Keep checking back often.
Keep checking back often.
Malabar Hill Films strives to create art that illuminates
distinct worlds, yet speaks to a global audience.
Established in 2006, Malabar Hill Films is based in Los Angeles and Mumbai. Presently, we are focused on bringing to life films that wander cultural landscapes through humor. We hope our films will spark good conversation over a pot of tea, maybe bridge some differences, but at the very least put a smile on your face.
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Bhargavi C. Mandava was born in Hyderabad, India and grew up in New York City. Her first novel Where the Oceans Meet was published by Seal Press and she was awarded a Brody Arts Fellowship for fiction. Her fiction, poetry, and essays have been widely anthologized. She has been awarded residencies at Hedgebrook, Ledig House, and Blue Mountain Center. Recently, her poetry was published in Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry, which won a Northern California Book Award in 2011. Bhargavi loves the art of storytelling. She particularly enjoys bringing distinct worlds together, and causing collisions between the characters that inhabit them. |
Rita Rani Ahuja was born in Silverspring, Maryland and grew up in Bangalore, India and Los Angeles. She wrote, produced, and directed Bombay Skies, which won numerous awards including Best Short Film at the 2008 La Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles. She produced the award-winning short films The Call, The Loop and Behind the Curtain with Peter MacNicol of Ally McBeal fame. She also won the 2003 Images Award from the Filmi Film Festival in Toronto, Canada for her work as an actress in the feature film Trade Offs. Rita is fascinated by the art of creation. Be it film, theater, or a character, she enjoys bringing it all together piece by piece. |
LOGLINE
When new immigrant Santosh Surapaneni buys an ailing hardware shop in a depressed town in upstate New York, he sparks irreversible changes in his family, his American employees and the neighborhood.
STORYLINE
With the help of a well-off uncle, Santosh Surapaneni embarks on his dream of being a business owner in America when he purchases a rundown hardware shop in rural New York. Sure, the shop needs some TLC, but Santosh sees the glass as half full, nothing hard work and compassion couldn’t fix. His wife, Lalita, however, is another matter…to her the glass is, well, nearly empty. She resists change, holding dearly to her fading culture and memories of their native India. Add to this, the disgruntled employees, who were in the process of raising the money to buy the shop before Santosh snatched it up, and the last thing they feel like doing is showing the Indian the ropes. Lost and desperate, Santosh struggles to make the hardware shop successful, and in the process discovers what it means to be American.
“Bombay Skies is a truly beautiful film. The acting and directing are impeccable.” -Ellen Plummer, Producer/Writer (Friends, Joey)
“A charming and beautifully told story.” - Donn Cambern, ACE (Easy Rider, The Last Picture Show, Twins, The Glimmer Man)
LOGLINE
American born Anjali runs off to India with dreams of becoming a movie star in Mumbai. Her father goes after her vowing to bring her back, but when a little street boy takes him on a journey through the gallis of Mumbai in search of his daughter, he ends up reviving memories from the past, re-encountering a dream long lost, and falling in love with the city he once called home.
Awards, Nominations & Official Selection
Awards
Best Narrative Short Film at The Boston International Film Festival, 2007
Best Short Film Award at The La Femme International Film Festival in Los Angeles, 2008
The Golden Kahuna at The Honolulu International Film Festival, 2009
The List Award for Best Short Film of the Year by Filmmaker Interviews Magazine, 2006
Nominations
Best Indian Short at The Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival, 2007
Audience Award for Best Short Film at The Method Fest, 2007
Rajat Kapoor – nominated for The SAG Award for Best Actor in a Short Film at The Method Fest, 2007
The 2008 World Short Film Award for Best Short Film
One of the top 10 finalists for The 2007-2008 Boston Motion Picture Awards
Official Selection
The 2006 Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival – New York, NY
The 2007 Method Fest Calabasas, CA
The 2007 Palm Beach International Film Festival
The 2007 Boston International Film Festival
The 2007 Bollywood & Beyond Film Festival – Stuttgart, Germany
The 2007 Big Bear Lake International Film Festival
The 2007 Salento International Film Festival – Tricase, Italy
The 2007 Filmi South Asian Film Festival – Toronto, Canada
The 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival – Providence, RI
The 2007 Los Angeles International Shorts Film Festival
The 2007 Arpa International Film Festival – Los Angeles, CA
The 2007 NYC Picture Start Film Festival – New York, NY
The 2008 Show Off Your Shorts Film Festival – Los Angeles, CA
The 2008 Lake County Film Festival – Lake County, Il
The 2008 Tiburon Film Festival – Tiburon, CA
The 2008 Newport Beach Film Festival – Newport Beach, CA
The 2008 Maryland Film Festival
The 2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival
The 2008 La Femme International Film Festival
The 2009 Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival – France
The 2009 San Joaquin International Film Festival – Central Valley, CA
The 2009 Peniche Cinema in the Frame of Extravagant India – Paris, France
The 2009 Festival Internacional Filmets Badalona – Barcelona, Spain
“Rani’s spirited performance and a couple unexpected moments, make Bombay Skies a visual delight.” - Richard Propes, The Independent Critic (Nationally recognized Peace Activist and Critic)
“Magical and endearing. Rita Rani will be a talent to watch.” – Linda Cowgill, Screenwriter & Author (Writing Short Films, Secrets of Screenplay Structure)
“Bombay Skies is an excellent example of the magic that can created when the best of Hollywood and Bollywood meet” - Mohit Rajhans, Festival Director (Filmi South Asian Film Festival, Toronto, Canada)
“Bombay Skies is a breathtaking film.” – Anup Sugunan, Editor (Filmmaker Interviews Magazine)
“Ovation Recommended, Critic’s Pick (LA Weekly & Backstage)”
LA Weekly says “GO!”
“…emotionally powerful…straightforward, honest performances…” – BACKSTAGE
Written by Richard Kalinoski
Directed by Paul Lampert
Produced by Olga Konstantulakis
Cast:
John Cirigliano
Olga Konstantulakis
Zadran Wali
Understudy:
Robert Hallak
Assistant Director/Stage Manager:
Shazia Malik
“…rich inspiring production…tight direction…touching excellent portraits by this fine cast.” – AMERICAN NETWORK RADIO
“brilliant…not-to-be missed…outstanding cast…directed with great sensitivity…” – LARCHMONT CHRONICLE
“harrowing and satisfying theatrical experience…” – ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK/GROONG
“heartbraking tale…truly unique…passionate and engrossing performances” – LASPLASH.COM
Marilyn Monroe Theatre at the Lee Strasberg Creative Center
7936 Santa Monica Blvd
W. Hollywood, CA 90046
BEAST ON THE MOON was produced at the Humana Festival at the Actors Theater of Louisville in 1995. Its prize-winning career on international stages includes productions in 17 countries and 12 languages. In 2001, the play won five Molière awards. (That’s French for Tony.)
In 1921, an Armenian mail-order bride is shipped to Milwaukee to begin a new life with her photographer husband. Both yearn to emerge from the dark shadows of the Armenian holocaust. As they struggle to redefine family amidst grief and displacement, these kindred strangers realize a love deeper than ever imagined.
