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‘Ms. Bula Banerjee’ Puts the Brontë Sisters Front and Center

'Ms. Bula Banerjee' Puts the Brontë Sisters Front and Center
'Ms. Bula Banerjee' Puts the Brontë Sisters Front and Center

Here’s your daily dose of an indie film, web series, TV pilot, what-have-you in progress — at the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.

In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.

Ms. Bula Banerjee

Logline: A quiet librarian takes a stand when a corporate consultant replaces her Book of the Month recommendation.

Elevator Pitch: Aparna Nancherla stars as Bula Banerjee, a librarian whose dream is to restore the Brontë Sisters as the paragon of young adult fiction. One day, Lydia, a corporate consultant hired by Governor Christie, shows up to increase the library’s bottom line. Her solution? Less Brontë Sisters and more YA that’s hot. After all, more circulation means more late fees. Bula takes a stand, but Lydia’s charisma woos the library staff. By the film’s climax, Bula must make a choice: quit, or go down fighting for the library that she loves.
Production Team: 
Writer/Director: Rakesh Baruah
Producer: Susanna Locascio
Cinematographer: Arlen Konopaki
Production Designer: Mar Urrestarazu
Casting Director: Kate Geller
Sound Recorder: M. Parker Kozak
Assistant Director: Josh Lucas

About the Film: Growing up, I was a nerd. I was a brown-skinned kid in the white-washed world of Waukesha, WI. Everywhere I looked I didn’t belong. My hair was too curly. My nose was too big. In the public library I found my escape. Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, Jhumpa Lahiri and others helped me feel less alone. I went to film school to learn how to bring stories of identity in a multiracial world to the mainstream. Hopefully with humor and hopefully with heart. “Ms. Bula Banerjee” is my first contribution to that conversation.

Current Status: We’re fundraising $12,000 until June 30, and are currently in pre-production for a 5 day shoot that is scheduled to begin July 11, 2015.

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