After a one semester delay, Indian director, writer, and producer Mira Nair will finally make her long awaited appearance on campus as this year’s Mueller Fellow.
During September 2009, the Indian director was supposed to make her campus debut, but her attendance was pushed back due to scheduling conflicts related to postproduction on her latest film. But Nair is arriving on campus next week and will meet with students and faculty in class seminars, as well as in lunch and dinner discussions.
Nair will be on campus from Tuesday Feb 16 through Thursday Feb 18, starting with her Tuesday night lecture, “Between Two Worlds: A Night with Mira Nair,” and wrapping up with her Common Hour presentation, “Arts & Values: A Conversation with Mira Nair.” Nair’s visit also celebrates 40 years of coeducation at F&M.
Educated at Delhi University and Harvard, Nair is an accomplished Indian director, first finding success in documentary. Her debut feature, Salaam Bombay! (1988), was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Since then, Nair’s films have crossed cultures. She moved to the United States to direct the independent romantic comedy, Mississippi Masala (1991), starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhoury. Since then, her films covered a wide range of topics, from a cross-cultural marriage in Monsoon Wedding (2001), to her lavish adaptation of the classic Vanity Fair (2004) starring Reese Witherspoon. Currently, she is working on a film with actor Johnny Depp.
While Nair’s films may stretch the globe, her themes remain universal, dealing with issues of race, class, gender, inter-generational strife, cultural appropriation, and displacement. Her films revel in the traditional Indian cinema of full circle narratives and vivid visuals.
One of her more popular films, The Namesake (2006) features the cultural gap between Indian traditions and a modern lifestyle. She momentarily steps away from her Indian influence with her latest film, Amelia (2009), by helming a biographical piece about Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.
In the days preceding her visit, F&M will screen three of Nair’s films in the Adams Auditorium: Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m., Salaam Bombay! Feb. 13, 7:00 p.m., Monsoon Wedding, and Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m., The Namesake.
For more information about Mira Nair’s visit, contact Kathy Missildine at kathy.missildine@fandm.edu.
Junior Katie Stryker is the Campus Life Editor. Her e-mail is kstryker@fandm.edu.
