Silhouettes (Feature Film), Bee the Future (Documentary), The Lost (Short Film)

About the Film

“Silhouettes” is a love story of opposites that unfolds over a series of conversations, in the spirit of “Before Sunset” and “Lost in Translation”. Aamod is a retired executive and playboy who lives alone in his sprawling downtown Chicago apartment; Nadia is a whipsmart lawyer in transit to see her conservative Muslim parents for the first time in more than a decade. When her train is delayed, a chance encounter brings them together for a magical day in Chicago, wandering its secret corners and its most haunting spaces for a few fleeting hours. When you feel different, home is finding another outsider. What emerges through words is the power of their feelings for each other as Aamod grapples with whether he can let go of a tragic secret and embrace a future with Nadia. “Silhouettes” confronts issues of race, identity and culture, forming a new chapter in the American love story.

Official Selection Montreal World Film Festival

Cast: Tom Silva, Fawzia Mirza, Puja Mohindra, Sean Masterson

Director: Gustavo Bernal-Mancheno

About the Film

Bee The Future’ showcases a spelling bee for disadvantaged children from Bangalore’s poorest schools. The winner of the Bee is granted a college scholarship and a chance for a bright future. The audience holds their breath as they witness the longest and most intense competition in the spelling bee’s history, which will change the life of the winner forever.

Q&A Session after the screening with Director Monika Samtani and Executive Producer Sarva Rajendra

Director/Producer: Monika Samtani

Monika Samtani is president and founder of Ms. Media, an international firm in Washington, D.C. Monika is well known in the Indian American community as a trailblazer for her achievements in the media industry for 25+ years. In the early 1990’s, she was one of the first professional South Asian broadcast journalists in Washington, D.C., ranked the top 7 news market in the United States. In 2010, Monika was recognized at the Mid-Atlantic region’s Television, Internet & Video Association (TIVA) D.C. Peer Awards as one of the best and brightest in the fields of film, video, and the Internet. She was the October 2013 cover feature of Washington FAMILY Magazine, and was honored with Maryland’s 2002 ‘Achievement in Public Information’ Award for her reporting during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the DC Sniper attacks that paralyzed the community.

Director: Neil M. Paik

Starring: Suraj Sharma, Chike Okonkwo, Brent Antonello, Laura Niemi

Post Screening discussion with Actor Suraj Sharma