Original English and Panjabi version with English subtitles
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This monthly series of outstanding documentaries is being presented by friends of the late great filmmaker Magnus Isacsson. Each screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, a film subject and/or an event inspired by the film. Magnus Opus will be presented in French and English at the Cinema du Parc on the second Sunday of every month from 2 pm to 5 pm, beginning in January 2013, and will celebrate Quebec, Canadian and international documentaries.
Ruhi Singh is a small town girl with big city dreams. She sets off to Bombay to win the title of Miss India--a launching pad to fame and a surefire way to stand out in a country of 1.2 billion people. Just hours from the Miss India beauty boot camp is another training ground for girls--that of the Durga Vahini, a Hindu nationalist group exclusively for women. Here we meet Prachi Trivedi, a young, fearsome drill sergeant training Indian girls to fight against Western culture, Islam and Christianity by any means necessary including violence. Gliding back and forth between the action of the two camps, the dreams and conflicts of India and young Indian women are laid bare-- the two opposing worlds aren't as far away from each other as they seem.
“A thought-provoking film that examines women's limited choices in a patriarchal country reeling from the contradictions of rapid modernization.”
-LIAM LACEY, GLOBE AND MAIL
“Extreme choices and attitudes confronting women in India are laid bare in Nisha Pahuja's quietly shocking film, the Best Canadian Feature winner at Hot Docs 2012.”
-PETER HOWELL, TORONTO STAR
Please join us after the screening for a conversation with the director Nisha Pahaja (via SKYPE) and Dipti Gupta, cinema/communications professor at Dawson College and community activist for a discussion about the film and the issues surrounding the status of women in India today. Montreal producer Ina Fichman will moderate.
HOT DOCS CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL – BEST FILM
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL – BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
WARSAW INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL – BEST DOCUMENTARY
BEST FOREIGN FILM, 2012 TRAVERSE CITY FILM FESTIVAL
BEST CANADIAN FEATURE DOCUMENTARY, 2012 EDMONTON INT’L FILM FESTIVAL
SPECIAL JURY MENTION, ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS EDA AWARDS, 2012 ST. LOUIS INT’L FILM FESTIVAL
TOP 10, AUDIENCE CHOICE, 2012 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
TOP 10, AUDIENCE CHOICE, 2012 HOT DOCS FILM FESTIVAL
TOP 10, AUDIENCE CHOICE, 2012 VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
TOP 5, AUDIENCE CHOICE, 2012 PALO ALTO FILM FESTIVAL
