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The Arts

Terrorist in 'overlooked' films fest

Nitish S Rele

Terrorist, the latest from cinematographer-turned-director Santosh Sivan is one of 12 films being shown at the second 'Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival', which ends April 30.

The movie, which has received rave reviews and innumerable awards at several film festivals, will be shown at 4 pm Friday, April 28 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois and at the University of Illinois.

Terrorist tells the story of a suicide bomber, played by Ayesha Dharker. Tight editing, storyline, and some breathtaking photography by Sivan, make for a very impressive movie.

While the film does not name a time, place or a politician, it is obviously based on the 1991 assassination of the former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"It is not a political film, but a personal one," writes movie critic Ebert. "If you have ever wondered what kind of a person volunteers to become a human bomb, and what they think about in the days before their death, this film wonders too."

The other films being screened are Sidewalk Stories, Oklahoma!, Dark City, Déjà vu, American Movie and Coven, and Legacy (USA); Children of Heaven (Iran); Grave of the Fireflies (Japan); A Woman's Tale and The Castle (Australia); and The Last Laugh (Germany).

Ebert, who is a contributor for the Chicago Sun-Times and also hosts a weekly TV show, started the festival in part to compensate for the "melancholy experience of finding a film to truly love -- and then discovering that most people have never heard of it."

The films selected for the festival deserve a second look and a second chance because they have been overlooked by audiences, critics and distributors, Ebert said, adding that his festival was intended to expose the general audience to films from around the world.

Tickets are $ 6 per screening or $ 40 for a pass for the festival. To get them, call the Virginia Theatre box office at (217) 356-9063 or check out the web site at www.ebertfest.com.

EARLIER REPORTS/FEATURE:
Everyone loves this terrorist
How John Malkovich god-fathered Terrorist
Getting into the head of a suicide bomber

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