Checking this documentary out at SIFF tomorrow. I hear it's one of India's stronger entries, curious to see it...

Quoted: “What sin did I commit to be born a woman?” These chilling words of 21-year-old housemaid Lakshmi reverberate throughout Mumbai-based filmmaker Nishtha Jain’s extraordinary documentary. Jain turns the camera on her part-time maid, and in the process illuminates the complex relationship between employer and servant, filmmaker, and subject.

Glad to see this movie is getting a wide release! I still haven't read the book, but I hear it's a pretty faithful adaptation...

Quoted: Director Sarah Gavron and screenwriter Abi Morgan team to adapt author Monica Ali's award-winning novel about a young girl from Bangladesh who finds the spark in her soul slowly fading after traveling to London for an arranged marriage.

Good point. I think this happens with Latino actresses as well - they end up playing the sassy best friend who 'tells it like it is.'

Quoted: As the black best friend in Sex and the City: The Movie, Jennifer Hudson plays a tired role.

I want to check this out on Thursday - it's gotten good reviews and David Bowie seems like an interesting casting choice!

Quoted: The innocence, optimism and electric anticipation of the rise of e-commerce is brilliantly captured through the story of an aggressive dot-com entrepreneur struggling to keep his head above water as the bottom falls out of the market. A razor-sharp film with spot-on performances by Josh Hartnett and the cleverly cast David Bowie.

A Seattle film worth checking out & supporting at SIFF. Not only is it set in Washington state, but it's directed/written/acted by local artists (including Sean Nelson from Harvey Danger).

Quoted: Lynn Shelton’s funny and moving ode to the complexities of broken friendships finds former buddies Eric and Dylan spending an uncomfortable weekend together in a cabin in eastern Washington.

I'm checking out this SIFF film for my article on the Seattle burlesque scene on Wednesday, 5/28. Apparently the director used to work at MSN. Let me know if you feel like coming!

Quoted: Seattle’s Miss Indigo Blue and her Academy of Burlesque provide instruction in the art of burlesque. Follow ten beginners as they shed more than just clothes. They strip off self-doubt, emotional hang-ups, and stereotypes in order to strut enticingly across the stage, confident they’ve earned the right to have every eye on them. Director Deirdre Timmons to attend both screenings

I didn't realize Monica Ali's "Brick Lane" was being adapted for film! Definitely hope to catch this one at SIFF - the actress will be at the June 5th screening.

Quoted: From Monica Ali’s award-winning, controversial novel, this startling film transforms the text into rich, seductive images layered onto a refreshingly accessible plot. Nazneen is a Bangladeshi woman living in 2001 London. Estranged from her teenage daughter and pseudo-intellectual husband, she falls into an affair with a young, charismatic Muslim activist.

I'd seen this illustrator's work before - excited to check out her film at SIFF!

Quoted: Director Nina Paley’s autobiographical “greatest break-up story ever told” is exquisitely illuminated by a witty ’20s jazz musical version of the Indian epic “Ramayana.” A rousing, high-energy visual feast filled with a winning myriad of animation styles.

I really want to see this, despite the not so hot reviews - I used to love watching the show on Cartoon Network! It just looks so stylized and cool, and Christina Ricci and Emile Hirsch would make a badass couple...

Quoted: The Matrix masterminds Andy and Larry Wachowski usher anime icon Tatsuo Yoshida's classic 1960s-era hit into the new millennium with this family-friendly story of a young racecar driver who takes on the mysterious Racer X.