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Deepa Mehta, In Profile

This short film is a tribute to award-winning director and screenwriter Deepa Mehta. A true cultural hybrid, Mehta has been described as a “transnational” artist, able to tell universally meaningful stories from a uniquely Canadian point of view. In a career spanning over 30 years she has consistently broken new ground, tackling such controversial issues as intolerance, cultural discrimination and domestic violence. As an Indian who grew up speaking English first in a British Colonial School and then learning Hindi, she finds her passion and her stories in India, and the freedom to choose how to tell those stories in …
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This short film is a tribute to award-winning director and screenwriter Deepa Mehta. A true cultural hybrid, Mehta has been described as a “transnational” artist, able to tell universally meaningful stories from a uniquely Canadian point of view. In a career spanning over 30 years she has consistently broken new ground, tackling such controversial issues as intolerance, cultural discrimination and domestic violence. As an Indian who grew up speaking English first in a British Colonial School and then learning Hindi, she finds her passion and her stories in India, and the freedom to choose how to tell those stories in Canada.



Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

Women - Portraits Film and Video Arts All subjects
Fascinating People All channels
  • recipient
    Deepa Mehta
  • writer
    Nettie Wild
  • director
    Nettie Wild
  • producer
    Yves J. Ma
  • director of photography
    John Price
  • editor
    Michael Brockington
  • original music
    Rupinder Sidhu
  • sound design
    Rupinder Sidhu
  • additional sound design
    Michael Brockington
  • music performer
    Rupinder Sidhu
    Mohamed Assani
  • sound recordist
    Mike Filippov
  • 2nd camera operator
    Justin Lovell
  • production assistant
    Chris Niesing
    Robert Sharpe
  • re-recording studio
    DBC Sound Inc.
  • re-recording mixer
    Bill Sheppard
  • dialogue editor
    Bill Sheppard
  • mix technician
    Peter Eliuk
  • post production services
    Finale Editworks
  • colourist
    Lorne Wright
  • production coordinator
    Teri Snelgrove
  • technical coordinator
    Wes Machnikowski
  • supervising project manager
    Rachel Punwassie
  • production supervisor
    Kathryn Lynch
  • program administrator
    Janine Steele
  • executive producer
    Tracey Friesen

Education

Ages 14 to 17

Notes

Study Indian culture and values and compare them with those considered typically “western” or Canadian. After screening the film, identify the conflicts Mehta alludes to and discuss how she uses this notion of conflict to create depth in her work. Show excerpts from her films and identify the political contexts depicted. Discuss the description of Mehta as a “transitional” artist; research other artists who have bridged distinct cultures, languages, genres, media, etc. Explore the Natya Shastras as a dramatic technique.

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Deepa Mehta, In Profile
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