The Color of Me | |
---|---|
Directed by | Sreejith Nair |
Written by | Sreejth Nair Fahima Mohamood |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Natalie Reinholtz |
Edited by | Earl Ulit |
Music by | Salil Bhayani |
Release date |
|
Running time | 20 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Color of Me is a 2018 American family drama fantasy film that is written and directed by Sreejith Nair. [1] It is about an adopted African American boy, Lewis Clark, who falls in love with a girl whose skin magically changes color every hour. [2] [3] The film received critical acclaim and several accolades at its international festival run across the United States. It premiered at the Los Angeles CineFest with subsequent screenings at various film festivals. [4] The film was chosen as an official selection at the Amazon Prime Studios first All Voice Film Festival 2019. [5]
An adopted African American Lewis Clark, falls in love with a young woman, Lisa Adams, who is the victim of a magical curse. The curse causes Lisa to transform into 5 different races: Caucasian, Indian, Chinese, Hispanic, and African-American. [3]
As an Indian American, the director Sreejith Nair said:
The topic of racism and insecurity really came from the fact that I am Indian, but I am born and raised in America. Here in America, people look at me like I am a foreigner, but I don’t feel like one. In India, I don’t look like a foreigner, but I feel like one. Throughout my whole life, it seemed like I was a part of two worlds, but never completely belonged in either of them. Are there certain things I’m supposed to be doing just because I’m an Indian? I have often questioned, What if I was a black person or What if I was white?, would my life be so different?. Could I still be the same person if I wasn’t Indian? What if my skin could change color? So I wanted to write a story that asked, If I am a person of a different race or ethnicity, how much is my race supposed to define me? If I am a person of color, can I still have the freedom to be whoever I want without worrying about representing my ethnicity? I want this story to show that you can be anyone, no matter what color you are. [3] [6]
"This unexpected, quirky tale explores what it means to love the skin you're in. It challenges us to explore how we alter our behavior based on the world's perceptions of us and what it would take for us to stop" as reviewed by Chimera Ensemble. Pallavi Kanmadikar of Dish Dash described the film as "a revelation, that will force you to rethink your own opinions about people" further adding "because no individual can be defined by what they look like". [7]
Roopa Modha of Urban Asian noted, "In the era of social media boom, the issue of self-acceptance is a big one and The Color of Me speaks volumes about how we see ourselves and what we are lead to believe are the acceptable norms of the society. The movie brings to light the issues of discrimination and privilege". [8] Jharna Malaviya in her review for The Dish Dash said, "The Color of Me approaches the question of race in a way that has never been seen before". [3]
Awards and nominations for The Color of Me | ||||
Festival/Award | Category | Outcome | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
LA Film Awards [9] | Fantasy Film | Won | ||
Global Film Festival Awards | Fantasy short film | Won | ||
Los Angeles Cinefest [10] | Best Short Film | Nominated | ||
Poster Design | Nominated | |||
LA Feedback Film Festival [11] | Best Performances | Won | ||
Silicon Beach Film Festival | Social Impact Award | Won | ||
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards | Best Short Film | Nominated | ||
Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival | Best Short Film | Nominated | ||
Accolade Film Awards | Best Short Film | Won | ||
Accolade Film Awards [4] | Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising | Won | ||
Accolade Film Awards [4] | Social Change Impact | Won | ||
Accolade Film Awards [4] | Creativity / Originality | Won | ||
Accolade Film Awards [4] | Viewer Impact | Won | ||
Accolade Film Awards [4] | Dramatic Impact | Won | ||
Festival/Event | Location | Country |
---|---|---|
Santa Fe Film Festival [12] | New Mexico | United States |
Charlotte Black Film and Music Festival [13] | Charlotte, NC | United States |
Amazon Prime's All Voice Film Festival [14] [15] | USA | United States |
Las Vegas Black Film and Music Festival | Nevada | United States |
My True Colors Film Festival [16] [17] | New York | United States |
Lake Front Film Festival | Maryland | United States |
Over The Rhine Int. Film Festival [18] [19] [20] | Cincinnati, OH | United States |
San Francisco Black Film Festival [21] | California | United States |
Silicon Beach Film Festival [22] | Los Angeles | United States |
Austin Spotlight Film Festival | Texas | United States |
Lift-off First-Time Filmmakers | USA | United States |
International Black Film Festival 2019 [23] | Tennessee | United States |
Los Angeles Cinefest | California | United States |
Golden Door Film Festival 2019 | New Jersey | United States |
Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival | Los Angeles | United States |
Black Film Festival ATL 2019 [24] | Atlanta | United States |
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards | California | United States |
Mira Nair is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spheres. Among her best known films are Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, the Golden Lion–winning Monsoon Wedding, and Salaam Bombay!, which received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.
Lebowski Fest is an annual festival that began in 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky, celebrating the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. In addition to its home city of Louisville, Lebowski Fest has been held in Louisville, Milwaukee, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, London, Boston, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.
Lisa Rani Ray is a Canadian actress. She began her modelling career in India in the early 1990s, appearing for leading Indian brands like Bombay Dyeing and Lakmé. She made her acting debut in 1996 in the Tamil film Nethaji. Her first Bollywood appearance was in 2001, in the offbeat romantic thriller Kasoor. Through her acting career, Ray has demonstrated a penchant for issue-oriented portrayals, most notably in the 2005 Oscar nominated Canadian film Water and the award-winning South African feature The World Unseen, described by a reviewer as "one of the best-conceived queer films of the past year."
Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress, playback singer and politician. She is best known for her portrayal of Draupadi in B R Chopra's hit television series Mahabharat. Often promoted as the Tollywood's answer to Bollywood's Shabana Azmi, she is known for her versatility and accent adaptation. She has worked with directors such as Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose and Rituparno Ghosh. She is a trained Rabindra Sangeet vocalist and a classical dancer. She received several awards including a National Award and two BFJA Awards. In October 2016, she was nominated as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, by the President of India. She served as the President of BJP Mahila Morcha in West Bengal. She served as the General Secretary and the Vice President for the West Bengal Motion Picture Artistes' Forum, a body representing cine artistes. Her films have commulatively grossed more than US$100 million worldwide.
FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween event held in London in late October, and a festival in Glasgow held around February as part of the Glasgow Film Festival.
Thalappavu is a 2008 Malayalam language period thriller film based on the events related to Naxal Varghese and Police Constable P. Ramachandran Nair, directed by Madhupal and written by Babu Janardhanan. The film sympathetically portrays the social and political issues of the Naxalite era of the 1970s in Kerala. The film's cast includes Prithviraj, Lal, Atul Kulkarni, Rohini, and Dhanya Mary Varghese. Produced by actor Mohan under the Civic Cinema banner and distributed by Lal's Lal Release, Thalappavu marks actor-cum-writer Madhupal’s directorial debut.
Arjun Mathur is a British-Indian actor working predominantly in Bollywood films, web series and television serials. He was seen internationally in the British drama series, Indian Summers and plays the lead character in the Amazon Original series, Made in Heaven , which earned him an International Emmy award nomination for 'Best Performance by an Actor'.
Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language mystery film written and directed by Ranjith, starring Mammootty, Shwetha Menon and Mythili. It is based on the novel of the same name by T. P. Rajeevan, which said the true story of the first recorded murder case in Kerala. Mammooty plays three characters in the film. The film was Mythili's debut in cinema. Ranjith also introduced about thirty Malayalam stage artists through this film. The film tells the story of a private detective, who returns to his birthplace, a village called Paleri, to solve a murder mystery that occurred on the same night he was born. Upon the release of the movie, it got an 'A' certificate due to its violent and adult content.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a 2012 political thriller drama film directed by Mira Nair and starring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, and Liev Schreiber. It is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Mohsin Hamid. The film is a post-9/11 story about the impact of the terrorist attacks on one Pakistani man and his treatment by Americans in reaction to them.
Life! Camera Action... is a family-drama film directed, written, edited, produced by Rohit Gupta, in his feature-length directorial debut. Starring Dipti Mehta, Shaheed Woods, Noor Naghmi, Swati Kapila, John Crann, this ninety minutes quasi-autobiographical film follows a girl in pursuit of her dreams of becoming a filmmaker against all odds. The film received several awards and nominations. Its theatrical release was limited to film festivals. The film received direct-to-DVD release and subsequently on other video on demand (VOD) platforms.
Rohit Guptapronounced [ˈroːɦɪt̪ ɡuːptə] is a film director, film producer and entrepreneur who resides in the United States. He is known for directing Midnight Delight, Life! Camera Action..., Another Day Another Life, winning several awards & nominations. Gupta is the founder and owner of Dot & Feather Entertainment production company, Film Festivals To Go (FFTG), and FFTG Awards Film Fest.
Midnight Delight is an American absurdist anthology film written and directed by Rohit Gupta. It is composed of nine vignettes of characters at a smoking lounge and their antics with people they have never met before. It stars an ensemble cast and produced by Gupta and Saumin Mehta under the production company Dot & Feather Entertainment. The film is the second feature directed by Gupta, best known for Life! Camera Action... and Another Day Another Life.
Drishya (transl. Visual) is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film directed by P. Vasu and produced by E4 Entertainment, starring V. Ravichandran and Navya Nair. It is a remake of the 2013 Malayalam-language film Drishyam, directed by Jeethu Joseph and starring Mohanlal and Meena. The supporting cast feature an ensemble of Achyuth Kumar, Prabhu, Asha Sarath, Swaroopini Narayan, Unnathi and Rohith B. The film's music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. A sequel Drishya 2 was released in 2021.
Chaurahen is an Indian drama film directed by Rajshree Ojha, starring Zeenat Aman, Roopa Ganguly, Soha Ali Khan and Kiera Chaplin in the leading roles. The film was based on four short stories of eminent Hindi novelist Nirmal Verma. Shooting was completed in 2007 but the film was shelved due to financial problems. The film was finally released on 16 March 2012 through PVR Pictures.
Nimisha Sajayan is an Indian actress in the Malayalam film industry. Nimisha made her acting debut with the film Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum directed by Dileesh Pothan. She won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 2018 for her performance in Oru Kuprasidha Payyan and Chola. She is also a recipient of two Filmfare Award South and three SIIMA Awards.
Roopa Rao is an independent Indian film-maker from Bangalore. She is the writer and director of India's first same-sex love story web series, The Other Love Story (2016). Rao is also known for directing critically acclaimed award winning Kannada film Gantumoote (2019).
My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip is a 2019 one-hour television special based on the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Unlike Friendship Is Magic, it was not produced by DHX Studios Vancouver, instead by Boulder Media Limited in Ireland, and featured the same redesigned art style that was used in the 2017 movie.
Swathi Nakshathram Chothi is an Indian Malayalam romantic drama television series, airs on Zee Keralam. The show premiered on 26 November 2018. It starred Vandana Krishnan and Sreejith Vijay in the lead roles of Swathi and Neel respectively. It is an official remake of Hindi series Badho Bahu.
Diana Ringo is a Finnish film director, composer and visual artist. Her director debut is dystopian feature film drama Quarantine (2021) which was shortlisted for the 2022 Golden Globes as a foreign entry. She was also composer of the film and for the film's score she wrote 26 original tracks.