CUSTODY | SHORTS PROGRAM: India Pass Only

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Three couples gather together to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Mumbai, eager to take a break from their increasingly overwhelming roles as adults and parents of young children. But the festivities will take an ugly turn when a careless mistake results in tragedy.

As the friends begin to turn on each other, director Ambiecka Pandit skillfully ramps up the tension by withholding just the right amount of information, and in the process involves us in a guessing game about who is to blame. Featuring a superb ensemble cast this riveting directorial debut makes us question contemporary adulthood and the increasing ease at relinquishing responsibility.

CUSTODY won the Best Short Fiction Film Award at India’s 67th National Film Awards.

DIRECTOR

CUSTODY is Ambiecka Pandit’s debut Film. Ambiecka is a lawyer turned filmmaker. After having practiced in a corporate law firm for three years, she served as assistant director to renowned Indian film and advertisement directors.

Year
2019
Runtime
23 minutes
Language
English, Bengali
Country
India
Premiere
US Premiere

Director
Ambiecka Pandit
Screenwriter
Ambiecka Pandit, Karan Pandit
Producer
Ambiecka Pandit
Cast
Karan Pandit, Trimala Adhikari, Geetika Vidya, Swaroopa Ghosh, Tanaji Dasgupta, Sanghmitra Hitaishi, Kashyap Shangari
Cinematographer
Satya Rai Nagpaul
Editor
Atanu Mukherjee

22 films in package

ANGH

As Christianity takes hold of Nagaland, a Headhunter village chief and his son struggle to hold on to the last remnants of their tribal culture.

Closed captions available

ANITA

Anita returns to India for her sister’s wedding, eager to share some news about her exciting, independent life in America. But her pride quickly turns to disillusionment when the deep-rooted force of patriarchy rears its ugly head.

ANNUAL DAY (SALANA JALSA)

The annual day school function evokes latent aspirations in three feisty teenagers who will stop at nothing to show off their unique talents.

CATDOG

Two young siblings find refuge in a startling world of their own making where they are free to act out their impulses and fears.

CUSTODY

When carelessness results in tragedy, a group of friends celebrating New Year’s Eve in Mumbai turn on each other.

THE FLYING TRUNK

In a remote Himalayan village, a young orphan boy's imagination is fueled by his eccentric grandmother's fantastical tales.

FOR EACH OTHER

When an accident disrupts the harmonious rhythms of a quaint Assamese community, the blossoming romance between a carefree tempo driver and a spunky shop owner will come to the test.

FOREVER TONIGHT

A suburban Indian American teenager will do whatever it takes to fulfill her prom night fantasy.

GHAZAAL

A resourceful teenager living in a refugee camp where basic personal hygiene has become a luxury is on a mission to survive the onset of her menstrual period.

LAST NIGHT IN VEGAS

On the eve of her arranged marriage, a perfect Bengali American daughter sings about the not-so-perfect choices she made at her bachelorette party in Vegas

LETTER FROM YOUR FAR-OFF COUNTRY

A father reads aloud a letter his far-off son has written to their fallen relative, a follower of anti-caste leader B.R. Ambedkar, their conversation evoking other letters, footage and poetry that protest the alienation of Kashmir, from 1989 to today.

THE LOYAL MAN

A devoted henchman’s loyalty to Sir, the feared leader of the Parisian Tamil mafia, is shaken when he takes a young immigrant woman under his wing.

A PERIOD PIECE

When Geetha and Vehd finally have sex, a messy emotional conflict breaks out when period blood stains Geetha’s pristine couch.

Closed captions available

THE SHOWER

Two worlds collide when Maya’s oldest friend shows up at her baby shower, single and child-free.

THE SONG WE SANG

Roaming the streets of Ahmedabad on a festive Navaratri night, two young women may have the chance to fall for each other.

UNCLE

A father and son’s daily morning commute is the perfect time for some good bickering and a chance for connection.

WADE

A family of refugees lives in peril and precarity in a post climate apocalypse hellscape that is the city of Kolkata, until one day they are ambushed by the arrival of a tiger.

Q&A - SHORTS PROGRAM 1

A conversation with Swetha Regunathan (FOREVER TONIGHT), Sushma Khadepaun (ANITA), Alisha Tejpal (LATA) and Aarti Neharsh (THE SONG WE SANG)

Q&A - SHORTS PROGRAM 2

A conversation with Karishma Dev Dube (Bittu), Ashmita Guha Neogi (CATDOG), Pratik Thakare (ANNUAL DAY), Siddharth Chauhan (THE FLYING TRUNK) and Ragini Bhasin (GHAZAAL)

Q&A - SHORTS PROGRAM 3

A conversation with Theja Rio (ANGH), Kalp Sanghvi (WADE) and Ambiecka Pandit (CUSTODY)

Q&A - SHORTS PROGRAM 4 - Part 1

A conversation with Shahriar Azim (AMERICAN ANOMIE), Shuchi Talati (A PERIOD PIECE), J. Nicholas Meese and Priya Ghosh (LAST NIGHT IN VEGAS)

Q&A - SHORTS PROGRAM 4 - Part 2

A conversation with Pia Shah & Mahesh Pailoor (THE SHOWER); Kahlil Maskati & Andrew Carter (UNCLE); Deepak Sethi (COFFEE SHOP NAMES) and Suneil Sanzgiri (LETTER FROM YOUR FAR-OFF COUNTRY)