Dr. Romesh K. Japra, Chairperson, President, Convener, Founder & world renowned Cardiologist has been leading the Festival of Globe-Silicon Valley for the past 22 Years as an initiative of Federation of Indo-Americans of Northern California. Dr. Romesh avers, “San Francisco Global Movie Fest comes as an integral part of our 22 year old Festival of Globe-Silicon Valley (FOG-SV, formerly known as Festival of India and powered by www.fiaonline.org celebrations.
FOG-SV is one of the oldest festivals in Bay area, CA, USA and this is the 2nd year of San Francisco Global Movie Fest. This year, audiences & participants will experience a 10 day jam packed screening of Narrative short films, Narrative Feature films, Documentaries, from Independent movie makers submitting these across the globe followed by a gala celebration, cultural activities on our award nights at SAP Center and concluding the festival with our traditional Festival of Globe & Parade. Each day of San Francisco Global Movie Fest -2015 is uniquely designed around experience with unique congregation of best cultural events, mixers, fashion, movies, panel discussions, workshops, ethnic dance performances, conclave with the Government, festive gala from participants with Indian, Latino; Chinese & Far East (Korean, Philippine, Vietnam & Japan) communities, Hollywood & Bollywood movie premieres, with an opportunity to meet host of celebrities from Bollywood, Hollywood, Latino World, Europe, China & Far East, top movie makers, independent movie producers & investors will be descending in to this technology capital from and around the globe. (FIA) (www.fiaonline.org), and with this year continues his vision of empowering & engaging the communities through our platform by pushing the limits and making it much bigger by inviting more Global Movies for this 10 day movie fest.” Present herewith is an interactive session with Dr. Japra on the SF Global Movie Fest and what to expect from this fiesta this year.
To set the ball rolling in your court. Tell us about the thought behind the San Francisco Global Movie Fest-2015.
We are excited about how our platforms-events has evolved and grown over the past 22 years. We take pride in being able to engage & contribute back to our communities every year. When we started San Francisco Global Movie Fest – 2015, we realized the very need of this format been asked by the immigrant communities besides Indians in USA. Movies are changing the way we understand our culture, society and the people we live with. It helps us include those learning in our day to day life. What else could be a better place and audience to do movie festival than the largest country of Immigrants USA.
What can the audiences expect this year?
This year our audiences & participants will experience a 10 day jam-packed screening of Narrative short films, Narrative Feature films, Documentaries, from Independent movie makers submitting these across the globe followed by a gala celebration, cultural activities on our award nights at SAP Center and concluding the festival with our traditional Festival of Globe & Parade.
Each day of our San Francisco Global Movie Fest -2015 is uniquely designed around experience with unique congregation of best cultural events, mixers, fashion, movies, panel discussions, workshops, ethnic dance performances, Conclave with the Government, festive gala from participants with Indian, Latino; Chinese and Far East (Korean, Philippine, Vietnam, and Japan) communities, Hollywood & Bollywood movies premiers, with an opportunity to meet host of celebrities from Bollywood, Hollywood, Latino World, Europe, China and Far East, top movie makers, independent movie producers & investors will be descending in to this technology capital from and around the globe.
What is FIA and how is your FIA different from the other regions?
The Federation of Indo Americans of Northern California (FIA) is a Fremont based 501-C(3) umbrella organization (Profit Tax id #77-01-77823). The FIA is to provide a strong & effective voice for Americans of Indian origin in the cultural, social, political, academic & economic fields. It is an umbrella organization of over 50 Bay Area organizations representing over 100,000 Indian Americans. Over the last 22 years, The FIA has continued to work with its member organizations on various community base initiatives, and has emphasized that its members continue to remain engaged in every aspect of our community.
How do you feel this is different from other festivals, what inspired you and how will it further help that it is in the midst of Silicon Valley?
The effort behind Festival of Globe – Silicon Valley (FOG-SV), and San Francisco Global Movie Fest-2015 has been a result of meeting the demands of immigrants of USA . We are the only festival in the breed that aims to engage global views, participants, brands & audiences. By being in Silicon Valley technology capital of the globe, we aim to reduce gaps between global pool of talented movie makers & investors.
Who all are participating this year in San Francisco Global Movie Fest?
We are expecting movies to be submitted from over 50 countries. We will be joined by celebrities from Bollywood, Hollywood and others from across the globe. Our mixers, pre-post parties will feature some of the very renowned DJs who will rock the shows, and especially in SAP center the gala award ceremony of FOG-Awards, will be a night to remember in California, USA.