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.
Series Media Partner
Community Partner
Manish Chauhan
USA/India
2023
Portraits
In English, Hebrew, Hindi with English subtitles
Coarse Language
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
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
Directors
Leslie Shampaine
Leslie has been telling stories throughout her professional life. From the ballet stage where she performed throughout the world during a 13-year career, to the television screen where she has produced award-winning programs for PBS, Discovery Channel, A&E, CBS, and Al Jazeera. Her work ranges from documentaries to cultural and educational programming and includes 8 years as part of the production team for the Emmy award-winning Kennedy Center Honors where she worked on over 30 biographical films of the Honorees. Selected credits include the PBS programs One World: India, Avoiding Armageddon, and Closer To Truth; Who Betrayed Anne Frank (Discovery Channel) – winner of a Telly, a Cine Golden Eagle, and a Gold Remi at the Houston WorldFest; DC Cupcakes (TLC); Smithsonian Networks series’ Seriously Amazing Objects; and Fireworks, with George Plimpton (A&E), which was nominated for an Emmy and an ACE.
Pip Gilmour
Pip Gilmour is a seasoned director, producer, and writer with the experience to generate powerful documentaries that entertain, engage, and stimulate discussion, producing long and short form documentaries for broadcast and non broadcast for over 25 years. Gilmour has traveled the world working with scientists, engineers, anthropologists, indigenous tribes, community activists, farmers, and multiple historians on stories ranging from spies that gave away the nuclear bomb to medicinal plants of the Indonesian rainforest. Beyond her documentary work, Pip has been involved with television dramas for Fox, ABC, CBS, as well as narrative features and shorts. Pip is a member of the Producers Guild of America.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Modern Whore
In director Nicole Bazuin's cheeky, stylized documentary, Modern Whore-memoirist Andrea Werhun (Paying for It) recounts her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto, debunking misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession.
Castration Movie Anthology 1: Traps
Louise Weard's underground movie is a talk-a-thon in two chapters and four hours: a sex worker contemplates having her testicles removed, and a movie production assistant pitches himself right out of a job, and other misadventures in Vancouver life.
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes
A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.