Year: 2012

Runtime: 50 seconds

Director, Editor: Geeta Malik

Director of Photography: Chris Carrea

Starring: Omi Vaidya, Pranidhi Varshney, Sathya Jesudasson

Year: 2009

Runtime: 3:45

Artist: Leah

Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Geeta Malik

Special thanks to Leah, the band, and Ryan

Year: 2009

Runtime: 30 seconds

Director, Editor: Geeta Malik

Director of Photography: Quyen Tran

Starring: Mona Valentine and Damasa Doyle

Runtime: 9:46
Format: Digital Video
Year: 2011

Lifts all boats, they say. But can it also overwhelm and drown those little imaginary people on the boats, in a huge crushing wave of assumptions?

Optimistic, right? Well. When Slumdog Millionaire came out, everyone suddenly “got” what it is I’m trying to do with my life. Ah, you’re a director? Do you know M. Night Shyamalan? Do you shoot your movies in English? Won’t it be easier for you to get your movies made, now that Indians are in the spotlight? If I was making a movie about slum kids in India riding trains and falling in love, perhaps. But that’s not what I’m doing.

We brownies are indeed everywhere, but what does it really mean for our power in ascending the ranks? We’ve always had bastions like Sir Gandhi Kingsley (woe to you if you forget the SIR) and then Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta, and Gurinder Chadha, who broke down many barriers without ignoring their Indian roots. On TV, we had the Outsourced gang, Danny Pudi on Community (my favorite show in years), and the untouchable Archie Punjabi and Mindy Kaling. I keep noticing Indian names in the credits, too, behind the scenes as editors, designers, and sometimes even as writers and directors. So yes, the tide seems to be rising. All sorts of mainstream shows are casting diverse actors and they’re not always cast as stereotypes, which warms the cockles of my heart.

In the meantime, though, let’s not just assume that because a few desi names are sprinkled throughout primetime and in select theaters, that it’ll be smooth sailing (how awesome are my boat metaphors today?). Take me, for instance, sitting in front of my computer right now, and striving to do absolutely anything rather than get back to the script I’m trying to revise. I originally wrote it with the lead woman named Sharmila Mukherjee. Then, I reconsidered. The script didn’t insist on an Indian being in that role, so why was I insisting? Okay. So Sharmila Mukherjee is now Shar Shaw. That name can go many ways and many ethnicities. So, I’m being realistic in that it’ll probably be easier to get mainstream attention if I don’t limit myself to an Indian in the lead role. Beyond that, I’m doing what I wish everyone did – keeping the role open to whoever’s the best, not just whoever’s a certain race.

I’ll be thinking about this every time I write something. I have enough brown actor friends who are always looking for meaty roles, but who are often not called in for auditions, because the role is written for “James Manchester” or what-have-you. It’s changing, yes! It’s changing for the better. It’ll take more time, though, and more of us in positions of power, to really make a sea change (I’m on FIRE). And in the meantime, I wonder if I’ll always be aware of choosing the race of my main characters. Is this guy Indian? Is he African-American? Is he white? Will it matter when we get to casting? Does it matter for the actual character and backstory? What about later on, when I’m trying to fundraise?

I remember a long time ago when I worked for Showbiz India, I had the opportunity to interview the two writers behind the Harold and Kumar franchise. They said they’d insisted on the two leads being Indian and Asian, and that they had tons of meetings where they were asked to change those names. Why did they have to be two minorities? Couldn’t that film have easily been just another stoner comedy with two white guys, and a few random details changed?

Sure. Easily. And by the same token, a million films that came out this year could have easily starred minorities in the lead roles, too. I’m constantly torn between pushing for my fellow Indians and wanted to keep my own head color-bias-free. It’s like I’m in OPEN WATER and can’t SEE THE SHORE, or at least a BUOY.

All right, the quality of metaphors are rapidly declining. Back to revising.

The darkly comic story of a young woman who is suddenly confronted with the long-dormant instincts she suppressed throughout her childhood.

