Mira Nair
Mira Nair
From her debut film, the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay!, to her recent triumph, The Namesake, Mira Nair is one of the most formidable directors working today. Raised in India, schooled at Harvard and now living in New York, she uses her natural grasp of identity conflict to create films—"funny, rueful and sexy" according to Entertainment Weekly—that deal with the issues of race, class, gender, inter-generational strife, cultural appropriation and displacement.
Of The Namesake, Nair says, “it encompasses in a deep, humane way the tale of millions of us who have left one home for another, who have known what it means to combine the old ways with the new world.”
“This poignant tale resonates wherever you are placed in the world.”
-- Jaspreet Pandohar, BBC
“A saga of the immigrant experience that captures the snap, crackle and pop of American life, along with the pounding pulse, emotional reticence, volcanic colors and cherished rituals of Indian culture.”
-- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
With David Hockney and Mario Vargas Llosa, Mira Nair is a mentor at the Rolex Protégé Arts Initiative, and her company, Mirabai films, recently established Maisha, in support of screenwriters and directors in East Africa and South Asia. Her first film , Salaam Bombay!, won 25 international awards, including two at Cannes for best first feature and most popular entry. She is currently filming Amelia, starring Hilary Swank, about Amelia Earhart, and is in pre-production for the film Shantaram, starring Johnny Depp.
Save the Date
An Evening with Mira Nair
Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009
7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Ives Concert Hall, Western Connecticut State University, Midtown Campus (directions)
The event is free and open to the public