Kannadigas in Texas launch film festival

Mandi Maathu

While you were stirring Dalgona coffee and doomscrolling through the lockdowns, Kannadigas living in the US were using the extra time on their hands to learn filmmaking. Cut to the present. Their talent has culminated in a film festival, which will open in Houston in Texas on August 29 and travel to Austin, Dallas and San Antonio later.

Called Texas Kannada Short Film Festival (TKSFF), it has been put together by Kannada associations across Texas. Twenty-six films will be screened — made by engineers, doctors, architects and others who came with no prior experience in filmmaking.

It was Prashanth Gowda and Nataraja Rao’s idea to organise a film festival to support the local talent. They were ably supported by Austin Kannada Sangha, Houston Kannada Vrunda, Mallige Kannada Koota and Kuvempu Kannada Sangha in the state.

Gowda, an IT professional, recalls the journey, “A core team of 13 members was formed to execute the roadmap for the film festival. We organised several webinars with Sandalwood experts to train the participants. Over a period of three months, the challenges of the pandemic notwithstanding, the participants went about scripting, scouting the locations, shooting, and editing their films.”

Sanjeeth Gangolly, secretary of Houston Kannada Sangha, shares his excitement about the festival. "The AMC theatre in Houston, where all Hollywood movies are screened, will exhibit our movies on August 29. The shows are already sold out. The money collected will be used to cover the theatre charges. We did not start this festival for commercial purposes but out of our passion for films,” says the software engineer, who has acted opposite his wife in a film titled 'Amanaviya'.

Going forward, they plan to release these films on the digital platform in September. They also plan to hold an awards function in November in Austin to felicitate these artistes. A jury panel comprising 30 personalities from Sandalwood will attend the red carpet event virtually.

Talking about the prep for the awards function, Nataraja, who is the president of Houston Kannada Sangha and has acted in 'Mandi Maathu' based on poet DR Bendre’s life, says, “We have some local sponsors. We are also asking for funds from members, who are willing to contribute. We plan to organise this festival every year."