Runtime: 15:54
Format: Super 16mm
Year: 2007

The Method Fest, 2009
The River to River Florence Indian Film Festival, 2008
The Atlanta Indo-American Film Festival, 2008
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, 2008
The Now Film Festival, 2008
UCLA Festival 2007

Cast:

Little Jaya: Jaysha Patel
Big Jaya: Nishita Lal
Savitri Devi: Sathya Jesudasson
Lata: Viji Nathan
Mr. Miller: Ryan Quintana
Lacey: Victoria Bonaventure
Ruby: Kelly Plucinski
Ted: Jason Hasty
Narayan: Badrinath Touzene

Crew:

Producer/Writer/Director: Geeta Malik
Associate Producer: Matt Silas
Director of Photography: Quyen Tran
Assistant Directors: Ben Peyser, Elvin Chacon, Yoshie Suzuki
2nd Assistant Director: Ronan McRory
Camera Assistant: Ken Kokka
2nd Camera Assistants: Yoon Choi, Dagmar Weaver-Madsen, Vanessa Rojas
Gaffers: Edwin Kim, Paul de Lumen, Cat Deakins, Hugh Scott
Grips: Mikiko Sasaki, Alex DeMille, Dave Kelly, Mira Lew, Amy Adrion, Jessica McMunn, Eddie Kim, Xavier Tatarkiewicz, Chris Carrea, Topher Osborn, Justin Wolske
Sound Mixers: Nathan Chitayat, Alex Diaz, Julie Sagalowsky, Sharon Hill
Boom Operators: Mikiko Sasaki, Julie Sagalowsky, Barry McGuire, Suzie Bohannon, Chris Carrea
Production Designer: Brett Banakis
Art Department: Maria Kisselov, Brett Banakis
Fight Coordinator: Justin Wolske
Set Design/Construction: Rand Soares, Dagmar Weaver-Madsen, Alex DeMille, Mira Lew, Alex Diaz, Eddie Kim
Editor: Geeta Malik
Crew Thanks: Kim Townes, Julian Tran and Abe Sylvia

Five housewives go about their daily routines – cooking dinner, playing pickup basketball, and throwing back some beers.

Runtime: 5:42
Format: 16mm
Year: 2004

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, 2006
Ms. Film Festival, 2006
Asian American International Film Festival, 2005
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (3rd Place Comedy), 2005
Women of Color Film Festival, 2005
South Asian American Film and Art Association, 2004
Hot Curry Film Festival, 2004

Cast:

Aunty G: Sathya Jesudasson
Uncle G: Rajeev Chhibber
Pinky Aunty: Saraswati Radhakrishnan
Cookie Aunty: Mita Ghosal
Tinku Aunty: Rajashree Damle
Bubble Aunty: Indu Sathaye
Ballers: Ezekiel Robles, Karthik Krishnamurthy, Vijesh Mehta
Guy in Bar: Jeff Hevert
Hot Bar Girl Sadly Cut From Film: Hilda Bahena

Crew:

Writer/Producer/Director: Geeta Malik
Directors of Photography: Patrick Perez and Quyen Tran
Assistant Director: Jeff Hevert
Camera Assistant: Justin Wolske
Gaffer: Alex Fisher
Sound Mixers: Walter Richardson and Olivia Silver
Boom Operator: Alex Fisher
Editor: Geeta Malik

What a poetic title for this blog post, amirite?  I’ve been waking up every morning with the sun, and finishing my work when the stars are out.  Why?  Because I’m line producing an indie thriller, Life Tracker, and there’s plenty to do.  The cast and crew are awesome, the script is fascinating, and we’re slowly crossing things off our task lists, which is always Fun!  Capital F!

I love having a shitload of work to do.  I love it.  I love having this feeling of forward momentum towards a very concrete end goal.  The feeling is what’s important, because so many of my days are nebulous and amorphous, and I wake up in the morning knowing I have to do a million things to get my career going, but having only a vague idea of how to accomplish them.  After years of doing jobs that weren’t exactly in line with my goals (ahem), and then moving into the freelance world where there’s no stability, it’s nice to have a daily schedule again for a project that I’m excited about.

Though, of course, since this is a movie shoot, it’ll all be over soon, and I’ll be back to trying to figure out how to make the the big bucks that I assumed I’d of course make when I became an indie filmmaker.   Don’t all indie filmmakers get to roll around in piles of gold?  Cause that’s what I was told in film school, and if that’s not true, well, then, I don’t know what to believe anymore.  Is the sun yellow?  Is the sky blue?

One of the many tough parts about this industry is that you can never really escape your work.  I used to be able to watch TV and movies without knowing a single person involved.  Nowadays, I see familiar names in the credits and familiar faces on the screen, and even while I’m genuinely enjoying myself, I’m always a little outside of it all, watching with one eye, taking mental notes, making critical assessments.  And when something is particularly awesome, I’m inspired, and then I wonder if I should just give up, because how can you top the genius of Arrested Development?  It’s actually a good feeling to have something to strive towards.  None of us set out to make According to Jim, do we?  Uh…

Plenty more to come!  Especially since I’m planning to see Haywire soon, a movie I’ve been quite excited about for a while.  Though who the hell signed off on the ad that quotes it as being “a sexy thriller for women?!?!”  I nearly got up and punched my TV screen when that came on.  I think Gia Carano would approve.