1999 (film)

Last updated

1999
1999movieposter.jpg
1999 international poster
Directed by Lenin M. Sivam
Written by Lenin M. Sivam
Produced bySabesan Jeyarajasingam
Jeya Subramaniyam
Starring K. S. Balachandran
Ampalavanar Katheeswaran
Suthan Mahalingam
Thelepan Somasegaram
Kaandee Kana
Deva Gasparson
Vince Jerad
Sutha Shan
Madona T. Alphonse
Mannoge Rajanan
Gobiraj Thiruchelvam
CinematographySabesan Jeyarajasingam
Edited byArul Shankar
Music byRaj Thillaiyampalam
Production
companies
Khatpanalaya Production Inc
Bagavan Productions
Release dates
  • 14 October 2009 (2009-10-14)(Vancouver International Film Festival)
  • 23 October 2009 (2009-10-23)(Canada)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageTamil

1999 is a 2009 Canadian crime drama film written and directed by Lenin M. Sivam. It had its world premiere at the 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).

Contents

The film explores the Toronto Sri Lankan gang scene in the late 1990s. With a time frame that spans less than 24 hours, it attempts to delve deep inside the Tamil gang community. It opens with a shooting that results in the end of a peace treaty between two rival gangs in Scarborough. With investigators closing in and rival gang members out for revenge, 1999 maps out the toll that gang participation takes not only on the individual, but the direct impacts it has on family and community.

The film received the CBC Audience Choice Award at the 2010 ReelWorld Film Festival, [1] [2] was one of the top 10 Canadian films at Vancouver International Film Festival, [3] and received the Midnight Sun Award at the 2010 Oslo Tamil Film Festival. [4] The film addresses the topic of crime in Toronto [5] by "exploring the rivalry between two gangs" in the city. [6]

Awards and recognitions

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of 1999 was composed by Raj Thillaiyampalam except for tracks "Struggle" and "Angel Remix", which were composed by Hemo from Lyrically Strapped. It was produced by Lenin M. Sivam.

Track #SongSinger(s)Lyrics
1"Mozhi" S P Balasubramaniam Sutharshan
2"Angel" Karthik / Lyrically Strapped Raj Thillaiyampalam
3"Malare" Tippu / Harini Sutharshan
4"Struggle"Lyrically StrappedLyrically Strapped
5"Nenjathai" Tippu / Prashanthi Raj Thillaiyampalam
6Angel RemixLyrically StrappedLyrically Strapped
71999 Theme Instrumental Instrumental

Production

The film, "an exploration of Tamil youth gangs that once fought in the streets of Scarborough, was informed by the director’s interviews with ex-gang members and youth workers." [7]

Reception

The film was described by Variety as the director's "breakout first feature (...) set on Toronto’s late ‘90s Sri Lankan gang scene." [8]

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References

  1. "Awards". reelworldfilmfestival. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  2. "'1999' film selected for ReelWorld Film Festival | Lanka Reporter". Lankareporter. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  3. "Award Winning Director Lenin M. Sivam". TamilCulture.com. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  4. Shankar, Settu (15 February 2010). "Canadian Tamil film 1999 won in Norway festival". OneIndia. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  5. Bookman, Sonia; Mackenzie, Katelyn; Bernier, Austin (2 January 2022). "Crime Film and the City: Imagining Toronto through Entanglements of Place, Culture, and Crime". American Review of Canadian Studies. 52 (1): 46–63. doi:10.1080/02722011.2022.2028248. ISSN   0272-2011. S2CID   247027101.
  6. Das, Sonia N. (27 October 2016). Linguistic Rivalries: Tamil Migrants and Anglo-Franco Conflicts. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-067544-8.
  7. "Scarborough filmmaker Lenin M. Sivam's movie at Montreal World Film Festival". Toronto.com. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  8. Hopewell, John (19 July 2022). "Alarm Pictures Closes North America on Lenin M. Sivam's 'The Protector' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 4 March 2024.