New Film Festival includes Oscar-Nominated Producer
1/31/2006 Filed under Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Jodi Klebick, 412-977-2302, jklebick@silkscreenfestival.org
Harish Saluja, 724-969-2565, hsaluja@silkscreenfestival.org
New Film Festival includes Oscar-Nominated Producer
Pittsburgh, PA – January 31, 2006 – SILK SCREEN Asian American Film Festival is a unique
multiple-day international film festival premiering May 12-20 2006, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. With
more than 30 feature films in multiple venues, a Launch Party Gala, workshops and presentations, SILK
SCREEN will be an annual event showcasing Asian made films as well as films made by Asian Americans.
Although newcomers to the film festival circuit, the festival planners are off to a running start.
The founders of SILK SCREEN aren’t too worried about their potential for success. With Oscar –
nominated producer Jim Shamus on their advisory board, Silk Screen is geared off to a strong start. His
film, Brokeback Mountain,’ has been nominated for 8 Oscars. Shamus, an industry veteran known for
producing Ang Lee’s films including ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ is co-president of Focus
Features.
Shamus isn’t the only high profile name to serve on the SILK SCREEN Advisory Board. It’s filled with leading
Asian film industry insiders such as Nandita Das, a leading Indian actress best known for her award winning
performances in such movies as ‘Fire’ and ‘Earth.’ Ms. Das served as a juror at the 2005 Cannes Film
Festival, and is currently in the 2006 U.K. release of, ‘Provoked,’ the story of a woman who ends up in
prison for murdering her abusive husband.
Additional SILK SCREEN advisors include Greg Chew, Film Commissioner of San Francisco; Aruna
Vasudev, President & Founder Editor, Cinemaya: The Asian Film Quarterly; Henry J. Simonds,
President/Founder, Headwater Films; Chi-hui Yang, Festival Director the Center for Asian American
Media’s annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival; and Harold Gronenthal, Sr. VP,
Acquisitions, Rainbow Media, (AMC/IFC/We/HD Cinema 10); among others.
SILK SCREEN was the brain child of filmmaker, artist and entrepreneur Harish Saluja. His film The
Journey (www.newray.com) was shown in over 30 film festivals where it won several awards, and is now being
shown and distributed by IFC (the Independent Film Channel). Saluja also has a strong business background
as a 33-year veteran in the publishing industry and serves as the Executive Director of TiE Pittsburgh (The
Indus Entrepreneurs). In addition, he is a nationally recognized painter and a co-host of Music From
India on WDUQ-FM, the longest running radio program of its kind in the US.
SILK SCREEN Asian American Film Festival is a unique multiple-day International Film Festival premiering
May 12-20 2006, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. With more than 30 feature films in multiple venues, a
Launch Party Gala, workshops and presentations, SILK SCREEN will be an annual event showcasing Asian
made films as well as films made by Asian Americans. Asia is defined by the Festival as Asian-speaking
countries east of the Bosporus, such as India, Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, the
Philippines, and more. Simply put, SILK SCREEN will showcase films with universal themes that transcend
political and cultural boundaries. SILK SCREEN is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)3 non-profit media arts
organization.
Film submissions for are being accepted through February 27, 2006. Submission forms and full
information about SILK SCREEN can be found online at http://www.silkscreenfestival.org, or by
contacting Harish Saluja, Festival Director, at 724-969-2565 or info@silkscreenfestival.org.
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