Director Par Parekh continues to garner recognition for his short film The Happy. Having premiered at Series Fest in June 2019, the comedy short (and pilot of an intended series) has been selected to screen at Austin Film Festival as part of their Original Series 1 program and will be eligible for awards in the short film category.
The festival, held annually, will take place in Austin, Texas starting on October 24th and closes out on October 31st.The Happy will screen on October 27th at 7pm and again on the 29th at 1pm. Parekh will also be sitting on a panel, representing The Happy, to discuss the process of creating a digital series.
The 8-minute absurdist film stars Parekh and was also written, edited, and produced by the endearing filmmaker and all-around creative. In The Happy, Parekh examines a slice of Los Angeles from the perspective of a Texas-born Indian American Jersey boy. Parekh, like his protagonist, is often mistaken for being a divine vegetarian guru when the reality is that Parekh grew up playing baseball and video games just like the majority of Americans.
Filmed by a crew that was 99% female, the joyful short is a story told without Par speaking a single word. The Happy is part comedic self-reflection and part droll examination of the “absurd human tendencies to over-mystify just about everything.”
Like Lilly Singh, Dev Patel and Kal Penn, Par Parekh is part of a wave of first-generation Indian artists from America, Canada, and Britain finding great success in mainstream film and television. The Happy, a slightly off-kilter cousin of the mainstream, is Parekh’s first foray into directing narrative film, having already spent 15 years working as a writer, editor, and producer in both narrative and non-fiction. He’s currently in post-production on his feature documentary debut Sister Úna Lived A Good Death.
- Watch the trailer for The Happy here: http://thehappy.tv
- Official Screen times here: https://2019austinfilmfestivalconfe.sched.com/event/VfYR/the-happy & https://2019austinfilmfestivalconfe.sched.com/event/Vfhg/the-happy
- Check out Par Parekh’s bio here: https://2019austinfilmfestivalconfe.sched.com/speaker/par_parekh.205a6jyt
About Austin Film Festival
In its 26th year, Austin Film Festival (AFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television and new media. AFF champions the work of aspiring and established writers and filmmakers by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. AFF is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Simian Gets An Evolutionary Boost For Collaboration, Reveals “Teams”
Simian, the showreel-building, review & approval, and production asset management platform used globally by creative leaders, is kicking off this fall season with a substantial leap forward for collaboration and project management – with more updates on the way during the holidays!
The new feature, aptly dubbed “Teams”, makes it easier than ever for users to give project responsibilities to team members and clients alike. “You can never have too many options when it comes to permission levels,” says Jay Brooks, Simian’s Chief Technology Officer. “Teams provides a streamlined way to assign multiple users to a project at once.”
“Teams are very powerful, but creating one is effortless,” Brian Atton, Simian’s Chief Operating Officer explains. “Simply enter a Team name, add members, and then apply the newly made Team to any desired project. You can even invite temporary guests without changing settings for other projects or needing to create a new Team.”
“We love helping our clients by providing efficient tools to improve their workflow, and this has been a frequently requested feature as of late,” shares Kellie Atton, Head of Sales at Simian. “It feels great to get Teams out into the wild because I know it’s going to be tremendously helpful to everyone who uses it”.
Teams is now available exclusively to Simian’s enterprise clients. Simian plans to release more product upgrades and enhancements during Q4 2024 and 2025 for enterprise and non-enterprise users, continuing its ongoing evolution as the industry’s leading production asset management solution.
For more information on Simian upgrades and features, visit https://www.gosimian.com/
About Simian
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