TORONTO: With main three national parties putting up 23 Indo-Canadian candidates for the May 2 general election, the Canadian parliament may see more MPs of Indian-origin this time. In the outgoing 308-member House of Commons, there were nine MPs of Indian origin - four from the ruling Conservative Party and five from the opposition Liberal Party.The ruling Conservative party has fielded eight, the main opposition Liberal Party 10 and the New Democratic Party (NDP) five Indo-Canadian candidates in this election.While all the sitting MPs - Ujjal Dosanjh, Ruby Dhalla, Navdeep Bains, Gurbax Malhi, Sukh Dhaliwal, Nina Grewal, Deepak Obhrai, Devinder Shory and Tim Oppal - have been re-nominated by their parties, there are many new faces in the fray this time.Though most of the siting Indo-Canadian MPs are expected to be back in the House of Commons, veteran Ujjal Dosanjh and Ruby Dhalla of the opposition Liberal Party face tough battle this time. In the 2008 elections, Dosanjh had managed to win in the Vancouver South constituency by just 20 votes. Dhalla, who is one of the first Sikh MPs in Canada, too had retained her seat by about 700 votes. The ruling Conservative Party, which has failed to achieve a simple majority in the last three elections, is trying very hard to unseat both Dosanjh and Dhalla.
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and immigration minister Jason Kenney have visited Dhalla's constituency of Brampton-Springdale on the outskirts of Toronto in support of their candidate Parm Gill. "It will be very difficult for Dhalla to retain her seat this time because her opponent has interacted intensely with the people in this riding (constituency) since the last election,'' says a Brampton transport, requesting anonymity.From the ruling Conservative Party, all its four sitting Indo-Canadian MPs - Deepak Obhrai, Devinder Shory, Tim Oppal and Neena Grewal - are sure to retain their seats.From the opposition Liberal Party, Gurbax Malhi is set to return to the House of Commons for a record sixth time. Malhi became the first turbaned Sikh MP in Canada when he was elected first in 1993.
New York Indian Film Fest to partner with film schools
The oldest festival for Indian cinema in the United States will partner with three prestigious film schools in New York and India to help directors to have their stories reach a wider platform. The partnerships aimed at helping foster a new generation of filmmakers are with award-winning filmmaker Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International (WWI)in Mumbai, The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, New York University, and the New York Film Academy. Organized by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), the 11th annual New York Indian Film Festival will run from May 4 to May 8 in Manhattan. WWI, an institute for film, television, animation, and media arts, awards the top short films from its film students each year. These award-winning shorts will now travel to New York and screen at NYIFF each year allowing emerging filmmakers to reach audiences and industry professionals in the US.This year's line-up includes "Incerto", "Flip", "Punha", "Daily Soap", "Kalapaani", and "Uss Paar". "These graduates will be part of India's next generation of filmmakers and have commenced their filmmaking journey with these films. I am extremely happy to see the quality of their work," says Subhash Ghai, founder and chairman of Whistling Woods. "I am thrilled about the association between the Mukta Arts group and the 11th annual New York Indian Film Festival," he said. For the last two years, NYIFF has teamed up with the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with students of Professor Karl Bardosh creating one-minute cell phone films on themes at the film festival. This programme will continue for a third year and Richard Allen, Professor of Cinema Studies at Tisch School of the Arts, will once again host post-screening discussions with key filmmakers during the five-day festival. "The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, NYU, again looks forward to collaborating with the NYIFF in its cutting edge programme of screenings and events which brings the best of the New Indian Cinema to New York City by staging a series of in-depth discussions with key directors and actors in the industry," Allen said. In addition, the New York Film Academy has offered a one-week scholarship valued at $1,575 for film study to an emerging filmmaker whose work will be screened at the film festival. "The New York Film Academy is proud to associate with the New York Indian Film Festival; we share a deep passion for film," said NYFA's Jack Newman.
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and immigration minister Jason Kenney have visited Dhalla's constituency of Brampton-Springdale on the outskirts of Toronto in support of their candidate Parm Gill. "It will be very difficult for Dhalla to retain her seat this time because her opponent has interacted intensely with the people in this riding (constituency) since the last election,'' says a Brampton transport, requesting anonymity.From the ruling Conservative Party, all its four sitting Indo-Canadian MPs - Deepak Obhrai, Devinder Shory, Tim Oppal and Neena Grewal - are sure to retain their seats.From the opposition Liberal Party, Gurbax Malhi is set to return to the House of Commons for a record sixth time. Malhi became the first turbaned Sikh MP in Canada when he was elected first in 1993.
New York Indian Film Fest to partner with film schools
The oldest festival for Indian cinema in the United States will partner with three prestigious film schools in New York and India to help directors to have their stories reach a wider platform. The partnerships aimed at helping foster a new generation of filmmakers are with award-winning filmmaker Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International (WWI)in Mumbai, The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, New York University, and the New York Film Academy. Organized by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), the 11th annual New York Indian Film Festival will run from May 4 to May 8 in Manhattan. WWI, an institute for film, television, animation, and media arts, awards the top short films from its film students each year. These award-winning shorts will now travel to New York and screen at NYIFF each year allowing emerging filmmakers to reach audiences and industry professionals in the US.This year's line-up includes "Incerto", "Flip", "Punha", "Daily Soap", "Kalapaani", and "Uss Paar". "These graduates will be part of India's next generation of filmmakers and have commenced their filmmaking journey with these films. I am extremely happy to see the quality of their work," says Subhash Ghai, founder and chairman of Whistling Woods. "I am thrilled about the association between the Mukta Arts group and the 11th annual New York Indian Film Festival," he said. For the last two years, NYIFF has teamed up with the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with students of Professor Karl Bardosh creating one-minute cell phone films on themes at the film festival. This programme will continue for a third year and Richard Allen, Professor of Cinema Studies at Tisch School of the Arts, will once again host post-screening discussions with key filmmakers during the five-day festival. "The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, NYU, again looks forward to collaborating with the NYIFF in its cutting edge programme of screenings and events which brings the best of the New Indian Cinema to New York City by staging a series of in-depth discussions with key directors and actors in the industry," Allen said. In addition, the New York Film Academy has offered a one-week scholarship valued at $1,575 for film study to an emerging filmmaker whose work will be screened at the film festival. "The New York Film Academy is proud to associate with the New York Indian Film Festival; we share a deep passion for film," said NYFA's Jack Newman.
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