Bavarian Premiere
Screenings: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 12:30 and Sunday, March 26, 2006, 17:30 (UMAMI); Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 18:00 (BEST OF 2006)
Country of Origin: India
Year of Production: 2004
Duration: 15′
Category: Fiction
Director: Ashvin Kumar
Screenplay: Ashvin Kumar
Cinematographer: Markus Huersch
Editor: Ashvin Kumar
Sound: Roland Heap
Music: Nainita Desai feat. Kohinoor Langa & Party
Producer: Ashvin Kumar
Cast: Salim Ali Khan, Sushil Sharma, Meghnaa Mehtta
Synopsis: Jamal, a 12 year old Muslim Pakistani mistakenly crosses the border between India and Pakistan, finding an unusual ally in a Hindu Brahmin, Bhola. Indian soldiers descend on Bhola’s village searching for the ‚terrorist‘ who crossed over. His neice Rani, insists they can’t let a Muslim into their Hindu home. With Bhola and Rani grappling with the consequences of harboring a Pakistani and their deep-set prejudice against Muslims, Jamal’s only hope is the humanity shared by a people separated by artificial boundaries a long time ago. Based on a TRUE STORY: In early 2003 – a twelve year old Pakistani boy crossed the Indo Pak border by mistake. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bhihari Vajpaee, amidst PR fanfare, restored the boy to his family in Pakistan, kicking off the thaw in tensions between these two nuclear countries who came so close to war less than a year earlier.
Festivals & Awards: Montreal World Film Festival 2004 (Winner First Prize), Sao Paulo Int. Short Film Festival 2004 (Audience Favourite), Palm Springs Int. Short Film Festival 2004, Telluride Film Festival 2004, Manhattan Short Film Festival 2004 (Winner Best Film), Flanders Film Festival 2004 (Winner Best Film), Cork Film Festival 2004, London International Film Festival 2004, Tehran Film Festival 2004 (Winner Grand Prize), Bangkok Film Festival 2005, Rotterdam Film Festival 2005, Academy Awards 2005 (Nomination Live Action Short), European Academy Awards 2005 (Nomination), Kinofilm Film Festival Manchester 2005, Cinequest Film Festival 2005, Tampere Film Festival 2005, Aspen Short Film Festival 2005 (Honorable Mention), Reelworld Film Festival 2005 (Winner Bell Expressvu Award), Washington DC International Film Festival 2005, Newport Beach Film Festival 2005, Tribeca Film Festival 2005, San Francisco Int. Film Festival 2005, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2005, Almeria en Corto 2005 (Winner), Sydney Film Festival 2005, Bollywood and Beyond Stuttgart 2005, Sarajevo Film Festival 2005, Salento International Film Festival 2005 (Winner), Interfilm Berlin 2005, Mumbai Int. Film Festival 2006 (Winner)
Weblink: www.little-terrorist.com