Announcing PFCRonin. The contest to search for the best of the best movie reviewer!

Ronin ..Ro"nin".., n. [Jap. r[=o]-nin, fr. Chin. lang profligate,
lawless + j[^e]n (old sound n[=i]n) man.]
a samurai with no group, clan or master - he is the outsider, the outcast.

This is a contest to search for the next generation of movie reviewers. You are a movie fan, a blogger, a writer, have been reviewing movies on your website, blogsite, over chai sessions or simply screaming it out at the end of the movie. The contest is our way of searching the next kickass movie reviewer. You may be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, programmer, student, housewife, part time blogger and anything else but definitely not a professional movie reviewer. Yes you. We are looking for the true Ronin - the Samurai amongst the movie reviewers who stands ALONE!

Details about the PFCRonin Contest are available on the passionforcinema.com  website.

The 2007 SOCAL Independent Film Festival
Wednesday, September 5th through Sunday, September 9th
Presented at the Huntington Beach Central Library Theater & Cultural Center

7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach,
(enter off of Gothard or Goldenwest, street sign reads "Central Library")


Visit www.socalfilmfest.com for a program schedule.
Tickets are $4 for short film programs and $6 for feature programs
an ALL FEST PASS is available for $30

A firecracker of an actor who's known to walk his way and no path else, Prroshant Narayannan (also know as Prashant Naryanan in the past) stunned movie fanatics with his initial films like Waisa Bhi Hota Hain and Chhal. He is acting in a few European productions and has a some interesting projects in Bombay on the cards.

Badmash Banna is Prroshant's new blog on passionforcinema.com. Come and read his film experiences!

In 1991, Onir made his first documentary film at a work shop organized by Max Muller Bhavan and Chitrabani in Kolkatta. The documentary film was called " Glimpses of College Street". An impressionist documentary about a street in Kolkatta. In the same year he was offered Scholarship to train at an advanced editing course with SFB/TTC Berlin. Returning from Berlin he directed and produced his first independent documentary " Fallen hero" a documentary, which was a portrait of an ageing painter Bijon Chaudry and his dilemma with the changing political scenario in Bengal. (1992). Soon afterwards (1993) he shifted base to Mumbai to work as an editor with a production house(Plus Channel) After six months he quit working for the production house and started working as a freelance editor, music album producer, corporate filmmaker, etc… all the while trying to move towards films, which was his ultimate goal. In 1999 he got his first experience with on the job filmmaking. He was working as the film editor, song designer of the film "Daman" directed by Kalpana Lajmi. Finally in 2004 Sanjay Suri and Onir decided to produce Onir's first film " My brother Nikhil"… which was to become the first main-stream film that addressed the issue of Homosexuality apart from dealing with issues of Human rights and HIV AIDS. Yash Raj released this film on 25th march 2005. In Jan 2006 he started to shoot his second feature film " Bas Ek Pal" with the cast of Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar, Jimmy Sheirgill, Rehaan Engineer and Sanjay Suri. The film was released on the 15th of Sept 2006. Come read Onir's posts on his filmmaking journey on passionforcinema.com

Sivan Santosh joins passionforcinema.com!

Sivan grew up in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India, where he attended Loyola School and Mar Ivanios College. His father, Sivan, is a renowned director and cinematographer of Malayalam documentary films, and runs the Trivandrum-based Sivan Studio. Sivan is the older brother of film director Sanjiv Sivan and younger brother of director Sangeeth Sivan. The brothers are sometimes referred to as the 'South Indian Scott Brothers' after their skills as film-makers. Sivan graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in 1984. In December 1995 he became a founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). A noted cinematographer, Sivan won eleven National Film Awards from his participation as a cinematographer in over forty films from the 1980s to mid-1990s. His success as a director began with his critically acclaimed The Terrorist in 1999 and he solidified his reputation with the release of Asoka in 2001. (from Wikipedia).

Please give a warm welcome to Bhavani Iyer (writer of Black)... who opens her diary "My Bell Jar" on PFC!!!

Chole is a spicy/sweet Indian garbanzo bean curry. I cooked this before and it was ok but not great, but with the modifications I made the second time this dish is FANTASTIC!!! If you like Indian food or curry, you will love this dish. And, the most complicated thing in preparing the dish is the prep time, especially mincing the garlic.

Here is the picture:

-= Ingredients =-

-= Instructions =-

Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Slightly crush the cardamom - you don't want to expose the seeds inside, just crush them enough to release the fragrance. Add the cumin, coriander, cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant, stirring constantly. (Be careful, the seeds will pop and splash oil).

Add onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add ginger and garlic, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Stir in garam masala and cook 10 seconds, stirring constantly.

Stir in 2/3 cups water, tomato, salt, and garbanzo beans. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and discard the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and cardamom pods.

Stir in the yogurt and cilantro.

-= The Fine Print =-

Serve with roti or naan, raita, and steamed spinach on the side.

Be sure to mix the cumin and coriander seeds together well before adding to the oil. This is because the first time I made this recipe, I was getting some bites of one or the other, but the tastes weren't blended. This time they were perfect.

I used regular yogurt because I didn't have any Indian yogurt. Indian yogurt has a higher water content than the yogurt that American's are used to, and a much more diverse taste. That said, I like the creaminess that the American yogurt added to this dish, and will use this in the future. Regardless, don't use the low fat version, and be sure to use whole milk yogurt. Anything less and you lose out on the sweetness of the yogurt, which cuts down the spiciness of the chole, and lose out on the texture.

In the future I may throw in one extra tomato.

I can't say enough how much I love this recipe. It is a DEFINITE A+.

-= Nutritional Information =-

The dead have risen. 

ZOMBIE FARM has its Official Premiere in San Francisco on Saturday, June 9 at 7:15 PM at the historic Roxie Theater.  Come on out to the Roxie ... Let's fill the place!!!

After the coverage in Fangoria a few months back, we were invited to screen at the Roxie as part of the SF Indie Film Festival's Another Hole in the Head horror festival.  There will be an encore screening on June 13 at 9:30PM.

At our recent "Sneak Preview" in Denver as part of the Starland Horrorfest, ZOMBIE FARM proved to be a true "audience participation" event.  Let's continue the undead insanity in SF.  It garnered reviews that called the movie "wildly entertaining and enjoyable" and "a hell-bound hayride of absurdity."  The reviews can be read at our homepage

BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 9

BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13

DIRECTIONS TO THE ROXIE AND THEATER INFO

And, it's official, we will have a limited run in theaters beginning June 30 at the New Beverly Cinema in LA.  We are looking to add additional theaters as momentum grows.  We will keep you focused, first, all energies are focused on packing the theater in SF!

Friends, family, and small farm animals welcome!

I  hope to see you in SF on June 9!