Beholder

Sasha, a resident of the socially conservative gated community Red Estates, makes a discovery that causes her to rethink her allegiances.

Film Signature Image
Series
FUTURESTATES
Premiere Date
March 16, 2011
Length
21 minutes
Funding Initiative
Short-Form Series and Special Projects
Director

Nisha Ganatra

Nisha Ganatra’s acclaimed debut feature, Chutney Popcorn, won audience awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Newport Film Festival, Paris International Film Festival, and Madrid International Film Festival, and Best Feature Film Awards at the Los Angeles Outfest and San Francisco Frameline film festivals. Her sophomore film, Cosmopolitan,… Show more premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival and was selected by INPUT as one of the top 10 films shown on public television. Ganatra also directed Cake with Heather Graham, Sandra Oh, and Taye Diggs. Her work for television includes The Real World New York and The Real World/Road Rules Challenge for MTV and the movie Fast Food High. Show less

Other ITVS Films
Code Academy
Cosmopolitan
Producer

Jasmine Jaisinghani

Jasmine Jaisinghani is an independent producer in Los Angeles. Her professional background began at historic Capitol Records and George Harrison’s label, Dark Horse Records. Jaisinghani also manages and curates for film festivals ranging from AFI Fest to the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. While working with the Indian Film Festival she has… Show more showcased the talent of the Bombay Dub Orchestra, Cheb i Sabbah, L Shankar of Shakti, Gingger Shankar and Taal Dance Company. In addition to Beholder, she has also produced Tent City for FUTURESTATES Season One, which made its premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in 2010. She holds a degree from Carnegie Mellon University in drama. Show less

Other ITVS Films
Tent City

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The Film

Beholder takes place in the biosphere-protected Red Estates, a gated community with a socially conservative political majority where all members have been explicitly bred for their social roles. At a clinic where patients can genetically engineer their children, Sasha, the wife of rising political star Bobby Aryana, is informed that her baby carries the genetic marker for homosexuality. By the laws of Red Estates, this is an aberration that must be dealt with immediately, and Sasha finds her rethinking her allegiances as well as mulling over secrets in her own past. Touching on issues of race, sexual orientation, and conformity, Beholder examines the notion of identity and the costs of belonging.

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