General Admission: $15 
Members, Seniors & Students w/ID: $12 

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All individuals must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 and matching identification to attend this event. If you are interested in attending this event in person, please read the full COVID Safety Policy carefully before purchasing tickets.

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The 12th Annual Queens World Film Festival proudly screens exciting films from around the world and around the corner. We are presenting two screening events, the first is on Thursday with Hideout, a feature film from Taiwan and on November 4, Friday night at 7pm, we are present "Voices of India" which brings two remarkable films together that speak to our hearts.Click here for more information about the Queens World Film Festival

This screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with the filmmakers from both films.

FILM TITLE: YASHODHARA THE BUDDHA’S WIFE
DIRECTOR: Neha Lohia
COUNTRY, YEAR, LENGTH: United States, 2022, 19 minutes 20 seconds
CATEGORY: Narrative Short




Synopsis: 

We all know of the Buddha but how many of us know of the wife and the child he left behind on the night of his child birth because he wanted to go seek enlightenment. This is the story of Yashodhara, the Buddha’s wife. He left, she stayed. He came back awakened after 12 years only to realize so did she! Partake of this long pending healing conversation and witness this intense, intimate, epic tale of love, loss and suffering which became a portal to both their enlightening. 

Neha Lohia (She/Her) - Director  

Neha is a multi-passionate creator. Filmmaker, entrepreneur, author, and a commercial artist with over 18 years of storytelling background in the illustrious Advertising, Hollywood, and Bollywood industries, she takes on multifaceted roles as producer, director, and marketeer on projects and has garnered several accolades for her contributions. She is originally from India and is currently based in New York City. A filmmaking student for life, she loves Directing, Producing & Filming original content, short films, web series, features, advertising, and social content and anything that is creatively calling, spiritually nourishing, and healing. She is beyond excited and thrilled at the potential of storytelling and its capacity to help heal wounds of lifetimes, bring people together, open hearts and raise consciousness.Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife is a passion project for her. 

Director Statement: 

Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife is the project of a lifetime for me. This is one of those stories that have been in the hiding for thousands of years and it needs to be told. This epic feminine figure, Yashodhara, has been part of my personal healing journey for over 8+ years.

I have been researching this woman, buddhism, the role of women, mythology, and all the historic data for 6+ years and it has taken me to many places and got me access to resources from many learned people on the subject. I wish to make this project into a massive episodic WEB/TV Series, a movie series and a book as well in the times to come with all that I have collated and take people back to that era and time, the royalty, the culture, music, art, the epic scale of this beginning of the beginning.

This short film is a proof of concept that shows 1 scene from THE HEART WRENCHING AND ENLIGHTENING LIFE OF QUEEN YASHODHARA. I hope it stirs open an enquiry about this epic character, what really happened back then and let’s the world see this story for the first time from her eyes. 

FILM TITLE: MAALI
DIRECTOR: Shiv C Shetty
COUNTRY, YEAR, LENGTH: India, 2021, 1 hour 32 minutes 30 seconds
CATEGORY: Narrative Feature



Synopsis: 

Tulsi lives in the mountains with her grandfather Basant, living amidst the nature and treating them as companion is the only way of life her grandfather has taught her. A true MAALI at heart like her grandfather, Tulsi finds her purpose in life of nurturing lives through planting trees. Through this journey Tulsi meets Sakshi an urbanite, who is suffering from Anxiety, Depression and Post Trauma Stress Disorder after having multiple miscarriages and failed IVF attempts. Sakshi seeks a companion for emotional support. She has a strained relationship with her husband Samar, who believes that money and comfort is all one needs to be happy. Sakshi wants to fill the void in her life and hence asks Tulsi to accompany her to their house in the city, Tulsi agrees. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the concrete jungle, Tulsi witnesses life of Greed, loneliness, Violence and depression. 

Shiv Shetty (He/Him) - Filmmaker 

Shiv Shetty is a self taught filmmaker from Mumbai. Maali is his debut feature as a writer and director. He believes in crafting meaningful stories; before Maali he worked on creating India’s first transgender band “6 Pack Band” that was awarded Glass Lions Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2016. His love for nature has brought him to tell the story of Maali that reflects the reality of our current times; mountains or concrete jungle, choice is ours. 

Director Statement: 

People ask me who is MAALI... I Believe...
 
He who respects mother nature is MAALI 
 
He who cares about mother nature is MAALI 
 
He who coexists with mother nature is MAALI 
 
He who believes that nature is humans true companion is MAALI 
 
You and I, WE are MAALI


This program is made possible, in part, by funding through the New NYS Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the NYS Legislature and administered by Flushing Town Hall. The Queens World Film Festival is a program of the Queens World Film Initiative Inc., a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization.