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Call Me Dancer

Presented by Vancouver Foreign Film Society

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Manish Chauhan, a talented, self-taught acrobatic street dancer from Mumbai, hungers for a career as a professional dancer– but with a scarcity of paying opportunities, the odds are stacked against him. While his parents expect him to study for an MBA in pursuit of an office job, Manish seeks out lessons, in secret, at DanceWorx Performing Arts Academy, where he finds a lifelong mentor in ballet master Yehuda Maor.

Recognizing his students’ potential, Yehuda encourages a rivalry between Manish and 13-year-old ballet prodigy Amiruddin Shah, pushing both performers to new heights. But while Amir is fast-tracked to the Royal Ballet School in London, Manish– with the disadvantage of a later start to ballet– is advised to try his hand, instead, at mastering a whole new style of dance at the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Israel.

A tale of artistic passion and raw determination, Call Me Dancer traces Manish’s hopes and setbacks as he pursues his ambitions to dance on the world stage– attaining unexpected fame in Bollywood, along the way.

Astonishing! It’s the classic underdog story… touching… lustrous imagery.

Matthew Carey, Deadline

 

Co-Presented by

Vancouver Foreign Film Society logo

Directors

Leslie Shampaine & Pip Gilmour

Featuring

Manish Chauhan

Credits
Country of Origin

India/UK/Israel/USA

Year

2023

Language

In English, Hebrew & Hindi with English subtitles

Awards

VIFF Audience Award (Portraits Section)

19+
84 min

Book Tickets

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Credits

Executive Producer

Jay Sean, John Patrick King, Jitin Hingorani, Esther van Messel, Diana Holtzberg

Producer

Leslie Shampaine, Priya Ramasubban, Cynthia Kane

Screenwriter

Jennifer Beman, Pip Gilmour, Leslie Shampaine

Cinematography

Neil Barrett, Abhijit Datta

Editor

Jennifer Beman

Original Music

Nainita Desai, Abhijit Datta

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