1st Annual NJISACF

The weekend of June 2-3rd had the inauguration of the New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest 2007. This was way overdue. Given that this was its first time, it did decently well. Quite a decent turnout although it wasn't overflowing. Georgestreet Playhouse was a good choice as the venue and yeah good food at the cafe. One concern was that, during the inauguration ceremony, it seemed more like an election campaign for the NJ Senate, no, really, for some time, it seemed like we were all sitting in the auditorium waiting to vote and register ourselves and even suggest policy changes in the government! I didn't know why they had to bring people to campaign in a film festival(the chief guest was running for the NJ senate - even then). Well, let bygones be bygones.
Anyways, Men of Burden was screened on the first day at 8:30 p.m. We had a Q and A session later with some good reviews by the audience. The slate of films was very diverse although I had already seen quite a few of them at various festivals like IFFLA, IAAC and SAIFF. On the whole, I would give it a 6.5 on a scale of ten. Keep it up and good luck!