Interviews at CBC Sports & Mississauga Indie Film Fest

I Want To Be A Desi director and co-writer, Allan Tong, and co-writer Dinesh Sachdev chat with TTN-HD Reporter Katie Uhlmann on the red carpet at the gala reception for the Mississauga Independent Film Festival on July 20. The reception took place at the Art Gallery of Mississauga to kick off MIFF where Desi earned an Honourable Mention from the judges. Thanks to Joanne Uhlmann who shot and edited this clip.

Leone Stars directors Allan Tong & Ngardy Conteh spoke to CBC-TV's Scott Morrison on July 9

DESI in New York, MAO in Toronto, LEONE STARS in Freetown

It's been a busy spring:


New York's Asian American International Film Festival has invited I Want To Be A Desi to screen at its festival in Manhattan during August 10-20. In July 2009, the AAIFF premiered the pre-sequel, I Want To Be A Desi 2, to wide acclaim. Details


Bravo!FACT, The Ontario Arts Council and the National Film Board's Filmmaker Assistance Program are supporting my new short film, Little Mao, which tells the life story of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung through a child's baseball team. Check this blog or join the Facebook page here for updates in the months to come.


Meanwhile, the Leone Stars production team continues to raise financing and awareness of the amputee football (soccer) players of Sierra Leone. Details. Trailer

Desi invades America

I Want To Be A Desi has been chosen as an official selection at the Sixth Annual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon. Details.

DESI plays Hamilton

I Want To Be A Desi plays The Hamilton Film Festival on Wednesday, November 3 at the 7:00pm Comedy Shorts program. Come out and have a hilarious time. Tickets and directions: http://www.hamiltonfilmfestival.com/

Pal Uncle (Jazz Mann) welcomes you to The Hamilton Film Festival

I WANT TO BE A DESI wins 2nd place and premieres at GRFF

My short comedy, I Want To Be A Desi, took second place at the 2010 Grand River Film Festival's BMO SHORT Shorts Competition and premieres there on Saturday.

At a recent ceremony held in Kitchener, ON, the judges praised Desi for its witty writing, assured direction and smart cinematography, and for addressing the issue of identity in modern Canada. "The acting was excellent, the editing thoughtful, and the use of music very clever," announced one of the judges, Phillip Bast, a Kitchener filmmaker and journalist. "I Want To Be A Desi is a delightful film, a comic social investigation into multicultural identity for second generation Canadians in large urban centres, particularly the Greater Toronto Area."

Fellow judge and Toronto filmmaker, Benjamin Rousse, added that Desi is "a solid film with no weaknesses in any area of film production. Writer/director Allan Tong demonstrates a firm grasp of the art of filmmaking."

Desi bride (Tari Joshi on left) and Pal Uncle (Jazz Mann at right) celebrate with wannabe Desi, Roger/Raj (David Yee)

I Want To Be A Desi will screen in a program devoted to the BMO SHORT Shorts on Saturday, October 23, 1:00 p.m. at the Galt Little Theatre in Cambridge, next to Kitchener-Waterloo. The screening will be the World Premiere of I Want To Be A Desi. Click here for schedule and tickets. Waterloo Record article about GRFF.

Click here to see the trailer.

I Want To Be A Desi finalist at Grand River Film Festival

My short comedy, I Want To Be A Desi has been chosen as a finalist in the Open Category of the 2010 Grand River Film Festival's BMO SHORT Shorts Competition. Details.