Born and raised in Japan to Indian parents, freelance film writer Anisha Jhaveri’s globe-spanning background lent itself to her vast exposure and interest in world cinema. A former but fierce New Yorker, she spent five years in the city, where she programmed the Rubin Museum of Art’s Cabaret Cinema film series and was the marketing coordinator for the South Asian ZEE TV network. Currently based in Singapore, she has turned her focus to her passion of writing about movies as the author of her own film blog, Reel Simple, and contributor to platforms such as PopXO.com and The Independent. Be it through reviews, interviews, or think pieces, she is constantly on the lookout to explore cinema that imparts cultural insights and resonates with audiences on levels unmarked by national or social lines. Anisha holds a B.A in Screen Arts & Cultures from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a Master’s in Media Studies from The New School University.
Using cameras on mobile phones with some clever adaptations, cinematographer Radium Cheung brought his vast experience and unique sensibilities to Tangerine, the story of a transgendered prostitute in Los Angeles. The result is an eye-popping yet humanistic look at a hard world.
New York Film Festival’s transmedia track, Convergence, gets a visit from The Independent’s Anisha Jhaveri. She reviews two audience-driven projects, Immigrant Nation and Artifact of Fukushima: Selections From Unknown Spring.
In Hong Khaou’s Lilting, available on DVD and VOD September 29th, a mother grieves for her son by getting to know her son’s partner. Khaou told The Independent his debut feature came, “from a place that’s deeply personal, especially that of grief. I lost my dad when I was 12 and the character in the film loses her son. So I had to expose myself in a certain way writing this.”
This year, the filmmaking team of 10 to Watch is co-directors Mike Attie and Meghan O’Hara, and editor Lindsay Utz for their collaborative work on <em>In Country</em>. Read about how their film documents veterans who participate in reenactments of the Vietnam War.