'HELP' is a supernatural horror that draws upon the story of a malevolent spirit that refuses to leave the human world. Protagonist Vic (Bobby Deol) is a successful horror film director in Bollywood and is married to Pia (Mugdha Godse). Pia and Vic are having marital problems and in the midst of their troubled marriage, they have to rush Mauritius to visit Pia's ailing father. Little do they know that there's something ancient and dark that remains still, hidden and silent in the old house where Pia grew up. It can only wait, having been concealed in the shadows for years and all it wants to do is to strike again! As the darkness spreads, things start to get worse and the spirit tries to annihilate everything. Now Vic and Pia must race against time to find out the secret which will save their lives. Will their love gather the strength to survive the malevolent spirit or will they witness the most horrifying truths of their lives in a doomed attempt to save everything and everyone that means anything to the both of them.

Khatpanalaya Production, in association with Bagavan Productions, is pleased to announce that the indie drama, 1999, has been officially selected for screening at the 10th Annual ReelWorld Film Festival to be held on April 7 – 11, 2010 in Toronto, Canada.

Inspired by real-life events, independent Canadian filmmaker Lenin M. Sivam's captivating first feature is a sinuously provocative, edge-of-your-seat story of friendship, betrayal and courage. The film will be screened on Friday, April 9 at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 11 at 2:30 p.m. at Canada Square Cinemas on 2190 Yonge St. (at Eglinton Ave. West).

A fatal gang shooting on a quiet suburban street sets into motion a chain of events over the course of a single day in 1999 that changes the lives of three young men forever. Anpu is an intelligent but isolated underachiever whose strained relationship with his strict disciplinarian father forces him to seek out respect and a sense of belonging in all the wrong places. Kumar is a charismatic gang leader desperate to break free from the cycle of violence and code of honour that hold his crew together for the sake of his brash, younger brother. Far removed from this world is the ambitious university student Ahilan who, having overcome enormous hardship, is on the cusp of realizing his biggest dreams. Bearing the unseen scars of Sri Lanka’s devastating civil war, their worlds collide one fateful Saturday that begins like any other day.

Based on extensive research including interviews with youth workers and reformed gang members, 1999 offers a rare insider’s perspective on the wave of gang violence that shook the Tamil community in Toronto in the 1990s. A sensitive yet honest portrayal, the movie delves into the myriad of challenges facing immigrant Tamil youth as they negotiate a new hyphenated reality in Canada while fighting the bitter memories of Sri Lanka’s brutal war from which many of them escaped. A fast-paced story featuring an all-Toronto cast and crew and shot entirely in the city, the film is a seamlessly interwoven montage of sounds and images of the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of the main characters.

1999 marks the full feature directorial debut of Lenin M. Sivam.

"My team and I are deeply honoured by the invitation to share this story at ReelWorld," said Sivam. "This film is a labour of love that was written, directed and produced on a shoe-string budget with an entirely volunteer ensemble of cast and crew who were passionate about telling a story that they wanted to add to the collective memory of our city .”

Sivam was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka and raised in Toronto where many of his own experiences provide inspiration for his work. He has a number of short films to his credit, including the award-winning A Few Good People (2006), the critically acclaimed Strength (2007), and the thriller Next Door (2008).

1999 has garnered critical acclaim since its Canadian premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival 2009, where it was selected as one of the festival’s “Top 10 Canadian Films”. It also won the “Best Film Award (Midnight Sun)” at the Oslo Tamil Film Festival 2010 and is now an “Official Selection” of the ReelWorld Film Festival 2010.

Founded by actor Tonya Lee Williams, ReelWorld Film Festival is a five-day festival that screens features, shorts, documentaries, animation, music videos from the Aboriginal, Asian, Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, South Asian and other multi-racial communities. This unique Canadian based film festival truly reflects the racially diverse cultures of the world around us.

Useless Things, a dreamily crafted short film about a South Asian - Canadian emptying his family home and contemplating his disconnect with his parent’s immigrant experience play at the 10th annual ReeWorld Film Festival (April 7th -11th, 2010) Writer / Director / Actor Faisal Lutchmedial plays Shashin, a young man who cannot come to terms with the loss of his parents, and the loss of a heritage he barely identifies with. The script was developed through SODEC’s Cours Ecrit ton Court program, and won the Writers Guild of Canada prize in 2005 at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal.

Useless Things was completely shot with a low cost HD camera, the Panasonic HVX-200, along with a 35mm lens system created by Canadian company Cinevate. This is not the RED camera system - which is still cost prohibitive to many low budget independent filmmakers, but a system that costs roughly 1/5 of that. Without the bells and whistles of higher cost cameras the filmmaking team was still able to capture a very filmic quality image that works well with the flowing style of the piece.

A trailer for Useless Things is available here: http://www.lutchmedial.ca/uselessthings

A making of trailer about the Cinevate system is available here: http://www.cinevate.com/images/makingofuselessthings.mov

The director’s previous film, the feature documentary My Cultural Divide, was also about investigations into his place as a Canadian and his mother’s cultural heritage, in addition to being a “well-thought-out doc about the problems of globalization and cheap labour, one that’s aware of the lack of any easy answers.” – Mark Slutsky, The Montreal Mirror. For a limited time My Cultural Divide is available to be seen in its entirety on the web at www.myculturaldivide.ca. As it has a Creative Commons license, viewers are encouraged to download the movie and share with anyone.

Celebrating their 10th Anniversary ReelWorld Film Festival (RWFF) kicks off with the North American premiere of Canadian film OFF WORLD the much anticipated feature from writer, director and co-producer Mateo Guez. ReelWorld's Gala screening will be hosted once again at Scotiabank Theatre because of their long successful partnership with Cineplex Entertainment. The Opening Night is made possible through the generous support of TD Bank Financial, another long standing partner of ReelWorld.

Off World - Dir. Mateo Guez - 77 mins. REELWORLD FILM FESTIVAL

10TH ANNIVERSARY, OPENING NIGHT GALA SCREENING
APRIL 7
AT: SCOTIABANK THEATRE | 259 RICHMOND ST. W - 7:30 PM TIME:

Media Reception - 5:30pm
Screening - 7:30pm
After Party - 10:00pm

"Off World" follows 'Lucky', a young man in his twenties, who travels to the Philippines in search of his birth parents. His journey leads him through the slums of Manila to Smokey Mountain, an infamous landfill where the air is so hot and toxic that it sometimes ignites the surrounding waste. Adopted as an infant and a foreigner in his birthplace, Lucky has arrived not at home, but at the edge of the earth. His quest for his origins forces him to come to terms with his own identity and provokes him to embrace life fully before it is too late. This beautifully shot drama tells the story of a person and a place at the same time. It explores in profound ways the idea that finding one's origin requires travelling to the most alien places.

Tickets are $20 for the Gala Screening only and $25 for Gala Screening and After Party.

ReelWorld Film Festival (RWFF) celebrates cultural diversity in the Film industry. 2010 is a milestone year for ReelWorld, for the past decade the festival has delivered groundbreaking films from diverse communities to a broad spectrum of Toronto audiences. This year's five day line-up continues to support films from the Aboriginal, Asian, Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, South Asian and other multi-racial communities, and promises to surpass the standards set in previous years.