Adaptation. Conversion. Alteration. Transformation. We now live in a world of COVID-19. Its effects have been magnified and felt throughout this great blue ball we call home, having its way and its life-impacting presence force an entire planet to adjust, realign, and determine how to exist day to day under new rules, new restrictions, and an unprecedented shift in societal norms. So the questions remain firmly rooted in our minds–do we just give up, crushed under the weight of the unknown? Or, do we rise up and discover the means to roll with what we have and create new avenues through which to ply our trades, maintain our relationships, and present our passions in spite of all that would currently try to tell us it’s not possible anymore.
Enter PR guru Jitin Hingorani, founder/CEO of JINGO Media and Director of one of the best, continually rising series of film festivals catering to the South Asian community via DFW SAFF and NYC SAFF, all while being an overall beacon of unwavering innovation and support to his beloved South Asian community and the world at large through all he puts his mind and efforts to. As such, Hingorani now reveals his newest brainchild in conjunction with the aforementioned sister film festivals–ECSA 2020, the first official Escapist Cinema of South Asia Film Festival, utilizing the digital landscape as its format to showcase a 7-week series of programming that will run Saturdays from 7pm-10pm CDT beginning May 16th through June 27th. As this critic can attest from having attended the SAFF series for several years now, this alone assures the promise of high quality, diverse, and wholly entertaining cinema.
“The cinema-going world, as we know it, is changing drastically in this socially distant but virtually connected environment,” Hingorani stated. “Since most of us are now consuming content online, film festivals, an important cog in the wheel of the entertainment ecosystem, are reacting to this major shift in viewing behavior and adapting their formats accordingly. This is why, in lieu of hosting two live festivals this year, we are live streaming new content online and opening up our programming to a national and, in some cases, international audience.” Who could say it better than the man himself? And the additional beauty of this online event? For every individual who goes to the festival’s online host platform, www.onlinefest.us, to register for this event, a microfiber mask will be donated to Texas and NYC-based hospitals in need, with the ideal goal to ultimately provide 25,000 masks by ECSA’s finale. So, this isn’t only about entertainment, folks, it’s about impacting people’s lives for the better, something this world assuredly needs not only now, but always.
With the always engaging mix of film genres and styles, ECSA will not fail to attract an equally wide range of cinephiles, which has been one of the most admirable traits Hingorani’s festivals have offered. To date, there will be offerings that touch song & dance, diaspora, LGBTQIA, pandemic, and comedy themes and that’s not even the full line up! Additionally, these films represented will be a combination of world, North American, Texas, or NYC premiers (as well as revisiting some favorites from past Festivals as well!) and primarily available to North American audiences with some exceptions. And to entice you even further, there will be Zoom-based Q&A sessions after each Saturday’s screenings with actors and directors, as well as the opportunity for you, the audience, to ask questions via Zoom chat! Realize this isn’t ONLY about sitting back and finding a sense of liberation from our forced quarantined state of being, it’s providing a chance to be involved and engaged with some amazingly talented filmmakers and actors who make the projects come to life!
Therefore, whether you’re a fan of feature film or short film, dramas or documentaries, laughing or crying, and everything other genre and emotional state in between, this critic can clearly, no, DEFINITIVELY, say you need to get up, go to your computer, and register immediately for ECSA 2020! From all my personal experiences with Hingorani & Co’s efforts, trust me, you will NOT be disappointed!
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Hope to see you all starting Saturday May 16th, 7pm CDT, for the beginning of something new to combat the COVID-19 blues while helping to support, or perhaps become familiar with for the first time, the wonder that is South Asian cinema
