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Ever wonder why other films in the South Asian Scene poke jokes at our Indian culture? Maybe because it’s comical or because non-Indian audiences enjoy it. Well, we are going to do a 180 and tell you there is a film out there being made where Indian-Americans will not be steamed from being stereotyped. What do we mean by that? The actors in Family Party don’t have fake Indian accents and the jokes do not poke fun at the Indian Culture. It’s a film that centers on the modern, integrated Indian -American family, without any cultural or parental tension. We remind you, the focus is NOT Indian culture, but family dynamics and how families deal with certain situations and stakes.
Writer/Director Pari Mathur is teaming up with Producer Felix Ding Cinematographer Richie Yau to make this film. Pari told us what his reason was in making this film.
“The reason I am making this film is to change the way South Asian society is depicted in cinema. If you’ve seen Indian-American films such as Outsourced, American Desi, etc., you’ll realize that they all have one theme in common: cultural tension – traditional vs. modern values, parents vs. kids, being brought up in India vs. being brought up in America. We will be showcasing a unified Indian- American society. This story doesn’t focus on cultural tension, but rather explores family dynamics through a coming-of-age narrative. Forget stereotypes. Forget accents. This is a progressive story – a cultural film 2.0.” – Pari Mathur
Check out the video below and see what he had to say about Family Party.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XURgG3rDSFU&feature=player_embedded
Family Party is a family friendly coming-of-age romantic comedy. It opens with our main protagonist Nick ready to attend a huge concert with his friends. Unfortunately, his mom has different plans for him. She demands he attend one last family event before he heads off to college.
After being dragged to the family party, he meets Arti. Turns out it’s her graduation party, but she never wanted it in the first place. Just like Nick, what she really wants is to go to the concert with her friends. So the two of them come together and plan an escape. But there are a few things that are stopping them: A missing diamond necklace, a jealous childhood friend, and a religious pundit who twitters.
Will they be able to make it to the big concert? Or is this family party the end of their night?
Family Party is an independent feature film written and directed by Pari Mathur, and produced by Pari Mathur, Rishi Kumar, and Felix Ding for Silk Road Films. The script was written in 2009. Development was completed January 2013, with the film currently in pre-production. Funds will be raised through a combination of fiscal sponsorship and a Kickstarter campaign (crowd funding). Principal photography will begin April 2013, followed by two to three months of post-production. The film will hit the festival circuit in 2013.
Family Party will be filmed entirely in the San Francisco Bay Area, with local actors cast from notable Bay Area organizations such as The Harker School Acting Conservatory, The Oakland School for the Arts, and Naatak, a leading South Asian theater group. The crew will be comprised of !lm industry professionals from Los Angeles, with experience in both commercial and feature film productions.
So how can you help make this film – it’s easy! The team has set up a Kickstarter fundraising website for people to bring in money for this campaign and the funds will go into the production and post-production costs. Check out details below!
The Kickstarter Program
The goal is to raise $95,000 during our 30-day campaign, beginning Thursday, January 31, 2013 and ending Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 9am. For a film, $95,000 isn’t very much money at all. The majority of the filming will be done in one house. There aren’t any special effects or stunt work; this is a character driven narrative.
Every dollar we raise from our campaign will go into our production and post-production costs. This includes camera rentals, grip package rentals, cast, crew, feeding everyone, location fees, insurance, music, editing, and other production/post-production related costs. Your backing goes directly to funding this film and bringing this film to life!
Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing platform. If our $95,000 goal isn’t met before the deadline, no money changes hands and no movie is made (knock on wood – is an Ikea table real wood?). Your financial support of Family Party is not a donation, you will receive unique rewards based on your pledge level – the more you pledge, the better the rewards (all rewards can be found on the right hand side of our Kickstarter page). More importantly, you will be joining our team and showing everyone that you believe in this project!
The Kickstarter page can be found at: http://kck.st/11WIPgQ. Be sure to check out the Family Party website for more details!
