Pandi Screening To Inspire Dialogue On Mental Health
An upcoming screening of Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam's film Pandi will be followed by a discussion about mental health in South Indian communities.
Health
Jun 13, 2018
On Thursday, June 21st South Asian Visual Arts Centre (SAVAC) and Tangled Art+ Disability will be screening Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam's film Pandi at the Malvern Library, followed by a discussion about mental health in South Indian communities.
About the film:
Mental health struggles are experienced by families all across the globe, but conversations about them often occur behind closed doors. After many years of family silence, director Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam investigates her uncle Pandi's unexplained death. Pandi is a budding filmmaker from Chennai inspired by Tamil, Bollywood and Hollywood films and characters. After migrating from South India to Canada, he faces stress from working at factory jobs, culture shock and isolation.
Through a mix of home videos, interviews with her family, letters, and animated sequences from Pandi's last script, Ponnambalam uncovers Pandi's struggle with bipolar disorder throughout the final phase of his life. In English and Tamil with Tamil subtitles and closed captioning in English. Question& Answer (Q & A) with the filmmaker will follow, with both American Sign Language (ASL) and Tamil interpretation. Drop in program.
About the filmmaker:
Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam is a filmmaker and community arts facilitator with Tamil (Indian) and Venezuelan roots who is passionate about critical geography and making film more accessible.
