English, Hindi, Tamil and Marathi with English subtitles | 59 mins
“What sin did I commit to be born a woman?” Lakshmi wonders aloud. A 21-year-old housemaid in Mumbai, she works 10 hours a day, seven days a week. One of her employers is Nishtha Jain, who begins to make a documentary that explores their relationship. Nishtha films Lakshmi at home and at work in various houses. Lakshmi’s is a precarious existence to begin with; illness and romance compound her problems in unexpected ways. As the filmmaker is drawn deeper into Lakshmi’s life, she is forced to question many of the things she takes for granted. During a year and a half of dramatic changes, the process of filming has its own impact on unfolding events and on the relationship between two women.
Part of th ... Go to event
“The Week That Changed the World”
Richard Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972 changed the course of history — reshaping the global balance of power and opening the door to the establishment of relations between the People’s Republic and the United States.
It was also a milestone in the history of journalism. Since the Communist revolution of 1949, a suspicious regime in Beijing had barred virtually all U.S. reporters from China. For the Nixon trip, however, the Chinese agreed to accept nearly 100 journalists, and to allow the most dramatic events — Nixon’s arrival in Beijing, Zhou Enlai’s welcoming banquet, visits to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City — to be televised live.
The coverage was arguably as important as the details of the diplomacy. I ... 
The Center for Asian America Media presents the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF) every March. The SFIAAFF is the largest and most prestigious showcase for new Asian American and Asian films in North America, annually presenting approximately 120 works in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. SFIAAFF also features the best in Asian American music and digital and interactive media. Since 1982, the SFIAAFF has been an important launching point for Asian American independent filmmakers as well as a vital source for new Asian cinema.
When: March 8-18, 2012
Where: Various
Schedule & Tickets
For more info click here.
This series of documentaries, featuring films made from the 1970s to the present, focuses on the most intimate acts by filmmakers and documentary subjects as they probe into extremely private experiences concerning family, birth, death, loss, and heartbreak. Pushing the genre and subjects into uncharted territories, these films address various issues fundamental to documentary filmmaking: privacy, authority, authenticity, and responsibility. They also offer penetrating contemplations on Japanese society and individual lives.
This series is supported in part by the Japan Foundation and New York State Council on the Arts.
When: March 10-31, 2012
Where: Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Tickets: $7 members; $9 students/seniors; $11 nonmembers
Schedule and other info c ... 
The documentary film, directed by Turkish filmmaker Aslihan Unaldi, tells the story of Istanbul’s struggle to come to terms with accelerated population growth and car-centric policies that have dominated its development in the last five decades – issues that are challenging megacities around the world. Once an ancient imperial capital, now a bustling modern megalopolis, will Istanbul renew itself once again, or succumb to uncontrolled motorization and urban growth? Featuring interviews with Dogan Kuban, John Freely, Edhem Eldem and others.
A question & answer session with Director Aslihan Unaldi and Executive Producer & EMBARQ Turkey Founder Sibel Bulay will follow the film screening. An opening reception will be held.
“Overdrive” is produced by EMBARQ- a pr ... 
From Blarney to Killarney and Cobh to Dublin are adventures that celebrate Irish culture and the country’s immigration links with America. The land offers wonders, the people are smiling and friendly, and the tea and scones are a welcome at every stop.
When: Friday, March 16, 2012
Time: 1:00 pm and 7:30 pm
Where: Miller Center for the Arts,
4 North Second Street, Reading, PA 19601
Tickets: $7 Adults; $6 Seniors (60 years+) and Students
For more info click here.
This documentary follows Emily Tay, a young woman caught between her Buddhist parents, who risked everything to emigrate from Burma and expect their daughter to comply with an arranged marriage, and her own American dream.
When Emily moves to Germany to play professional basketball and falls in love with a U.S. servicewoman living under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, her story unfolds as she struggles to find the courage required to live the life she imagines.
No Look Pass is presented as part of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs’ 9th Annual Immigrant Heritage Week, celebrating the histories and traditions of the city’s diverse immigrant communities.
When: Tues, April 24, 2012, 6:50 pm
Due to limited space, RSVPs are required to guarantee seating.
Where: BAM Rose Cinemas
... 
In memory of Archie Perlmutter, Co-founder of the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival.
Guest Curator: Ruth Perlmutter
Short films are a kind of micro-cinema. In concision, speed and instant gratification, they have a special appeal in this age of acronyms and limited attention spans. And yet, shorts are also complete and often complex narratives that, like feature films, are structured by character, plot, theme and genre. From animation to allegory, documentary to avant-garde, and comedy to tragedy, they explore family bonds, self-discovery, and resilience, and a whole range of emotions.
When: May 5, 2012
Time: 8:30 pm
Where: The National Museum of American Jewish History
101 South Independence Mall East, Philadelphia
Admission: $10: General Admission; $9: Seniors/Students; Free: Student Gro ... 
June 19 – July 31, 2013
Wednesdays, 7 pm (Adult)
(Youth 1 pm starting July 10)
Newark Museum welcomes the 37th annual Newark Black Film Festival, a month-long event
Since its inception in 1974, the Newark Black Film Festival (NBFF) has become known among its peers as the longest running black film festival in the United States. Throughout the years, it has continued to provide a progressive public forum for hundreds of emerging writers, directors, producers, performers and film buffs who enjoy African American and African Diaspora cinema. Screening in the summer months, the films that are shown reflect the full diversity of the black experience in America, both past and present. Each film selection encompasses a wide range of cinematic forms and formulas, from documentary to the av ... 
