Multimedia platform South Asian House, to be launched at SXSW In Austin, Texas

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South Asians in Austin, Texas, will now have a multi-area platform to come together to exchange ideas and thoughts, to view and make presentations and create newer, culture sensitive products and awareness, to learn from each others’ experiences and to find group support and partners.

South Asian House (SAH – https://www.southasianhouse.com/ ) which will launch March 11^th with a two-day program at South By Southwest Conference and Festivals (SXSW – https://www.sxsw.com/ ) in downtown Austin, Texas, will do just that, bringing business, technology, film, television, music, and fashion industry speakers and thinkers from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Bhutanese, Sri Lankan, and Maldive origins.

SAH is created by experienced producers, curators, and programmers Rohi Mirza Pandya of Box Office Guru Media, Monika Samtani of Ms Media, Jitin Hingorani of Jingo Media, and Kirtana Banskota of Banskota Productions.

Mirza Pandya, of Pakistani and Filippino origins, has been a creative producer in film and television for over 20 years. She has created many strategic marketing campaigns and film and theater premieres. Mirza Pandya serves on the Board of Directors of Brooklyn Children’s Theater. She is also the co-founder of Box Office Guru Media, a multicultural marketing agency which serves major Hollywood and Bollywood studios.

Hingorani has long experience in film, television and print media. A graduate of the University of Texas, Austin, in Broadcast Journalism & English, Hingorani is the Bollywood entertainment reporter for Asian Variety Show and weekend anchor for News 8 Austin. He is also the founder and director of the New York City and Dallas Fort Worth South Asian Film Festivals. He is the founder of Jingo Media, a public relations and marketing company, which focuses on film, arts, entertainment & fashion.

Banskota is an award-winning Producer, Director, and Actor of Nepali origin with business offices in Austin, TX, and Nepal. She is the co-founder of Nepal America Film Society and the Nepal America International Film Festival. She is currently the chairperson for Austin Board of Women in Film and Television. She has founded the Banskota Productions, of which she is the CEO. Banskota Productions produces narratives and documentaries of unheard stories from across the globe, including the recent docuseries ‘Planet Possible’.

Mamtani is a media and entertainment professional. She is a producer for film/television/entertainment productions creating meaningful, authentic stories and culturally relevant content. Mamtani has an experience of more than 25 years in the media industry. She has been the first professional South Asian broadcast journalist in Washington, D.C. She is also the co-founder of The Feb Word.

SXSW Conference and Festivals at which SAH will premier, was established in 1987. It has been bringing together technology, film, and music industries at their annual events. This year, their event will be held from March 10 through 19, 2023. Attracting global professionals, SXSW’s annual event features conferences, film and television screenings, music festivals, exhibitions, competitions, and award ceremonies, providing a unique global opportunity for discovery learning, professional development and networking.

Premiering for the first time at SXSW, the SAH will hold two full-day programs with their partners The Auntie Network, Tasveer, One Minute Saree, The Partnership Inc., URL Media, IndieMeme, and Sway with Pray. The program sessions will be held at Fourth and Company located at 208 West Fourth Street, Unit D from 11 in the morning to 2 in the morning of March 11^th and 12^th. SAH program includes a networking brunch and happy hour both the days, along with live music entertainment and a DJ set each night.

This inaugural event of SAH will provide opportunities through several partnership events with innovative companies from the region. In a special event, SAH partners The Slashie Summit and BrownGirl Magazine will co-host an event on March 10^th evening from 6pm to 9pm  at the Claypit, located at 1601 Guadalupe St in Austin.

Another SAH partner, Sway with Pray, will launch a Bollywood dance pop-up at the event. Some of the features of the evening’s program will be bites, drinks, a braid bar and makeup touch-ups, networking and a fireside chat with indie businesses including haircare indie business Shaz & Kiks, matchmaking dating service Single to Shaadi, skincare company Journ, and a sustainably-driven clothing brand Tega Collective about surviving  through the pandemic.

SAH partner, Women in Film and Television, Austin, will present a pilot reading hour during the two-day inaugural.

SAH program also includes Conversations on ways to develop a successful leadership mindset with Catalyst Media/Fund, supported by Lalit Vadhlamani and Shubha Iyengar, offering professional development for future South Asian leaders, and producing partners Monika Samtani and Rohi Mirza Pandya. They will be joined by actress-producer-Miss India USA Pooja Kumar, Film/Marginal Media Works head Milan Chakraborty, Trackmind founder Sid Shahm, The Partnership Inc. chief transformation officer Anjali Worah and the Outer Voice Company CEO James A. Mathew.

Two important SAH one-hour discussion panels will also be part of the SAH program on March 11^th at 2:30 pm, and at 4:30 pm. These discussions will be on usually overlooked topics. The panelists are well-known names with a lot to contribute to developing an understanding of South Asian art and culture, according to Banskota. “We are so excited to have these fantastic panels that explore topics which are often overlooked when it comes to the contributions of South Asians in the media and entertainment worlds.” said founder Mirza Pandya.

The first panel, ‘Creating South Asian Content for a Global Audience’, at 2:30 pm, will be a discussion with actor Rizwan Manji  of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and  ‘Peacemaker’ fame. Falguni Lakhani, the Emmy-award winning executive producer for ViceTV; and Apoorva Bakshi, the Emmy-award winning producer of the hit TV series ‘Delhi Crime’ will be the panelists of the discussion moderated by Jitin Hingorani.

The second panel, ‘Investing in the Future of Our South Asian Stories’ at 4:30 pm on March 11^th, will be a panel discussion with S. Mitra Kalita, CEO and Co-founder of URL Media; actress Kausar Mohammed from the films ‘4400’ and ‘The Flash’; and Atit Shah, CEO of Create Entertainment. It will be moderated by Gitesh Pandya, co-founder of Box Office Guru Media.

SAH will conclude their two-day programming with a Red Carpet Awards Ceremony, presented by Tasveer, at 5:45 p.m. and a live Oscar Viewing Party at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, in the presence of media.