San Francisco Premiere
of the First Pakistani-American Movie
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Dr Hassan Zee and Craig Marker |
A Pakistani medical doctor by
education with a passion for making films, Director Hassan
Zee, started Phenomenon Films in California a couple of years
ago. Phenomenon’s first full-length feature film “Night of
Henna” is to open in San Francisco during the first week of
March, 2005 (see venues and show times below). Hassan, who
is an ardent fan of the emerging South Asian independent cinema
that has now been hitting the shores of the United States
once said that Night of Henna was not unlike the overseas
Indian success stories in the US, like “Bend it Like Beckham”
and the critically acclaimed “Monsoon Wedding”.
The British-Pakistani family
drama “East is East” which conquered many critics in Europe
also come to mind now as does “Bride and Prejudice” which
is making quite a few headlines here. The movie stars Pooja
Kumar as Hava , Suhail Tayeb as Salman, Reef Karim as Baboo
and a young actor who is out to make a name for himself from
this point onwards, Craig Marker, who plays Justin. The role
of the character Zakia is played by Noor Shic, Girja Shankar
plays Abdul, along with Azhar Shah as Bashir amongst a host
of others. Cinematography is by the Academy Award nominated
Hiro Narita. Night of Henna is about women’s rights and choices.
It is the story of a young Pakistani-American
girl who has been sent back to Pakistan to live with relatives
so that she could have a more traditional upbringing “protected”
from western influences. It is about her return to America
to attend university, about arranged marriages, and the difficult
decisions that are being made for her and by her as reality
creeps into her life as a young woman. New Yorker Pooja Kumar
(former Miss US-India) has taken on the difficult role of
Hava and Craig Marker’s character of Justin offers her much
to think about. Like the breeze or wind that translates to
“Hava” in the Urdu language, or Adam’s Eve (“Hawwa” in Urdu),
this is a movie about a young woman impacted by movement and
moments in her life that want to change the status quo.
Cast of the movie |
And one should be glad that
Dr. Hassan (who is also the film’s writer and producer) did
not name his lead female character “Toofan” (storm). But knowing
him, that could just be his next project. NIGHT OF HENNA opens
on the days and dates below and at the following venues: Thursday,
March 3 / 2:00pm & 7:00pm / World Premiere, Night of Henna,
San Francisco State University - Jack Adams Hall Followed
at 10:00pm by a World Premiere Release Reception at 398 Eddy
Street, San Francisco, CA *Admittance charge: $20.00 per person
(reception only) For tickets to world premiere and/or world
premiere reception, contact 1-415-820-3200 ext.200*** Friday,
March 4 / First Theatrical Release of Night of Henna at Four
Star Theatre COPRESENTED BY FILM ARTS FOUNDATION, 2200 Clement
Street, San Francisco, CA *For show times, visit www.4starmovie.net
or contact 415-666-3488. For more information, please visit
the website the World Wide Web at: www.nightofhenna.com.
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