back to Canada the next day after signing contracts for G. Arun’s feature film. Chris signed on as cinematographer and Ishwar signed on as associate director. The commercial continues to play in Indian cinemas and television.
BARBERSHOP RULES
Description: short drama - 7 minutes
George, a wise older barber has finished his last haircut for the day and presently cleaning up to close the shop. A stranger knocks and wants to use the phone. George lets him in. The stranger takes an opportunity and whacks George in the head, knocking him out cold! The stranger needs the key to open the till so he revives George. George delivers a hearty punch in self-defense. They fight. George knocks him out cold. Now it’s George’s turn to interrogate the intruder…. yes there are a few more twists and turns...
Production Notes:
This project was entirely an exercise in making a short movie in one day devoid of a crew or a budget. In fact the budget was 2 large pizzas. And the crew consisted of two filmmakers, I.L. Maisuria and Mark Tuit, both with a rigorous sense of the mantra “by any means necessary”. With the two actors on board, a script, a barbershop, Mark and Ishwar were able to shoot the entire script in 12 hours, which included a pizza break. With postproduction on Final Cut, which also took another day, the exercise was a resounding success.
TALE
Description: Music Video - 4.02 minutes
'Tale' is a song by the Vancouver based pop band 'Red Sector 1'. The story of the video is a modern day variation on children's fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Shot on black and white film on location at farm, the narrative shows the lead singer on a zig zag tour through the farm followed by rogues and miscreants until they reach 'grandmother's house'...
Production Notes:
For this project and the subsequent music video Ishwar donned his Writer and Producer hat on behalf of Mya Studios and relegated the directing of the project to long time colleague and collaborator Bev Hutter. Together with the lead singer, Ishwar and Bev came up with the script, concept and visual dynamics of the video. Not bad for a project budgeted only at $1000.
SLAMDANCE
Description: Music Video - 4.33 minutes
A dance based Hip-Hop video, 'Slamdance' is a funky track by recording artist D.K. Hype. The narrative follows a group of bored youth in a dark, down town alley who seem to see an alien like figure appear, D.K. Hype himself, with a live cougar and are invited to join him in a new type of dance craze –Slamdance. The young folks join in the dance with spectacular costumes, lights, and dance moves until the song ends, and the alien like figure and the cougar disappear. The youth in the alley are shown again, still bored...
Production Notes:
For this music video Ishwar again played Writer and Producer on behalf of Mya Studios and relegated the directing of the project to long time colleague and collaborator Bev Hutter. Together with the lead singer, Ishwar and Bev came up with the script, concept and visual dynamics of the video. Two difficult aspects were securing an alleyway in downtown Vancouver and acquiring a live cougar to perform along side D.K. Hype, both tasks were resolved with much deliberation and planning. It was an all night shoot. The result is not bad considering the budget again was a mere $1000.
PARK
Description: Experimental Video - 3.10 minutes
The camera remains steady, as a young woman starting at one end a park lane makes her way towards the static camera. All seems normal enough until along the way she leans on a tree, sits down, and leans on the other side of the lane and subsequent repetitions, until she reaches the camera. With umpteen dissolves, quick, repetitive cutting style it has a dreamlike quality that works to expand and express the young woman's underlying and latent emotional and psychological characteristics. Just a walk in the park?
Production Notes:
This is one of several experimental videos Ishwar conceived and directed as part of his MFA program at Simon Fraser University. ‘Park in particular was a collaboration with a performance artist (the young woman in the video), who was interested in exploring 'bodies in space'. Upon screening it for instructors and students, the video generated a lot of discussion, particularly the role of video technology in enhancing simple actions or movements such as the one in this video.
GESTURE
Description: Experimental Video - 1.30 minutes
Kathak is a traditional dance form that originated in India. This video has an Indian kathak dancer in a static seated position. The camera too remains in a stationary position. In stylized kathak gestures, she proceeds to tell a story about how 'she waits for her lover who is late'. As the action progresses, several avatars of the performer is revealed by basic changes in her costume and make up. She is shown in traditional Indian costumes, a business suit, jammies etc. The edits on precise movements makes the shifts in identity smooth and seamless.
Production Notes:
This is another experimental video Ishwar conceived and directed as part of his MFA program at Simon Fraser University. The idea was to convey how immigrants retain and cultivate multiple identities. In this case using an ancient traditional dance form as a vehicle to express a multiplicity of personalities that some immigrants inhabit (both casually and passionately) in spite of the fact that ones original culture has been superseded by the supposedly modern and dominant Western culture, that immigrants adopt and adapt to, and alter with their multiple cultural lifestyles...
