Festival of Lights (film)

Festival of Lights is a 2010 film directed and written by Shundell Prasad. It stars Melinda Shankar as the rebellious and mouthy Reshma, Jimi Mistry as Reshma's birth father, and Aidan Quinn as Reshma's stepfather. The film deals with Reshma's struggles to find her father whom she was separated from when she and her mother, played by Ritu Singh Pande, migrate from Guyana to New York City.

Festival of Lights
Release poster
Directed byShundell Prasad
Screenplay byShundell Prasad
Produced byGraziano Bruni
Eli P. Navon
Eve Pomerance
Shundell Prasad
StarringMelinda Shankar
Aidan Quinn
Ritu Singh Pande
Jimi Mistry
CinematographyValentina Caniglia
Edited byBarry Alexander Brown
Music byRonen Landa
Production
company
IndustryWorks Pictures
Distributed byDurga Entertainment
Release date
  • November 13, 2010 (2010-11-13) (Saint Louis Film Festival)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Guyanese Creole
Budget$1.5 million

Plot

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Separated from her father when their family immigrates from Guyana, a young girl comes of age in New York City. Battling through a troubled youth and a broken relationship with her mother, she struggles to find peace and discover the secret of what happened to her father.

Cast

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  • Melinda Shankar as Reshma
  • Jimi Mistry as Vishnu, Reshma's father
  • Aidan Quinn as Adem, Reshma's stepfather
  • Ritu Singh Pande as Meena, Reshma's mother
  • Stephen Hadeed, Jr. as Ravin
  • Nandanie Dudhnath as Asha
  • Isabella A. Santos as Sandy
  • Fawad Siddiqui as Mike, Reshma's uncle
  • Dion Matthews as Warden's Assistant

Production

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The film was directed, written and co-produced by Shundell Prasad. It was filmed in Georgetown, Guyana and Queens, New York.

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