The kickoff DISHA Industry Social was a beautiful event, held at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery at 137 Greene Street in Soho. With approximately 40 attendees, the gallery lent towards an intimate networking setting and our artist community was able to meet one another as well as speak with our invited guests: Gitesh Pandya from BoxOfficeGuru.com, Deepa Purohit of Rising Circle, and Diane Spence from the IFP. Our knowledgable speakers covered a variety of topics, but the theme of the evening seemed to be "Connect, connect, connect - It's all in the relationships."
Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com and box office analyst for CNN Financial News, will be speaking on the many possibilities for South Asians to build a niche in the entertainment industry. Gitesh is the producer of the hit indie film, "American Desi", and is a media consultant specializing in the marketing and distribution of South Asian films.
Diane Spence of the Independent Feature Project, one of the foundational cornerstones of the New York Indie film scene, will speak about the IFP and how South Asians can become involved in the organization that has created the premier market for emerging American independent talent and attracts buyers from around the world to view feature and short films, documentaries, works-in-progress, and scripts seeking financing. Some of the leading independent films that have been discovered at the IFP Market include: Clerks, The Brothers McMullen, Metropolitan, Poison, Reservoir Dogs, Roger and Me, Slacker, Stand and Deliver, Stranger than Paradise, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and more...
Deepa Purohit, an actress and co-founder Rising Circle, will speak of the artistic process and of various support networks for fledgling artists. Her organization, Rising Circle, is a community of theater artists whose primary goal is to create, workshop, and perform theatre works that encompass the often untold stories of people of color. The members of Rising Circle are not only committed to creating or reinventing work for themselves, but also to nurturing and supporting the work of their fellow members. With two successful showcases amongst their accomplishments, their belief holds true: ***When one strives alone, the obstacles are many. Linked with others, the circle rises together***
