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
Joan Crawford in... Letty Lynton
This would be your first chance to see one of Joan Crawford's prime pre-Code films since 1936, a salacious melodrama about a socialite (Joan Crawford) accused of poisoning her ex lover.
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
Jack Johnson: Surfilmusic
This new documentary chronicles Jack Johnson's evolution from surfer to filmmaker to world-renowned musician. The film traces how Jack's early years making surf films with close friends became a foundation for a much broader creative life.
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Franz
Veteran Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland takes the bull by the horns to craft a Kafka biopic that's Kafkaesque and then some, artfully layering scenes from Kafka's life and works along with ironic present-day footage for a truly surreal counterpoint.
How to Divorce During the War
Screenwriter Vytus is left reeling when on successive days his wife demands a divorce and Russia invades Ukraine. Blazevicius' masterful feature emerges as an engrossing satire about virtue signaling, nationalism, good intentions, and survival modes.