Starting Feb. 23 several short films, including Leena Pendharkar’s This Moment, will play online at www.cinequestonline.org.
A graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, Pendharkar is a writer, documentary filmmaker and teacher. Her first foray into narrative filmmaking aims to explore the complex and often inexplicable intricacies of tradition and culture that underlie, and often undermine, one’s identity.
This Moment explores Uma Balachandran’s (Purva Bedi) initially joyful and then hesitant acceptance of her black American boyfriend’s marriage proposal. In an introspective and telling narrative, Uma tries to negotiate her personal wants with her cultural and familial expectations. Despite her love for John (Danny Wooten), Uma questions whether their cultural differences are surmountable and, more importantly, whether she is willing to find out.
Only 13 minutes in length, Pendharkar’s film captures with remarkable simplicity the difficulty of interracial coupling, the powerful hold of tradition and the struggle to understand how it is manifested through self-identity and compromise.
This Moment is also scheduled to screen at the Women of Color Film Festival in Berkeley on March 13 and The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival April 28 through May 5. Visit www.spicymango.com.
