After numerous sold-out screenings at mainstream and South Asian film festivals around the world and multiple audience and jury awards under its belt, Parched, writer, director, producer Leena Yadav’s dramatic tale of four ordinary women courageously standing up to the repression and misogyny in their parched Gujarat village, will have its U.S. theatrical release, via Wolfe Releasing, in New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and Fremont on Friday, June 17, 2016, for a one-week run.
“This story is my reaction to a misogynistic society that treats women as objects of sex, where their greatest role is to serve men,” said Yadav about her impetus for making the film. “Giving my women characters a voice that observes, absorbs and reacts was what drove me to write this drama about ordinary women who are driven to extraordinary ends.”
Produced by renowned Indian actor, director and producer Ajay Devgn and shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter(Titanic), the film had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF’s Artistic Director Cameron Bailey raved: “With a bold visual confidence, Yadav combines the stark realism of hostile desert landscapes with a Bollywood palette, vibrant tones that celebrate the unleashing of the women’s repressed sensuality and dreams…transforming her characters’ struggles into a stirring portrayal of liberation.”
After TIFF, the film continued its global cinematic journey through the Stockholm Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Camerimage in Poland, Miami International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, Festival International de Films de Fribourg, Festival 2 Valenciennes, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, New York Indian Film Festival and Festival Cinema 5 Continents. In the pipeline after its U.S. theatrical release, Parched travels to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, London Indian Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and Film Victoria Australia.
Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla, Lehar Khan and Adil Hussain, Parched has received rave reviews by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Indiewire and The Hollywood Reporter, just to name a few. The film’s top honors include the Stockholm Impact Award for “Headstrong Filmmakers,” Best of the Fest at Palm Springs International Film Festival, Best Feature Film (Audience Award) at Festival 2 Valenciennes and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and Best Film (Young Jury) at the Festival Cinema 5 Continents.
Watch the trailer HERE!
