Nisha Ganatra's bold first feature mixes comedy and spice -- hence its title, Chutney Popcorn -- as it takes on the clash of values between a traditional Indian mother and her daughter, a New York-bred, Honda-riding lesbian.

Ganatra herself plays Reena, a struggling photographer whose mom is still trying to fix her up with a nice Indian boy. Tired of her role as family black sheep, Reena offers to carry a child for her infertile sister Sarita through artificial insemination. Sarita then has second thoughts, but Reena's already pregnant and decides to raise the baby herself.

Real-life mother and daughter Madhur and Sakina Jaffrey play Reena's mom and sister and Nick Chinlund (A Brother's Kiss, Con Air) plays Sarita's husband. "I saw a close friend's marriage fail to survive the inability to produce a child," says Ganatra, "but the movie's real starting point was an image I had of a girl missing her sister's wedding and running down the street after her."

Born in Vancouver but raised mostly in California, the 27-year-old Ganatra has a Communications Studies degree from UCLA and recently completed her coursework at NYU's grad film program. "I started out as an actress but got really frustrated by the lack of opportunities for women of color," she says. "I also saw creative people getting screwed left and right, so I decided I should learn the business first." Before heading to NYU Ganatra spent time in the assistants' pool at CAA. She met Chutney producers Sarah Vogel and Kelley Forsyth when her 11-minute short Junky Punky Girlz premiered at the first N.Y. Women's Film Festival this past June and won the Max Factor-sponsored Filmmaker Award. Vogel and Forsyth are partnered in production company Seneca Falls (Trees Lounge, Girls Town, Alchemy).

The 35mm Chutney shot 30 days between September 24 and October 24 in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and the Upper West Side. Chutney's soundtrack will blend punk rock and independent tracks with bhangra, a kind of Punjab/hip-hop fusion currently popular in Britain. At press time Ganatra was editing on the AVID for a February delivery; all rights remained available.

Cast: Madhur Jaffrey, Nisha Ganatra, Sakina Jaffrey, Nick Chinlund, Jill Hennessey, Cara Buono, Ajay Naido. Crew: Producers, Sarah Vogel, Kelley Forsyth; Screenwriters, Nisha Ganatra, Sue Carnival; Director, Ganatra; Director of Photography, Erin King; Production Designer, Jody Kipper; Casting, Judy Henderson; Editor, Jane Abramowitz. Contact: Sarah Vogel, Seneca Falls, 27 West 24th St., Room 303, New York, NY 10010. Tel: (212) 777-2107, Fax: (212) 292-1508.

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Fear of Fiction - Charlie Ahearn
The History of Luminous Motion - Bette Gordon
Judy Berlin - Eric Mendelsohn
The Last Big Attraction - T. Hopwood DePree
Me and Will - Sherrie Rose and Melissa Behr
Mute Love - Patrice Mallard
Origin of the Species - Andres Heinz
The Two Ninas - Neil Turitz