Indian Docu-Film About Valentine’s Day Is Set For Its Premiere At The Comic-Con

Critically acclaimed Indian documentary film The 14th February & Beyond, produced & directed by Utpal Kalal & co-produced by Shilpa Agrawal, will be premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con's special film program Comic-Con Independent Film Festival on July 21st. The first time an Indian film has been showcased at this greatest convention of popular arts. The film has been selected for the main competition alongside 49 films, from 7 different pop culture genres including Action/Adventure, Animation, Comics-Oriented, Documentary (Pop Culture-Oriented), Horror/Suspense, Humour, and Science Fiction/Fantasy.

The 14th February & Beyond is the first-ever and most up-close look into Valentine's Day. The film exposes the strange face of this global love fest; how it's been twisted as a result of consumerism and capitalism, and its impact on the mental health of our society. The film also reveals the shocking facts about the commercialisation of Valentine's Day - the spending and traditions that have been overlooked. The film brings a full view of the subject through various experts in this eye-opening narrative and shows how this over-hyped day is now a catalyst for negative behaviours, fuelled by consumerism.

This film has achieved several awards nationally and internationally and got premiered in more than 14 countries. The notable selection includes; the Indian Panorama selection of the International Film Festival of India by Govt of India, Youth Vision Award Nomination at the Millenium International Documentary Film Festival, Belgium and Best Documentary award at the Riverside International Film Festival, California. Earlier the film has also received an appreciation letter from the Oscar-qualifying film festival.

The film features appearances of eminent intellectuals like Dr Sudhir Bhave (Professor, Department of Psychiatry, NKP Salve Institute), Prof. Laurie Essig (Middlebury College), President Bill Clinton (Archival), Vjay Phanshikar (Senior Journlist) Nityananda Misra (Finance Professional & Author), Namita Singh (Activist, Boston, USA), Shilpa Agrawal (Psychologist) and Rajiv Malhotra (Indian American Author).

''I'm so proud that this small budget film will be showcased alongside big Hollywood studio films at the SDCC. It's happening for the first time that an Indian film and an Indian panel will be at Comic-Con as part of their official film festival program. I got to know that around 2 lakh people will be attending Comic-Con and it makes me so excited that our film will be able to resonate with a larger and more diverse audience. The film's core message is simple ''don't be easy prey for corporates and propagandists who manipulate human behaviour for profit'' -Director & Producer, Utpal Kalal.

The film is in competition with 49 other films from various countries, including Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, and the United States and it will be screened on Thursday, 21st July at the Comic Con International, San Diego Marriot Marquis, followed by a panel with film's director and cast.